Sermon: John 18:1-11 - Jesus is arrested

John 18:1-11

# Jesus is the I AM, but he is also Jesus of Nazareth.

# What John puts in (I AM; name of slave;drinking the cup) , what John leaves out (healing the ear; Jesus' prayer in the garden; Judas' kiss)

# Jesus in charge – lets them take him, makes them not take the disciples, shows it is his will and not theirs that has brought them success (after their previous failed attempts).

We're looking today at the beginning of the end for Jesus. In the chapters preceding chapter 18, Jesus had laid out some significant information for the disciples, and he has prayed for his people both there with him, and throughout history. Now that this long exposition has been completed, Jesus is ready for the last hours of his life to unfold. Jesus, the man from Nazareth, the Son of God, is ready to fall into the hands of his pursuers.

Have you ever had to pursue someone? I don't mean like chasing after a wayward child, I mean really have to put in considerable and repeated effort to get to a person. If you are a police officer, then likely you can say yes. But perhaps you have had to pursue a member of the government public service – I certainly have. Maybe this sounds familiar to you – you are trying to get something done through the government – apply for something, pay for something, sort out something – and you are given the name of a specific individual. So you call to talk to this person, but they're not available. They're currently out to lunch. So you try again later, but now they're in a meeting. You try the next day, but apparently they've got the day off. You try another day, and you only get through to their voicemail. You leave a message, and they call you back when you're in the shower, and leave you a message asking you to call back. But even if you do so immediately, it seems that person has just stepped out of the office and you can't speak to them. You send emails, but they bounce back. You make more phone calls, but you get the run-around. Eventually, you go in person to the government office, only to be told the person you're looking for is on maternity leave, and you won't be able to speak to them for three months.

The public servant holds all the power. You don't know if they're really at lunch or in a meeting, or just not answering their phone. It can feel like you are being given the run-around. You have no way of checking. You have to wait until they are prepared to talk with you. This is precisely how the enemies of Jesus must have felt back in the day. In the book of John alone, we read over and over again about the times that the teachers, the Pharisees, the temple guards, and sometimes just the crowd sought to capture or kill Jesus while he was teaching. And every time, Jesus would elude them, escape from them, hide from them, or they would just not have the guts to grab him. So what makes this time different? Why is it that they succeed now in apprehending Jesus, when all of these other times they have failed? Is it because Judas betrayed Jesus, and led the soldiers to him with their lanterns and weapons? Have they finally outsmarted him by ambushing him by night, away from the crowds of people that loved him?

Those might seem like sensible options, but this little section of John makes it clear that they are absolutely baseless. Because Jesus, of course, has all the power in this situation, just as he always has. You'll notice that John does not mention the betraying kiss of Judas – instead, Jesus asks them who they are looking for, and when they say it is Jesus of Nazareth they seek, he answers plainly, “I am he.” Judas's betrayal in identifying Jesus is meaningless when Jesus openly admits who he is to his pursuers. Jesus is not hiding. They came at night, so that he would not be in the midst of all the people of Jerusalem, where it would be difficult to abduct him in full sight of the public. But Jesus gives the soldiers orders about who they are to arrest, and who they are to set free – and they obey him. Even after Peter cuts the ear off the high priest's servant, they do not arrest him! Because Jesus is in control of this entire situation. They come to him with weapons, even with a small military force, and with the authority of the high priest and of the Roman emperor, but when Jesus opens his mouth, they all fall to the ground. If there was ever any doubt that Jesus accepted his capture, went with his enemies willingly, it should be struck down by this passage.

Why does Jesus hold this power? The answer to anyone who has been reading John's gospel up to this point should be obvious, but Jesus has made it clear right here to his captors as well. This can be seen in what is possibly the most important section of this whole passage – Jesus' reply to the mob, “I am he.” They have come looking for a man from a backwater town, a popular and controversial teacher, an apparent blasphemer and healer. And that is who they ask for, “Jesus of Nazareth.” And Jesus is that man... but he is so much more. His answer, “I am he,” contains not just an admission of being the man from Nazareth, the adopted son of the carpenter, the preacher and the teacher.

Jesus has proclaimed himself to be many things throughout the book of John, and John has used the words “I am” to draw attention to these statements. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life.” John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.” John 10:7, “I am the gate for the sheep,” and John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd.” John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.” John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 15:1, “I am the true vine.” John 8:58 is the most important, “Before Abraham was, I am!” These words “I am” contain an authoritative statement of Jesus as God.

Why do these words hold so much power, so much authority? Why is it that when Jesus says this in John 8:58, the Jews picked up stones to stone him? Because these words, “I am”, are the same words God uses to name himself to Moses, way back in the book of Exodus, when Moses asks God, “Who shall I say sent me?” This is the name of God – not just a title, such as Lord of Hosts. God is the “I am” - because He Is. That is the defining nature of God – where as all other gods are not, he is. Jesus is claiming, both in John 8:58 and here in John 18, that he is the “I am” - that he is God. And so here we find in chapter 18 this great tension brought to stark relief – Jesus boldly proclaims, “I am he,” in answer to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, but at his words “I am”, the people are thrust to their knees before the God of all creation. This is the God we worship – he is the I am, but he also took the humbling form of a man.

Why did he take this form? Why does Jesus finally allow his enemies to have this victory over him, even when he has the power to force them to bow at his feet? The answer can be found by looking at another time they tried to seize him. In John chapter 7 we read about Jesus teaching at the Feast of Tabernacles, teaching about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and religious leaders. In verse 30, it says this, “At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.” If you read chapter 7 as a whole, you will see they wanted to arrest him, they even sent temple guards out to capture him. The people know that the religious leaders want him dead, and because he is now there speaking publicly in the temple and they are doing nothing, they are asking themselves in verse 25, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?” The authorities obviously did not want people to think that Jesus had their tacit approval! But there was nothing they could do – his time had not yet come. They were not in control, Jesus is in control, both way back in chapter 7, and now here in chapter 18. Jesus was in control when he was not being captured, now he is in control when he is captured.

This can only mean one thing – that the capture of Jesus, the trial of Jesus, the sentencing of Jesus and the punishing death of Jesus are all part of God's plan. In fact, John makes this point even clearer here in chapter 18, where while he does not record the tearful prayer of Jesus to his Father asking that the cup be taken from him, he does give reference to it in Jesus' recorded words to Peter in verse 11, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Jesus accepts that this is his fate, for his death to pay the price of our disobedience and failure. We likely already know this, since we openly accept that Jesus' death was a sacrifice for our sins, freely given. But what does it mean for us? The death itself I'm sure will receive plenty of focus when you come to it. But the willingness of the sacrifice, the preparedness to be captured and placed into the hands of one's enemies, what can we learn from this today?

I daresay we can learn two things. One is that the God we worship is capable of turning the most terrible of situations into a triumph for his will. This is the power of our God – that he can take a bad situation and make it good. God does not take lemons and make lemonade. God takes lemons and makes pure gold. This is the God we worship – a God who has power over what is good and what is bad. No-one can work against him, for he can turn their works to serve him. They can march and arrest his son, they can crucify him and kill him – but God makes this serve his purposes, for the sake of his glory and our salvation. This is an awesome God.

The second thing we should note from Jesus' willingness to fall into the hands of his enemies is that this is a model for our lives we should follow. Paul makes this clear in the book of Colossians chapter 1 verse 24, where he says, “I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.” It is through Christ's body that the world is saved, once for all. It is through our bodies that such salvation is made known to the world. You have heard the stories of those who travel to faraway lands, who cross cultural borders, who suffer to take the word of God to those who need to hear it. This is something we are all called to do. Because sharing the word of God with others will result in our suffering.

In Australia, it can result in people laughing at us, or refusing to talk to us, or even verbally attacking us and criticising us. So why would we do it, knowing that this might be the result? Because Jesus did it, and look at the result he accomplished! By God's grace and power, we can be his instruments in letting people hear the message of salvation. We don't need to worry about people's reactions either, no matter how negative. God can take even the most negative reaction to the gospel, and turn it into gold for him.

Let me give you just a tiny, tiny example, to show you how achievable this is for us. As you may know, I run a weekly gaming club out of the St Ives Community Church building, where we invite people we have never met to come and play various games with us, for fun. We use this to build friendships with the people there, so that through our lives and our words we can share the gospel with them. These people are just ordinary Australians – they come from different places here and overseas, they live, work, study or whatever. They drink, they smoke, they swear. The vast majority of them are atheists, and some of them quite militantly so. Although they don't make fun of you for being Christian to your face, usually, you have to put up with the constant jibes on Facebook, or in conversation, about religious people being dumb, about Christianity being baseless or outdated, about science being our saviour.

But I also get to discuss deep questions about philosophy, morality, spirituality with them, and show them that as a Christian I have logical and reasonable answers to their questions. I get to invite them to church – and some accept, even though most don't. I was able to put a copy of Luke into the hands of a death metal enthusiast, and he read it. All for the small price of facing some insults, putting up with bad language and making friends. Just as a side point, I don't even count organising all the games as a cost, because I would have done that anyway. I just decided to turn what I was already doing into an opportunity to share the gospel in a culturally appropriate way. Maybe you can think about the things you already do, and how you could do them in such a way that would allow you to share the good news to those around you.

