Sermon: Romans 8: 12-17 Children of God

This evening I want you to take a chance on me. I’ll need you to gimme gimme gimme your attention, because knowing me knowing you, this is something you need to hear today. In fact, it’s better than money, money, money, and if you get what this evening’s sermon is all about, then you’ll get on like a dancing queen.

This evening we’re thinking about Abba - but not the Swedish pop group. Instead, we’re thinking about our Abba, and being able to call God Abba, as Paul says in verse 15. ‘And by him we cry, Abba! Father!’

We’re in a short series, as we work our way through Romans 8, and think about living by the Spirit. A fortnight ago, we heard about the wonderful good news that ‘therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ We already know the verdict on the last day; we’re already confident that nothing can condemn us because we are in Christ. Now that is good, and great, and wonderful, but there is even more to the Christian life than just knowing that truth.

Tonight, Paul opens up a bit more of what that means for us, as we are brought into God’s family and receive the inheritance. So let’s dive in at verse 12, as we unpack the glorious riches of Christ.

Verse 12: ‘Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.’ Paul says that we have an obligation, that we owe something to someone. He doesn’t spell it out here, we’ll work it out in a second, but notice that he tells us who we don’t owe anything to.

‘Not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.’ I wonder if you’ve ever changed jobs. You’ve worked hard for your previous employer, but now you work for your new boss. And then your old employer comes round, asking would you do a wee something for them. Could you help out? You would be able to say, I don’t owe you anything. I’ve finished working for you, you don’t control me any more!

That’s what’s going on here. Paul has showed how we have been rescued from living according to the sinful nature, our natural flesh, living according to our own desires. We don’t owe it anything - our time for living by the flesh is finished. But you might still be wondering, well, who do we owe something to, what is our obligation?

Look at the contrast Paul sets out in verse 13: ‘For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.’

These are the only two ways we can live - either by the sinful nature (the path that leads to death), or by the Spirit. So it must be to the Spirit, to God, that we owe everything. We’ve been ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven - everything we have is because of God. So how do we pay our debts? How do we respond to God’s good news?

It’s by the Spirit, as we put to death the misdeeds of the body. Do you see how strong this language is here? It’s not just ‘don’t do those things you used to do’, it’s ‘put to death the misdeeds of the body.’ We’re not to cuddle them, or pet them - we’re to put them to the sword.The Puritan writer John Owen urged his readers to ‘be killing sin or sin will be killing you.’

At the minute we’re seeing the danger of a contagious virus, spreading and causing illness and death, fear and uncertainty, and bare shelves in the supermarkets. And behind the scenes, in labs around the world, scientists and medics are trying to find ways to stop the virus; and hygiene standards have been raised to try to kill the virus. We need to be fighting the threat of sin much as we’re fighting the threat of coronavirus.

But notice that it’s not something we can do by ourselves - it’s ‘by the Spirit’ - we need his power to lead us and change us, to kill off our sins. And it’s an ongoing process, not just a once-for-all event. Sin will spring up again, and needs to be killed again, over and over again.

When you look at the two ways to live, which do you think is the easy one? Living by what pleases you, or killing off your sin and living to please the Spirit? It would be far easier to do what you want. The struggle is to put to death the deeds of the body, because, deep down, we might still want to do those things. But there is encouragement here.

You see, if you’re struggling, if you’re fighting against your sin, then that’s a good sign. As verse 14 continues: ‘because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.’ If you’re struggling with sin, if you’re (by the Spirit) putting it to death, then you’re being led by the Spirit. And if you’re led by the Spirit of God, you are a son of God. (Or a daughter! The language of sonship is because at this time only the sons inherited from their father).

What an encouragement! Perhaps this week you have been discouraged by your weakness; by how easily you’ve slipped again. You know better, you try harder, and still you fall. The fact that you’re frustrated is a good sign! It shows that you’re led by the Spirit, and that you are a child of God.

And it comes through the Holy Spirit, verse 15: ‘For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’

The Holy Spirit doesn’t come to bring fear and slavery. Rather, he is the Spirit of sonship, or adoption. He brings us into God’s family, he makes us into a child of God, and teaches us how to call God our Father. Abba (not the Swedish pop group), Abba is the word for dada, daddy, dad, in Aramaic. It’s by the Spirit that we can call the God of the universe our dad. We who were on the outside are brought in by the sacrifice of Jesus, and the work of the Spirit confirms what has happened in our hearts.

‘The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.’ (16-17)

The Spirit confirms that we really are God’s children, and he also confirms that we are God’s heirs. God’s inheritance is for us, for all who believe, for all who are his children, and the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

What a transformation in a few verses! From owing everything for our very lives in verse 12, to inheriting everything in verse 17. Everything the Father has is ours in Christ. The glory lies ahead, and in the meantime, as children of our Abba Father, we are called to live by the Spirit, and put to death the deeds of the body.

Perhaps as you hear of what the Christian life looks like, you think to yourself, that sounds great, but I’m not there. I just do what I please. I live according to the flesh. Turn around today! Don’t stand around on the outside any longer! Come in, come home, and know the God of the universe as your Abba, your dad.

But maybe you are a Christian. You’re finding things tough. Sin keeps popping up. You keep doing things you don’t want to do. You’re struggling. Be encouraged by the Spirit living in you, leading you to keep fighting as you put your sin to death. You don’t need to live in slavery and fear; you’re adopted as a son, a child of God.

God gives you what you need to live for him - the power of his Holy Spirit dwelling in you. Keep going! Keep fighting!

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 15th March 2020.

Sermon: Titus 2: 1-15 Fruitful - Self-Control

Which of the following would you prefer - you could have one marshmallow now, or, if you waited a wee while, you could have two? Here’s a video where young children were given that choice...

[Play video]

The marshmallow test was first conducted in the 1960s, to see if nursery age children had any self-control. And the idea is simple - you can either have a small reward now, or a greater reward after a bit of a wait. Some had no self-control, immediately grabbing whatever was on offer there and then. But others reckoned that the ‘later’ reward was better - delayed gratification to use big words - and used a variety of strategies to try to keep them from the temptation of the one marshmallow.

So how would you get on with the marshmallow test? And how is your self-control? When we think about our daily life, there are lots of opportunities to exercise self-control (or not). There’s the whole realm of money - when payday comes, do you splash out, treat yourself, not thinking that you’ve got a whole week or month for the money to last. I used to work in a corner shop when I was growing up, and one of our colleagues would nearly have blown his week’s wages on sweets and crisps before he’d even left the shop on payday!

Perhaps you struggle with self-control when it comes to food, or drink, or some other substance. And so, perhaps you’ve given up something for Lent, and now two and a half weeks in, you’re either managing fine without it, or else you’re having withdrawal struggles. I heard recently of the Catholic Bishop of Cork in the 1950s, Cornelius Lucey. He decreed that during Lent, his people should only eat one biscuit with a cup of tea. So fairly quickly afterwards, a bakery in Cork produced what they called ‘Connie Dodgers’ - enormous biscuits, so that you were still only eating one biscuit!

Perhaps your self-control is lacking in other ways, and there’s a particular temptation or two that you always fall for; a particular sin that you indulge in, and then feel awful about afterwards. Perhaps you think like Oscar Wilde, who famously said, ‘I can resist everything except temptation.’

This morning we’ve come to the last of the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. We’ve covered love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and now we’re looking at self-control.

Like so many of the others, self-control is a quality that some people have, and that everyone can work on. The researcher from the Marshmallow Test tracked the lives of the original group of children, and could trace the patterns of their life based on how they reacted to one marshmallow or two. And it might be that in some areas of life, you’re very self-controlled and in other areas of your life you’re not as self-controlled. And you could, quite possible, try really, really hard to be more self-controlled, just by your own effort.

But that’s not what we’re thinking about, and it’s not what I’m recommending. You see, the self-control that we’re thinking about today is part of the fruit of the Spirit - it’s something that the Holy Spirit is growing in us as he helps us to live for Jesus and become more like Jesus.

We see this spiritual self-control as Jesus determined to live a perfect life of obedience to God’s law - Jesus was so self-controlled that he never did anything wrong in what he said, or thought, or did. Can you imagine that? But on top of that, Jesus determined to go to the cross. He controlled himself to fully obey. As Hebrews says: ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.’ (Heb 12:2)

You remember the one marshmallow or two? The great reward for Jesus was fulfilling the Father’s plan, and bringing us to share in his salvation. That’s why Jesus endured the pain and agony of the cross. That’s how self-controlled he was.

And that’s what the Holy Spirit wants to grow in us. It’s the image of the athletes who are currently preparing for the Olympics - if they go ahead this summer. As they get up at 5am and run or row or life weights; as they spend hours in the gym doing all their training; as they eat very carefully designed meals that will give them all the things they need to perform to the best of their abilities; they have their eyes on the end goal - standing on the podium and receiving the gold medal.

