The Gospel of Judas "HYPE"

This is a post from Rev Cwirla, a Confessional Lutheran Minister in the USA. (To go to his blog site click on the title of this post.) And I forward it to you due to the hype the media has given "The Gospel of Judas" in Australia in recent days.

To use the word of a famous rooster, Foghorn Leghorn, "Well BBQ my ham hocks!" Looks like we'll now have to grill those hocks over a couple pages of papyrus!

Friar Puk

Holy Monday

National Geographic is hyperventilated over the recent publication of the so-called “Gospel of Judas,” a gnostic gospel which vindicates Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. Timing, of course, is everything in our media age. The National Geographic special announcing the blessed event will be aired on Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. This puts National Geographic in the same category as that great scholar and social critic Bill Maher who took delight in bashing Christians on Christmas Eve on his moronic talk show “Politically Incorrect.” The LA Times, southern California’s leading supplier of bird cage lining, gives The Gospel of Judas front page first column coverage this morning. Given the media’s penchant for being “fair and balanced,” I will look for a special from National Geographic on the immorality of Mohammed around the start of Ramadan. For those who think the Da Vinci Code is scholarly and who get their historical theology from National Geographic specials, let me remind you that the Gospel of Judas is not exactly news in Christian circles. Irenaeus (AD 130-202), the bishop of Lyon and a student of Polycarp (who studied under the apostle John), mentions it in his encyclopedic “Against All Heresies,” where he writes:
Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas. Irenaeus goes on to describe a bit of Cainite theology for the unenlightened: I have also made a collection of their writings in which they advocate the abolition of the doings of Hystera. Moreover, they call this Hystera the creator of heaven and earth. They also hold, like Carpocrates, that men cannot be saved until they have gone through all kinds of experience. An angel, they maintain, attends them in every one of their sinful and abominable actions, and urges them to venture on audacity and incur pollution. Whatever may be the nature of the action, they declare that they do it in the name of the angel, saying, "O thou angel, I use thy work; O thou power, I accomplish thy operation !" And they maintain that this is "perfect knowledge," without shrinking to rush into such actions as it is not lawful even to name. The Gospel of Judas is one of many “gospels” written under the name of an apostle, like the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Philip. They may as well be the Gospel of Moe, Larry, and Curly for all their authenticity. These are the works of various sects of gnosticism, a pernicious heresy that crept into Christianity like a virus in the latter part of the first century and turned into a full blown disease in the second and third. The Gospel according to St. John (I’m talking about the actual Gospel according to the real St. John) has the beginnings of gnosticism in full view, as do the later epistles of Paul along with Jude and Peter. The Cainites were a fun bunch whose hero was Cain, the murderer of his brother Abel. It only stands to reason that they would come up with a Gospel of Judas, making the cursed betrayer of our Lord into a martyr for the cause. The caustic lawyer turned theologian Tertullian of Carthage turned his acidic pen on the Cainites in the opening paragraph on his treatise “On Baptism” where he writes:
Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! A treatise on this matter will not be superfluous; instructing not only such as are just becoming formed (in the faith), but them who, content with having simply believed, without full examination of the grounds of the traditions, carry (in mind), through ignorance, an untried though probable faith. The consequence is, that a viper of the Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism. Which is quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and basilisks themselves generally do affect arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes, after the example of our Ichthus Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes, by taking them away from the water! Apparently, the Cainites didn’t think much of Baptism. I especially like how Tertullian refers to believers as little fish swimming in baptismal water with their Great Fish, and he calls the Cainite female preachers “vipers, asps, and basilisks” who hang out in dry, waterless places. Darned good writer, that Tertullian. Expect the usual blather from the ignorati who pass themselves off as religion editors in the media, not to mention enough hot air emanating from anti-Christian circles to ween us from dependence on foreign oil. The LA Times glowingly reports, “Many consider it the most important archaeological find since the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed in the 1940’s.” That might be a bit overstated. In general, the gnostics believed that the material world was created by a bunch of lesser gods who imprisoned the spirit in a material body, from which one must escape through the acquisition of secret knowledge (gnosis, hence “gnostic”) from certain “enlightened” teachers in order to ascend to the Divine. Most gnostic were ascetics, denying the body every possible pleasure. Some practiced a form of “spiritual marriage” in which they did not have sex, though a few managed to produce “spiritual” children nonetheless. They drank water only and abstained from wine, even at their version of the Lord’s Supper. (This was before the days of grape juice, which was invented by Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch in the 19th century). Now you see why Paul advised Timothy “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” (1 Timothy 5:3). In the same letter, Paul referred to the early gnostics (proto-gnostics, actually), when he wrote: Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim 4:1-5) Gnostics were very “spiritual,” in all the wrong senses of the word. They saw the body as a pop can from which the real you has to escape in order to become united with the divine. I’ve heard similar sentiments at “Christian” funerals. Gnosticism is by no means dead in our day; it just masquerades as various “spiritualities,” none of which are of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Judas, Judas is the only disciple “in the know” (gnosis) while the other eleven are in the dark. Jesus tells Judas, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will grieve a great deal.” So Judas is the enlightened one. Now you understand why John tells us “it was night” when Judas went out to betray Jesus. Jesus also is purported to have said to Judas, “You will exceed all of them [the other disciples]. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” There’s the old body as a pop can business. Jesus had to die in order to escape the prison of his humanity, and Judas was going to give Jesus a helping hand by handing him over to the religious authorities. Now you understand why John makes such a big deal out of “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” You also see why everyone is touching the resurrected body of Jesus and making a big deal about His wounds. No disembodied “spirit” on the first Easter Sunday. There is also no mention of Jesus’ death and bodily resurrection on the third day in the Gospel of Judas. What do you need a resurrection for, when you can be pure spiritual gas? Biblical scholar ("biblical scholar" is academic code language for "people who deconstruct the Christian faith") Marvin Meyer, director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at that bastion of orthdoxy Chapman University in Orange, CA, notes with scholarly optimism, “Hopefully, this will give us more reason to continue that discussion...and to determine what might be the enduring legacy of Judas.”¹ I expect his next work will be entitled “The Enduring Legacy of Benedict Arnold.” Meyer, who translated the Gospel of Judas into English for National Geographic, found the work to be deeply inspiring. "It says that to follow Jesus means to waken to one's true humanity and to find that spark of what it truly means to be human before God."² That would be a very gnostic way of looking at it. Christians need not let such “findings” spoil their Holy Week or dampen their Easter joy. These works were well known in the early centuries and were amply refuted. You may want to spend a little quality time with Irenaeus and check out what he has to say about the various gnostic sects of his day. Also good bedtime reading is Kurt Rudolph’s Gnosis - The Nature and History of Gnosticism. Findings such as the Gospel of Judas are important historic evidence for the various ways in which the Christian Gospel was perverted in the early centuries following the apostles. Scholars have expressed doubt over the veracity Irenaeus’ catalog of heresies. The finding of a genuine copy of the Gospel of Judas from the second century is a powerful vindication of Irenaeus. Irenaeus wasn’t exagerating. There really were wacko groups that wrote and believed this stuff! But hey, who are we to talk? We have UFO cults and Scientology. The Gospel of Judas, Thomas, Moe, Larry, and Curly also remind us of the importance of the apostolic Word, the record of the first century eyewitnesses to the resurrection recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You’ll notice that these are called “The Gospel according to...” not “The Gospel of....” There’s a reason for that. There is but one “Gospel” of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God Incarnate, who died for the sin of the world and rose triumphantly and bodily on the third day. The canonical tradition gives us four perspectives on this one Gospel, not four distinct gospels. There will always be perversions of the Gospel by those who would proclaim another gospel and another way to salvation except through the narrow door of Jesus’ death and resurrection. That’s why we have to be on our toes. Heresies are like viruses. They never really go away. They only go into remission, waiting for an opportune time to flare up again. In these grey and latter days, we can expect the gnostic virus to flare up with a vengeance, along with every other way people have invented to deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and to scandalize the little ones of faith. Have no fear. Jesus has overcome the world and its religion. And that’s no secret. The apostle Paul gets the last word:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel — not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)

Edited on: April 07th, 2006 6:42 pm; Rev Cwirla

B, Palm/Passion Sunday - Mark 15:6-15 "Barabbas"

Text: Mark 15:6-15

6 Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Sermon

Barabbas, a criminal, a known trouble maker, also known as Jesus Barabbas; incarcerated for insurrection. Pontius Pilate, a politician, the Roman authority of the day; with a political nightmare on his hands. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man and proclaimed by Pilate to be “the King of the Jews”; stands charged with many crimes. The Jewish leaders - the Sanhedrin, Rabbis, and Priests, those responsible for upholding God’s Law; hold Jesus before Pilate with many unsustainable charges. And the fickle crowd, those without a conscience; whipped into a frenzy by the Jewish leaders.