When Jesus speaks the words, “I am,” people fall at his feet. But they must hear him make this claim. Because the time has not yet come where all must bow. When that time comes, for many it will be too late. But for now, Jesus is still calling to the lost to freely take him as their Lord. We have to make sure that we are acting in accordance with his plan, and we have to understand that yes, this will include suffering. And in this, we are blessed, because not only does it mean that we find ourselves following in the footsteps of Jesus, who was willing and prepared to make a sacrifice for the sake of others, but we will be blessed by seeing God take the negative situations we find ourselves in, and turn them into gold to serve his glory. In my mind there is little more miraculous than when God changes the hearts of those who are stubborn towards him.

Let's pray.

Sermon: Exodus 1-2

Exodus 1-2 (1:15-2:10): Standing Out

By Ben Carpentier

We are starting our series looking at the book of Exodus today, and likely focusing at least to begin with on the life of Moses – main character you may recall portrayed in the Disney movie “The Prince of Egypt”. Today, we get a bit of a peek into the kind of situation that Moses found himself born into – a member of God's people, living under an oppressive rule in a foreign land, where they were treated as enemies – and we can see how they acted in this hostile situation. Because it is not unheard of for us as Christians to find ourselves in a hostile situation.

Standing Out (Exodus 1:12 “The Egyptians came to dread the Israelites”)

It's uncomfortable to stand out as being different, and there is likely to be pressure to either push you out, or to change you so that you fit in better. I don't know about you, but I find that whenever I go somewhere, I try to blend in as best I can. For example, when I'm in the city I don't make eye contact, I dress how I like, I shake hands up close, and I speak quickly and to the point. But when I'm in the country, I speak more slowly, I take my time, I dress a little more conservatively, shake hands from far away (plenty of room in the country), and I take on more of a Aussie twang and drawl.

This discomfort and unease can happen on a small scale, like at a party, or it can happen on a large scale, like in a whole country. It was only last year that Muammar Gaddafi turned his warplanes on his own people in Libya, bombing civilian protesters in the capital city of Tripoli because he feared that they were going to rise up in rebellion against him.

Perhaps we should not be surprised when three and a half thousand years ago a political leader in Egypt, the Pharaoh, felt his nation was under threat, and so decided to do something about it. We are told here in the book of Exodus that he feared the Hebrew people. He feared they would grow in strength, and might join his enemies. So before they rebelled against him, he made sure to punish them. He oppressed them and put them into slavery. He worked them ruthlessly, but they continued to grow.

God's people, the Hebrews, were living in enemy territory. They didn't do anything offensive to make themselves enemies – they were simply different. They worshipped a different God and did it differently to the Egyptians, and the Egyptian Pharaoh felt they could not be relied upon to be loyal. Just their presence made the Pharaoh, and likely a good number of the Egyptians, uncomfortable. So Pharaoh gave orders that their baby boys were to be killed. It was a flexing of political power and dominance, a pre-emptive strike on the potential rebel forces of tomorrow, and an attempt at racial assimilation – as the boys were killed, a generation of girls would then be forced to marry Egyptian men. In other words, it was an awful, bloody way of seeking not to drive them away, but to change who they were, make them Egyptian, or at the least make them weak.

While there is not currently anyone calling for the slaughter of our children here in Australia, there are people who find what Christians believe to be unpalatable, or uncomfortable, and so seek to either push Christian thinking out of intelligent conversation, or to try and change what we think to make it more comfortable and acceptable. On the one hand there are people like Richard Dawkins, who says things like, “If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” He thinks teaching kids about God is ignorance tantamount to child abuse, and is hence trying to make sure Christians don't get a say in society's future. On the other hand, you have people like Cardinal George Pell, who apparently feels that the idea of unbelievers going to hell, while biblical, is not a comfortable truth, and so when asked the question “Do unbelievers go to hell?” on national television, his answer was, “No, no, no.” One trying to shut Christianity out, the other trying to change it to fit in.

This can happen on a personal level – you might already know friends, workmates, even family members that attempt to do this with you when you talk about what you heard at church on Sunday. It can also happen with people who we are not on equal footing with – your boss, a university lecturer, our politicians and lawmakers – people who can tell us what to do. The world is not always a nice place to live when you're standing up for your faith. It is inevitable that you are going to be expected to do things, to act in some ways, that are contrary to what you believe. It might be pressure put on you by friends or colleagues, or it might be a demand made by someone in authority over you. But it happens to all of God's people, because we live differently.

Standing Up (Exodus 1:17 “The midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt told them to do”)

It happened to the midwives of the Hebrews in Egypt. The Pharaoh came to them and told them to kill the newborn sons of their own people. It's a sneaky and sinister plan. It's likely that there were many children who did not survive the birth process, and so the midwives might even be able to make it look like an accident, or a stillbirth. We're not told if Pharaoh bribed the midwives, or threatened them, or just simply expected they would obey his authority. But whatever he did, it didn't work – the midwives simply did not do as they were told.

When they were asked why by Pharaoh, they made up an excuse about Hebrew women being vigorous childbearers. I call it an excuse, even if Hebrew women really were vigorous (we don't know), because we're told that the reason the midwives did not follow Pharaoh's order is, in verse 17, “They feared God.” Those midwives disobeyed the orders of a ruler who is prepared to kill babies - and so probably had no qualms about killing midwives - because their first allegiance was to God, and they knew what they were expected to do was not acceptable to God.

It's an old word, but the best way to describe what these midwives did is 'righteous' – that is, they did the right thing by God. Our society's morals are still fairly loosely based on a Christian ethic, so most of the time when we do the right thing, it is also seen as a good thing by those people around us. But there have been in the past, and are still today, cultures that do not value human life, or the life of a child, as highly as we do. Some people and places would say that these midwives did a bad thing – they disobeyed an authority figure put over them, they covered up the truth. They did not appease the god-king Pharaoh, they put Egypt's future prosperity and security at risk.

What was God's reaction to the midwives in verse 20? “God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.” God blesses them for their righteous actions – he gives them his stamp of approval.

Am I saying that their covering up the truth, or their disobedience to authority, is a pattern for us to follow? Perhaps I will surprise you when I say, “Yes.” What I'm saying is that God recognises when people make a decision to do what is right because they want to serve him, rather than because they want to fit in, or because they think it's a good thing to do.

So ask yourself the question: what are you expected to do in your life that makes you conform with how society wants you to live, instead of how God wants you to live? Are you inclined to have a few too many drinks because everyone else around you is too? Do you focus on financial success and comfort because that's what our society focuses on? You may not be asked to kill children, but there are plenty of people out there willing to tell you how to live your life apart from God.

Outstanding (Exodus 1:21 “because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own”)

Some will even try and force you to do things that you think are ungodly. In a recent survey on marriage equality held by Australian Parliament House, 13% of respondents said they believe ministers of religion, like Bruce, should be forced to marry same sex couples. If legislation was passed to force Bruce to marry people he did not believe should be allowed to be married in a church under God, should he follow the law, or follow God? I've asked him this question, and his response was as you would expect.

Some people might argue that it doesn't matter what we do, or refuse to do, because someone else will just do it instead. Look at Pharaoh – he had been foiled by the midwives, but that didn't stop him. He simply ordered that all male children of the Hebrew race were to be thrown into the Nile river. Young boys really were being killed, who knows how many. It happened for at least three months – it could have been much longer.

Yes, other people will do these terrible things. But that does not make them acceptable or appropriate for God's people to participate in. We don't do the right thing simply because it is good to do, or popular, or accepted. We do it because God wants it done that way.

It is into this culture, this situation, that Moses, the main human figure of the book of Exodus, is born: an enemy of the state simply because of his gender, but more importantly, his heritage as a Hebrew. His mother had to do the same thing as the midwives to save her child – she had to keep him hidden, disobey the authorities, and even still eventually has to float him down the river. Then his sister also used a little creative omission to not only encourage Pharaoh's daughter to adopt the baby, but to accept his own mother as the nurse. These sneaky Hebrew women! But again, God blesses their attempts, and Moses is adopted by royalty, raised by the daughter of the Pharaoh.

The whole message of Exodus is about God saving his people from this oppression and slavery, and revealing himself to them as his covenant people, separate from the world. He gives them the Law – not just to guide them in how to live righteous lives for him, but also to separate them from the pagan nations that would surround them.

That message is still the same for us. Our devotion to God should be in such stark contrast to those around us, they can't help but seeing how different our lives are through the decisions we make. This is what should separate us from our neighbours – that we live so holy, so differently from those around us, so untouched by sin and selfishness, that they can't help but acknowledge that we are different. Even if they accuse us of stifling freedom, or being intolerant, or perpetuating old beliefs, or being irrelevant, let's make sure they cannot accuse us of being hypocritical, or half-hearted, and ensure that we are always letting God's will guide our actions, rather than what people think we should do.

Sermon - John 14:15-31

I've got to say, this is one of the harder passages I've had to preach on. Finding a serious and rock-hard application for it, and getting to the bottom of some of the issues (I still don't delve deeply into some!) was a real challenge. Interestingly, when my minister heard I was preaching on this, and I said it was hard, he thought I was joking! So perhaps I'm the only one.