Imagine how much they might rather stay in bed when their alarm goes off. Or how much they might like to finish at the gym early and just watch a boxset on the sofa. Or how much they would want to have a big bar of chocolate or a big fry-up. But they control themselves, they discipline themselves, with an eye on the future glory.

And that’s what the Spirit is doing in us. It’s why, when Titus is on the island of Crete, helping to establish the new churches, he is to teach the people to live in the way that matches up to the gospel. Now, you can decide yourselves whether you’re in the older or younger categories, but older men, younger women and young men are all explicitly urged to be self-controlled. And (in case you think the older women don’t have to be), they are to do things that would be the same as self-controlled.

At another of these Family Services we looked at Titus 2:11-15, when we thought about goodness. But look again at verse 12 to see how self-control fits into God’s purposes. We all naturally live for ungodliness and worldly passions. But God’s grace helps us to say no to them, and instead to say yes to self-controlled, upright and godly lives.

Grace helps us in two ways - first, because our past has been dealt with. All those times when we didn’t have self-control, all those sins we’ve committed - Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all our wickedness.

But grace also helps us by pointing us forward. What is the reward that we’re looking forward to? What will be better than whatever we’re tempted to do here and now? we’re waiting for our ‘blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.’

That’s what we’re looking forward to; that’s what drives us in our choices, and helps to keep us from temptations - one day I will see Jesus, face to face. And in the meantime, every day from this day until that day, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, producing his fruit in our lives as he takes control of us, and we gain control over ourselves.

Perhaps there are things you want to say to the Lord - things you want to say sorry for; struggles that you need his help with; so let’s take a moment or two to do that before I pray.

This sermon was preached at the Family Service in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 15th March 2020.

Sermon: Proverbs 31: 10-31 The Proverbs 31 Woman

The quest to find a partner is becoming big business. From speed dating nights to ‘Take Me Out’ events where guys have to try to impress a group of girls, there’s money to be made in the hunt for a husband or wife. The rise of the dating website is evidence of this. When we were in America a few years ago we were surprised to find ChristianMingle.com even had TV adverts and billboard posters. But what are you looking for in a partner? Or what do you bring to a relationship?

Over This year at Cafe Church, we’ve been sampling some of the Proverbs. We looked at some of the major themes, all building on the basic building block of wisdom - the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge / wisdom. Tonight we come to the final chapter of Proverbs, to a passage which might be slightly better known. Whole ministries have been built on the basis of these verses, encouraging ladies to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

As the women get the last word in the book of Proverbs, let’s look at the Proverbs 31 woman, to see what she’s like, and how we can become more like her. The first thing to note (although it’s hard for us to see in the English) is that this is an acrostic. From verse 10, each verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It would be like a poem where each line starts with A, B, C and so on. It’s an A-Z of an excellent woman. So let’s dive in with the very first verse, verse 10.

‘A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.’ Another version asks, who can find an excellent wife? This isn’t because such an excellent wife is unattainable, but rather because Proverbs has already highlighted the fact that not all wives (and, I have to add, not all husbands) are excellent. In another part of Proverbs we find these words: ‘It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife’ (Prov 21:9). None of us have moved onto the roof, but perhaps some men (or women) do consider such a move.

To have a wife of noble character, then, is beyond value. ‘She is worth far more than rubies.’ As we would say, she is worth her weight in gold. The following verses show why she is so precious, but what I noticed was how this excellent wife is described in terms of the themes we’ve looked at over the past few cafe church nights.

We looked at relationships - drinking from your own cistern, keeping pure and faithful. We see that here in our chapter. Look at verses 11-12. ‘Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.’ Here we find that faithfulness, that trust that is the centre of any relationship. It’s a marriage that builds up, that brings good and not harm, leading to them flourishing together.

We also looked at work and thought about the sluggard. You remember the picture of the lazy lump lying on his bed, turning like a door on its hinges; too lazy to even lift the spoon to his mouth? The Proverbs 31 woman isn’t like that. It seems that she never stops, always at something. There’s mention of wool and flax, working with eager hands in verse 13. Bringing food, cooking breakfast while it is still dark in verse 14-15. She’s involved in property deals, buying fields and planting vineyards (16). Buying and selling, working into the evening by lamp light when the sun goes down. Using the distaff - what’s a distaff? It’s used for spinning wool or yarn, used with the spindle. Her family have scarlet clothing (which might be double thickness for the snow), and she makes her own bedclothes; linen garments and sashes...

Is anyone feeling tired listening to all that? By the time you say it all, it would be time for a tea break! She is certainly no sluggard. The picture is of someone who makes sure that her family is provided for, keeping busy, using the talents she has been given by God.

But she isn’t selfish, or greedy. In our series we also thought about good news for the poor, using our wealth not just for ourselves, and the importance of caring for and helping those less fortunate than yourself. The Proverbs 31 woman has that covered too. Look at the way verses 19-20 sit together. ‘In her hand she holds the distaff, and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.’

The hands busy in work at distaff and spindle as she makes yarn are also held out to the poor and needy. She opens her arms, she reaches out her hands. She models God’s concern for the poor, the ministry of mercy.

Through Proverbs we also looked at our words, and the tongue, which has the power of life and death. Here, we hear what comes out of her mouth: ‘She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.’ She has no fear of the future, she is able to laugh at whatever may come. Her hope is secure. And when she speaks, there are words of wisdom and kindness. Her speech is gracious.

In every way, in each of our key themes, she passes the test. She really is an excellent wife, worth far more than rubies. That’s the opinion of her children and her husband too. Do you see it in verse 28? ‘Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’’

So how does hearing all that make you feel? Encouraged and proud, because your ears are burning, because we’ve been talking about you all night? Thankful and delighted because this is your wife that we’ve heard described? Perhaps. Another common reaction to hearing those verses is to feel deflated, aware of shortcomings, frustrated because you don’t think it would be possible to reach those unattainable heights. Convinced that this is just out of reach, like the airbrushed supermodel adverts; that you’d need to be Superwoman to do all this?

Remember where we started in Proverbs. The very first thing we learnt was that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And that’s where the book ends as well. We’ve come round in a circle. The first note is also the last one. Verse 30-31: ‘Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honour her for all that her hands have done, and let her works praise her at the city gate.’ What a motto for a dating website in particular, and life in general.

You could be oh so charming, but it’s just a front, all a deception, just a tool to get what you want. Beauty might turn heads, but it is fleeting. The thing that counts is the fear of the Lord. A woman (or indeed a man) who fears the Lord is to be praised. This is the thing that matters. Everything else flows from this.

You may not be working morning noon and night to provide and clean and cook and do all else; but the fear of the Lord will lead you to live, in your situation, with your particular opportunities and challenges, for his glory.

This sermon was preached at the Cafe Church series 'Wisdom for Life' in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 8th March 2020.

Sermon: Mark 7: 24-37 Who is Jesus? Lord of all

When we were on holiday a few years back, part of the hotel we were staying in had been transformed into a movie set. There were all sorts of rumours going around about who was filming their movie, and we wondered if we’d see any celebrities. And then, one evening as we were eating our dinner, filming had just ended and Will Ferrell walked through, saying hello to everyone on the way past.

Contrast that to when we lived in east Belfast and had popped into the big Tesco near Ikea to get a few things on Saturday night. And there, wandering the aisles, with his coat up high and a baseball cap was none other than the comedian Peter Kay. (I resisted the urge to give him a packet of garlic bread). He had been appearing in the Odyssey, but it was clear that he didn’t want to be recognised or engage with anyone.

Now that’s my only two celebrity encounters - I’m not a stalker - but in our reading this morning, it seems that Jesus is slightly more like the second of the celebrities I spotted. When we get to verse 24 (p 1010), we find that Jesus has left Galilee and Israel behind, and has crossed the border into the vicinity of Tyre. And just like Mr Kay in Knocknagoney Tesco, he ‘entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.’ (24)

It could be that the threat of Herod was still there while he was in Galilee; and he had just had another confrontation with the Pharisees, who were already plotting to kill him. And so Jesus is away from home, where maybe no one will know him. But he just can’t keep it secret that he is there. Someone has recognised him. someone knows him, and the word gets out. Jesus is here. His presence is never a secret. When he’s in your heart and in your life, then it’s obvious. And so here, the secret gets out.

And soon enough, as soon as she heard about him, a woman comes to see Jesus. She fell at his feet. She was desperate, begging Jesus to do something. You see, her little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit (25). She begs Jesus to ‘drive the demon out of her daughter.’ (26).

Now, I wonder were you surprised when you heard what happened next. You see, so far in Mark’s gospel we’ve seen how Jesus immediately helps people who are in need. He heals people, drives out demons, restores sight and even raised a little girl back to life. That’s what you expect to happen, because that’s what Jesus does. Isn’t it?

