MARK 16 THANK GOD FOR RESURRECTION SUNDAY

The sequence of this Easter week has been...

(i) Palm Sunday - Jesus is received with Hosannas

(ii) Thursday - the night that He was betrayed, Jesus celebrated the Passover and instituted what we now know as the Lord’s Supper. 

(ii) Friday - the cross

(iii) Saturday - the silent day when Jesus rested  on the Sabbath day from His finished work on the cross

(iv) Sunday, the first day of the week (16:2) -the day of the Resurrection.

Everything happened, just as Jesus had said earlier in Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31 and Mark 10:33-34.  He had said that He would be killed and after three days He would rise again.  

THE ENDING OF MARK 16

I need to comment briefly on that note in your Bibles which says concerning the ending of Mark’s gospel, “Some of the oldest and most reliable New Testament manuscripts   do not include Mark 16:9-20”.  The oldest manuscripts referred to here are the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus. The King James Bible of 1611 contains 16:9-20 without that footnote because the translators of this version used the Textus Receptus, the text handed down through the church age.  Since 1611, however, older manuscripts have been discovered, notably in 1844 when the archaeologist Constantin von Tischendorf discovered ancient manuscripts at the Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mt. Sinai. These documents did not include 16:9-20. The conclusion was that these verses were added later.  This may disturb some and you may wonder perhaps whether there has not been more tampering with the Bible. We can put your fears to rest. When these more ancient documents were discovered by von Tischendorf in 1844, followed by the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1946 onwards, it was found that there were some discrepancies with the Textus Receptus, but these were not of a major nature. No major or even minor doctrine was affected by the differences.  But what can we say about what is taught in 16:9-20?  Apart from 16:17,18 there is nothing unusual or controversial here. It is entirely in harmony with the other gospels. So then, we are free to focus on the great theme of this chapter, namely the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this chapter we see two repeated thoughts concerning the resurrection.

The first is, “They did not believe”.

The second is, “He appeared“.

These two phrases dominate the content of Mark Chapter 16, and I want to use them to show us despite our unbelief how great the grace of God is to us.   

1. The Ever - present Problem of Unbelief  

Think about this.  Nobody lived physically closer to Jesus than these people here mentioned in our text.  They were privileged to see His real miracles and the evidence of His sinless life with their own eyes. They were privileged to hear His convicting preaching. They heard Him say on numerous occasions that He would be killed, buried and raised again. The sobering reality is that none   of Christ’s close associates really believed Him when He said that He would rise from the dead!  Whilst we take note of the recurring unbelief of all concerned, we must not read ‘unbelief’ here as something of a final fact.  These people all had loved Jesus deeply in life. And they were truly grieving and missing Him now. They mourned and wept after He had died (16:10). Let’s consider them....  

The women: Mary Magdalene  (Jesus had cast out 7 demons from her 16:9), Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, after the Sabbath was past, and early on Sunday morning they went to the tomb to anoint the dead body of Jesus. That is actually a sign of unbelief. If Jesus (being who He said He was) said that He would rise from the dead on the third day, then there was actually no need to buy and apply these funeral spices. All they needed to do was to wait for the resurrection! But they clearly did not expect the resurrection. So, when they came to the tomb the next day (the first day of the week) they saw that the tomb stone had been rolled away, but still they made no connection. John records that Mary Magdalene had run back to tell Peter about this. She reported (note the language of unbelief) … “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” (Jn. 20:2,13). No thought of the resurrection here! Even when Jesus appeared to her, she thought that He was the gardener (Jn. 20:15). She genuinely thought that he might have carried the body of Jesus away. Only when Jesus addressed her by her name, “Mary”, did she recognize Him.   This is the power of unbelief! There are none as blind as those who will not see!  A closed mind chooses to see what it wants to see and hear.  This is the truth about us.  However, as I have reminded you, in this case this is not cynical unbelief- and yet we shall see that it is still sinful unbelief. 