John 14 –

True Indwelling

Part of the Family

God in Trinity

Jesus is the fullness of revelation of the Father – the Spirit is not revelatory, but explanatory

* The world we live in is post-Jesus – sort of

* We have to understand where we fit in the trinity

* We need to accept the responsibility that we actually reflect God, not just reflect Christianity or Christianness

15-21: Those who follow God's commands will receive the Spirit of Truth to live in them – and will realise that Jesus is in the Father, they are in Jesus, and Jesus is in them. Jesus will reveal himself to those people who love him (love = obey commands).

22: Judas's question – why reveal yourself to us, but not the world?

23-24: Jesus repeats 15-21 (love=obey; relatedness of Father, Christ and people; authoritative words from the Father)

25-27: The role of the spirit (explainer, not revealer). Jesus is going, but don't be troubled or afraid.

28-31: Love again is selfless (we want Jesus to go back to the Father). The father is greater (Father is God as commander and sender, Son is God as sent and obedient). He reveals the truth about his going back so when it is seen, it can be believed. Yes, Jesus is about to be crucified, but they should know that this is not a victory for the devil – it is a revelation of Jesus' position as sent and obedient.

We are looking at the latter half of John 14, which puts us partway through Jesus saying farewell to his disciples before he is betrayed, crucified, and buried. There is a lot Jesus wants to tell his closest followers, things he wants them to know, things he wants them to remember. In many translations, this section has a title like 'Role of the Holy Spirit' or 'Jesus promises the Holy Spirit'. It is true that if you were to look at chapters 14, 15 and 16 together, there are several statements about the Holy Spirit, and putting them all together you could likely have a very informative talk on that subject. But where we are focused here, on this latter half of chapter 14, the mention of the Holy Spirit is subsumed into a bigger theme – the nature of God as a relational God.

What I mean by that is God, by his very nature, is a god who builds relationships. And as we look at this passage, it is my hope that we will be able to deepen our understanding of God. We will start in these verses as observers, looking at the nature of God in relationship with himself. Then, we will see what the different persons of God do in their roles for us in the trinity. Finally, we will see that God's relationship in the trinity is not shut off, but in fact it is open to us to join in relationship with him. With them.

Interestingly, this is very similar to my interactions with my wife's family. I've never really been close to my family. I'm the youngest child, and there are big gaps between us kids – my closest sibling is my brother, who is nine years older than me. So by the time I had left home, my other siblings had long gone their separate ways, my mother was off living her own life of freedom (my father had left years before), and we now only stay in contact via emergencies. We don't do birthdays, we don't do Christmas or Easter, family gatherings or get-togethers of any kind. Years go past without us hearing from each other.

So when I first met my wife, Penny, I observed her family interactions with some interest. She is also the youngest sibling, and her brothers had both left home when we met. But there is only two years separating each of her siblings. They had all gone to the same high school. They get together for Christmas, they meet up and have a meal for each other's birthdays. If Penny's parents are in town, they want to drop in and visit, she has lunch with her brothers from time to time, they have semi-regular phone conversations, and they organise occasional activities together. Her parents aren't divorced, so that is a big difference to my experience, and they even have extended family gatherings occasionally – absolutely unheard of in my family. All this I observed like a bit of an outsider whilst Penny and I were dating.

There are lots of different ways that theologians try and explain the the three in one nature of our God in the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But to describe it at least partly as a family is not a bad way to start. Jesus calls God his Father, and God the Father calls Jesus his Son. In one way, those titles are useful to us, to show us the unfathomable relationship between God and Jesus in a way we can understand, that we can see in our own lives – fathers and sons. But more truthfully, it is the relationship between God and Jesus that informs the relationship between fathers and sons, imperfectly, here on earth. God and Jesus are the original Father and Son.

What does that Father and Son relationship look like between God and Jesus here in John 14? It is mentioned several times in this passage. Firstly we see that God the Father is the provider. Verse 16, Jesus requests from the Father, and the Father gives (this is repeated in verse 26). In verse 20, Jesus tells us he is in the Father, not the other way around. In verse 24, Jesus makes it clear that his words have authority because they belong to the Father. Jesus states plainly in verse 28 that the Father is greater than himself (in position, of course, not godhood – as it has been said, I might say the queen is greater than I am, but it does not make her more human, or me less human. In the same way, the Father is greater than the Son, but that does not make one more god, or one less god). Finally, in verse 31 it is clear that Jesus loves the Father, and does whatever he commands. The Father gives commands, the Son is obedient to them. Where does the Spirit fit into this relationship? Well, the Holy Spirit is only mentioned twice in this passage, and both times in terms of being sent by the Father. We can't extrapolate too much from those small mentions, but it is clear both that the Spirit is sent by the Father, and is requested by the Son.

When I look at Penny's family, I see similar relationships. There is a mother and father, two sons and a daughter. More than those simple family relationships, though – the mother is the communications person keeping people up to date about family matters, the father is a voice of reason, the oldest brother finds the best restaurants, the middle brother is the cook, and so on. What does this picture in John show us, from the ways that the Father, Son and Spirit interact in these verses? God is a god of relationship. He exists in a relationship with himself, a relationship of order and structure.

Each member of the trinity has a role to play, and those roles become all the more visible when we look in these verses at how God relates to us. God the Father is obviously interested in revealing himself to us. He is the authority, the commander and sender. The Father sends Jesus to us. Jesus asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us, rather than Jesus sending him directly. Jesus speaks, but affirms that his words are not just his, but the Father's. God has a message he wishes to share with us, with humanity.

How does he choose to share it? Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 tells us clearly, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” And this is what we see here in John 14. Jesus is the Son, he is sent from God with God's message. He teaches God's commands, and expects those who love God will obey them. Jesus is the revealer. His role, as he makes clear, is to reveal the true nature of God to people, to show God in his own life and teaching, in ways that have not been done before. When I talk about revealing, I mean as in revealing the nature of a mystery. If I perform a magic trick, and then tell you how I did it, then I am revealing the trick's mystery. If I open and close my Bible, I can describe how I do it, but there is not really any mystery I am revealing, because it is obvious.

Jesus gives us commands to reveal God and himself to the world, as we can see in in verse 22, where the other Judas asks the question, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” and his response is, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” Jesus' teaching is one of the ways he shows, or reveals, God. We should remember revelation is not simply through miracles. God's commands and Jesus' teaching reveal God to us.

Even when Jesus speaks of his death, he shows that it is an act done to reveal God, saying that we may “learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me” in verse 31, so that we know that this is not an act merely that Jesus seeks to do, but he is going to his death because God the Father has commanded it. Our salvation by Christ's sacrifice on the cross is a command of God, to which Jesus submits. Those people who think that Jesus is loving, and God is a vengeful lightning thrower in the sky, need to read this verse. God commanded Jesus to take away our sin.

The Holy Spirit's role is also revealed by Jesus. The Son is not to remain on earth forever, and his ministry of revealing God's mysteries to us is therefore finite. However, while those revealed truths may not change, the world does change, humanity changes, culture changes, and from generation to generation, there are always going to be questions that need an answer about those revelations. So it is that the Spirit of Truth, as it is named in verse 17, is sent to us, to live in us, and to teach us about and remind us of the truths Jesus has revealed, as we learn in verse 26. The Holy Spirit is not primarily a revealer of truth, as Jesus is. Revelations such as those Jesus made really only need to be made once – we do not seek to crucify Christ every time we wish to explain God's love for us. But we do need to be reminded, we do need to have spiritual truth explained. This is the role of the Holy Spirit.

In outlining all of these roles, we can begin to capture an appreciation for the lengths to which God has gone to reach out to us. God the Father has given a command, and sent his Son. The Son has come to reveal God's mysteries to us, in obedience to the Father. The Son has then petitioned the Father to give to us the Holy Spirit, who explains those revelations to us, and reminds us of them.

This all makes a fantastic theology lesson, as we consider the roles and interactions of the three members of the godhead, and no doubt Jesus wished to reveal an element of this mystery to us in John 14. But the real question we should be asking, the real point Jesus is making in all this, is why God seeks to reveal this message to us at all!

Turning to Jesus' words, the answer cannot be clearer – if we love God, and obey his commands as set out to us by Jesus, we are welcomed into a close, personal relationship with God. In verse 17, the Holy Spirit will live in us, in verse 20 Jesus says, “You will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. Anyone who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” He repeats it in verse 23 in response to other Judas's question, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

The truth of these statements can sometimes pass us by. The Holy Spirit resides within us, reminding us and teaching us of the mysteries of God. Jesus, the obedient Son of God, and divine revealer of God's mysteries, who is in the Father, is also in us, and we are also in him – a profound mystery that could in fact stand more explaining. What's more, Jesus says that the Father himself will come to us and make a home with us! The creator, sustainer, commander of the whole universe, the Lord almighty, would come to live with us! That is how closely accepted into God's family we become – we live with the triune God: every part of the trinity lives with us.

When Penny and I got married, I was accepted as more than just an observer of the family relationships – I was brought into the family, became one of the family. It took time, but over the years I too have come to play a role in the celebrations, and to be included in the little rituals that take place from year to year. God holds open to us a similar invitation. Not to become a god like him – but to join with him in his family. As the author Robert Webber writes in his book, The Divine Embrace, the trinity is like a big, warm embrace, a group hug between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit – but it is not closed off from others joining in the embrace. Through a love of God shown by obeying his commands, we can not just come to understand God better, but become wrapped up in the relationship he has with himself, and expands to include us.