But here, rather than helping straight away, Jesus starts a discussion. It’s almost as if he’s objecting to being asked to do the miracle, to help this woman and her daughter. That seems strange, doesn’t it? And even stranger, is what Jesus then says to the distressed mother: ‘First let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ (27)

So what’s going on here? Is Jesus being cheeky? Rude? Racist? There’s the contrast that he brings in between the children and the dogs. Now, you know the way there are words used by one people group about another? So in Northern Ireland there are words used when describing someone from the other community - words not to be used in the pulpit. For the Jews, anyone who was a Gentile was seen as unclean, and one of the words used about them was ‘dog.’

So it seems that Jesus is buying into this in some way, likening the Jews to the children, and the Gentiles to the dogs - not (as would normally have been thought) a wild dog, but (here) a pet dog. But he says it all the same. That it wouldn’t be fair to take what is for the Jews and to instead give it to the Gentiles. What we don’t have, and can’t immediately tell, is the way in which he said it. We just have the words on the page. We can’t tell if he said it in a harsh way, to shut down the conversation; or in a jokey way, to see if she would play along.

But perhaps her answer helps us to see how he said it and how it was taken. She grasps onto his first word - the word ‘first’. You see, Jesus wasn’t saying that he is only for the Jews. And he wasn’t saying that his grace was only for the Jews. But it was for the Jews first of all. And there she finds hope to continue; there she presses into the grace on offer:

‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ (28) Ok, she says, if you want to think we’re dogs, then even the dogs get the crumbs and scraps that fall from the table. So won’t you let a crumb of grace fall to me? She’s playing the game, and displaying her faith that Jesus can make a difference, and that he will make the difference for her daughter. Did you see what she called him? Lord! This Gentile woman recognises who Jesus is. She calls him Lord.

And he shows it by sending her home - saying the demon has left her daughter. And that’s exactly what she finds when she gets home. Jesus is Lord, not just in Israel, but even in Tyre. He is Lord, Lord of all.

We see that in another place that is outside of Israel’s borders. Jesus has travelled from Tyre, through Sidon to the region of the Decapolis. That’s where he had sent the man who was previously demon possessed that we met in chapter 5 back in January. Do you remember him? He had been possessed by many demons, Legion, and Jesus had driven out the demons into the pigs and restored the man. He had wanted to come too, but Jesus sent him home to tell of all that God had done. So they’ve heard of Jesus in the Decapolis (the ten cities).

And again, he’s quickly recognised. This time, some people bring to Jesus a man who is deaf and could hardly talk. They begged Jesus to place his hand on the man. And once again, we find that Jesus does something strange, something unusual. With the Syro-Phoenician woman’s daughter, Jesus healed her from a distance. With some of the other healings we’ve seen, Jesus healed with a word. But here, Jesus does much more.

Now, we’re still in the midst of the no-touching advice of the Coronavirus guidelines, but Jesus is really touchy-feely here. Look at verse 33. ‘Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spat and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”)

Now why did he do all that? He’s telling the man what’s about to happen. The man may be deaf and mute, but he’s not blind. And so Jesus is showing him what he’s going to do. He touches his ears. He spits to show the clearing of a blockage, then touches the man’s tongue. As he looks up to heaven, he’s showing the man how he’s going to be healed - from God, by God’s power - and then with the sigh says ‘Be opened!’

‘At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.’ (35) The blockage is removed, and the man can hear. The blockage is removed and the man can speak. And only by God’s power. In the Old Testament, in Exodus 4, at the burning bush, Moses is arguing against God’s call on his life to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. And God says this to him: ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute?... Is it not I, the LORD?’ (Ex 4:11) God is the one who has the power over the ear and the tongue, making deaf or restoring hearing; making mute or restoring the power of speech. And that’s exactly what Jesus can do - even in this Gentile territory.

Now we’ve heard some strange things that Jesus said and did in our reading today. But there’s one more just before we finish. And it’s there in verse 36: ‘Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.’

Jesus didn’t want his picture in the local paper, or a post on Facebook about what he had done. Jesus didn’t want people to talk about what he had done. Doesn’t that seem strange? Why might that be so?

He’s already had crowds gathering to him in Galilee. And as we’ll see next time we’re in Mark’s gospel, crowds gather to him in these Gentile regions too. Isn’t that a good thing? Wouldn’t he want a bigger crowd? And especially when you read verse 37 - people are speaking of him so favourably, his approval rating is through the roof, they are overwhelmed with amazement as they say: ‘He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’

Those categories, making the deaf hear and the mute speak, they’re part of the checklist for the Messiah that we read earlier in Isaiah 35. They’re grasping who Jesus is, and seeing that he’s Lord of all, (which is more than the disciples have managed so far), but they would still get the wrong end of the stick.

It’s true that Jesus is Lord of all; that his church will continue his mission from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth. It’s true that Jesus will bring healing and wholeness to all his people - some here and now, but for all in the fullness of his kingdom.

But as much as these Gentiles have grasped Jesus’ identity, they still can’t grasp the fullness of Jesus’ mission. And, as we’ll see, the disciples haven’t grasped it yet. No one else can see it yet, but for Jesus to be Lord of all, and for Jesus to bring healing and wholeness to all his people, he has to go the way of the cross.

And so, he wants them to keep it secret. To not tell anyone. For now. Who is Jesus? Lord of all, the Lord of healing and wholeness, the long-promised Messiah.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 8th March 2020.

Sermon: Romans 8: 1-11 No Condemnation

I wonder if you can remember the feelings you had when you sat down in the exam hall at school. Maybe you were nervous, trying to remember everything you had learned on that particular subject. Maybe you felt sick, wanting to do well, or hoping you’d get through. How much better would you have felt, if you knew the end result before you sat down, or as you were furiously scribbling your answers down?

Or what about the moment when you drive up to the MOT test centre. How flustered you feel when they ask you to turn on your lights and you can’t think how to do it! How nervous you feel when they do the braking test, or when they lift your car up and give it a good shake. One time, the tester took ages with my car up on the lift, then he called over a colleague, then he disappeared into the office, and then came back, stood for ages before eventually letting me know the car had passed with flying colours! How much better, to already know the verdict before you drive the car in to the centre.

Or maybe Saturday night for you means sitting down to watch Match of the Day. You know your team’s result, and so even if they go down 2 goals in the first half, you know that they’re going to win 3-2. Knowing the end result changes how we feel about the experience. Knowing the final verdict can give us confidence, no matter what might be going on in the meantime.

Now if that would be true of exams, or MOTs, or Match of the Day; then how much more would it be true of life? How amazing to be able to know God’s verdict of our life here and now - without having to wait until we stand before his judgement seat. As we begin looking at Romans 8, this is what Paul tells us is possible, here and now.

Look at what he says in verse 1. ‘Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ No condemnation. A ‘not guilty’ verdict. A declaration of innocence is available for us - for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now this verse is the summary of everything Paul has said from chapters 1-7 (and it might be good for you to read them, to see how it has come about).

You see, people may say lots of things about us; they can have their opinion of the things we do or say. Or maybe you have your own opinion about yourself - the shame or guilt for something you have done; the thing you hope no one ever finds out about; you see yourself as sinful, as guilty, as condemned. But the only opinion that really matters is what God thinks of us. It’s his verdict that counts in the end. And his verdict can be known now - no condemnation for those in Christ.

It’s as if we have been set free. The law of sin and death holds each of us - our sin leads to death. But those in Christ are set free, the prison doors opened, the chains removed, as we are declared innocent. But how does this happen? How can we know the verdict in advance?

Verse 3 shows us what God has done for us. He sent his own Son, the Lord Jesus, ‘in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering’. Jesus came in our skin, sharing our human nature, to die for our sins. He condemned sin in our flesh, and has taken away our sins. It’s as if we had a huge debt, and Jesus has paid our debt. He has dealt with our sin. But Paul says Jesus has done even more for us than just paying our debts. Verse 4: ‘In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.’

Jesus not only takes away our law-breaking. He also gives us the power to obey the law. He helps us to do the things we never could do before, when we walk according to the Spirit.

When you think of it, there are lots of ways we divide people. Men and women. Old and young. Rich and poor. Manchester United fans and ABUs (Anyone But United). But Paul says there are only two types of people - you’re either one, or the other, there is no middle ground, no sitting on the fence. So which are you - do you live according to the sinful nature, or according to the Spirit?

From verse 5, Paul helps us to see which group we’re in. ‘Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.’ The way to see which group you’re in is to see where you have set your mind. What is it you think about when you don’t think about anything? What is it that sets your goals, dreams and ambitions? Is it your sinful nature, your sinful desires? Or is it the Spirit - to want what he wants?