The disciples:  The angel at the tomb confirms the fact of the resurrection to the women: “Do not be alarmed, you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here … but go and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he has told you” (16:6,7). When the women told the grief-stricken disciples, they too would not believe her. Even though they have heard the Lord Jesus speaking to them plainly about His resurrection they did not hear Him!  Observe the power of the closed mind, the stuck mind, the power of unbelief! We all engage in selective hearing. We all choose to hear what we want to hear! Jesus repeatedly challenges us to consider carefully how we hear, e.g. Mk 4:9,23,24; 8:18  

The two walking in the country (16:12) were according to Luke 24:13-35 talking about these things on the road to Emmaus. It is clear that they were depressed at this thought,  that Jesus had been crucified and buried in a grave. They had no expectation of His resurrection. The language of the text reveals this.  Now again, this has nothing to do with cynical unbelief. In their minds they were simply not able to bring themselves to believe that Jesus would come back from the dead, even though He had proven that He had the power over death in the raising of Lazarus in John 11. Later He opened their eyes to recognize Him (Lk.24:31).  For the first time we are helped to see the remedy for unbelief,… they were helped to see! 

The 11 disciples: In 16:14 we find   the 11 disciples in Galilee, when Jesus suddenly joins them. We read, “...and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.”  This is an important insight. Jesus categorizes this unbelief as a sinful hardness of heart! 

What about you? Now, you may say, “I believe in the resurrection of Jesus with all my heart“.  We modern New Testament believers, having been exposed to the Easter story for so many years find it easier to believe in the resurrection than the women and the disciples, because we have become so used to hear this familiar story!  

So, let’s see whether we cannot find nother avenue to test our own tendency to unbelief.

If you believe in the resurrection of Christ and do not question this because the resurrection is now an established, historical fact, then do you also believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus?  To get personal: are you living in the constant anticipation of His appearing, whether by your death or by His personal appearing in the clouds? And does it make a difference to the way in which you live now and make decisions now? Do you get the point?  

2.   He appeared ....  

Following His resurrection, we read that He appeared. 

Why did He appear?   This was a sheer act of grace. He appeared to deal with their unbelief! He appeared - this phrase is repeated 3 times in 16:9-20

(i) 16:9 “he appeared first to Mary Magdalene”

(ii) 16:12 “he appeared in another form to two of them”

(iii) 16:14 “Afterward He appeared to the Eleven themselves...”.

These were not the only instances of Christ’s appearance following the resurrection. 

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 the apostle Paul speaks of many more resurrection appearances, “…he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”  Paul wrote these words about 20 years after the resurrection. Many of those who met the risen Jesus Christ were still alive at that time. From Paul’s perspective the evidence for the resurrection is utterly overwhelming!  And the resurrection appearances were not that of a ghost. This was a physical Christ!  He spoke to Mary. He spoke to the men on the Emmaus road. He had a meal with his 11 disciples.   The apostles ate fish that Christ had caught and prepared at the seaside. Ghosts don’t do breakfast for their friends!  

He appeared says Mark three times.

He appeared, says Paul 4 times in the letter to the Corinthians just quoted. 

Peter says the same thing in Acts 10:39-41 in the home of a Roman soldier: “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead...” This is what we also affirm today on this Resurrection Sunday. He appeared! And He will appear again at the second coming.    

When He appeared He came to deliver His beloved people from the power of unbelief by His resurrection appearances. This is Grace!  Truly God is patient with His people. 

We have to settle the fact that we are hard work! 

Even plain speech and plain logic is easily  lost on us.

It is hard for us to grasp spiritual truth.

The Bible teaches us to incorporate far bigger thinking into our ordinary thoughts. We must get over the fact that the supernatural is not irrational! Yes, we do not understand how a man can die and live again, but are we saying and assuming that we can know everything? Surely our own experience tells us that we don’t know everything!   There is the planet Mars, and we have a rover there, but the truth is that we know very little about Mars. But we know that Mars is there, and we trust that we will see more of it in years to come.  So too, the resurrection of Jesus is a fact. The evidence is there, and Jesus took care to present the evidence in His post resurrection appearances. He knows how weak and unbelieving we are, and so He took care to strengthen our faith by His appearings.   