That is the mystery of Christ in God, God in us, and us in God – we become included in not just any relationship with God, but the same kind of relationship shared within the trinity. As Paul tells us in Romans, we all become adopted as sons, heirs, inheritors. If we think of the divine godhead not as a misty being somewhere up there, separate from us, doing things at us or toward us, but instead think of God in three persons who are all intimately relating to us, seeking relationship with us, open to taking us into them, just as they are willing to abide in us, then we will surely be driven to consider how we live our lives in two important ways, and both are to do with love.

The first is how we are obeying God, and thus fitting into this embrace. Jesus makes it clear that it is those who obey his commands that are accepted. Well, that might be how we first read it. But in fact, what Jesus says is that anyone who loves him will obey his commands. The relationship is not one of simple obedience like a dog to a master. It is loving obedience, far more like that between a husband and wife, or a son and father. We do what God wishes because it is right, but also because we love him, and we want to serve him willingly. Obedience is something with which we will always struggle – but Jesus has taken care of that for us. If we are struggling to live our lives as we ought, we should not feel as though we are going to be kicked out of God's family. We should go back to the source of our desire for obedience – our love for God - and remember that our obedience will flow out of our understanding of who God is, and in response to our love for what he has done for us.

If you are struggling with sin, if you find that you feel like you are distant from God because of things in your life that are holding you back, turn your eyes to the cross, and realise that your sin has been done away with, and that because of Jesus, there is nothing keeping you from God, from being embraced by the trinity, from having the Holy Spirit and Christ and God dwell within you. And be thankful. From that thanks springs the well of love that will guide you to obedience.

The second consideration, perhaps most important, when we are considering the open nature of the divine embrace, is to realise that if it is open to us, it is open to others, and we should want them to join in too. Once again, I think it is important for us to realise that love is the key – simple obedience is not enough. For a long time, many in the church have been focused on changing people's actions – saving them from their own lives, as it were – rather than saving them from their separation from God. In a way, there is a lot of good that can come from this – helping someone to stop smoking, or limit their drinking, or to stop beating their spouse, to overcome drug addiction, or to properly manage their money, is a way of showing a real, genuine love for that person. Their actions are doing them damage, and because we love them, we seek to minimise the harm they do to themselves. But sometimes we focus so much on the negative behaviour that we forget it is not the root of the problem, only a symptom.

When we start attacking people's lifestyles because they are ungodly, it stops being about helping them to love God, and starts being about forcing them to obey his commands, like we might seek to train a dog. But Jesus says that love comes first, “If you love me, you will obey my commands.” The church has some sins it likes to turn into punching bags. One that continues to make headlines today is homosexuality, because many homosexuals in our society today are pushing for marriage equality. I will make it clear that the Bible tells us that homosexuality is a sin – it is disobedience to God. But forcing someone into following God's commands does not make them more godly. It does not bring them into the divine embrace. It does not make them more willing to listen to you about God's love for them, and does not open their heart to God in return.

What does open their hearts to God? The gospel of Christ crucified, an acceptance of salvation, an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God does not wait for someone to become perfect before he lives within them! Instead, he makes them perfect by atoning for their sin, and transforming them by the power of his Spirit. We can introduce people to God, because we are already in the divine embrace, the group hug of the trinity, the family of God. Let them observe us and see how God works, let's include them so they can see how God responds to them, and let's accept them to show that God is in fact inviting them to join with him, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and us, in loving relationship.

Let's pray.

Mark 16

vs 1

Having not thought, obviously, that there was a big rock in the way. I suppose grief does that to people. Still, it does seem just a little strange.

vs 2

I suppose you would want to do it early, before the crowds (on the street, not at the tomb).

vs 3

They do ask the question, but not until they're almost there. This is what gets me. Perhaps moving the stone is not as difficult as one thinks - maybe they just thought they'd bring some men, and forgot.

vs 4

Someone had beat them to it?

vs 5

After all, he could have been a ghost, or a really well-dressed graverobber.

vs 6

That's not fantastically comforting, either. Did someone steal the body?

vs 7

Without this message, it could have been an invasion of body snatchers. But the angel is telling them Jesus is alive, and is going to see them and talk to them. A huge claim.

vs 8

This is a crazy ending to this book. It ends with the women not telling anyone - which of course, they must have eventually, or else how was the book written? Or was it written by one of the women? Nah, that's silly talk. Perhaps Jesus told them later? Could be. Still, the book just seems to go nowhere with this ending. Apparently books did this back in the day. But someone decided to stick on a few extra verses at some point in time.

vs 9

So after the women ran away, he appeared to one of them first? That is just extraordinary. Not Peter, not John... Mary Magdelene.

vs 10

So they didn't tell anyone about the empty grave... but then when he appears, it's time to spill.

vs 11

Unsurprisingly.

vs 12

A precis of the road to Emmaus, I assume.

vs 13

And again, more disbelief. You would think people would at least start to ask questions now.

vs 14

My oath. I mean, sure, I wouldn't have believed them either, but hey!

vs 15

Again, a pretty good summary of what he said in Matthew.

vs 16

Ouch. The condemnation bit is newly added, I think (from the Matthew type bit I mean). It's a fairly succinct and clear reminder, though, of what we're all playing for.

vs 17

Interesting that signs become part of the equation too.

vs 18

Is this the only bit that speaks of the snake thing? I wonder. Looks to me like it is. Hardly worth starting a snake handling cult over really. But it raises the question that if Jesus said this, why did he say it, and if he didn't, why add it in? Very strange indeed.

vs 19

Ascension summary, nothing wrong with adding that in. It's in the creed, I believe, so why not? Makes for a well rounded out gospel.

vs 20

See, that seems a far more well rounded and befitting end to this gospel. It might not be kosher, but at least it gives closure. Verse 8 is scarily abrupt in comparison. Apart from verse 18, I don't really have any problems with it - it's all attested to elsewhere.

Mark 15

vs 41

Jesus did not just have his twelve. He had a whole posse of girls with him too. And they were the ones standing there watching him die. You know why? Probably because no-one cared what women were doing.

vs 42

This verse gives us a reason, then, for what happens next. Something to do with the next day being Sabbath.

vs 43

Why did he do this? I've no idea exactly. Perhaps, since he'd died already, if he was left to hang there for the whole Sabbath too, he'd make a mess.

vs 44

He should be surprised - he was only on the cross a few hours. Centurions know everything. And if they don't, they just whack a soldier in the helm and find out.

vs 45

After all, none of this pretending to be dead early so that your friends can come and save you.

vs 46

As you would do with a corpse. Of someone that had died. And who you were not expecting to return.

vs 47

Which is good, because otherwise they wouldn't have known where to go later in the story.

Mark 15

vs 31

There is a little more mockery, this time about Jesus talk of saving people. Truly ironic.

vs 32

Yes, mock the messiah. That is such a good idea. That will be a good long-term career plan.

vs 33

Whether it was an eclipse (very long eclipse, three hours) or some other supernatural phenomenon, it is definitely not a good sign.

vs 34

And which the author feels no need to mention, but is quite useful for those of us who do not have the Bible memorised, Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1. That means there is more to this cry than just Jesus being forsaken by God. In fact, the psalm as a whole makes it clear that God has not forsaken Christ - although the first line being quoted is obviously to draw attention to the fact that, for the moment, there is a disconnection.

vs 35

Apparently those standing didn't know either their Bible, or Aramaic. Or he said it so hoarsely and badly that they couldn't understand.

vs 36

I'm going with gaspingly hoarse, since they offer him a drink. After that, they let him be.

vs 37

And then Jesus dies, in a powerfully short verse. One of the good ones by the monks.

vs 38

This is so out of left field. One could perhaps try and state that this is a metaphorical statement, that didn't really happen. But that doesn't fit with how everything else has been stated. I think the curtain really did tear.

vs 39

So to a Roman centurion, apparently dying on a cross and crying out makes you the Son of God? No, but the darkness, the agony and words of the cry, the quickness of the death, and perhaps even the sudden kerfuffle at the temple of people saying, "WTF curtain?" would all lend itself to being quite an impressive situation.

vs 40

We move on now to look at some other spectators. Some women were apparently watching from a distance. Many men whose names you might think of don't get mentioned. We know at least John was there at some point in time. Was Peter watching from the shadows?