These are the players in this critical time where the fate of two hangs in the balance; where the fate of humanity hangs on what happens to Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Barabbas. What happened to these two depended on a few simple questions and traditions. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?

Earlier Jesus Christ had been brought before the Sanhedrin in what can only be explained as a kangaroo court. The conclusion is foregone as Jesus is accused by the rabble of rabbis and ratbags. The Jewish leaders were desperately seeking to quash the influence of this man from Nazareth, whose prophesies and teachings were making clear to the Jewish populace that their leaders could not counter the wisdom of this carpenter from Nazareth, whom many proclaimed to be even greater than King David. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?

The high priest is outraged by Jesus of Nazareth, as he claims not only to be the messiah, the anointed saviour, the Christ set aside by God to save the fate of the Jews, but that he is the Son of Man having access to God Almighty. The high priest asks, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:61-62) Jesus tells the truth but the high priest rips his clothes and cries out “blasphemy”! Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?

Jesus refers to himself as the “Son of Man”. In Mark’s Gospel this happens fourteen times. He never refers to himself as the “Son of God”, that is for others to proclaim. In fact the title “Son of God” appears in Mark only four times, in the introduction (1:1), by the demons twice (3:11 & 5:7), and by the Centurion at the foot of the cross after Jesus’ death (15:39). And God the Father announces that Jesus is his Son twice, at his baptism (1:11) and on the Mountain of Transfiguration (9:7).

Jesus of Nazareth is God the Son. In the privacy of his prayers and in the Garden of Gethsemane as the apostles slept, Jesus reveals his intimate relationship with his Father. We read in Mark 14: “Jesus fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” (Mark 14:35-36) Just like any child in danger he cries out, “Dad, help me!” Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?

We don’t know much about Barabbas. Some traditions know of him as Jesus Barabbas. He was caught up, in some way, with rebels who had sought to lead an insurrection against the authorities. The text mentions murder, but we are not even sure if it was him who committed any acts of murder, or if he was involved with others who did. But what we do know is that he was held by Pilate and was guilty in his association with others who were rebellious.

But we also know Jesus is innocent! Pilate does too! Knowing full well Jesus is before him out of envy, Pilate asks the Jewish leaders, “‘Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?’ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.” (Mark 15:9,11) And so Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus flogged and sent to his crucifixion to please the crowd. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?

There’s a strange irony with these two men as their lives hang in the balance before Pilate. Jesus of Nazareth, is an earthly name, so too is the “son of man”, and we know of his humanity as he pleads, in anguish and sweat, to Abba – his Father in heaven. Jesus is the Son of God, he is the Christ, he “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8) Jesus the Son of Man; the Son of God; the servant of humanity!

And then there is Barabbas. Think about his name; bar-abbas, bar-abba. Jesus Barabbas, has the Aramaic name which literally means “son of abba”, “son of the father”. So before Pilate stood Jesus of Nazareth — the Son of God, who called himself the “Son of Man” and Pilate himself called “King of the Jews”, who prayed Abba Father in innocence before his impending death. And also Jesus Barabbas, “Jesus son of abba”, “Jesus son of the father”, who in violence and rebellion looked to his own rights and strength, becoming involved with murderers, rather than call on his namesake Abba, our Father in heaven. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment?

We might rightly say that Barabbas should have been nailed to the cross. After all he was the criminal. He hung out with murderers; if not was a murderer himself. He deserved death! On the other hand, Jesus of Nazareth was innocent. He is the Son of God. He is without sin. He was betrayed by everyone; disciples, priests the public and Pilate, rabbis and Romans. Did the right person get the right punishment? Of course not! Barabbas should have died and Jesus Christ shouldn’t have been nailed to the cross.

But how would it benefit you if Jesus Barabbas was nailed to the cross, and Jesus of Nazareth was set free. Barabbas hanging between the other criminals and dying on the cross would have done nothing for you or me, or anyone. In fact if Barabbas went to the cross, you and I should have too. We are as guilty of sin as was Barabbas.