Don’t be slow to believe all that is written in the Scriptures.   And thank Him that He works even this day to overcome our unbelief with Grace. Thank God for the gift of the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit given to us at Pentecost   

Where does the knowledge of the Resurrection leave us?    

The resurrection leaves us with an evangelistic duty.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (16:15,16).

Go and tell!  Do not be unbelieving, tell people about His life, death and resurrection.

16:20 tells us “...and they went out and preached everywhere.” Soon there were believers everywhere – in Rome, in Corinth, Ephesus …in every major city in Asia minor in the Roman and the Greek world spreading into North Africa and Europe and into the Far East. Many of them experienced persecution and sufferings. Many lost their lives doing this work. They endured it all. Would they have done this if they weren’t convinced that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and had commanded them to go? What else can explain the fact of the growth of the church in the world today?  Do not be unbelieving… Grace has been given to you not only to believe but to be active in the sharing of your faith?  Does your neighbour know about Jesus?  

Thank God for Resurrection Sunday! His resurrection is the guarantee of ours.  

MARK 16 THANK GOD FOR GOOD FRIDAY!

In  Mark 11 we considered the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.  

In Mark 14 we find  Jesus revealed as the Passover Lamb – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29,36). Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to be that Lamb!

In Mark 15 the key thought is this: Jesus is handed over to be killed. And therefore it  becomes  Good Friday for us!  

Let's  see then how this can be so.

Consider the sequence of events as they unfold in Mark 15

1.      15:1-5 The chief priests, the elders and scribes and the whole council hand Jesus over to Pilate. They accuse Him of many things.

2.      15: 6-15 Pilate hands over Jesus over to the crowd who kept on shouting “crucify Him!”  

3.     15:16-20 Jesus is handed over to the soldiers who hurt Him, mock Him, strip Him and eventually crucify Him.  

4.      15: 21- 32 The soldiers hand Jesus over to the cross to die. 

5.     15: 33- 41 On the cross Jesus is handed over to forsakenness and to death.

6.      15: 42-45 From the cross on which Jesus dies He is handed over Joseph of Arimathea. 

7.      15: 46 Joseph of Arimathea hands Jesus over to the grave.

Jesus is handed over. All these points emphasize the forsakenness of Christ. He was handed over to die.  He was handed over to the grave.  At face value this all sounds very depressing.

And who should we blame for his death?  For every death humanity looks for a guilty party.  When a loved one dies on the operating table people want to blame the doctor and nurses.  In a   fatal car crash people blame the other driver. 

Who should we blame for Jesus’ death?  

In the sequence of events, we saw that Jesus had now been handed over into the hands of men,  for them to do what they wanted do with Him. The whole chapter is essentially about people and what they do to Jesus. BUT it is not just about  people. It is also about God...

In this chapter Jesus the Lord, the sovereign King of the Universe, is quiet.  He does not say a word. He lets people  do what they want to do to Him,  although in Matthew’s account of the arrest he makes mention of this:  “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He at once can send  me  more than 12 legions of  angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?  

But it must be so. Therefore   Isaiah prophesies, "Like a lamb He is led to the slaughter".  

• The disciples have all abandoned Him at  this time. 
• The faithful women who had ministered to Jesus stood at a distance and looked on in horror.
• The crowd shouted  at Him.
• The soldiers mock Him and spit on Him. They steal His clothes and they divide them. They crucify Him on the cross –naked and exposed. 
• The by-passers  mock  Him and insult Him,  “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (15:29,30). T
• The chief priests and  the scribes mocked him, “He saved others; he cannot save Himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now  from the cross that we may see and believe".  (15:31) 
• Those who were crucified with  Him  also   reviled Him.  (15:32) 

The only nice man here is Joseph of Arimathea “who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God   that took courage and went to Pilate  and asked for the body of Jesus … and laid him in a tomb that  had been cut out of the rock.”  (15:43-46).