Mark 15

vs 16

Because he was about to give a speech, perhaps?

vs 17

No, apparently to torture him. Soldiers were official torturers, it seems - one imagines you had to be probably a little bloodthirsty to take the job back then. If only it were different now - soldiering does funny things to people, even in the most advanced and disciplined armies in the world.

vs 18

For them of course, it was less a religious thing, and more an opportunity for them to assert Roman dominance over what could be seen as a political activist against Rome. Which Jesus never was. Oops. Still, what someone is and what you can make them out to be are two different things, and only the latter really is important for propaganda.

vs 19

It's some serious mockery, and one assumes it was done publicly enough for everyone to see that the 'king of the Jews' was a joke, crushed under the Roman military sandal.

vs 20

Then they led him out to crucify him. See, I think Pilate would have been happy with the mockery and the beating. Those, nasty as they seem to us today, were just a fact of life back then. Sure, you might not have always been guilty, but a quick institutional beating might make everyone happy, and you get to go home. But Jesus doesn't get to go home.

vs 21

And he becomes forever remembered.

vs 22

There are arguments about where this is. There is an awesome cave in Jerusalem somewhere that really does look like a skull (Google it), but it could be somewhere else.

vs 23

This is one of those verses that does not directly correlate with other verses - my understanding is, though, that this is an offering of a painkiller, so that the nailing etc is not so bad, whereas later offers of wine vinegar are different.

vs 24

We sometimes spend a lot of focus on where nails went, how painful it was, how someone died, because for us it's gruesome. But this was a regular occurrence in the ancient world, and so it passes with this simple message - they crucified him. To think that such a death penalty, not used anywhere in the world any more as far I know, would remain well-known for millennia because of its use here.

vs 25

I have no idea how the time works in the ancient world, it always confuses me. I like this translation - I know when 9am is. The oKJV says "the third hour", which is probably more literal, but meaningless to me.

vs 26

Once again, political points-scoring means the Romans put up a sign saying that this man is being killed because he is King of the Jews. That no doubt caused a little consternation.

vs 27-28

Very interestingly, the TNIV drops 27 and 28, but includes some words from 27 in 26. So that's confusing.

vs 29

Because, of course, it is the right of every person to mock someone who is dying. It's just what you do... I guess. Perhaps they felt betrayed - like they had put some hope in Jesus, and now he obviously was not their messiah.

vs 30

This is the classic argument of all people in all things where they do not understand. They base success on some specific model - for example, to be messiah, you have to be victorious at the head of an army - and so therefore any other thing you do will be failure.

Having said that, being put on a cross does look a lot like failure. But we should remember God likes using failure type things to succeed. It makes him more awesome.

Mark 15

vs 1

They allowed Jesus to be beaten up a little while they were making their decision.

vs 2

"You have said so," is not really an admission. This is quite different to the, "It is as you say," of the NASB. Jesus is not making it easy.

vs 3

You know, while they are there. Blasphemy probably was not going to cut it for a Roman governor. They needed a good reason.

vs 4

Of course, Pilate's day would have been a lot easier if Jesus just said, "What they say is false, I can prove it, let me go now," but the point is, even if he said nothing, there was no proof open to charge him with death. Also, Jesus had been beaten a fair bit, remember.

vs 5

And so Jesus did say nothing, keeping his apparently God-given right to silence.

vs 6

This is how the Romans ingratiate themselves to the local populace, by freeing prisoners who they know are probably only partly guilty anyway.

vs 7

Okay, so not all the prisoners are victims of imperialism. Some of them are murderers.

vs 8

The asking was probably all part of the custom. I have nothing to base this statement on except feeling. Perhaps the people were stirred up this year by the priests to ask, because the priests were pre-empting the crowd. That just doesn't feel right to me.

vs 9

Which seems a fair question, if he is their king, after all.

vs 10

And see, Pilate knew why Jesus was on trial here - or had been on trial and found guilty. Pilate didn't want to be involved in this stuff. He probably also knew that Jesus was pretty popular, and might have been appealing to the crowd who he thought loved him. But crowds are fickle - if Jesus' closest disciples fled from him, the average person on the street who loved him when he was free probably feels utterly disenchanted with him when he is arrested and held by the Roman authorities they hoped to watch him tumble.

vs 11

Of course, release the murderer guy! Free Hat!

vs 12

So if they want to release the murderer, what do they want to do with the guy who healed their sick?

vs 13

Oh, yes, of course, crucify him. Mobs are so logical.

vs 14

And this is what happens when you try and reason with a mob. They just shout louder.

vs 15

The thing about mobs is, though, they cause trouble, especially to occupying Roman governors. Pilate couldn't have a riot, it would make him look bad, and he might have to kill a lot of people. That's never good.

Mark 14

vs 61

Well, if you can't incriminate him with lies, perhaps just asking him to incriminate himself will work?

vs 62

What was he going to do, lie? It's funny - for a short gospel, Mark really doesn't mind putting in a pretty potent and full answer from Jesus here.

vs 63

So dramatic. Not just the high priest per se, but the culture. It's great, really. But here, his cunning ruse worked. He just asked Jesus to condemn himself, and he did.

vs 64

As I have said many times before, there's only one person who, if they say they are God, isn't lying. So how do you play the odds? This guy wasn't agreeing with the priests, and yet was calling himself God. Surely he can't be the messiah. Would even the messiah claim Godhood anyway?

vs 65

And so, with a mix of righteous anger, and just regular anger (because I am sure they really were offended by what they thought was blasphemy, but no doubt they were also just regular angry at what they saw was an enemy to them and how they thought life should work, especially how life should work for religious leaders - ie, remaining in power.

vs 66

Now, really, the camera is panning away from the awful beating to focus somewhere else a moment. It is really quite incredible that Peter's story gets as much time as it does.

vs 67

Now, assuming the servant girl wasn't there on the hilltop with a pitchfork, we can probably guess that she saw Jesus around Jerusalem, and so saw Peter with him.

vs 68

Yeah, when someone is saying, "Hey, you're a friend of that known felon, who they are charging with falsehoods," you're probably not thinking you're going to get a biscuit. Peter is scared, but what is more important, he has forgotten what he said.

vs 69

This woman is a real pain in the ass to Peter.

vs 70

Just like when you meet someone from Katoomba you know they're a bogan, Peter has a rustic Galilean accent, and it gives him away. It's probably a similar accent to Jesus, and that is pretty much enough to get him tarred with the same brush by all the city slickers.

vs 71

Oh, ouch. Peter, you are going to eat those words.

vs 72

Did he break down and cry in front of them, I wonder? Or did he run off somewhere and do it in the dark? Regardless, what an awful thing for him, to realise that Jesus, the Son of God, had not only been betrayed by his closest friends, but had known it was going to happen beforehand, told them it was going to happen, and Peter had denied it - denied that Jesus was right - only to realise, again, that he was right and Peter was wrong, and now he probably feels it's too late to do anything about it. Does he rush in and say, "I'm Jesus!" or does he say, "Whatever you do to Christ, do to me"? No. He remains a pussy. For now, at least.

Mark 14

vs 49

They had their plan - to wait till after Passover. That's what they did, and now they're here. But God also had his plan - the last supper has now taken place, and Jesus is ready for this to all go down.

vs 50

Weak. I mean totally weak. Jesus predicted it, and so it happened. This is the start of a time where the Son of God is alone, and no-one will speak up for him.

vs 51-2

These two verses (which could easily be one verse) always stumps me. Some people say that it was Mark, and he writes this to put himself in the story, to show he was there. Others say it relates to an Old Testament verse, but I can't even remember which one. At the very least, it shows that Jesus' disciples would rather run around naked than stand by him clothed.

vs 53

Basically, all those who had set themselves up as enemies of Jesus. They're obviously the best people to hold him to trial.

vs 54

To us it would seem weird that someone might come and stand by the fire of another person's courtyard, especially someone powerful like a high priest. But times were different then, and cultural mores of hospitality would have prevented even a stranger from being turned away in such a situation. I've got to say, good on Peter for turning up. He ran at first, but at least he's here trying to stick relatively close.

vs 55

D'oh. You'd think someone would have put together a brief beforehand. See, they all knew they hated him, and probably just assumed they'd find something eventually.

vs 56

They couldn't even stitch up a fake charge! Talk about bumbling. Even Ahab could organise getting Naboth bumped off.

vs 57

We assume we get this from Peter mostly, who was close and perhaps could hear this all going on. But it's also possible one of the high priests or teachers of the law later became a Christian, and told this story. Anyway, some guy gets up and says something.

vs 58

This is of course not exactly what Jesus said, but it's not far wrong. He at least heard something.

vs 59

But others then seem to have promptly stood up and made some stupid counterclaim, and the bungling continued.

vs 60

Obviously the right to remain silent is one Jesus was quite fond of. But then, what do you say to stupid, obviously false charges? "That's stupid"?

Mark 14

vs 37

In fairness, while to Jesus this is the last few hours before his betrayal and death, to the disciples, it is the night after the Passover feast, they've had a big meal and an emotional time, and probably only half-believe that anything bad is going to happen. So it's hard not to sleep!

vs 38

Ahhh, such a classic line, that gets used so often now in a sexual context. Still, Jesus is keen or their prayer support - he obviously values it.

vs 39

So if you think repetitive prayer is useless, Jesus does it. Of course, he could be doing it for comfort as much as anything.

vs 40

Obviously he woke them up, or else all they would have said was, 'snoooooore'. What do you say when Jesus comes up and finds you sleeping again?

vs 41

A third time, and Jesus tells them that there's no more time for sleep. Now they're going to see why they should have been praying.

vs 42

He had been talking about being betrayed, but now here the betrayer comes in the flesh, and all of them are going to see - including the betrayer.

vs 43

Uh oh. Mob justice. And at the head of the mob comes Judas, whose name forever is linked with betrayal. Mecha ouch. The thing with mob justice is, see, even if it turns out that they shouldn't have done what they did, the person they killed doesn't come back to life.

vs 44

Because obviously, not everyone knew what Jesus looked like. It's not like he was on TV.

vs 45

And there you are, the kiss of death. Bad man, Judas.

vs 46

With an inside man, the mob didn't have to worry about a whole, "I'm Spartacus" type event happening. Best not to crucify all 12 of them.

vs 47

After all, this mob was arresting Jesus! Someone has to do something! I mean, it's a frustrating and tense situation. It's kind of incredible this doesn't just explode into a melee at this point.

vs 48

But Jesus knows that he can open his mouth and bring some order. And so he does. The whole fact of them bringing torches and pitchforks is, as he shows, a picture of just how unjust their actions are. They have stirred up hate against him, and they're going to use that to get rid of someone they don't like. It's terribly unjust.