It’s one or the other. It’s as if you come to a fork in the road. Two roads lead to very different destinations. ‘The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.’ (6) It’s a matter of life and death, heaven and hell. And your thoughts are a diagnosis of your heart, your desires. To pursue sinful pleasure is to be hostile to God, to love the things God hates, and hate the things God loves, to be unable to please God.

Now, by nature, that’s all of us. We naturally are out for ourselves. It doesn’t take long for a baby to start to look out for themselves. And even if we’ve grown up, and know not to say it out loud, we can still think it, and work towards it: ‘Mine!’

But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are two groups of people in the world - people who live by the sinful nature, but there are also those who live by the Spirit. Paul says that the Christians in Rome, the people who received the letter, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. And how do you know? How can we tell if we’re in the Spirit? It’s ‘if the Spirit of God lives in you.’ (9)

If we belong to Christ, if we are in him, and he is in us, then he gives us the Holy Spirit, he gives us the power to change, and the guarantee of the final verdict. Do you see how Paul refers to the Holy Spirit here? He is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ. (9) The Spirit of life. (2) The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. Each points us to the work of the Spirit, in bringing the power of God to live in us, and in giving us life.

Living as a Christian can be frustrating. You know what you should be doing, but you don’t always do it. You want to change, but you stumble and fall into sin. You feel the power of sin, the pull of death, as you do that thing you hate once again. But look at what God gives us. He gives us his Holy Spirit - the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead to dwell in us. He will do the very same in our lives.

He gives us life. Satan may try to condemn you. He might try to bring you down with the weight of guilt. How could God really love you after you did that? But the Holy Spirit whispers into our soul that we already know the verdict of the last day - not guilty. No condemnation. Life and peace, because we stand in Christ’s righteousness, as we live by the Spirit, and follow his leading. It’s as if we can open our exam results before we’ve sat the exam. We already know the final result, as we trust in Christ, and live by the power of his Holy Spirit.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 1st March 2020.

Sermon: Mark 7: 1-23 Who is Jesus? Clean or Unclean?

For the last few weeks we’ve been hearing about the threat of Coronavirus - seeing the devastation in parts of China, and watching how it has been spreading to different parts of the world, coming closer, to north Italy, and now, inevitably, to Northern Ireland. Coronavirus is here, and there’s all the advice about self-isolation if you’re at risk, and if you cough or sneeze, to catch it in a tissue, bin it, and wash your hands. To try to prevent the spread of this virus, and to try to make sure you don’t get it, it’s important to practice good hygiene and good hand washing.

In our reading this morning, we find a group of people who are also concerned about washing hands. But it’s not really about preventing the spreading of disease. No, their concern was about being clean and keeping clean - in a ceremonial, ritualistic kind of way. And as we’ll see, they get upset that Jesus’ disciples aren’t as concerned about it in the same way.

So who were these people? They were the Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law. Remember them? We haven’t encountered them in this whole section, but we’ve previously met them in Mark’s gospel, back in chapter 2 and 3. They’ve already fallen out with Jesus over Jesus’ teaching on fasting, and Sabbath, and about him eating with tax collectors and sinners. And that whole row ended up with them plotting how they might kill Jesus (3:6).

For a few chapters they’ve been absent, but now they’re back. They’ve come from Jerusalem for more observation and investigation of this man on their hitlist. And they’re watching closely, to make sure that things are being done properly (or maybe they’re watching to note down all the things that are being done incorrectly in their eyes). If we’ve got the Public Health Agency advising on the coronavirus; then these guys see themselves as the Spiritual Health Agency.

And what do they see, as they gather round Jesus? They see (verse 2) ‘some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean”, that is, unwashed.’ And immediately, their alarm bells are going off! They can’t believe what they’re seeing! Unclean hands making the disciples unclean.

Now, it’s not that the disciples’ hands were filthy. It’s just that they hadn’t done what the Pharisees would have done. We see that in the brackets in verses 3-4. They ‘do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders... And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.’ What they mean by a ceremonial washing was pouring water over the hands from a wee jug - not washing hands with soap and water as we would expect.

Do you see the issue? The Pharisees do it, the disciples don’t, and so they ask Jesus the question in verse 5: ‘Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their hands with ‘unclean’ hands?’

The Spiritual Health Agency have noticed a problem. They’ve made an intervention. But they didn’t expect Jesus to say what he says to them: ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”’ (6-7)

Jesus confronts them, and calls them hypocrites. They seem to care about God, they honour him with their lips, but their hearts are far from God. So they say that they care about being clean, but it’s all on the outside, all show. They can wash their hands as many times as they like, but it won’t make them clean. Why? Because they’re only following their own rules, not God’s word.

Did you notice that? It’s all about the tradition of the elders; other traditions; the tradition of the elders. That’s what they’re concerned about, rather than God’s word. And Jesus summarises it for us in verse 8: ‘You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.’

If you can only hold on to one thing, which do you hold onto? God’s word or human traditions? The Pharisees had chosen to drop God’s word, to let it go; and they were clinging on to their traditions, elevating them to the ultimate level, and seeking to obey them.

Now Jesus isn’t saying that traditions are bad. We have lots of traditions in the Church of Ireland. The Prayer Book is part of our tradition of how we do church. But our traditions always must submit to God’s word. If we have to choose between them, then God’s word must come first. And the Pharisees had gone the other way, holding on to their traditions, insisting everyone needed to do what they did, even though God hadn’t commanded it.

Jesus then gives them an example of how they had chosen to set aside God’s commands in order to observe their traditions. In the commandments we heard earlier, we heard God’s word say that we are to honour our father and mother. But the Pharisees had a special procedure called Corban (not Jeremy Corbyn!) - rather than spending your money looking after elderly parents, you could instead dedicate your money to God, and keep it for yourself. So their tradition trumped God’s word. And that was just one example.

Could it be that we care more about our traditions than about God’s word? Could we have formulated rules that we live by and expect others to follow, but which aren’t mandated by God in his word? Could we be like the Pharisees in trying to be the Spiritual Health Agency, judging others based on our rules or preferences or traditions? May it not be so!

The Pharisees were concerned about being clean and not being unclean. It was a good desire, but they were going about it the wrong way. By insisting on outward rituals and pouring water, they thought they would be clean. But Jesus goes on to show us that the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

He calls the crowd to him and says, verse 15: ‘Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.’ Do you get it? Do you grasp what he’s saying? Yes? Maybe? No? Well neither did the disciples. we said last week that they’re slow to grasp what’s happening. And it’s the case here as well, so they ask Jesus later, privately about it.

He explains it in verses 18 onwards. Nothing you eat will make you unclean, whether you’ve washed your hands or not. (Now, if you haven’t washed your hands you might get an upset tummy, but it won’t make you unclean spiritually). Why? Because the food goes in your mouth, into your stomach, and eventually out again (and we’ll say no more about the process). It doesn’t go into your heart, to make you unclean.

So what makes us unclean? Look with me at verse 20: ‘What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils comes from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’’

That’s quite a catalogue of corruption, an index of iniquity, a shopping list of sin. And they all come from within, from our hearts. The Pharisees were concerned about the outside, all those washings, all those ceremonies. But no matter how many times you wash the outside of a cup, it won’t make the inside of it clean. And so, despite their outward concern about purity, they were unclean on the inside, where the washings couldn’t reach.

Isn’t that the same with us? Now, we scrub up well on a Sunday, we look respectable and clean and tidy; we look as if we have it all sorted. But inside each of us, at the heart of the matter is the matter of our heart, and our hearts are manufacturing all kinds of evil thoughts and desires and actions. Each of us will be different, tempted by and prone to different sorts of sin, but our hearts are all the same. It’s why we have to pray a prayer of confession when we meet together, acknowledging that this is us, that this is what we’ve been like since we last met together.

We’re unclean. And so some people use religion (any religion!) to try to improve themselves. And others use traditions and man-made rules. And others just try really, really hard to be better. But all those efforts can lead to more sin - pride in our achievements. Or they’ll lead us to despair at our predicament. Is there any answer to our uncleanness? Any hope of being made clean?

Our only hope is in the only one who is clean. That list of sins that flow out of our hearts - they are our normal existence, our daily reality. But they were completely absent from the Lord Jesus. Take each one - evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly - they were not to be found in Jesus’ heart, or Jesus’ life.

Peter, who spent three years with Jesus, summed it up with these words: ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ (1 Pet 2:22) The only person who is clean. He perfectly obeyed God’s commands, every one of them, so that he could take our sins upon himself, and die in our place. As Peter goes on to say:

‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.’ (1 Pet 2:24)

With Coronavirus here now, good hygiene will be important. Washing hands will be vital. But even more important than that is to be cleansed - not by water, but by the blood of Jesus, who died to take our sins and make us clean and pure and new. Don’t be tempted to seek your own cleansing routine, or to try and do it yourself. Come to Jesus, and be cleansed by him. Every sin, paid for. And a new heart provided for you. Come for the first time, and trust in Jesus to be your Saviour. Come for the hundredth time, as you seek his grace for the ways you’ve messed up. But come to Jesus, the Saviour, the one who brings cleansing.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 1st March 2020.