We might  have some sympathy for  Simon of Cyrene who was forced  to carry the cross of Jesus cross.  (15:21)

We  note that one of the thieves crucified with Jesus believed in Jesus in his dying moments. (Lk 23:42)   Mark doesn't say this.

We  have some sympathy for the Roman centurion,  who after Jesus  died,  said, “Truly this man was the Son of God !” (15:39) 

Other than this, everything is  very  harsh.

And we ask, "but who is ultimately guilty for handing  Jesus  over to  His death”? 

There is such a long list  of  potential people to blame. Can we find the real culprit and so perhaps get him to bear the blame for sending the Son of God to the cross?

Can we blame PILATE?  Pilate was perhaps one of the most powerful and influential men in Jesus' day in Judea. He was a Roman procurator, the administrator of Judea. He had the political power to stop the killing of Jesus. Moreover, as Scripture makes clear, Pilate was convinced of Jesus' innocence. Three times he declared publicly that he could find no basis of accusation against Jesus. He really wanted to free Jesus, but he also wanted to please the crowd. His conscience was ultimately drowned out by the loud shouts of the crowd. Should we not accuse him?

Should we blame the ROMAN SOLDIERS? They mocked Him, and they ultimately crucified Him.  Can we accuse them? Possibly, but we need to realise that this was their job. They did what they were commanded to do.

What about the JEWISH PEOPLE and their PRIESTS? Here we have quite a strong case.  On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter makes it very clear, that he considered the Jewish people and their rulers guilty of this crime.  Should we not blame them?

But what about JUDAS ISCARIOT? After all, he betrayed Jesus most directly into the hands of the Jewish people and their priests. Isn't he the guilty one - ultimately?

 The Bible has two responses to this  dilemma

1.      Human Responsibility: The fact that so many people can  be blamed should cause us to think very carefully. In fact we shall discover very quickly that the Bible teaches the corporate guilt of  all humanity.  When it comes to putting the blame at someone's feet, the Bible points to all of us, even though it is true that those who actually commit the deed are guilty of a greater sin. Pilate, the Jewish people and their priests, who shouted, "crucify him" clearly have a lot more to answer for. But essentially, we would all be guilty for crucifying Jesus.  For if we were there,  we would have joined the crowd. Horatio Bonar (1808-1889) a Scottish pastor and theologian wrote an excellent hymn that expresses  that corporate guilt:

 ‘Twas I that shed the sacred blood, I nailed Him to the tree; I crucified the Son of God, I joined the mockery.

 Of all that shouting multitude, I feel that I am one; And in that din of voices rude, I recognise my own.

 Around the cross the throng I see,  mocking the sufferer’s groan ; Yet still my voice it seems to be, as if I mocked alone.

It is deeply entrenched in our sinful human nature to deny our personal guilt  and to point fingers at someone else, but the Bible says that ultimately the whole world is responsible for Jesus’ death. 

He died because we all  put Him there!

But there is  yet another reason  as to why Jesus  was handed over:

2.      Divine Sovereignty:   Jesus died because it was His Father’s will. Jesus died to fulfil the Scriptures (14:49). Jesus died  because the Father’s love took Him there. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall  not perish but have eternal life." (Jn. 3:16) – see also  Romans 8:32.  And so we must conclude that ultimately  God the Father handed over His Son, and His motive was love – love for His sheep – His people!    

So, we need to look at the cross in two ways

1.      On a  human level  all of us are responsible for  Jesus’ death. Our sin took Him there.

2.       On a divine level  God the Father gave Him up to die for us.

Acts 2:23  is  a key verse in this respect. Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost:

” … this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”  

Here you find both, human responsibility and divine sovereignty as reasons as to why Jesus  was handed over. But the last reason- the love of God for sinners  such as us  is the profoundest one!

That is why we speak of the day on which  Jesus  died as Good Friday!