Mark 14

Stupid exam prep distracting me!

vs 25

"Drink it new" would be a great advertising slogan for communion wine. I assume this is a way for Jesus to tell them that he's not going to be alive much longer - rather than him suggesting he's going to take a lengthy vow of wowserism.

vs 26

They sung a hymn. It's an unnecessary little addition, but it just adds so much flavour to the story.

vs 27

How lovely for them to hear that. I suppose Jesus wants them to be ready for it, to know it's not the end when they do.

vs 28

Again, another reminder of what they should expect - although honestly, how you expect anyone to remember what you said after they say, "You're going to become a traitor."

vs 29

Yeah, Peter, as lovely a sentiment as it is, haven't you learned your lesson about arguing with Jesus yet? This is what faith looks like without brains.

vs 30

I wonder what's more painful, Peter hearing this, or Jesus already knowing it.

vs 31

Note Peter wasn't alone - I just pick on him because he gets named. But they all said the same thing. Judas, of course, knew he was lying. But the rest of them probably honestly believed it. And Jesus stood there, looking at them, knowing it wasn't true. Painful.

vs 32

Jesus prays a lot. It's funny, reading the gospels, I more and more really feel in touch with Jesus's human side. And the more I get to know the Old Testament, the more I think that Jesus really could have come to so many of the conclusions he did basically by just knowing the OT and reading it a certain way. Apart from the miracles, and the occasional voice from heaven, it's possible that Jesus never heard any more from God than we do. I'm not 100% sold on the idea, but it's certainly a sobering thought.

vs 33

Because he knows it's not long now. This is actually a terrible thing he's facing, and he doesn't face it with a British stiff upper lip. Sure, he still follows the path of the martyr, and he does it bravely after a fashion... but this is part of his preparation, this grief.

vs 34

He just wants to let it all out, and he wants his friends there as support.

vs 35

Jesus wanted an out. How many times have you known there is something you need to do for God, and thought, "I really don't want to do this"? I know I've run across it from time to time, although it never involved being killed. Jesus wants to know there is no other way.

vs 36

What a prayer to hear. It is obedient, but strained and awful. I swear, to think God loves us after having to chalk that prayer up on the "My will is different" board... an angry, spiteful, smaller minded God would have just killed all humanity for making him suffer so much.

Mark 14

vs 13

Seriously, I need to remember these sorts of instructions for my D&D games. This is so out there.

vs 14

A lot of people call Jesus 'Teacher', so it's likely the man knows who they're talking about. Still, just saying to some guy with a jar of water is pretty risky.

vs 15

Now, whether Jesus had a guy come up to him earlier in the week and say, "Hey, Jesus, I've got the perfect room for you and your disciples to celebrate passover," or whether Jesus is just getting his disciples to talk to a person with the inferred message, "The Lord needs your passover room, find somewhere else to celebrate," it's still cool. I mean, they're not given a name, and they're told only to look for a guy carrying water - and while I would assume that was mostly women's work, who knows, it would only take two men to confuse them.

vs 16

Unsurprising, since Jesus told them so. And so they make preparations for passover as they would normally, having no idea it's going to become the last supper.

vs 17

So it's not even the Twelve that go and prepare - Jesus arrives with them, and the other disciples... leave? Stay? Sounds like the Twelve get pride of place.

vs 18

Too late... Judas already betrayed Jesus. But now he's calling him out on it. Or is he? Could he be talking about Peter?

vs 19

They all deny it, of course, except that since Judas already has, that makes him a liar. Perhaps he rationalised it saying, "Jesus said it in the future tense, and I've already done it, so he can't mean me."

vs 20

That really gives it away, given the Greek triclinium eating practice. It's whoever is sitting next to him.

vs 21

Yeah, I've heard people try and re-interpret this as if it were not a bad thing. Jesus would not say 'Woe' if it were neutral. It's bad.

vs 22

Now this seems a slightly odd thing to say just out of the blue at passover.

vs 23

Apparently, it is a specific cup. I have had the whole "how the Lord's Supper links with Passover meal" thing explained to me, and no doubt if you want a better explanation, you can ask a Jew for Jesus. Sufficed to say, they all do it - even Judas. I wonder if that counts as "drinking judgment on one's self" a la 1 Corinthians?

vs 24

Here Jesus marks this as the sign of a new covenant. He may or may not have said 'new', but it is a new covenant. That's a big deal. It's a revisioning of the agreement, a restatement of the principles. Epic.

Mark 14

Only three chapters to go, makes it seem so short... except chapter 14 is 72 verses long.

vs 1

Oooh, some 'sly' way. How sneaky, TNIV. The NASB actually uses the word 'stealth', which wins at coolness for me. The KJV uses the term 'take him by craft' - so I assume they were going to build a prison out of paddle pop sticks.

vs 2

Apparently their patience wears thin pretty quick, though, after feast day.

vs 3

Mmmm, nard. Actually, nard does not sound all that appetising. It is expensive, though, and without second thought, she basically accosts Jesus with it more thoroughly than any of those department store perfume saleswomen. Can I also just point out that Jesus is staying at a leper's house. That is just way cool. One assumes that he's now an ex-leper.

vs 4

Sounds like something Judas might say... but we're not told here it was him specifically.

vs 5

Apparently Jesus lived pretty simply. He called himself king, but he ate with lepers. He walked around, did his teaching thing, stayed in other people's houses... apparently expensive perfume was not something the disciples were used to seeing on the balance sheet. Which now, it seems, makes them forget that Jesus actually is the messiah, and he can have nice things.

vs 6

See? Jesus likes his perfume bath. Moreover, he doesn't like that they're losing it at this poor woman.

vs 7

It's a fair point, made better in the NIV, I think. The TNIV's "You can help them whenever you want," does not really have the same link to Deuteronomy 15. In any case, Jesus is a limited time offer, and if you want to do something nice for the Lord of all creation while he's here, get in fast.

vs 8

Now, this should not have been a surprise to them. But I'll bet it was. Even she was likely surprised. But Jesus had been saying they were headed to Jerusalem and he was going to die for some time now.

vs 9

Now, it makes me want to ask, does this story make it in because Jesus said these words, or would it have made it in anyway, and so Jesus' words are just highlighting the point? I actually go for the latter, because of the whole burial preparation thing, which you would certainly not leave out if you were writing a gospel. It is worth noting that this is one of the few stories that makes it into all four gospels. So it is a pretty important story.

vs 10

Because Jesus rebuked him, as well as the others, for harassing the woman about the perfume? It's possible. Could have been the last straw. Some people draw Judas as a communist style sympathiser, and when he sees Jesus accept the perfume, he thinks Jesus is just like all the other would-be messiahs, he just wants to be rich. It's not impossible for people to have such disequilibrium in their minds (he stole from the poor bag, after all), but it would seem a little strange. I generally go for he got rebuked one too many times.

vs 11

In the end, the chief priests didn't even need to work very hard. It's like God planned the whole thing, and made sure that even the bumbling bad guys could get a break.

vs 12

They knew Jesus would want to celebrate it, after all - he did every other celebratory thing. And no doubt they were keen to celebrate it. Passover was a big deal - still is, for Jews.