You might think, “Yes I’m a sinner, but I’m not as bad as Barabbas. Barabbas was really bad, he was a murderer”. Well we’re not sure if he was or not, it’s ambiguous, but either way he was guilty and so are we. We are murderers and adulterers in God’s eyes — even if we hate or lust, so Jesus tells us. Before God the ambiguity disappears and we stand with Barabbas, guilty of sin, sentenced to death. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment? You and me or Jesus Christ: Did the right person get the right punishment?

Jesus was the right person for the job. He is the only one who could have atoned for our sin. He was the perfect spotless lamb sacrificed in our place, bearing the sin of the world. He is the Christ but he became a servant as the Son of Man — the servant of humanity. He made the ultimate act of service; falling silent as our sinful cry together with the din of all humanity sung out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” And so he was crucified for your sake and mine.

So now that he has taken our place, we like Barabbas have been saved from eternal death. But even greater than this is the fact that through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, we now are children of the Father. Jesus took our place and we his. Jesus cried out Abba Father, but obediently allowed himself to be crucified, and we inherited the name Barabbas, guilty of murder but now made sons and daughters of Abba — our Father in heaven. Jesus Barabbas or Jesus of Nazareth: Did the right person get the right punishment? Yes he did, and because of it, we have received life eternal with our Father. Amen.

B, Lent 5 Midweek - 2 Cor 6:10b-c "Poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, yet possessing everything"

Where is your wealth? With God or with the world? What does it mean to be poor? We hear texts such as the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:3) What is poor in spirit and why do they receive the kingdom of heaven? When you die will your riches be left behind or will you finally inherit them? Where is your wealth and riches, on earth or in heaven?

Here is another question: Are you content to be nothing? Do you prefer to be seen as one of the haves or as one of the have nots? Are you one who likes to be known? Perhaps you like to make yourself known, blowing your trumpet in an attempt to gain some status in society. But does all our self-centred boasting allow us to possess anything more than nothing?

Tonight is the last of the Lenten series of sermons. In the last five weeks we have examined Christ’s great exchange with us, and the practical implications of this switch-a-roo. We have seen Christ walking to the cross, a walk you and I should have made. He walked alone bearing the sin of the world, even though he was without sin. He received all the terror and horror of God’s wrath when he was nailed to the cross, and left to die alone, so we might become the righteousness of God. We have heard Saint Paul’s plea to the Corinthians, on Christ’s behalf, to be reconciled to God not taking this grace in vain. In fact, being Christ’s called representative, this is my plea to you as well: Be reconciled to God; do not receive God’s grace in vain!

So as we move from the regular Lenten pattern, to Palm Sunday and into Holy Week, we are well prepared to see and understand more clearly the actions of Jesus Christ on the cross. He has taken our place as the afflicted scapegoat bearing all the injustice and sin of humanity, and wrath from God, on the cross. We have plainly seen the lengths to which God went, to swap our waywardness with Jesus Christ’s willingness. And we are called to trust and cling to the willingness of Jesus actions and presence in this life, so we might be with him forever in the next.

This brings us to the last of the phrases in 2 Corinthians 6. Let’s hear it in context: We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 5:20-6:1,3-4,7,10)

We return to the questions on what it is to be poor and what it is to be nothing. Paul proclaims in the first half of the phrase that he and Titus are seen as poor yet making many rich. How do they do that; how can they make anyone rich, men who struggle to survive from day to day? We know they have come to the Corinthians as servants of God, speaking with truthful speech in the power of God. They have come with the weapons of righteousness in the right and left hand.

What are the weapons of righteousness that you brandish in your day to day lives? What were the weapons Paul and Titus wield? What was Jesus’ defence system as he walked to the cross? And what is his arsenal today?

Pride, prestige, power, understanding, good works, feelings, accomplishments – all frequent our hands as the weapons, which—we would like to think—bring us some sort of righteousness. But in fact these are the very things that close us off from God and from radiating the love of Christ to others. These things temp us to ridicule, redefine, and replace the very things Christ has put in place for us to receive him. Pushed aside are his gracious means of salvation in favour of the many riches the world offers as righteousness. These riches make us full, full of ourselves, leaving no room for Jesus or his vicarious death and victorious resurrection in our lives.