Why good? Because something very good happened there. Christ died to deal with my and your sin. He did that in two ways:

1.Christ  dealt decisively with our sin by freeing us from its power (expiation) -  there is now no more condemnation  for them that are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1) 

2.Christ  dealt with the righteous anger of God towards us (propitiation). 

Thank God for Good Friday !

 

 

Mark 11:1-11 THE HOUR HAS COME – THANK GOD FOR PALM SUNDAY !

 

I remind you that the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus occupies a major part of the gospels - at least 1/3 of Mark’s Gospel and ½ of John’s Gospel. These cover the last seven days of Jesus’ life. This is the time   on which we now wish to focus in the next 7 days.

Today is Palm Sunday - the   day on which we remember that Jesus had entered Jerusalem   for the last time (Matt 21: 1-11) before He died on the cross. “The hour had come!” (Jn.17:1). The hour had come and His death would accomplish the salvation of an innumerable   multitude from every nation and from all tribes and peoples and languages. 

Paul reminds the Galatian Christians,

“but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who  were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons…” (Gal. 4:4,5). We learn that God has a perfect time table … the hour had come … the fullness of time had come … .

There was nothing arbitrary about Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem.  He was sent by the Father.  Matthew 16:21 (cf. Mk 10:33,34) records  His determination: 

“From that time  Jesus  began to show his disciples that he MUST go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” .  He MUST go.  He WILL go  up to Jerusalem – to die.     

Ten years ago, to be precise, on  the  24^th March 2015,  a terrible tragedy unfolded as Andreas Lubitz, a  28 year old co-pilot of  a German  airline,  en route  from Düsseldorf in Germany to Barcelona in Spain,  deliberately   caused  an  Airbus  320,  with 144 passengers on board,   to crash  into the French Alps.  A German magazine, “Der Spiegel” (27/03/2015) reported that he had been suffering from depression. The investigators found torn up sick leave notes from the doctor in his home. He never informed his employer of his condition.  On that  fateful day   he  must have decided ‘that his hour had come to die’, and so,  after the pilot  had left  the cockpit, he locked the  cockpit and  sent the plane  into  descent  and its passengers   into death.

Jesus, deliberately heading to Jerusalem knew that His hour had come, but  unlike  Andreas Lubitz  He had the very opposite in mind.   By heading into  His death He  would  not destroy, but   save   so  very, very many lives,  so many that   Revelation  7:9   can  speak  of  a great   multitude  that no one could count, standing before the throne of the Lamb in heaven  in  thankful,  adoring worship. They worship  Him   for the fact that   by His death He  had  saved  them all  from  the wrath of God  which was awaiting them,   were it not for Him who rescues us from the coming wrath (1 Thess. 1:10). 

Truly, it was the death of our death in the death of Christ.  (John Owen)

Today, on Palm Sunday we remember at least  4  purposes   why Jesus came into Jerusalem.

1.           When Jesus rode into Jerusalem He had come to die!  “When they drew near to Jerusalem…” (11:1). Jesus, on  at least three  occasions preceding  our text in Mark 11 (8:31-32; 9:31; 10:32-34) had told His disciples that this would happen. Now, getting back to my earlier story, it appears that   Andreas Lubitz did apparently mention to his ex-girlfriend, “one day everybody will know my name”. I can assure you that hardly anyone is remembering him fondly, or praising  him today  for what He did in sending so many people  to their death.  By  way  of contrast we remember  Jesus, riding into Jerusalem, into His death  to save us from that dreadful lake of fire!  Those already in  in heaven, and  those  here on earth are so thankful for His work  on the cross on our behalf,  knowing that we all have have escaped the second death , the lake of fire spoken of in Revelation  20:14. 

2.           Jesus had to die, for He needed to fulfil the Scriptures. Mark doesn’t say this, but Matthew’s account in Matt.  21:4,5 quotes  the   prophecy  of Zechariah 9:9   in support: 

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’”.  

