... the opportunity to talk directly to those first-century logicians, with the hope of avoiding another destructive split in the church. As soon as he made his point, he wrote: “After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley” (John 18:1). Sometimes things just may not make sense to us, simply because they weren’t written for us. And rather than close the book, we simply turn the page, and wait for the writer to look back in our direction and speak to us. It ...
... It’s hard to escape the symbolism, intended or otherwise. Peter was warming himself by a charcoal fire in the high priest’s courtyard when he denied three times that he even knew Christ (John 18:15-27). Now sitting around a charcoal fire where Christ has prepared their breakfast, the risen Lord asks Peter three times, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Is Jesus giving Peter a chance to redeem himself? Twice when Peter says, “Lord, you KNOW I love you,” he uses the form of “know” that means ...
... Peter was taken off guard. Hurriedly, he picked up a sword and attacked one of the slaves of the chief priest, cutting his right ear off. "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" questioned Jesus (John 18:11). At noon on that Friday, darkness had covered the earth like a blanket. It was now the third hour of the afternoon, and the darkness still engulfed the land. Up to this point, Jesus had already spoken several times from the cross. Each word he spoke ...
... more of this!” (Luke 22:51) and He touches the unfortunate man’s ear and heals it! (Remember: St. Luke was a physician, so he ought to know.) But it is only in John’s Gospel that the wielder of the sword is identified as the impulsive Simon Peter, and the slave is identified as a man named Malchus. In the Fourth Gospel Peter is rebuked by ... right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, Put your sword back into its sheath.’ “ (John 18:3-11) He’s still waiting for us to obey Him.
... on Palm Sunday, he chose to enter not on a great stallion with shining armor, but riding on a humble donkey. Again and again people tried to make Him an earthly king, but He refused, saying, “My kingdom is not of this world...else would my disciples fight....” (John 18:36) And Simon came to realize that he either had to give up his sword or give up his Savior. Something like this, I think, happens to all of us who start down the road with Jesus. We may begin with acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord ...
... a decent sight line, finally lifting his skirts and shinnying immodestly up the nearest sycamore tree. Or again, it is one thing to read Jesus' parable of the lost sheep, but quite another to experience it in the theater of the absurd. In the *Sermon emphasis John 18:28--19:22 ear it all sounds rather manageable, perhaps even tame: A sheep is lost, the shepherd goes to find it, and that's that. But to the eye it releases its outrageous truth. To watch in astonishment as a seemingly sane shepherd walks away ...
... Christ’s contemporaries interpreted that religious dimension of Christ in political terms. Such an interpretation worried Pilate. Listen to Christ’s answer: "Are you saying this because you have discovered it yourself, or because other people told you that I am?" (John 18:34, Barclay). Pilate, is this a second-hand opinion which you have inherited or is it a first-hand faith you have discovered as you yourself have wondered at the religious dimension of my life? That is what Christ’s question implies ...
... is sure what is real and what isn't. This spills over of course into the spiritual, as well. A recent special issue of Forbes Magazine had as its theme, What Is True? It reminded me of Pilate's question spoken when dealing with Jesus, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). This issue of Forbes was a fascinating compilation of articles about what is real in the digital age. One of the articles was by Danny Hillis, a designer of one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. He told of going to Disney World with his ...
... Washing of Hands in Atonement (Deuteronomy 21:1-8) Israel Wants a King (1 Samuel 8-9) David is Anointed King (2 Samuel 5,6,7) David’s Prayer (2 Samuel 7:18-29) Psalm 109: God’s Help in a Time of Condemnation Psalm 134: Praise to Those Who Minister at Night The Prophecy of the Lord’s Salvation (Isaiah 61 and 62) ... with Roman Governor Pontius Pilate and the Dream of Pilate’s Wife (Matthew 27:1-26; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-18:16) Paul Before the High Priest and the Plot to Kill Paul (Acts 23)
... , they are certainly not the cry of a man fearfully facing death. Instead, they are a clear profession of faith in One who has long since opened up new vistas to him by leading him to see that salvation is of the heart and "not of this world." (John 18:36) Here was a faith in which a person could die content, for its promise extended beyond the grave. Moreover, was not Dysmas ending his life in the company of the Lord who had introduced him to the promise? IV The world has always respected the testimony of ...
... it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the spirit." (John 3:8) Therefore, we arrive just as the saints of old. When heaven becomes our permanent home, success is ours and only God can bestow ... at the point of knowing one has been tricked into believing Christ did not mean, "My kingship is not of this world ..." John (18:36) Some of the finest affections and motivations can be drawn into techinques and promises that, at best, lead to an acquaintance ...
... world known God in such terms. That's what's so great about Jesus: God is with us every step of the way. When we come to celebrate the kingship of Christ, it is not political kingship. Jesus reminded us, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). Burghardt stated that through the birth of Jesus a trinity of tyrants, Satan, sin, and death, were defeated by the lordship of Christ. Not that they have vanished from the earth, but their despotic power has been broken. We need no longer be slaves to Satan ...
... do miracles all around the countryside but these people wanted the words out of his own mouth to convict him. It was similar as Jesus stood before Pilate while he asked him if he was king of the Jews. Jesus replied, “You say that I am” (John 18:37). The thing we need to keep clear about is that now, as then, we live in a world littered with words. In the present circumstances in our nation these words contradict, conflict, and give false witness every day. Increasingly, in our contemporary morass, we ...