Mark 13

vs 20

So apparently it won't go as long as it should... it will still go a little while though.

vs 21

So all this stuff happens, and still, the end hasn't come. Anyone who thinks it has at this point is still fooled.

vs 22

The elect, of course, should know this message, and so should not get sucked in. But they are only human, and so Jesus says that yes, even they will get fooled.

vs 23

That's exactly it. Jesus tells us ahead of time so that we might not be fooled. Doesn't stop some from being fooled, but at least we're warned.

vs 24-25

Jesus very helpfully quotes Isaiah here, to ensure that we all... know... that it's going to get dark? Sorry, it's not a great deal of help. I am guessing that he is trying to link what he's saying to the Day of the Lord type events. But that would involve me looking more at Isaiah.

vs 26

Seems to me that the darkening of the sun and the heavens shaking is more of a sign that people will notice. Then we should be expecting the glorious reappearing. Which is, really, another sign I don't think anyone will miss.

vs 27

No doubt angels can probably be invisible - although I don't know that it's actually recorded anywhere that they can be in the Bible... hmm... - in any case, I'm expecting this little endeavour will also be quite visual.

vs 28

Well... I do now. But apparently this is a way of telling the season in Israel - look for fig trees with tender twigs and new leaves.

vs 29

Jesus says what I would expect - if the end times are coming, you'll know it.

vs 30

Now, see, here I am, talking all end times, but Jesus seems to be talking about the destruction of the temple. I have read things where people have said that the 'generation' is more like an age - like the Age of Christianity, or something. But I am prepared to allow for the fact that either Jesus is talking about the fall of Jerusalem generally, or he is swapping between that and some end times picture. I find it hard not to read end times into it, but that is more because that's the sort of focus it gets from us today. I guess the fall of Jerusalem isn't as important to us these days.

vs 31

In other words, we can trust them, despite all the other lies and falsehoods that people will speak. This stuff will stand up.

vs 32

So we see now that he was being at least a little bit expansive - I mean, the fall of Jerusalem is surely the sort of thing that doesn't require swathes of secrecy.

vs 33

You don't know, so be alert! It could be any time.

vs 34

I love that servants time is so cheap that you can tell one that his job is to keep watch at the door for when you return.

vs 35

So, like servants, we shouldn't sit around doing nothing - which I am sure is a very tempting thing to do as a servant - but we should work even when we feel we aren't being watched (even though we always are). One assumes, then, that the servant who was posted to door watch duty was also meant to do other things - because otherwise, we'd all just be staring up at the sky.

vs 36

Definitely we are allowed to sleep. I think we can take it in shifts across the world waiting for this to happen.

vs 37

If you need it any more clear, Jesus spells it out. The thing is, of course, we aren't to watch in exclusion to all other activities, as I have said. It's more that in doing all our other duties, we should not neglect watching.

Mark 13

vs 1

No doubt the temple was a magnificent building. This is the one Herod rebuilt, I think, and it was meant to be pretty awesome. Why not comment on it?

vs 2

When the Romans got sick of the Jews making trouble, this is exactly what they did.

vs 3

Andrew for some reason is there - usually it's just the three, but he got in on this conversation.

vs 4

This whole chapter could have been answered in one sentence. Jesus could have said. "Look, about forty years after I die and am resurrected, the temple will be destroyed, because the Romans will attack Jerusalem." So there has to be a reason why he doesn't just answer their question. Probably he takes it as an opportunity to teach the disciples something - as per usual.

vs 5

Jesus' first concern is that people are going to use eschatology and prophecy to trick people. And of course this is a totally legitimate concern. After all, when there is something no-one can know (the future) they can just make stuff up, or even genuinely but wrongly believe that they know, and people could get sucked in.

vs 6

I assume the 'I am he' is an answer to the question, 'What will be the sign'? Because Jesus did not specifically state that this would be a mark of his return, and nor did they specifically ask that.

vs 7

In other words, wars will not herald the end times. They will herald a continuation of things to come. Because people will fight wars all the time.

vs 8

Again, all these things are pretty normal. You can't use them as pointers towards the end times.

vs 9

All this happens by the end of Acts. So that's not really a mark of the end times.

vs 10

This one verse is counted in Matthew too. Now, some people consider that Paul reaching Rome is 'all nations', but obviously there are whole groups of people who hadn't heard, and God cares about them, not just the Roman empire. So this is a pretty long-term goal. We did surprisingly well in 2000 years, I reckon. Note that it only says preached, not that the whole globe must be Christian before the end. Of course, God's word does not return empty to him, but that doesn't mean that just because it is preached everywhere, it will be accepted everywhere.

vs 11

This kind of advice is pretty darn useful and comforting to people who find themselves being persecuted by a government authority.

vs 12

Not that this never happens anywhere else in the world, but it will also be true of Christianity - it will be punished by death, and families will give up their own for being Christians.

vs 13

Not that we're meant to go out and make people hate us - not exactly - but if we are faithful to the message, it will get on people's nerves.

vs 14

Most likely this is referring to the destruction of the temple, and so telling people to flee to the mountains so they don't get killed by the Romans. It's really interesting that Mark adds in his little editorial comment there. Again, he could have far more easily added an editorial comment explaining what Jesus meant.

vs 15

This all sounds a lot like... is it Ezekiel? Where Ezekiel is describing someone trying to flee from the oncoming army? Could be.

vs 16

Get out of there fast. A lot of people seem to picture this as some sort of last battle thing, where Christians will have to flee as the armies of the world come to hunt us all down. Maybe. I'm struggling to see it.

vs 17

How thoughtful of Jesus to think about how nasty it will be for them.

vs 18

Note, though, that he's obviously not talking about some sort of rapturous event - he's worried about them surviving a whole season. Possibly longer.

vs 19

'Never to be equalled again' could just be rather fitting hyperbole. I think it works.

Mark 12

vs 24

Bam. It's not really a question. It's a statement.

vs 25

In as much as the angels are not married, one assumes.

vs 26

Okay, now this argument is not the argument I would make for resurrection. But it is the argument Jesus makes. I think what he's arguing is that God is the God of living people, because he doesn't just say, "I'm the god of Abraham." When Abraham died, he was the God of Isaac. When Isaac died, he was the God of Jacob, and so on.

It's a Rabbinical argument (read: it doesn't make sense), because God really stops there. He regularly refers to himself as the God of Jacob (although really, he could be meaning Israel the nation, which does mean he's the God of the living). But he also does say "Your God", and he rarely talks to dead people.

vs 27

Badly mistaken! Jesus had a real hard spot for the Saducees. Possibly because they were so sad, you see.

vs 28

Note that this teacher of the law asks Jesus a question, not to trap him, but because he'd given a good answer. And it's fair to think that where one good answer is, another might be.

vs 29

Note that Jesus does not reply with one of the Ten Commandments. He replies with the shema.

vs 30

You might notice that Jesus seems to add a word, 'mind'. But in fact, culturally, he is adding the word 'heart'. Because in the OT, the word 'heart' refers to 'that bit of you where you do your thinking'. At least, that's what my resident OT scholar tells me.

vs 31

Not being content to just answer the question, Jesus goes on to give the second best commandment. I think he does this because, in these two commandments, the whole law is summed up. This might actually be said elsewhere (Matt 22:40).

vs 32

So step one - confirm God's unity, check.

vs 33

This really is a great reply from the guy. He's obviously impressed with Jesus.

vs 34

I wonder why people stopped asking questions at this point? Was it because this was just so wise and profound, they couldn't top it? Or was it because Jesus commented back saying the guy was not far from the Kingdom, and others weren't quite so keen to see how far their ignorance took them away.

vs 35

Jesus now takes the leadership on toe to toe. He's not answering questions now - he's asking them.

vs 36

Everyone expects the Messiah to come in the line of David. There's probably a prophecy that says as much. And it is only fair to point out that Jesus' adopted line comes from David.

vs 37

Most people seemed to enjoy Jesus' teaching. It was refreshing and new, no doubt, as well as interesting and who knows, maybe some people liked seeing the teachers of the law having it stuck to them a little.

vs 38

What did I say? Jesus is merciless when it comes to these guys.

vs 39

He loves to point out their hypocrisy. Apparently, they enjoy finery and pomp and importance.

vs 40

And yet, they think that raising money for the temple (and so their own pomp) is more important than the livelihood of a widow, one of the time's most marginalised positions. Jesus judges them severely, and so suggests that anyone who supports them is supporting the wrong team.

vs 41

Personally, I am not one to think that giving is a spectator sport, but apparently Jesus wants to make his point, and most others don't mind letting people see the big wads of cash (remember, these would probably be big chunks of gold or heaps of coins) into the bucket.

vs 42

Just looking across the four translations, it's interesting to see that these two coins are worth: a farthing, a cent, a few cents, and less than a penny. Honestly, I don't know why they bother. The point is that the amount she is offering is bugger all. I suppose you can't put that in your translation (the Greek says, thank you NASB, two lepta, worth a quadran). This is as meaningful, really. If you work off the fact that a denarius is a day's wages for a worker, a quadran is worth 1/64th of that. Were you to, say, take an Australian widow's pension, and work out how much it pays for one day, and then divide that by 64, you would get $0.81. Obviously widows did not get pensions back then, but imagine if someone in your church could only afford to give a weekly donation into the bag of 80 cents.

vs 43

Jesus is obviously impressed by her generosity, so much so he points it out to his disciples.

vs 44

Now imagine that the widow who put the 80 cents in the bag at your church couldn't even afford that. I mean, don't even imagine that she was going to use that money to buy food or something. Even just imagine something as simple as she put that in there instead of being able to buy any tea. How would you feel knowing that an old widow was giving up tea just to give money to the church? See, this story is a two-bladed sword. On the one hand, this widow is giving up all she has for the sake of God. Which is awesome. But on the other hand, the teachers of the law are using that money to dress up in pompous robes.