Sermon: Jonah 4: 1-11 The Scandal of Grace

Previously in the story of Jonah... We watched how the word of the LORD came to Jonah, telling him to go to Nineveh, but Jonah said no, and set off in the opposite direction. A storm, and a sinking feeling, and swallowed by a great fish later, Jonah was back on dry land, rejoicing in God’s grace to him when he was under the sea.

And we watched in the last episode how the word of the LORD came to Jonah, telling him to go to Nineveh, and this time, Jonah obeyed. He preached his eight word epilogue, announcing that Nineveh’s days were numbered, and in that most unlikely way, revival broke out in the city. Everyone including the king donned sackcloth as a sign of mourning and repentance for their sin, and wondered if God would relent from his fierce anger.

And at the very end of chapter 3, we heard about the reprieve that Nineveh received: ‘When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.’ (3:10).

So, given all that has happened, how would you feel? And remember that Jonah is a prophet, someone sent to proclaim God’s word. And he’s seen people respond to God’s word, and trust in God. So how should he feel? Blessed? Rejoicing? Happy? Satisfied? All of the above?

It’s quite a shock then, to read the start of chapter 4: ‘But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.’ Well, those two options didn’t appear in our possible list of expected reactions. Rather than being delighted, he is displeased. Rather than being amazed, he is angry.

So what’s going on? Why does he feel this way? And what might God be teaching us through this reluctant and now angry prophet?

To help us to understand why Jonah feels this way (whether it’s right or not), let’s listen in to his prayer from verse 2 onwards: ‘O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ (2-3)

Jonah says he knew what was going to happen if he came to preach in Nineveh. While he was still at home, sitting in his comfy armchair, he said to himself what would happen. He knew that if he came to preach in Nineveh, then people would be saved, and turn away from their evil ways. And, perhaps surprising to us, that’s the reason why he was so quick to flee to Tarshish.

He didn’t want the revival to happen in Nineveh, he didn’t want the people of Nineveh to hear God’s word and turn to trust in God. And so he went quickly in the opposite direction. Can you believe that? It’s hard to take in, isn’t it?

Now, how could Jonah be so sure that the people of Nineveh would turn to God? How could he be sure of the revival he didn’t want to see happening? It’s because he knew God’s character - he knew what God was like.

Those words in verse 2 are words we find in various places in the Bible. We heard them in Psalm 145; they’re also in Exodus 34 (which we were thinking about this morning, as the glory of the LORD passed by Moses). And, while we’re used to praising God because of these characteristics, and we rejoice in his grace and compassion, his slowness to anger and his abounding love - it seems that these are almost seen in a negative light by Jonah.

He knows these things about God; he knows that God is always like this. He was glad to receive God’s grace and compassion himself when he was sinking under the sea; but he doesn’t want God to be gracious to anyone else. Especially not the Ninevites. And so he resisted bringing them the good news of God’s grace. In effect he was racist, even sectarian, as he tried to withhold God’s grace from his enemies.

And so, having been used by God to bring about revival in Nineveh; having seen God’s grace lavished on his enemies, he doesn’t want to see any more. Doesn’t want to live any more. Maybe can’t even face going back home and reporting on his mission trip. You did what? You saved a bunch of Assyrians?

But God invades his pity party with a piercing question: ‘Have you any right to be angry?’ (4) If we have received God’s grace, can we really withhold it from anybody else? if we have received God’s grace, can we draw lines around it to stop other people from also receiving it? Can we prevent God from being gracious to whoever he show his grace? Are there people you would be angry at if they received God’s grace? Or would you be angry at God if he was gracious to anyone?

It just might be that we are more like Jonah than we would like, or admit. And so God’s question comes to us as well: ‘Have you any right to be angry?’

There’s no answer to the question. Instead, Jonah takes up a grandstand view of the wrath he hopes will still fall. You know the way people position themselves for a fireworks display? Jonah sits down outside the city, ‘and waited to see what would happen to the city.’ (5)

All the way through the book, we’ve seen how God has sent or appointed or provided lots of different things. There just so happened to be a boat going where Jonah wanted to go. (1:3) He sent a great wind on the sea. (1:4) He provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. (1:17) Now, in quick succession, the Lord provides three more things for Jonah.

First of all, there’s the vine. It doesn’t need plant food, especially not the one called Miracle-Gro, but it is a miraculous growth - growing up over Jonah’s head to give him shade, to ease his discomfort. Jonah’s very happy about it.

But then, the next morning, God provided a worm. And the worm was very happy, chewing on the vine, so that it withered away. But Jonah was less happy. His shade had gone.

And that was emphasised by the next thing God provided - a scorching east wind, on top of the sun blazing down on Jonah’s head. He was faint, he wanted to die, for, as he says again: ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’ (8)

And God responds with the same question again: ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ (9) To which Jonah is on the war path - ‘I do, I am angry enough to die.’

Poor Jonah! Angry about what has happened in Nineveh, and angry about what has happened outside of Nineveh. Always angry! But the gracious God speaks to him with words of grace and challenge; trying to turn him around, so that he again will rejoice in God’s grace, and see things from God’s perspective.

‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.’ Jonah was all concerned about this plant. He hadn’t done anything to plant it, or make it grow. It had only lasted a day. And yet he was concerned about it, and angry over it. He was concerned about the vine, and yet he wasn’t concerned about the flesh and blood people of Nineveh, people made in God’s image, people God cared about.

And here’s how God finishes his speech (and indeed finishes the book): ‘But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?’ (11)

He’s challenging Jonah to see the city the way he sees it. Over a hundred and twenty thousand people, who don’t know whether they’re coming or going. They have no spiritual awareness. Shouldn’t God care for them as well?

And that’s where the book ends. The unanswered question is left the reader to answer. We’re left wondering what Jonah’s response was. It’s a bit like the end of the parable of the prodigal son, isn’t it? The younger brother has come home, the party is ongoing, and the older brother is outside, with the father appealing for him to come in and join the party. But we’re not told. The invitation is left without resolution.

What about us? What about you? Is God’s grace something wonderful for you? Or is God’s grace something scandalous to you?

Have we got Ninevites that we don’t want to be saved by God’s grace? Are there borders or limits on God’s grace? That’s the question that God asks Jonah, and is asking us tonight.

So let’s be still for a moment, as we consider that, in God’s presence, before we pray together.


Lord God, we thank you for your grace. We thank you that you have reached for us and saved us. Thank you that everyone who believes in you receives forgiveness of sins. Help us to see people as you see them; and to share your grace with everyone we meet; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 23rd February 2020.

Sermon: Mark 6: 45-56 Who is Jesus? Water Walker

It won’t be long until Jamie starts to do jigsaw puzzles. Starting with the small number of big pieces, and then with smaller pieces but more of them, he’ll build up the puzzle until he’s able to see the finished picture. At the start, there’s just a jumbled pile of pieces, but by the end, the picture is clear and obvious. Now, normally, when you’re building up a jigsaw puzzle you can see the picture on the box, but it’s much harder if you’re trying to build it without knowing what it’s meant to be.

That’s sort of what’s happening in this section of Mark’s gospel. The disciples have been asking ‘who is Jesus?’ and they’ve got lots of puzzle pieces, and they’re trying to piece together just who Jesus is. But they haven’t quite managed it yet.

They’ve seen Jesus heal people, and drive out demons, and teach, and calm the wind and the waves with a word, and raise a dead girl, and so much more. So they’ve all these pieces, all these clues, but they haven’t put them together yet. They haven’t joined the dots.

But I don’t need to tell you that it’s much harder to get things done when you’re sleep-deprived or even just very tired. Jigsaws, or normal everyday life, or thinking straight can be more difficult when you haven’t slept. And that’s what we see here in today’s reading. The disciples are getting more puzzle pieces to put together, more clues as to who Jesus is, but they still can’t work it out, and all the more so because of everything that’s been happening.

I’m sure you’ve had days when you get to the end of them and you think - did all that happen in one day? So much going on, so much you’ve been through, and it was all in twenty-four hours. Well, put yourself in the sandals of the disciples for a moment or two.

Earlier in Mark 6, they had been sent out by Jesus to teach and heal and drive out demons - the things that Jesus had been doing. And at the start of this day in question, they had come back to Jesus and reported all that they had been doing. (30). But there were so many people about that Jesus, caring for the disciples, took them by boat to what was going to be a quiet place to get some rest. Except, the crowds were there before them, and it was as busy as ever around Jesus. So Jesus cared for the crowds (as the good shepherd for these sheep without a shepherd), and then cared for the crowd using the disciples, as he fed the five thousand men (plus women and children) from just five loaves and two fish.