Jesus was showing that He was indeed the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. He came to fulfill the prophesies of the OT.   If Jesus had not come,  the mystery of  this king riding on a donkey, or the mystery of the identity of the   suffering servant  in Isaiah  53  might  never have been resolved- and indeed to this day they are not resolved for the Jews who refuse to believe in Jesus, the Messiah. But Jesus did come, and He fulfilled all that is written in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms (Lk. 24:44). And so   the  eunuch of Acts 8:26-40 on his return  from Jerusalem to  Ethiopia in Africa,  reading  Isaiah 53, wondering who  Isaiah was talking about, was helped  when Philip,  sent  by the Holy Spirit  helped  him to see  that  this suffering servant   was indeed the Lord Jesus.  The result was that the Ethiopian believed in Jesus and he was baptised. Therefore we can expect to meet him in heaven!  

3.           Jesus had to die to take away the sin of the world.  In 11:9 you will notice the crowd shouting “Hosanna”, which translated means “save we pray!”  Save from what? Matthew 1:21 helps us here. The Lord was named “Jesus” by the angel, for that is what His Name  means  - Yahweh saves! It was said concerning Him that  “He will save  His people from their sins“.  So, here is a major reason why  we celebrate  Easter. Jesus came to die to save  His people  from  their  sins.  John the Baptist said this concerning Him when he saw Him,  “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the  sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).  We need to briefly explain  what is meant by  “Christ  taking away the sin of the world “, for  this is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied  texts in the Bible.  We will consider this in a more detailed way on Good Friday,   when we shall ask the question, For whom did Jesus die?  This cannot mean that all  the people of this world, past, present and future  are  automatically freed  from  the curse  of sin,  and are forgiven for their sins,  just because Christ died.

It is clear that many people in this world do not believe in the Lord Jesus.

It is also clear that many people in the world do believe in the Lord Jesus, having placed their faith in Him, having repented from their sin and having   asked Him for forgiveness from their sin. 

It is clear that there remains a great work to do in the world  to make  the gospel of Jesus  Christ known in the  world. That is why  the  task of evangelism  and missionary service to the world remains  an imperative for the church, because so  many  are not  yet  saved from the coming wrath!  

In what sense then has Jesus come to take away the sin of the world? We need to understand   the “world” in terms of “worldwide” and not   in terms of  “everyone in the world”. We see this explained by Jesus in John 10. There He explains that He is the Good Shepherd, and there He speaks about His sheep hearing His voice (10:3,4). The sheep are those whom the Father had given Him out of the world (Jn.17:6). In Jn.10:11,15  He explains  that here in Judea  there are His chosen sheep  among the  Jews, but there are  also  His chosen sheep in the world among the gentiles (Jn.10:16).  The church is ultimately made up of Jews and gentiles.  The church is ultimately made up from all the nations in the world.   It is in that sense  Jesus lays down His life for His sheep from all over the world.

4.           Supremely, Jesus had to die   to do His Father’s will.  He rides into Jerusalem in the Name of the Lord – His Father (Mk. 11:9; Matt.21:9).  Ultimately Jesus comes, because it is His Father’s will.  His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane leaves us in no doubt about that! “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.”  (Mk 14:36; Matt. 26:39,42,44).

The writer to the Hebrews says  in  Hebr.10:5-10:  

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”  When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

That means that God the Father has willed that Jesus should die to save God’s elect people - loved before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4,5). Today, if you are a born again, saved by  the blood of Jesus, you can praise your heavenly  Father for the active obedience of His Son, riding into His death for your sake- to save you from the Father’s just wrath.

SUMMARY

1.           Jesus came to die

2.           To fulfil the Scriptures

3.           To take away the sin of the world

4.           To do the will of the Father

John 3:16 summarizes the purpose, “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son,  that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The answer  to  the question “Why did God sent His Son into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to die  on Good Friday?”  is now answered : Because  God   loves  His chosen people!  

Thank God for Palm Sunday!

