Beauty

Matthew 27:1-31

The contrast between light and dark is so strong sometimes it hurts the eyes to look at.

This is one of those cases.

The degree of ugliness on display here is so difficult to fathom, especially in light of the great beauty the ugliness is set over against. This is hard to look at, and harder still to study and understand.

One thing remains clear, and is still on display in the world today: Human nature, left to its own devices, is incredibly ugly.

All we see in nature, of the brutality and killing and suffering looks terribly small and comfortable in comparison to man left unchecked.

But what could possibly make man more than merely an animal of great ferocious proportions as the evolutionist presents man to be? Well, only love and devotion.

It is love and devotion, pure and unadulterated, also on display here in great contrast to the crassness, baseness, brutality and ugliness of man. Christ is so beautiful in the midst of this ugliness that it shocks our consciousness, and brings into even sharper focus how truly ugly we are.

I’m forgiven because Christ was forsaken. (By me, and all who are as I am.)

Who would forsake such love? Who could forsake such beauty, and glory, and wisdom – such love and devotion to the task of loving me? Well, that would be me, many times over.

Every time I fail to commit myself to the beauty and wonder and truth only found in Christ, I bring Christ right back here to this place of brutality, and I repeat the process all over again. Knowing this, how could I be so ugly? Why would I ever turn from such beauty?

-Pastor Bill

God on Trial

Matthew 26:57-75

Putting God on trial is the silliest, stupidest, most fallacious, felonious, ridiculous, terrible and blasphemous action ever attempted by man.

We could also say putting God on trial only strengthens His cause.

It has been a peculiar notation of human history that whenever God is on trial, His cause is strengthened, and His ministry grows.

Persecution does not deter Christ, it engages His power.

The trial of Jesus performed here is a sham – as are ALL trials of Christ. This was a court of religious leaders who had a pre-determined judgment, and only used the legal framework of religious leadership in order to seek to satisfy the minds of the people they ruled over.

Had Christ been hauled over to Pontius Pilate without a trial, the people may have thought this a travesty of justice. However, with this trial taking place behind closed doors, the people would be left to trust the judgment of the Sanhedrin, while knowing there HAD been a trial. Knowing there HAD been a trial – and Christ HAD been found guilty – then He must BE guilty. (The religious leaders had to trust this would be the view of the people, and apparently – it was.)

It is morally impossible to try and convict someone you KNOW is not guilty. Jesus was a special case. Not only was He NOT GUILTY of what He was accused of, He was NOT GUILTY of ANYTHING.

And so, false testimony had to be arranged. (As it always is whenever Christ is on trial.) Jesus cannot be accused of any guilt, and yet people hold him guilty all the time. In this case, He is found guilty of speaking a Spiritual truth. On this basis, Jesus is found guilty of blasphemy, which is the highest form of irony. It is the religious leaders, and Caiaphas, (the High Priest,) in particular, who are guilty of the blasphemy of which they accuse Christ. Nothing ever changes when it comes to placing God on trial.

-Pastor Bill

Passion

Matthew 26:36-56

Paul writes, “without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.” (1 Tim 3:16)

In other words, when it comes to the nature of God and His operation among men, there are some things we will never understand. God is higher than we are, and His thoughts (and plans) are higher than ours.

In Philippians 2, when Paul writes of Jesus putting off the Godhead, (and the supernatural powers thereof,) in His coming to earth – we can never really fully understand what that means. It is a mystery how Jesus could be God, and yet not, in His appearing as The Son of Man. He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, and He made Himself of no reputation. He took on flesh.

Therefore we know: Jesus suffered as a man.

In this passage Jesus enters His suffering, which has been referred to theologically as ‘His passion.’ Passion is a word we normally associate with conviction, but in this case it goes further to denote a conviction which goes unto suffering.

The dispassionate world says some pretty hard things about this from a total lack of understanding about what is taking place and from a lack of any attempt whatsoever to understand the Godhead. Now when we say the Godhead is a mystery, it does not mean we should not seek wisdom and understanding, it simply means we will never come to the fullness of it. God desires to be known. It is why Jesus came.

But when people make God out to be some kind of monster because He allows His own Son to suffer and die – they miss the point entirely. They place God on a human level, judging themselves to be more graceful and merciful than God. This is foolishness.

What we know - but cannot fully understand - is that Jesus suffered as a man suffers. He felt the pain and anguish and humiliation exactly as we would. His desire was for The Father to design another way for mankind to be saved from God’s justice, but there was no other way. But always remember, this is God in flesh, suffering and dying for His creation. He would sacrifice Himself for the sin of mankind. That is passion.

-Pastor Bill

Success and Failure

Matthew 26:14-35

The example of Judas and Peter - as followers of Christ – is both alarming and informing about the human condition.

One did not see what he wanted to see in Jesus, (Judas,) and one saw his own strength as being sufficient, (Peter.) One became an apparent success in his desire to redirect the course of Jesus’ ministry life, (Judas,) and one became an apparent failure in his desire to stand for Jesus.

Judas succeeded in his effort to betray Jesus. Peter, in his attempt to stand for Jesus, was an abject failure.

And so we have the answer to the question: Would you rather be successful in the eyes of the world and worldly religion - or a failure in your attempt to follow Christ?

Of course, all of us would rather be Peter than Judas, and this lets us know success or failure is not truly what matters – but devotion to Christ. I would rather be a failure a thousand times over in my devotion to Christ than to be successful in the eyes of the world, or to play any part in betraying Jesus’ ministry.