However, we all know to be full of yourself, rather than being filled with the grace and truth of God is a deadly temptation. And we all know the weapons of righteousness that Christ offers us, are always on offer, calling us to repentance and giving us eternal life with him.

Jesus is our example and he is the one who now walks with us in this life. He came as one who was the poorest of the poor, but in his denial of divine power and his reverent submission to his Father, he was given the strength to walk to the cross. In fact everything Jesus did he did as an obedient Son, never taking his Father’s name or will in vain. He was taken to the cross, seemingly without integrity, seemingly without status, seemingly without any righteousness, as if he had taken God the Father completely in vain. But in this poor afflicted human state was God the Son who had become sin for us, even though he was without sin. What a wretched broken poor and lowly sight he must have been as he allowed himself to be led to the cross. But it is this act of grace we are called to trust and not receive in vain.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6) Thank God those filthy rags now rest on the cross. Sin will no longer sweep us away in eternal death. The poverty, shame and wretchedness of Jesus’ humiliation and death are now our riches. Our hope is in the weapons of righteousness, given to us by Christ in his word, full of grace and truth. We are provoked by the Holy Spirit to see our sinful nature and repent. The Spirit gives us the power to perceive the righteousness of the cross, and he whispers the sweet words of forgiveness, as he gives us God the Son, who once was poor and afflicted in death but is now risen glorified and all powerful in heaven and on earth.

We are poor in spirit, we know who we are, and yes, it is painful! But in our poverty, in our inability to buy or boast our way into heaven, we have been given the riches of heaven. It has been given to us by Christ in the way he has set out for us in his word. God has worked in the poverty of your parents, or through those struggling in his seemingly clumsy church, and through the poorness of his pastors. Just as God worked through Paul and Titus in the Corinth church to reconcile it to himself, God works through earthly means and appointed people to place you in his righteousness.

In worldly measures you might appear as not amounting to much – maybe as having nothing and being nothing. The church might appear as dull and lifeless; a conglomerate of poor pathetic people holding onto nothing. But know that you possess the most profound riches in Christ; only recognised in faith and fully revealed in eternity. God thought of you and me to be more than nothing, even though sin had reduced us to nothing. In fact he thought so highly of you and me, even when we were nothing, that he sent his one and only Son to die for us so we might have the full riches of God’s grace in eternity.

Jesus became poor so that we might be made rich. He was reduced to nothing, even being stripped of his clothes, so that you might possess the assurance of eternity, and one day be robed in the wealth of righteousness, forever face to face with God. Amen.

B, Lent 5 - John 12:20-33 "God's Glory is the death of our Sin"

Text – John 12:20-33 NIV

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. 27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Sermon

During Lent we are given an opportunity to examine ourselves and repent of our sin. We have an opportunity to stock take, expose, and chuck out everything from the most stupid to the innermost depraved sins in our lives, giving them to Jesus so he can deal with them on the cross. Temptations are avoided in Lent, serving God takes centre stage. ‘Where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me’, are Jesus’ words. In Lent we are preoccupied with serving God and separating ourselves from the influences of this world. Joyfully handing our sin over to Jesus who can destroy it once and for all.

Reflection on my life – a session in the Lenten room full of mirrors – doesn’t conjure up feelings of happiness and joy in me. When I cast my eyes over this gospel text for the first time, I feel uncomfortable. When words and phrases like ‘servant’, ‘hates his life in this world’, ‘whoever serves me must follow me’, and ‘Now is the time for judgment’ sink into my heart for the first time, a sickening pain hits me in the gut. I cry out, ‘God forgive my sin’, but at the same time I really want to enjoy the world. The hour of Christ’s glorification, makes me feel uneasy as I walk with him from the garden to Calvary and come close to the cross. The brilliance of my Lord reveals the muck and filth in my life. I see mirrored in the cross a dysfunctional and degraded life of sin and a dependence on the ways of the world.