So if you’ve put your feet in the disciples’ sandals, they’re probably warm, and sore, and a bit sweaty, after you’ve been walking through this big crowd, catering for their needs, bringing them bread and fish until they’re all full. And there’s no break afterwards, as we see in verse 45 of our reading. Dinner has been served, and the clearing up has happened, and ‘immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.’

But they’re not on a cruise liner with good food and entertainment and sunloungers aplenty. They’re in a wee boat, in a big storm. Look at verse 48. Jesus is on the land, having been praying alone on the mountain, and he sees ‘the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.’ This isn’t row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. This is row hard, straining at the oars, trying to make progress against a strong headwind. After all they’ve already been through that day.

And then, around the fourth watch of the night (between 3am and 6am), they catch a glimpse of something seemingly walking on the lake. Tiredness might make you hallucinate, but they all see this figure, maybe a ghost? And they cried out, because they were terrified!

But it wasn’t a ghost. It was Jesus, walking on the water. Now that should be a big clue as to who Jesus is - because it’s just not possible for any of us to walk on water (when it isn’t frozen into ice). And it’s definitely not icy - the disciples were straining at the oars; but also, it isn’t calm and flat - the wind is up, the waves would be rough - and yet Jesus is walking on the water.

There are two other clues to Jesus’ identity in the way Mark tells this story. Look again at the end of verse 48. Did you notice this when it was read? ‘About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them...’

What’s that about?! Jesus is out walking on the lake, and he wasn’t even going to the boat, he was going to pass by them. That’s an echo of something that happened a few times in the Old Testament - to Moses and Elijah - when God passed by them; showing them his glory.

So in Exodus 34, the glory of the LORD passed by Moses, as God’s name and character were revealed to him - ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness...’ (Ex 34:6). And in our reading from 1 Kings 19, the LORD passes by the disheartened prophet Elijah, revealing his presence and recommissioning him for service. In each case, the encounter is marked by the LORD passing by, revealing his identity and glory. And that’s what Jesus is revealing, as he is about to pass by the frightened disciples.

But there’s one more clue, one more puzzle piece for the disciples, and that’s in what Jesus says to them in verse 50: ‘Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”’ Those are words of reassurance, of comfort - words that you often hear when God appears to someone in the Bible. But the middle phrase has a deeper meaning. You see, Jesus isn’t just saying, it’s ok, It’s me, I’m here. He is saying that, but he’s saying more than that.

You see, the words he uses literally mean ‘I am’ - the way that God introduces himself to Moses in Exodus 3 at the burning bush: ‘God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”’ (Ex 3:14)

Do you see the puzzle pieces they are holding in their hands? Jesus has fed people miraculously giving them bread in a remote place - just as God did in the wilderness in Exodus 16. Jesus has walked on the water - which is something only God can do. Jesus was about to pass by - which is what God did in the Old Testament. And Jesus uses God’s name as his own form of address as he says, ‘I am.’

The disciples have all the puzzle pieces; they have enough to put it all together and work it out; it seems so obvious. And yet they still don’t get it. They still can’t grasp who Jesus is. Why is that? Why might it be when you’ve talked to a friend, and you’ve told them about Jesus, and you’ve answered their questions and explained about who he is and why he came and how much he loves them, and yet they still don’t grasp it for themselves? Why do people sometimes not get it, even when it seems plain and clear and obvious?

‘They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.’ (51-52) The disciples had all the information they needed, but they still don’t get it because their hearts were hardened. It’s not that they couldn’t see - they just wouldn’t see. Even when they had been part of the miracle, and had seen Jesus in action up close, they still weren’t getting it.

Perhaps you are getting frustrated with the disciples by now. Or getting frustrated with your friends or family who aren’t getting it. Yet here we see that Jesus is patient with these slow learners. He doesn’t give up on them; he continues to show them who he is, bit by bit and step by step. And we ought to give thanks for that - because we can be slow to learn and slow to recognise Jesus too.

What pieces of the puzzle do you have? Which bits of Jesus’ identity have you seen and heard? And how do you put them together?Are you forming this picture of who Jesus is?

The irony of the very last verses of our reading today is that while the disciples still don’t recognise Jesus for who he is, the people of Gennesaret (who haven’t been up close and personal in the midst of the storm, and who haven’t seen Jesus walk on water) - they know who Jesus is. They recognise him and immediately run through the region to bring everyone who was sick. They recognise Jesus - if only as healer - while the disciples are still struggling to work him out.

Today, as we baptise Jamie, our prayer is that he will grow up to get to know Jesus, to recognise him as his Saviour, and God, and friend. And it’s our prayer for each of us gathered here today. We don’t need to have everything worked out, and every detail absolutely covered before we commit - hopefully the puzzle pieces we do have show us enough of Jesus to know that he is Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who came to save us. Who still speaks those words of comfort and assurance because he has paid the penalty for our sins, and died on the cross for us, and comes to us to say: ‘Take courage, I am. Don’t be afraid.’

Together we are getting to know Jesus better, as we encourage one another, and help one another to grow in faith in God, and knowledge of God, and love for God.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 23rd February 2020.

Sermon: Jonah 3: 1-10 Revival in Nineveh

Deja vu is the feeling that you’ve lived through the present experience before.

Deja vu is the feeling that you’ve lived through the present experience before. Sorry, I couldn’t resist it! But you could be tempted to think that we’ve been here before, as we open up to Jonah chapter 3 on page 928.

You see, for a second time, the word of the Lord comes to Jonah. And for the second time, the word of the Lord sends Jonah to Nineveh. The first time had come back in chapter 1, when God said ‘Go’ and Jonah said ‘No’. Since that moment, Jonah went on the run from God, onto a boat going the opposite direction from his God-given mission, into a storm, and ultimately into the belly of the great fish.

Even in Jonah’s rebellion, God has been in control - so that this most reluctant prophet witnessed to the pagan sailors (who then turned to worship the one true living God of heaven who made the sea and the land); and God had appointed the great fish to rescue Jonah from a watery grave. After three days in the fish, Jonah must have been stinking to high heaven, and was vomited out onto dry land.

We see God’s grace in action right from the start of this chapter. God’s word comes a second time to Jonah. God is the God of the second chance. Have you found that out yourself? You’ve messed up; you come back to the Lord; and he welcomes you in, again and again - for the second time, and the twenty-second time, and the hundred and second time.

And notice that God doesn’t mention what has come before. He doesn’t say, now Jonah, you remember what happened last time, so get it right this time. You see, with God, our past is gone, forgiven and forgotten, and never more to be remembered or cast up. No, it’s almost as if this is the first time God has mentioned Nineveh to Jonah.

And so God sends Jonah with these words: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ (2) God has a message for Nineveh and Jonah is his chosen messenger.

So what will happen this time? Last time around, God said Go and Jonah said No. What will he do now that he has heard God’s sending all over again? Well we see the answer in verse 3: ‘Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh.’ Phew! What a relief! This time he obeyed God’s call, and went to where he was meant to go.

And we’re told a little bit about the city to which he had travelled. ‘Now Nineveh was a very important city - a visit required three days.’ (3) You can almost hear the travel agent’s sales pitch, can’t you? For a proper city break experience you’d need three whole days in it. One or two days wouldn’t be enough. To see the sights you need to have three days.

You can imagine the size of it; the importance of it; how amazing it would have been to be there. But remember Jonah isn’t there for a city break; he isn’t there to see the sights from the open-top bus tour; in fact, he wouldn’t have chosen to go there at all. You see, Nineveh is the capital city of one of the hostile superpowers of the day. Going to Nineveh is going into the heart of enemy territory. Pagan territory.

And it’s to this hostile place, enemy territory, that Jonah has been sent by God, with a message to proclaim. And he doesn’t waste any time. On his first day, he starts into the city and proclaims a message. The message we hear in verse 4: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.’

What about that for a sermon? It’s short and snappy, but it’s all doom and gloom. The countdown clock has begun. Forty days, and Nineveh will be overturned (or overthrown). It’s the same word used to describe what had happened to Sodom and Gomorrah.

So what do you make of his proclamation? Before, when I read his message, I used to think - Jonah really doesn’t like the Ninevites, and he says as little as possible, and offers no hope, and wants them to be overthrown. He’s a reluctant prophet and he’s reluctantly there, so he doesn’t waste much of his breath on them.

But look back to verse 2. ‘Proclaim to it the message I give you.’ Is it that Jonah is like a huffy toddler; or is he actually being faithful this time, even in the sparsity of the message? Perhaps I was being too hard on him. Either way, the message has been proclaimed in the streets of Nineveh. The question is, what will happen next?

You can imagine what would happen these days if someone proclaimed this message in the streets of Portadown or Armagh, in Belfast or London. They’d either be laughed at, or ignored, or locked up. But that’s not what happened in Nineveh. Do you see their response in verse 5?

‘The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.’

While the message didn’t say much, and didn’t offer much or any hope, the Ninevites believed this word of the Lord. They believed God, by taking him at his word, believing what he said to be true, and taking action based on what he had said.

Their response is seen in their fasting and their sackcloth. These are signs of mourning for their sin, of repentance. And their repentance goes all the way to the very top, to the king of Nineveh himself. There he is, seated on his throne in his royal robes. And then there he is, covered in sackcloth, sitting in the dust. Even the king has humbled himself, numbering himself with his people, seeking God’s mercy.

The king sets an example of fasting and repentance. And then he issues his own proclamation in response to the proclamation of Jonah:

‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone urgently call on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.’ (7-8)

Here’s what revival in Nineveh looks like, by order of the king. Did you notice there are five ‘lets’ - two negative and three positive. First, negatively, do not let man or beast, herd or flock taste anything, eat or drink. So to show their seriousness, they are abstaining from food and drink.

And then positively, they are to let man and beast be covered with sackcloth; they are to let everyone urgently call on God; they are to give up their evil ways and violence. They’re turning away from their sin and turning towards God, calling on him for mercy.

And yet, as his proclamation goes on, he’s just not sure what might happen. He has no assurance that God will respond to their cries for mercy. Do you see what he says there in verse 9? ‘Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’

He’s not sure if God will be merciful, but he hopes it will be the case. Who knows? Who does know? Jonah knows! Jonah knows this personally - that when he cried to the Lord from under the sea, the Lord saved him and showed him amazing grace. Jonah also knows this because he has heard about the pagan sailors who cried to the Lord and received his amazing grace. Jonah knows this, but he hasn’t communicated it to the Ninevites!

They’re hoping that God might relent, might have compassion on them, so that they don’t perish. But they don’t know for sure! I wonder, could we be like Jonah? What’s the message we communicate about God? Are there bits we fail to mention? Do we miss out the ‘good’ bit of the good news?

So the Ninevites are unsure about God’s grace. But then they experience it in full measure in verse 10: ‘When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.’

How amazing God’s grace is! He showers his saving grace on this city of his enemies, having compassion on them, not bringing the destruction they deserved. Do you recognise yourself in this picture? If you’re trusting in Jesus, then you are a Ninevite! We too were in the path of destruction. We too faced God’s wrath. But he has had compassion on us, and has given us the grace to turn to him from our sin, and to find his salvation.

How amazing is God’s love, that while we were still his enemies, Christ died for us, to make us his friends. And that’s what we remember and celebrate tonight, as we gather at his table, as we remember the king who stepped down from his royal throne, who was stripped, and beaten, and brought low - for us and our salvation.

This is the blessing for all who hear and repent. Yet Jesus takes up the story of Jonah, and points to the sign of Jonah. You see, the people of Nineveh repented when they heard Jonah’s preaching (even such as it was). But the people of Jesus’ day, with someone greater than Jonah preaching to them, refused to listen, refused to repent. May it never be true of us - that we have heard Jesus’ teaching, and we have turned away.

Jonah eventually obeys, bringing God’s word to a lost and needy world. We too have been entrusted with a message, with the good news of the gospel, of the God who will answer all who call on him. How can we remain silent?

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 16th February 2020.

Sermon: Mark 6: 30-44 Who is Jesus? Provider (1)

Have you ever wondered to yourself: Does God really care about me? I mean, there are so many people in the world, with so many needs and wants, does God care about me? Yes, I know that God loves me - he loves everybody after all, but does he care about me?

This morning I hope you’ll see that Jesus cares about you - because he cares about his disciples; and he cares about the crowd; and he cares for the crowd through his disciples.

So first of all, Jesus cares about his disciples. I’m sure you’re well used to the idea of catching up with someone - you haven’t seen them for a while, or just all day, and so you find out what they’ve been up to. So the boys and girls get home from school and you ask ‘what did you learn in school today?’ Or you get in from work - how did you get on today? Or you meet a friend for coffee - what have you been up to? That’s what’s happening here in verse 30.

You see, to understand verse 30, we need a flashback; like in the start of each episode in a TV series - previously on... If you glance to the previous page, you’ll see that Jesus had sent the Twelve out, two by two, in verse 7. We get a summary of what they had been up to in verse 12-13 - preaching that people should repent, driving out demons, anointing and healing people. That’s what they had been up to. But now in verse 30, they’re back with Jesus, and they report to him all they had done and taught.

You can imagine that, with the summary we get, that they would be as excited as children coming in on a Monday to tell their teacher everything they got up to over the weekend. Or the Paraguay team will be when we get back at the end of April. They’re definitely excited, and they’re probably tired as well. And it’s busy. ‘Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”’ (31)

Jesus knows what they need - peace and quiet and rest. You see, Jesus doesn’t just care for our souls - he cares for all of us. He knows that we need to rest and recover, that we can’t be on the go all the time. And so he cares for his disciples. And it’s Jesus who will care for them - did you notice? They weren’t just being sent off by themselves; they were invited to come and rest with Jesus, to find in him their rest, because he cares for them.

Jesus cares about his disciples. Are you experiencing that today? You see, we can be so busy working for the Lord, that we neglect to take time out with the Lord. We can get caught up in the cares of our particular ministries and service, that we forget that the Lord cares for us. That we can feel guilty to be resting. But Jesus cares about his disciples - and he cares about you if you’re following him today.

Now, have you ever had that moment where you’re away on holiday, and you bump into somebody you know? A few years back, we were in New York on holiday, just walking up the street, and who should be coming the other way, only two other Church of Ireland ministers! They were there for a conference. And we thought - you can go nowhere!

Well here, Jesus and the disciples set off in the boat, going to a solitary place. Somewhere nice and quiet. Get a bit of peace. Some time off. But it didn’t work out that way. You see, the sea of Galilee wasn’t that big, and as Jesus and the disciples sail along, the crowd spot them going, and can run around the shore, and be there before them! So much for a quiet time!

So, how would you finish this sentence: ‘When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he...’ What do you think? What would you do? He groaned inwardly and thought, so much for a quiet time. Or, he jumped back in the boat and they sailed away again. Or, he told them all to go away and leave them alone. Much as we might be tempted to do one or all three of those, that’s not what Jesus did.

Do you see how the sentence ends? ‘When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.’ (34)

Jesus cares about the crowd. He has compassion on them. He feels for them. And why does he do that? Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. They were lost. Bewildered. And he cares for them, because he is the shepherd Lord.

And the way he cares for the crowd, and guides them, is by teaching them. These sheep without a shepherd hear the shepherd’s voice calling to them.

Sheep without a shepherd. Could that describe the people you come into contact with every day? The people you share an office with; the people you meet in your work. People who need to hear the shepherd’s voice calling them, guiding them. Could that be you today? Jesus came to be your shepherd, to lead and guide you. He cares for you. He has compassion on you. Can you hear him calling you?

Jesus cares about his disciples. Jesus cares about the crowds. But it seems that the disciples don’t care about the crowds. You see, it’s getting late, and they urge Jesus to send the people away. Tell them to go off and get themselves something to eat. It’s very practical, and you could even argue, compassionate - the disciples don’t want the crowds getting hungry, so send them away to sort themselves out.

And then Jesus says those incredible words in verse 37: ‘You give them something to eat.’ The disciples are quick to jump in with the absurdity of the situation: ‘That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’ (37)

That’s a huge amount of money, for one meal. And the disciples can’t get over the thought of it. They’re thinking practically, Humanly. It’s as if they’ve forgotten what they’ve just been doing in their preaching, healing, driving out demons mission trip. It’s as if they’ve forgotten all that they’ve already seen Jesus do. It’s as if they still haven’t realised who Jesus is - not just an ordinary man, but Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus will care for the crowd through his disciples. He’s already indicated that by telling the disciples to feed the crowd. So then he asks them what they have. That’s where we start. Not by thinking about what we don’t have - as if we think, oh, we would need this and this and this before we could start to make a difference. No, Jesus asks them what they have. However small.

It turns out they have five loaves and two fish. Don’t think of a pan loaf, though, this is more like a wee bap or a wee bread roll. It seems so small, so insignificant, when faced with such a great need. But Jesus can use the little we have in amazing ways. And he cares for the crowd through his disciples. And so he gets them to get the crowd sitting down, ready to eat. This vast open air dining room, as the sheep without a shepherd sit down on the green pastures.

Jesus takes the loaves and the fish, gives thanks, breaks them, and gives them to the disciples to set before the people. Those verbs (action words) are the same words in the same order as at the Lord’s supper. Taking, giving thanks, breaking, and giving. Jesus is supplying the peoples’ need, caring for the crowd through his disciples.