Yet we read Judas’ betrayal was both anticipated by Jesus, prophesied by Zechariah, and necessary to the cause of Christ. It was necessary for Jesus to die, and Judas’ betrayal was useful to Jesus in becoming the salvation for the sins of the whole world. Satan, in his effort to destroy The Christ through Judas, instead became a necessary implement for God’s purpose. This plan, in place since before the foundation of the world, would be to permit sin, (great sin, in this case,) to kill the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world - that all sin may be forgiven.

Peter failed miserably in his attempt to stand with Christ, but this had been prophesied by Zechariah and anticipated by Jesus as well. Jesus knew Peter was not strong enough to stand in his own strength, and His admonition to Peter was to not even try. In your own strength you will deny Me, not just once, not just twice, but three times over. How important a lesson it is for us to see how correct Jesus was in His assessment of the strength of Peter’s flesh. Yet we also know Peter was greatly restored from his failure, and this is an important example as well.

-Pastor Bill

The Anointed One

Matthew 26:1-13

Now Jesus turns His thoughts to the Passover.

(He has been teaching His disciples about His two-fold return, (while on the Mount of Olives,) and now He makes the move toward His exit, on Mount Calvary.)

The Passover will be taking place in two days, and we know now Jesus is the Passover Lamb.

He will offer Himself as a willing sacrifice for the sin of the world. Through His sacrifice alone the world may be saved from eternal damnation.

In the Passover, the prescription is for the lamb to be brought into the home for four days prior to the sacrifice, for inspection, and for affection. Then the lamb is to be killed, roasted over an open fire and completely eaten.

Presently just two days prior to His crucifixion, Jesus moves to assure those who are watching closely He is the Lamb. He shall ever be The Lamb. So He strongly makes the connection for His disciples, telling them the Son of Man will be delivered up and crucified – but not just on any day – it will be the Passover. He is the fulfillment of what the Passover is all about. Because of His sacrifice, we may all escape the bonds of the slavery of Egypt and death and move into the Promised Land of eternal life. Because of His sacrifice, the death angel will pass over all of our households.

As mysterious as all this may be to His disciples in that moment, there is one who gets it. She comes to visit Jesus in the house of Simon the leper. (Let that sink in for a moment. The home of  leper – or former leper since Jesus is present.)

Her only thought, it seems, is to anoint Jesus. This is not just any anointing either, as she breaks open her own supply of very costly oil to pour on Jesus’ head as He sat at the table. She is rebuked by Jesus’ disciples for her actions, but not by Jesus. In fact, Jesus informs them her actions shall stand forever as a memorial for all the world to see and take note of. Quite properly, she has anointed the Anointed One.

-Pastor Bill

Sheep and Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Everything Jesus has taught His disciples in the Olivette Discourse has been about two kinds of people: those who rule themselves, and those who choose to allow themselves to be ruled by God.

It has always been that way, and all the end-times events will be designed to bring that separation into sharp relief.

Those who allow themselves to be ruled by God will survive, even if they must endure great difficulty.

Those who refuse to allow themselves to be ruled by God will perish, even if they appear to have everything going for them in this life.

The first divide Jesus spoke of was between five wise virgins and five foolish virgins. The wise ones were those who allowed God to fill them with His Holy Spirit. These would be taken up in the pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. The unwise virgins would be left behind to go through the tribulation events.

The next divide Jesus described was the condition of those waiting for the Rapture to take place, even though its delay was apparent to all. Some invested in the cause of Jesus Christ and some refused.

Finally, Jesus describes the divide among those who actually endure all the events of the tribulation – all the way to the end of the seven years of God’s wrath poured out upon the earth.

When Jesus returns to the earth to rule and reign for a thousand years, He will be seated upon His throne of glory at Jerusalem, and a great judgment will take place of those who have survived all the events. On His right hand will be placed the sheep; those who refused the mark of the beast and aided the Jewish people. On His left hand will be the goats; those who took the mark of the beast and only thought of themselves as they entered survival mode during the reign of the anti-christ. The final judgment will divide the self-less from the selfish.

-Pastor Bill

Waiting in Faith

Matthew 25:14-30

As He continues to explain end-times events to His disciples, Jesus has explained what it means to “be ready” for His return. (We learned that last week – You MUST be filled with the Holy Spirit.)

But what about the waiting part?

In our language, “waiting” conveys standing in line. Boredom. Wasting time. Nothing to do. Stuck in traffic.

Jesus teaches something entirely different. The LAST thing Jesus desires for His Church to be found doing as we wait for His return is nothing. We are to be an active Church – actively waiting for His return!

To ensure this, (even though He tells us He is going away for a “long time” – V19,) Jesus promises gifts. “Talents,” if you will.

These “talents” will be given on an individual basis, and we are not to be jealous of the gift someone else receives – but instead put to great use the gift we have received. And there are to be great uses for the gifts we receive…the greatest being to multiply them!

(Jesus also lets us know there will be an evaluation of how we have used the gifts we have received when He comes.)

But the revelation of this parable is that waiting is to be an act of faith. Our mind is not to wander, and our faith in Christ is to remain strong even as He tarries – waiting for that last Christian to be brought into the fold. Just as Jesus actively waits, we are to actively pursue that LAST Christian.

As our “talents” are multiplied, we may notice more and more people are coming to Christ. In fact, these new believers coming to Christ ARE the ‘multiplication’ Jesus speaks of.

Jesus desires to reach you, and all those you are capable of reaching in Him. Now, go get ready and do some waiting!

-Pastor Bill