 

Romans 1:21-32 God's Wrath on all Unrighteousness

 

Paul’s letter to the Romans explains to us how the righteousness of God, a righteousness that we lack (because we are constituted sinners), can be received once again   by the mercy and grace of God when we  look by faith to Jesus. When we look to Jesus, our unrighteousness (our sin) is  exchanged for His righteousness (His sinlessness).  This is the gospel  which  deals  with the greatest need of humanity - how we  may escape the wrath of God  (1:18)  and have  peace with God  (5:1)

Last time, in 1:18-20 we saw that God holds mankind accountable  by  the things that are revealed  in in His Creation. This general revelation (1:20) makes God‘s existence and His truth sufficiently plain.  If people reject this revelation then they will incur the wrath of God.  This means that a hypothetical  man in outer Mongolia, in Asia, Australia or Africa, who has never heard of Christ (God’s special revelation) is still accountable  to God. They will of course be judged by the amount of light that they have received. Later in 2:15 we shall see that God has written His law on the hearts of all people. By this law (which begins with God[1]) people who refuse to own the fact that this universe and all that is in it is the work of a personal Creator God will incur His wrath. They will go to that place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Their sin will be that of idolatry – worshipping created things rather than the Creator.  Again, what is idolatry? It is the exchange of the greater for the lesser. It is the exchange of God for the things that God has made. What does God do when man exchanges the glory of the immortal God  for images resembling mortal man  and birds and animals and creeping things (1:23)?  He reveals His wrath (1:18). Please note  that  God’s wrath is being poured out  not simply  against those that have rejected Jesus – for  in that case  the hypothetical  man in outer  Mongolia, who has never heard of Jesus  may have a case. But no! The man in outer Mongolia will discover that he had superstitiously served his carved or created idols or the sun, moon and stars – whatever! He had chosen to worship created things rather than the Great Being who has made all that is visible. That rejection of God alone constitutes sufficient reason for God judging him to be unrighteous.

And now the big question: How does God respond to this ungodliness, unrighteousness, truth suppressing and all forms of idolatry?  The short answer is this: He gives people up (Gk. paradidomi – to give up, to hand over). Paul uses this word three times cf. 1:24,26,28 – not three stages, but  a repetition  of the same handing over. We must consider now how and in what way God hands ungodly, unrighteous, truth suppressing, idolatrous people over. 

1.      1:24 “He gave them up in the lusts (desires) of their hearts to impurity to the dishonouring (Gr. atimias – lit without honour) of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen.”  When God hands people over (who worship creation rather than Him – that is the great lie!) He  says to them in effect “do as you please”.  When God gives people up He removes any restraints upon what people will do with their bodies which were made originally to reflect His glory. When people are handed over to their own desires, they don’t get better. They get worse. They become like street children. Children that are abandoned to the streets do not become better. They get worse and they are hard to rehabilitate.   This is the loss of God in the life of man.

2.      1:26,27 “For this reason God  gave them up to dishonourable passions…”.  We see that the primary way in which that handing over materializes is through deviant sexual behaviour.  When people are handed over their sexuality (which is designed by God)  becomes ‘unnatural‘ (para phusin- lit. ‘besides nature’) and therefore  contrary to  God’s design. This is precisely what we see in our day with its obsession  on  deviant sexuality. Here Paul raises the matter of the unnatural sexuality of homosexuality. “Women and men exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature”.  Paul calls these ‘shameless’ acts. The Bible teaches here that homosexuality is a supreme example of the degrading of the body. As such then we may  conclude that  a society that  endorses  homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle  is a sign  of a culture / society being handed  over / given up by God.  One of the causes  given for the fall of the Roman empire  was  this prevalent decline in  sexual morality in many forms, and especially homosexuality

3.      1:28 “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”  When God gives up a person or a society, the manifestation is a debased mind.  A debased mind  does not only  refuse to acknowledge God, but  at its worst it inverts the truth.  When people begin to call ‘good’ evil and ‘evil’  good, then you must know that God  has handed that society over. The debased mind fundamentally comes from a refusal to acknowledge God. It comes from a refusal to study theology - the doctrines God has set before us so that we might truly live a life that is pleasing to Him. Paul is saying that when God hands the minds of men over, then their lives are filled with an unrighteousness that touches every part of life – and especially sexuality.  