And his grace supplies abundantly, even more than enough. From just five little loaves and two fish, the whole crowd ate and was satisfied. They had their fill. But grace supplied even more - twelve baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. The original amount wouldn’t have filled one basket, but now there are twelve baskets of leftovers. And that after the five thousand men (and however many women and children) had eaten.

We asked the question at the start: Does God really care about me? What do you think? We’ve seen how Jesus cares about his disciples - not a slave driver, but the Master who cares about rest and refreshment for his gospel workers. We’ve seen how Jesus cares about the crowd, having compassion on them because he is the shepherd Lord, who cares about the shepherd-less sheep. And we’ve seen how Jesus cares for the crowd through his disciples, using the little they have to multiply and magnify his abundant grace.

Jesus cares about you, whoever you are. He loves you so much that he came into this world to care for you. The bread, broken into pieces, would be taken again by his disciples on the night before Jesus died on the cross - his body, broken to satisfy the penalty our sins deserve. He offers you his shepherd care today. He’s calling you to come and be with him, to know the Lord as your shepherd today, and all your days, and for evermore.

That’s our prayer today for Charlotte and Freddie. And it’s our prayer for all of us gathered here - that we’ll hear the shepherd’s voice, and know the shepherd’s compassion, and receive the shepherd’s rescue - that we’ll commit as his disciples, and be used by him to care for the crowd.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 9th February 2019.

Sermon: Mark 6:14-29 Who is Jesus? Baptist's Back?

Who is Jesus? If you type that question into Google, there are 1.7billion results; 1.7billion web pages seeking to answer that question. But the question didn’t begin with the internet age. Rather, it’s a question that has been asked since Jesus began his earthly ministry about 2000 years ago. And, as we can see in our reading today, it’s a question that has always, from the beginning, produced many different answers.

With the disciples, we’ve been asking that question this term, as we journey through Mark’s gospel, as we listen and watch as Jesus teaches and heals and performs miracles. This morning, we get to hear some of the answers that people are coming up with as they ask that same question: Who is Jesus?

But before we dive in to the passage itself, it might be helpful to take a step back, and recognise that this seems to be a strange sort of passage. Perhaps you noticed the strangeness when Mary announced the reading with these words: ‘Hear the gospel of our Saviour Christ...’ and concluded it with the words: ‘This is the gospel of the Lord.’ It seems strange to say or hear those words when, apart from one mention in passing, the passage doesn’t really feature Jesus. In fact, the passage as a whole is more about John the Baptist, and what happened to him.

Yet it’s still the gospel of the Lord, our Saviour Christ. John is a servant of the Lord, a servant of the gospel, and as he points to Jesus, he shows us what it might look like to be faithful to Jesus. And that brings us back to the question of the hour, the question of all of time: who is Jesus?

Google will give you 1.7 billion answers. In our passage today, we hear of three popular answers. It’s a bit like on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and they ask the audience. Everyone gets to vote on which of the four answers they think is the right one. So who is Jesus?

Well some people in verse 14 say that Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the dead. Others say that Jesus is Elijah - a famous prophet from the Old Testament, who would come to prepare the way for the Lord. And others claim he is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago. Three different answers, different opinions about who Jesus is. What do you think of them? Are any of them convincing, based on what we’ve already seen of Jesus in Mark’s gospel?

The first one is obviously wrong - after all, John had baptised Jesus back in 1:10. They’re two different people. And as for the second, Elijah comes to prepare the way for the Lord, but Jesus himself is the Lord, whose way is prepared for him by the Elijah - John the Baptist. So the first two options are wrong. Now, the third gets closer to the mark. Jesus described himself last time as a prophet without honour in his hometown. And he is prophetic, but he’s much more than a prophet (as Mark has told us in 1:1 - Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God).

So the people are coming up with possible ideas about who Jesus is, but they’re all wide of the mark. And among them is none other than King Herod. He was the ruler of the province of Galilee, and son of the King Herod who had ordered the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem when Jesus had been born. And Herod heard about all that Jesus was doing - and how his disciples were going two by two among the villages preaching, healing people and driving out demons.

And what does Herod think when he hears of the name of Jesus which is now well known? ‘John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!’ (16) Herod is almost haunted with the thought that John the Baptist is back from the dead.

Now that immediately raises questions for us. You see, the last we heard of John had been back in 1:14. It was after John had been put in prison that Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. But now we hear that he has died - been beheaded by Herod. So how did all that come about? That’s what Mark tells us in the rest of our passage.

It was Herod who had ordered for John to be arrested, bound, and put in prison. And why did that happen? ‘He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.’ (17)

Herod was married to someone else, and Herodias (who turned out to be his niece), was married to Herod’s brother. But Herod got rid of his wife, and Herodias divorced Philip, and Herod and Herodias married. In the old BCP (1926), there was a Table of Kindred and Affinity. It set out who could not get married, because they were related. And Herod and Herodias’ relationship was also forbidden (Lev 18:16, 20:21). And John told Herod this, to his face: ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ (18)

John spoke the truth of God’s word to the people in power, the people who thought they could do what they wanted. Herodias hated John for it, held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But Herod was more complicated. He heard what John said, and while he didn’t like it, he was still captivated in some way by John.

We’re told that he feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. And we’re told that when he heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. (20)

Herod is caught in a dilemma. He likes to hear what John has to say. But he doesn’t want to do it - because he likes living in his sinful rebellion even more. He knows that John is a man of God, but doesn’t want that for himself - because he likes being Herodias’ man even more. He’s being challenged to repent, to turn to God, to give up his sin. But Herod thinks he’s in control of the situation. He holds the keys that keep John locked up. But it turns out that Herod is more of a prisoner than John is. Herod is in bondage to his sin, and is imprisoned because of his desires. And he has lost control of the whole situation.

It all comes to a head on Herod’s birthday. He throws a big banquet for his high officials, military commanders, and the leading men of the region. It must have been a boozy affair, and then Herodias’ daughter comes in to dance for the men. Now, it wasn’t that she did a ceilidh dance - something respectable. The subtext is that this was a provocative, lustful kind of dance. Highly inappropriate - and even more so because this is Herod’s step-daughter and niece. Yet he’s so impressed that he offers her whatever she wants - and swears it on oath, even up to half his kingdom.

The girl goes to her mother, and her mother knows exactly what she wants. John’s head. And the girl shows she is her mother’s daughter, by wanting it on a platter. Right now.

Herod was ‘greatly distressed’ (26) by the request. He didn’t want to do it, yet because of his oaths and his guests, he didn’t want to lose face, and so he gave the order. And straight away, John was beheaded. The voice of God’s servant to him was silenced, without so much as a final word or even a farewell.

It’s no wonder that Herod was fearful that John had been raised from the dead when he heard of the miracles of Jesus. Was it his guilty conscience pricking as he remembered what he had done to that righteous and holy man John? How he had chosen to side with Herodias and his sin, rather than John and God’s word?

We can know the right path; we can be called to it time and again; and yet choose to go our own way. And with Herod, it wasn’t a temporary stumble into sin, or a momentary lapse. It was a headlong, deliberate choice to go his own way, fully knowing how wrong his path was. He liked to listen to John the Baptist, but it didn’t change his mind or his heart or his ways. He thought he could sort out his sins some other time. And that’s a dangerous path to go down.

You see, later on, Herod greatly desired to meet this Jesus. He had heard so much about him, and wanted to see him perform a miracle for him. Luke tells us about the meeting in Luke 23:8-12. Herod had many questions for Jesus, but ‘Jesus gave him no answer.’ And then Herod ridiculed and mocked him. As Sinclair Ferguson writes: ‘Having rejected the preaching of John, he ended life ridiculing the One whom John had said was greater than himself. In the end, God had no more to say to Herod.’ (p117)

Herod shows us the danger of hearing God’s word and doing nothing about it; of loving to hear preaching, but loving our sin even more. Could that be a description of (some of) us? We think that we’ll repent some day - but that some day may never come. Today is the day of salvation! Don’t delay any more if this is you!

John shows us what it means to serve God as we point to Jesus - speaking truth to power, even saying the uncomfortable things, no matter what the cost. John didn’t water down his message, didn’t change it so that his hearers would like it better; didn’t say to himself that times change and we need to be relevant to the culture and sure everybody’s doing it these days. He was faithful - even though it cost him his head.

And in one sense, we’re no further on in our quest to answer the question of who Jesus is. The three answers provided are either wrong, or not fully complete. But Jesus is not just a prophet; and he’s not Elijah; and he’s not John the Baptist brought back to life. Jesus is the one who was raised to life. The day after his meeting with Herod, Jesus was crucified, dying to take away our sins, bearing our burden on his back. And on the third day, Jesus rose again, triumphing over sin and death and hell - rising to give us the assurance of life with him; life for all who will repent, and turn from their sin, and trust in him as their Saviour. What a wonderful name, the name of Jesus - the only name given to us by which we must be saved. Are you trusting him today?

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday morning 2nd February 2020.