Mark 12

Can we do a chapter in an hour? Let's find out!

vs 1

Sets the scene. Vineyard built, owner moved.

vs 2

Sure, probably part of the rental agreement - a barter system.

vs 3

This is fairly unbelievable, but not totally crazy. I imagine back then the idea of claiming land would be "We live here, you take it back".

vs 4

After the first servant, it is less believable he'd send a second. But hey, perhaps he is merciful.

vs 5

At this point you should know that the story is about Israel, and the servants being sent are prophets. No Jew would argue - they treated all their prophets badly.

vs 6

Now, see, this is just crazy. You would not send your beloved son to do something dangerous like this, knowing they had already killed your servants. Or would you? Remember, Jacob sent Joseph off to go to his brothers. Still, if he's not at the head of an army, you seriously have to think sending your son is a big deal. Obviously Jesus.

vs 7

About this time, I would be feeling pretty hot under the collar if I were a temple priest or whatever.

vs 8

Eep.

vs 9

Yikes. Seriously, you think that Jesus is preaching peace and love. He just dropped an OT bomb on Israel - I will strip you of your vineyard (common OT picture of Israel) and give it to others (ie non-Israelites). Sound reminiscent of the exile?

vs 10

I love it when Jesus says thinks like, "Haven't you read the scripture" to people whose job it is to do just that. The piece of scripture itself points out that the rejected messengers become the most important part of the thing - that is, it turns out their message is really important, which is probably why they didn't want to listen to it.

vs 11

It must be remembered that many times in history, God has done this same thing - taken someone or something that is seen as nothing, and transformed that into his awesome tool for his own glory.

vs 12

See, the priests and leaders knew what he was talking about. The stupid thing is, of course, that by wanting to arrest him and have him killed, they are really playing right into the parable. That's what Jesus said they'd do. Now they're going to do it. How does that parable end for them again?

vs 13

This will work, for sure. Jesus isn't a good public speaker and debater, let's attack him with questions.

vs 14

Long verse! Very flattering. The question is still cut in half between 14 and 15 though! Stupid verse numbers.

The question is an important religo-political question. The Romans are 'in charge' - if you don't pay taxes to them, they will hurt you. But the Jews have their strong feeling about this being 'their land', and they don't feel they should pay. So what does Jesus say? Does he get the Jews offside, or the Romans?

vs 15

Jesus of course knows they're hypocritical bastards. I know some people try and stand up for them, but we have been told they are trying to trap him, and want him dead. So they're bastards.

vs 16

And so he uses an object lesson. The currency in use, of course, is Roman currency, and so it's got a little image of Caesar on it.

vs 17

So Jesus says, "Sure, pay the tax. But the important thing is that if you are made in the image of God, you should be worried about giving yourself up to God." Which they weren't. So bam.

vs 18

I for one love this question. It's far more theological. It's also one of those classic straw man arguments put up by people who don't actually believe in the thing they're arguing about. Yes, atheists, I'm looking at you.

vs 19

So, they set their argument up in Law. Moses said this, so we're talking about someone who is Law-abiding.

vs 20

This happens fairly regularly in those days, remember.

vs 21

It gets a little silly, but sure, it could happen.

vs 22

The thing about children is, of course, that if any one of them had fathered a child with her, that person might have a 'bigger' claim to being her husband. So it's got to be a childless set of marriages.

Just take a step back from this - how much pressure does the Law put on women! Imagine having to do this today. Crazy.

vs 23

And the question is who will she be married to at the resurrection. You will note, of course, that since polygamy is allowed under the Law, if it had been a man with seven wives, there would be no issue. But polyandry, oh no, can't have that. That's crazy talk.

What's Jesus' answer? Find out tomorrow!

Mark 11

After a long hiatus, it is time to restart my morning readings. A lot of things put them on hold. Not all of them are gone, but still, here I am.

vs 1

Which two? I guess it doesn't matter who was on donkey duty (or as one could so easily see it today, carjacking duty).

vs 2

Okay, I suppose it's not colt-jacking if someone is not riding it at the time. It's more like grand theft colt.

vs 3

It's okay, though, because Jesus tells them he's just going to 'borrow' it, and that should be a more than reasonable excuse for nicking off with the colt, he tells them.

vs 4

Now, I have a lot of negative things to say about the disciples from time to time - about how thick they are, and how they miss things. But I give them credit here. They are told to go commit grand larceny (borrowing, kender style) and off they go.

vs 5

This is not to be unexpected. It is, after all, not theirs.

vs 6

It lacks something - I love the "The Lord needs it" from another synoptic, but this is still great. Jesus' name is obviously well enough known, although it doesn't record a conversation, just a result. They could have preached the gospel at the person, and had the colt given up freely. But the context, and Jesus' instructions, seems to suggest they just go and say, "Jesus wants it," and so it is given.

vs 7

As one does, I suppose.

vs 8

This has some sort of cultural significance. Given the whole context, you could probably say it's got a link to some sort of king-entering-city activity.

vs 9

Yeah, it's a bit of a party. I like the note in the TNIV that explains Hosannah essentially means "Huzzah", although the more original meaning is quite poignant considering it's Jesus. It's a pretty full on procession.

vs 10

So people apparently thought that Jesus was bringing in a kingdom of David. Which, he kinda sorta was, but not as political and temporal. Or really at all political and temporal. Unless you're in the Catholic church in the pre-enlightenment - they were pretty hella political.

vs 11

Did he ride the colt into the temple courts? Did he handbrake it in there, look over its shoulder, and frown? That would be more action. What he did do is see it was late, and decided to head out with his posse to come back later.

vs 12

This story is so apposite, but if you just read it on its own, it makes very little sense, and makes Jesus look like a bastard. Anyway, Jesus is hungry - one of his many human feelings.

vs 13

So it's not that it's a bad tree - it's the wrong season. Our lemon tree has no lemons on it now for the same reason. Come back in a few months, and you can have all the lemons you want - assuming the cockatoos don't get them first.

vs 14

Ouch, that's quite a curse. And he did it in full view of his disciples. He did not entertain private conversations with trees.

vs 15

And now, the tree story is over... or is it? Anyway, Jesus is in a cursing mood, because now he goes into the temple and starts overturning the capitalist state - via merchant tables. It should be noted that for many, this would have been a convenience - being able to buy your sacrificial offering at the door, instead of hauling it from the other side of the country.

vs 16

I think his problems with it were twofold - one, that they were inside the temple courts, and the temple is a holy place, not a market. Two, they were most likely ripping people off. Convenience comes with a price, after all.

vs 17

Some people point out that he says this, and the merchants were most likely in the court of the Gentiles, where non-Jews went to pray, so it was like they were rubbishing on the Gentiles' ability to come to the temple and worship God (which is a huge deal, considering the prophets make it clear that God wants the nations to come obey him in his temple on his holy hill), and so Jesus takes them to task.

vs 18

Yeah, can't have people going around giving amazing teaching. Wait, what? One just has to assume that they were getting a cut of the action here. But also, if he was against the merchants, would he not come after the priests next? And then what happens? Better to get him out of the way.

vs 19

Back home to Bethany. A day's work of teaching and communism well done.

vs 20

That's one dead fig tree. I don't like figs, so no real loss. Apparently, Jesus was all about figs.

vs 21

Good old Captain Obivous. Peter can always be counted on to step forward and say, "Look, the thing I can see is seeable!"

vs 22

This is not an answer, although really, Peter's words were not a question. What does this even mean? Perhaps the next verse will clue us in.

vs 23

And so Jesus is telling them that they, too, can deforest fig plantations if they want to. God will honour their requests.

vs 24[and 25?]

The TNIV on Biblegateway seems to run 24 and 25 together. It skips 26 (the NIV has a footnote telling you words are there, but not what they are, giving a reference to Matt 6:15). The NASB gives the text in square brackets. Anyway, it could be a typo. My hardcopy TNIV is not within arm's reach.

The actual verse(s) themselves say that God will listen to our prayers, and answer them, and will even forgive our sins - as long as we forgive others too. It's a pretty big message. But it raises lots of questions, the most obvious one being, "So if I don't get what I prayed for, I didn't believe hard enough?" Just realise that universal affirmatives may be only partially converted. So this is providing an option for why your prayer will or won't work. It's not exhaustive.

vs 27

Ahh, so he doesn't ride the colt through the temple, like bikie gang Jesus would.

vs 28

Jesus makes it pretty darn clear where his authority comes from, but they probably thought it sounded like an officious sort of question to ask.

vs 29

Damn it, Jesus, that is so annoying. They asked you first!

vs 30

Oh, come on, this question doesn't have anything to do with what they asked Jesus! Well, actually, of course it does. Jesus is spelling out the nature of their question. They're not asking him who signed his permission slip to come to temple. They're asking is his ministry of God or not. And so he throws the question back at them - since they want to judge his ministry, let them judge John TBs first.

vs 31

Okay, you've got to ask, how did Mark (or Peter) overhear this little conversation? I don't know, he doesn't explain. It could be that one of the priests told him later this is what happened.

vs 32

Ahh, Jesus has trapped them with a question. They try to do this to him from time to time, but he is really good at it. It's surprising that John the Baptist still is so loved by the crowds, even after he's been dead so long. I say so long, it's been at most a year or a bit more, likely less.

vs 33

See, I will just point out, we do not always need to be in a rush to explain every aspect of every bit of theology to every person every second. Sometimes, you can just say to someone, "You just don't seem to be worth telling at the moment. I don't think you're going to listen, because your heart is obviously not in the right place." That might sound harsh, and you might think you've no right to make that call. But you know that sometimes you can just feel that someone is being a dick, or obstreperous, or wasting your time. I tell you what, if we all lived for Christ as much as we should, we would not abide people who wasted our time nearly as much. That's something for me to think about more.