The big point is this:  The whole world is held accountable to God for either accepting or refusing His general Revelation. If that happens He hands societies over and hence the provocative statement of Romans 1:28.  One of the traits of that decay is the inability to see what is happening. The social conscience  becomes so defective that it no longer has  the  ability  to recognize evil for what it really is.

4.      And then in 1:29 – 32 we see what happens in the minds and behaviour of a people handed over. Paul gives us a 21 point catalogue of unrighteousness – 21 ways of  expressing a debased mind.  Where do these evils in 1:29-31 come from? It all begins with a mind that suppresses the truth (1:18) exchanging the truth about God for a lie (1:25).  

·         A debased mind  complicates everything about the plain facts of creation and hides  the magnificence of creation  under the so called  respectable banner  of science  and  particular  its  horrible  stepmother, the theory of evolution.

·         A debased mind substitutes the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals … (1:23,24). It worships the created rather than the Creator.

·         A debased mind endorses perversions of sex (1:27). In  1:29 - 31 we see it  all heaped up, and  again   we find that   God hands  people over to the logic of  their  desires. “So you want to suppress my truth?  You want to move me out of the centre of your life?  Alright! See what happens!” And then it is like getting into a slow sinking swamp. Sin usually does not overtake us quickly, but slowly and gradually.  A little bit of indulgence in evil, a little coveting, a little strife, a little deceit, a little lying here and there… When God gradually withdraws His common  grace  on society  and gives it over to all sorts of evil and perversion,  then that society is already under the judgment of God.  Note –  that society  is  not on the way to judgement – this is the judgement!  Let's read it again – 1:28b-31. With that in mind we must look at what is happening in our society in general!  The more a people suppress the truth of God, the more God gives a people up to their own unrestrained thinking and the more that society will  find the manifestations of  this catalogue  of sins.

 

So what's the point of listing all these sins?  Paul gives this list as checklist to measure the true health of a  society. 

·         And so if South Africa has one of the highest murder rates, it has to do with God.

·         If our business men are greedy, if our politicians are deceitful, it has to do with the God who hands us over. 

·         If gossip, envy, deceit, maliciousness, slander and boastfulness rule in a church, it has to do with God who has handed the church over to such a mind-set. If such a church does not repent, God will remove her lampstand.   

·         If our radio and TV stations   and our newspapers ooze with arrogance and insolence it has to do with God.

·         If our children are disobedient to parents, it has to do with God who has handed our homes over. If we are untrustworthy and don't keep our marriage vows it has to do with God.

·         If we are blind to obvious wrongs and if we are  unloving and unmerciful, it has to do with God. That's the point of this list. Whenever we see a  society  in the grip of these things, remember that  this is as a result of its suppression of the truth. God has handed that society over.  

 WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?

1.      We need to recognise these symptoms as judgements from God.

2.      We need to repent and return to God.

a.      we need  the reversal of God's wrath against our unrighteousness.

b.      we need the reversal of God's handing us over to a depraved mind.

c.       we need the reversal of our mind's moral decay so that it can be renewed for right and proper use in God's service.

3.      The good news is that God in Christ has provided every one of those reversals. You do not have to sink any further into this dark hole if you will now embrace God and his provision.  The key verse for each of these reversals of God's wrath is found in Romans 1:17: In the gospel of Christ, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'  If we live by faith in God’s provision in Christ, God gives us over to truth and righteousness as much as he once gave us over to sin. And then let us not forget Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect". When God has given us his righteousness by faith in Jesus, and when we embrace His truth, then little by little we are transformed in the renewing of our minds and the long list of sins in Romans 1:29-31 gradually dissolves as we grow in the image of God.

This is the gospel.

This is the message that we must take out to our streets, towns, nation and world.

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[1] The very first two first commandments say, “You shall have no other gods before me” and secondly, “you shall not make for yourself a carved image…” (Ex. 20:3,4).