... That’s the turning point! Jesus is putting Pilate and Caesar in their place. Rome says Caesar is a god who rules by his own divine right. Jesus says, "No, all authority comes from the God of heaven and earth."He says, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). 3. Jesus holds ultimate authority. Jesus does have a kingdom, but it exists beyond the reach and power of Rome. In effect, Jesus is telling Pilate: "You have no claim on Me. My kingdom is far beyond even you or your Caesar." This is a test of ...
... a sacrifice. Now that sounds like what we saw through our standard 50mm lens. In the Gospel reading from Saint John, we read these words: My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed ... over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world. (John 18:36) Now that sounds rather like the view that we got while at the foot of the cross, through our wide-angle lens. The cross ...
... old, but he had never been quite able to find himself. He noticed his uncle's sermon text, "For this cause came I into the world" (John 18:37). That is a statement of Jesus to Pilate. The boy said, "Uncle, I wish I knew why I was born." That gave the preacher a ... we see you? Open your eyes, my friends. The opportunity to see Christ lies all about each of us. 1. Thanks to Dr. John Bardsley for this illustration. 2. From a sermon by Dr. Joe Harding. 3. Robert A. Raines, New Life in the Church (San Francisco: ...
Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52
Sermon
Wayne Brouwer
... private authority, one held closely in your hand so no one else sees, and played as a trump card when you run out of other options. Perhaps there is some reason for this view. Didn't Jesus himself tell Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world"? (John 18:36 NIV). And another time, when the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked him about the kingdom of God, Jesus told them, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,' or ‘There it is,' because the kingdom ...
... ’ ear.” Can you imagine that? An entire sermon preached about someone’s ear? Do you remember Malchus? Jesus and his disciples had entered the garden of Gethsemane to pray. Judas knows they are going there and he brings a “detachment of soldiers together with police” (John 18:3) to arrest Jesus. Simon Peter is prepared to protect his Lord. He is not going to stand by and watch them spirit Jesus away in the night. Peter draws his sword and cuts off the ear of a man named Malchus. At this, Jesus ...
... ? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. — Psalm 24:7-10 Jesus is the one raised to power, whose rule is just, and who bears God's abiding commitment. How was the church to deal with the ambiguity built into kingship? In the gospel for today, John 18:33-37, Pilate asks Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answers, "My kingdom is not from this world, my kingdom is not from here." The fact that the rule of Jesus differs from Pilate's is evident from the gospel's visual presentation. Jesus is a ...
Matthew 16:13-20, Matthew 16:21-28, Matthew 17:1-13
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... although he baptizes by water, the messiah will baptize by fire. This corresponds also to the story in Elijah of the “baptizing” of the altar with water, only to be consumed by a baptism of fire by God’s own hand. (See 1 Kings 18) Both Elijah and John came from the “wilderness.” And both wanted to “open the eyes” of those to the power and mystery of God. Likewise, Jesus and Moses have similarities as well. The messiah was said to fulfill and realize the charge of Moses and the Jewish nation ...
... he probably played a far more important part in the Apostolic Church than is told in the references which mention him by name (Acts 18:24, 19:1; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 3:1-6, 16:12). According to Luther, he may be the author of the Epistle ... be deduced from the cards we carry in our wallets. Andrew seemed content to be just "one of the Twelve." He did not join James and John when they asked the Master, foolishly, whether they might sit one at his right hand the other at his left, in the kingdom (Matthew 10:35 ...
... been months since that day by the Jordan. But no revolution had begun, Rome was still master of Israel, and Herod remained on the throne. Here John was in prison. What was going on? So he sent two of his disciples to inquire: "Are you the one who is to come, or are ... on this planet more as God originally intended is remarkable. Paul says Christ is the "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). This Christ is not some fascinating figure of history through whom we learn by old example; no, this Christ not only ...
Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36, Revelation 1:9-20, Revelation 2:12-17
Sermon
Lori Wagner
... Psalm 118: The Cornerstone The Radiant Beloved (Song of Songs 5:10-16) I Will Lay a Stone in Zion (Isaiah 18) The Lord’s Restoration and God’s Spirit Within (Ezekiel 36) The Story of Jesus’ Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9) You are ... Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the ...
... can speak of Jesus' work in redeeming the world. The law, the commandments, by which the world is structured, had been violated by our sin. The law demands payment for such sin (see John 7:49; Romans 2:12; cf. Deuteronomy 6:3, 18; Psalms 89:31-32). This is why Jesus had to die; the law's just demands (that sinners must die for their sins) needed to be met. Why could God not merely abolish the law and wipe away the darkness of sin? Because the commandments were built into the very ...
... place to be alone with God. Repeatedly Jesus left the Disciples and the crowd to be alone to pray. When he heard the execution of John the Baptist, he took a boat and went to a place to be by himself (Matthew 14:13). After feeding 5,000, Jesus sent his Disciples ... Kings 20:1-7. With tears King Hezekiah prayed for an extension of his life and he got it! 4. Prayer of Intercession -- read Genesis 18:22-33. Abraham intercedes for Lot who is in the sin-city of Sodom. 5. Prayer of Friendship -- read Exodus 33:7-11. In a ...