Hearing God’s word we realise that others struggled and suffered with sin in their lives. Take King David’s appeal in Psalm 51 for instance; his plea to the Lord after he took Bathsheba; committed adultery with her; and had her husband killed in battle. He was a king enthroned by God through his prophet, and loved by God. But he carelessly misused his office, for sexual pleasure and murder of an innocent man. Hear the angst in his cry for a clean heart, ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned… Surly I was sinful from birth sinful from the time my mother conceived me… Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice… Hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquity. David’s innermost sin now exposed by his prophet Nathan. God illuminates sin, revealing evil – joy and happiness are nowhere to be found. David cries out with great suffering, ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me’. David begs God – he can’t escape from his sinfulness. In his spirit he knows his willingness to sin will be too great for him to resist.

Jesus troubled in heart cries out to God too. As he draws closer to the hour of his death, he suffered bitterly. Just like sin exposed and realised in David, and in us, Jesus too is embittered by the effects of sin. Sins he didn’t commit, but took on. The hour of death was closing in on Jesus; the Son of God was left holding the bag, the bag of suffering, death, sin, and separation from God. Hear what is written in Hebrews 5, ‘During his life of earth, Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.’ Where we fail, where David struggles, Christ suffers and struggles, but he doesn’t fail. The writer of Hebrews continues, ‘Although he was a son he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation.’ He wasn’t made perfect because he was God, the Son, but rather because he was a son of Mary, a person like you and me, who kept the law perfectly and suffered in his innocence.

Through his troubled heart, through his loud cries, through his willing obedience to carry sinful baggage, God was glorified by Christ, the new Adam, the prototype of a new person, the first person to obey the law to the full. God who bore our sin in full. In this hour sin was exposed. Yes it caused suffering, pain and turmoil, but yes it was also conquered by the one who was obedient to death. For us and all of humanity who suffer under the burden of sin, we’ve been given the opportunity to live in this world hating our sin, and at the same time living a life in eternity – a life with God sin free!

However, many people stumble at this free offer of sin removal. They reject the suffering God on the cross, looking instead for a miracle worker to give them happiness in this life. Even though they know the needs of their innermost beings, they hide their true natures, being deluded by their own visions of grandeur and self-glorification. For them suffering, struggling, and conquering sin though death doesn’t glorify anyone or anything; and even less does it show the all-powerfulness of the one true God. This seed of God planted within the midst of humanity to routing out sin, frightens those who get a glimpse of their sin. So they gouge out the seed and continue on in their ignorant lives of blissful denial and deception.

Praise God I don’t live blissfully with my sin. The Lenten stock take that shoves my conscience into turmoil, isn’t as bad as I first thought. Judgement time is a time not to be feared but one that brings peace and eternal happiness. Our sin is judged, it is condemned, and we are judged too, but our judgement is not one of condemnation, but rather one of restoration. Our sin is condemned, but we are made right before the judge.

This judge likens himself to a grain of wheat. Hear what Jesus says of himself in the text, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.’ Jesus, carrying the grain of our sin, falls to the ground – dies and is buried. In his death, our sin is dead and buried. Hear in Galatians 2:20 the words of St Paul another suffer for Christ, ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Christ’s crucifixion is for your benefit and for my benefit too. We profit by God’s loving presence through his forgiveness of our sin; honoured by him before the heavenly throne; considered as his priceless holy people.

So how did we, sinners, end up with this holiness; how can stand before a holy God without receiving wrath? Well, Jesus Christ, the grain of wheat buried in death, has sprung up and is producing seeds. These fruitful seeds are seeds of faith. They are buried in us and have germinated through the Holy Spirit’s energy. As Paul says, ‘Christ lives in me.’ Now our old nature is buried under Christ’s holiness. When we stand before God, he sees the glory of Christ in us, even though the old nature struggles to take back what Christ has claimed, causing us pain and suffering in our lives.

But you know our suffering never happens alone. Christ suffered and was crucified and now he lives with us – suffering with us the turmoil and trials of what the devil tries to expose and use to condemn us. But sin and death now have no power, nor does Old Nick – he is beaten. You see the sin he throws in our faces, is the same sin Christ has destroyed in his death bringing glory to God the Father. In his hour of glory he drives Satan, the prince of this world, out. The exposure of sin within us, the suffering it causes, doesn’t nullify the new covenant made with his blood; for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Our sin doesn’t separate us from God anymore, not like it did under the old covenant of law. No our sin now serves us as a reminder that we are inherent sinners, that sin is inborn. And our struggle and suffering with sin chases us daily to the cross and the king enthroned upon it, where our sin is exchange for a perfect record.

And the peace of God which passed all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen!