'It is Finished' (John 19:30)

Let’s pray:
Lord Jesus Christ,
as we survey your wondrous cross,
may we see your glory,
and give you our souls, our lives, our all. Amen.

You put down your pen, after writing for the two hours of the exam, and you’re satisfied you have done your best.

You have seen your final client of the day, and you’re done.

You’ve applied the last coat of paint to the fence, and you are glad to see the job all done.

You’ve been working hard for years, and the final payment on your mortgage has gone through, and you check the balance - nothing more to pay.

You’ve clocked off for the Easter holidays and, for a few days at least, you’ll not be thinking about work.

In lots of different ways, you will have experienced the satisfaction of a job well done. You know what it is to have worked hard, and to be able to bring closure to a project, or a case, or a job. The work is completed. It is finished.

This is what Jesus is saying in this word from the cross. All week we have been listening in to the cross words of Jesus. Hearing about the cost of the cross - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Hearing about the forgiveness available - Father, forgive them. Hearing about the trust of Jesus in his faithful Father - Into your hands I commit my spirit. Hearing about the compassion of Jesus - Here is your son; here is your mother. Hearing about the assurance of the promise - Today you will be with me in paradise. And tonight we hear him say that all his saving work; the work of rescue he came to do, has now been completed. It is finished.

Jesus lived the perfect life of full obedience to the Father. He was tempted as we are, yet did not sin neither in thought, nor word, nor deed. He was entirely innocent. The spotless Lamb who was slain. Yet he did it to take away our sins; to bear our burden; to cleanse us; and restore us; to clothe us in his perfect righteousness. And that work of dealing with our sin has been finished on the cross.

My great-uncle Joe used to work in a car showroom and garage. I would have visited his work a few times if he was taking me for dinner with him and his wife Rebecca. When I was there at the garage, I saw two things that fascinated me. One was the vacuum tube system they had - a wee cylinder would be loaded into the tube, and push a button, and whoosh! it would fly off up the tube. Money going to the safe, or whatever it was. This was amazing!

The other thing that always fascinated me was on the main desk. I wasn’t allowed near it, though. On the desk was a spike, sticking up, like a nail. And caught on the spike were bits of paper. I couldn’t work out what it was for. So Joe explained that the bits of paper were invoices that had been paid for. Paid in full.

When Jesus says ‘It is finished’ there’s the sense of a job well done, finished and completed. But where we have the three English words, It is finished, in the Greek there’s just one - tetelestai. It’s a word with commercial associations. It’s the word that meant paid in full - just like those invoices in Tinsley’s garage. Our sins are on the nail, as Jesus bore our sins in his body on the cross.

The other week, we were getting my car washed. And we happened to notice someone we knew in the car behind. So we decided to surprise them. When our car was washed, we paid for our car, and for the car behind. We didn’t get to stick around to see the driver’s reaction when they were told the good news. But they didn’t have to pay, because their bill had already been paid in full.

And that’s what Jesus has done for us. Your sins, past, present and future have all been paid for. Paid in full. You cannot work for your own salvation; you can’t pay off your own salvation. You receive it as a gift, when you trust that Jesus has died in your place, and paid for your sin, and has finished all that is necessary for you to share in his eternal glory.

The Law of the old covenant says ‘Do…’. It gave laws to obey, but none of us ever could. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Law said ‘Do…’ but Jesus says ‘Done.’ It makes all the difference.

Better than the end of an exam; better than the end of the work day; better than getting a job done; better than paying off your mortgage; better than a few days holiday - The cross work of Jesus is completed. His work is done, on our behalf. Your debt of sin has been paid in full. So are you trusting in Jesus?

He says: It is finished.

Let’s pray:
Lord Jesus Christ,
you gave yourself for us,
to deal with our sins,
and complete your saving work.
May we know that you have paid in full;
that your work is finished.
So may we glory in the cross,
and in you, our glorious Saviour. Amen.

(This was my epilogue at our Good Friday service in St Matthew's Richhill on 18th April 2025.)

Sermon: John 20: 19-31 Evidence for Easter

What would it take to convince you that Jesus is alive? What sort of proof would you need?

Perhaps you think that even that question is ridiculous. You’re not sure that Jesus even existed in the first place, and so to even try to prove that he is alive is beyond the bounds of possibility. Or perhaps you reckon that people who think Jesus is alive are like the people who try to claim that Elvis is alive.

There couldn’t possibly be any evidence, any proof. To believe that Jesus is alive, and to believe in Christianity is to take a leap in the dark, to summon up some blind faith in order to believe no matter what the facts might say. As Richard Dawkins once said:

‘Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.’

Is that true? As we normally gather here in this church building, and as we gather digitally this morning, have we turned our brains off? Are we believing in Jesus no matter what evidence may or may not exist? On first reading, it even appears as if that kind of ‘don’t think about it, just believe’ attitude is being endorsed and encouraged in John 20. Taken by itself, it might sound as if ignorance is bliss: ‘blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

Out of context, it sounds as if you have to just accept everything, no matter how strange it might appear, no questions asked. You haven’t seen it for yourself, but you’ll be blessed if you just believe it anyway. And maybe you’ve been accused of that kind of faith by a family member or a friend, or maybe someone in work. So they’ll say - you show me God, and I’ll believe. If I just see God, then I’ll believe.

So have we turned our brains off? Are we naive? Gullible? Unthinking? Not at all! Christianity is based on the historical fact that Jesus, who was crucified, has been raised to life again, resurrected. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins... we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead...’ (1 Cor 15:17,19,20)

So how can we be sure that Jesus really is alive? Last week, we looked at the empty tomb. Today, we find even more evidence that Jesus really is alive. We see that evidence in the disciples of Jesus, and in particular one of the disciples, known by the name doubting Thomas. We’ll come to him in a second, but consider first the disciples generally.

Look at how they were personally transformed. As our reading begins in verse 19, they are in lockdown. They’re together in one place, and the doors are locked for fear of the Jews. Perhaps they thought that they would be next, as the leaders moved against the followers of Jesus. And so they are fearful.

By verse 20, they are overjoyed. So what brought about the transformation? It wasn’t that they were having what we would call a wake, and they were just sitting around, telling stories of Jesus, remembering what he was like, and then they had a fuzzy feeling of remembrance, and they felt that he was with them in spirit. No, they were transformed because Jesus himself was standing in the room with them - physically, bodily.

It’s not that Jesus lives on in our memory, or lives on in our hearts. It’s that Jesus is alive, raised body and soul, in the room with them. He speaks the word of peace: ‘Peace be with you’ and shows them the price of that peace - showing them his hands and side - the wounds of love. The fearful disciples are now overjoyed.

They are also now sent. As Jesus was sent by the Father, so he now sends the disciples out into the world with the news of God’s peace, the forgiveness brought about through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The resurrection changed the disciples from weak, fearful men into world-changers who gladly died for the truth that they staked their lives on - that Jesus was alive. As Charles Colson, who was imprisoned for his part in the Watergate scandal in American politics in 1972, said:

‘I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world - and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.’

Now, think about Thomas. He had missed that original meeting with Jesus. And he wouldn’t believe what the other disciples told him about seeing Jesus alive. He knew them, and yet he wanted proof; solid evidence for himself: ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’

Can you imagine that whole week? The others trying to convince him: ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But it wasn’t enough for him, doubting Thomas.

One week later, today, in fact, the disciples were together, and Thomas was there too. And once again, despite the locked doors, Jesus showed up. He greets them with the word of peace, but then turns directly to Thomas, and offers to him every one of his criteria for believing that Jesus was alive: ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’

Now, we’re not told that Thomas did any of those things. He didn’t need to. Now he saw Jesus, face to face, resurrected, alive, and he exclaims. ‘My Lord and my God!’ His standard of evidence had been met, and he was sure, beyond all doubt, that Jesus is alive.

And it’s here that Jesus says those words about seeing and believing. Do you see how they fit in context: ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

It took Thomas to see and then believe. But there is a blessing for those who haven’t seen and yet have believed. Now Jesus isn’t saying that you’re blessed if you turn off your brain and just accept it unthinkingly. He’s saying that we believe based on the evidence of the eyewitnesses - the testimony of the disciples who have seen and were sent. We can examine the evidence, and think hard about its reliability, and be sure that it is the truth. And as we do so, we are blessed.

And what is the blessing? It’s having life in Jesus’ name. The risen Lord Jesus shares his risen life with us, and assures us of life with him for all eternity.

It’s the reason that John wrote his gospel. He tells us at the end of our reading that he could have written about loads of other things that Jesus did. There was no shortage of source material. But he has written these signs down so that ‘you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’

The evidence is here, in John’s gospel. if you aren’t a Christian, then why not sit down and read through John’s gospel some time? Maybe you’re feeling bored during the lockdown, looking for something to do. Read through it in a couple of hours. Examine the evidence and see if you could be persuaded to believe in Jesus.

If you are a Christian, then don’t stop thinking! Keep on reading, and examining the evidence, and rejoicing in the good news that Jesus is alive, that he can be trusted, that it is life-transforming. There is joy to be found, and peace, and blessing, as we believe in Jesus. And don’t be shy in sharing that good news with your friends and family.

Let’s pray:
Father we thank you that Jesus is alive,
and brings peace, and joy, and blessing.
Help us to believe in him
as we examine the evidence
and listen to your word. Amen.

Cross Words 6 - Victory (John 19:30)

Amidst the devastating news of the coronavirus pandemic, there are glimmers of hope, and stories of amazing dedication and sacrifice. Maybe you’ve seen some of the medical staff who have separated themselves from their families for several weeks in order to serve without risking their children’s health. Or the keyworkers who volunteer to do extra shifts and to cover for their colleagues.

I wonder did you hear of Friar Don Giuseppe Berardelli? He was a parish priest in Casnigo near Milan. He contracted Covid-19 and his parish raised funds to buy a respiratory unit to help him. He refused to use it, though, allowing someone else to use it, and so he died. He gave his life so that a stranger would live.

Today, as we focus on the cross, and listen in to the cross words, we hear how Jesus viewed his death on the cross. You see, for some people, the cross is just a tragic end to a promising life. They reckon that Jesus was an amazing man, able to do wonderful things, but what a pity that it all went wrong that week in Jerusalem and he ended up dead. And so they hear in his words ‘It is finished’ a cry of defeat. As if Jesus is merely saying, it’s all over - even, I’m finished.

But that’s not how Jesus viewed his death. You see, Jesus hadn’t come to an unfortunate end, unexpectedly. Rather, Jesus was completing the plan of salvation, promised through the whole of the Old Testament. Just before our verse, we read these words: ‘knowing that all was now completed...’ And that led into Jesus saying that he was thirsty, to fulfil the scripture.

So as Jesus says ‘It is finished’ he is referring to God’s salvation plan. All was now completed. Everything that needed to be done to rescue sinners had been done. And so this is not a cry of defeat - it’s a declaration of victory.

Already in our reflections we’ve heard how Jesus prayed for forgiveness, how he gave assurance of salvation to the dying thief, how he paid the great cost as he was forsaken by God. Jesus is now saying that all has been completed - that the price of salvation has been paid in full. That’s the emphasis of the Greek word behind this saying. It’s a commercial word. It says that the bill has been paid, the demand has been satisfied, and nothing more is owed.

So, when the restrictions are lifted and you’re able to go out for a meal somewhere nice, and the evening’s drawing to a close and you ask for the bill. Imagine if the waitress said to you, it’s already been settled. Someone else has paid your bill, and that means you can walk out without having to get your wallet out. Your debt has been settled, your bill has been paid.

That’s what Jesus is saying here. And what is the bill that has been paid? He has paid the debt you owed because of your sins. Jesus gave up his place in glory, and died in our stead, so that we could be forgiven, and saved, and redeemed.

Giuseppe gave his life for a stranger. Jesus gave his life for people he knows and loves - you and me - in all our sin, and shame, and guilt. He has paid our debt and gives us his life, his righteousness. There is nothing we can do to contribute to our salvation - it’s already been finished.

We just have to receive it. To see in Jesus’ death our life and peace, our sins paid in full. As our Communion service puts it, ‘he made there the one complete and all-sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.’ (BCP p. 210)

And he did it for you.

The sixth cross word is a word of victory.

Jesus says: It is finished.

Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
we thank you that Jesus has paid it all;
that his sacrifice has been completed,
and we are saved only through him.
Help us Lord, to trust in him,
and in his finished work on the cross,
for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cross Words 5 - Suffering (John 19:18-19)

There’s something very natural in the fifth word spoken from the cross. On the night before the cross, Jesus had shared in the Last Supper with his friends. But since then, going out to Gethsemane, praying in earnest, being arrested, and tried, and led out to the place of the skull, he hasn’t had anything to drink. His fluid loss, as his blood flows out, must have been reducing. It’s entirely natural that Jesus would be thirsty as he undergoes the agony and suffering of the cross.

As we confess in the Nicene Creed, the eternal Son of God was made man - as fully man as he is fully God. And as man, he has fully entered into our experience with one exception - though he was tempted, he did not sin. And so Jesus experiences life as we know it. He was hungry; he was tired; he wept; and here, on the cross, he was thirsty. One of our natural experiences.

And yet, there is a profound mystery in these words of Jesus. It’s in John’s gospel that Jesus requests a drink of water at a well in Samaria. The question startles the Samaritan woman, because Jewish men and Samaritan women didn’t ever associate with each other. And at that well, Jesus says these famous words: ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him with never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ (Jn 4:13-14)

The woman had been trying to satisfy her thirst in all sorts of ways with all sorts of men - five husbands, and now another who hadn’t even committed to her. Jesus offers her living water to quench her thirst. And yet, on the cross, Jesus thirsts.

Later in John’s gospel, Jesus stands up on the last and greatest day of the Feast, and with a loud voice says, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ Jesus is offering the Spirit to all who believe in him.

But for Jesus to offer this living water which will quench our thirst, he had to thirst himself. We know this, because it’s what John tells us in the context of this saying of Jesus: ‘knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”’

By this point, Jesus has endured the agony, the darkness, the weight of our sin. All is now completed - the price has been paid. And Jesus brings to mind all the Scriptures that prophesied his work on the cross. All of them had been fulfilled; we’ve seen some of them in our reflections this week. There was just one that remained unfulfilled. A verse in Psalm 69.

Psalm 69 foreshadows the cross, just like Psalm 22. And the verse that was outstanding was verse 21. ‘They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.’ In order to fulfill the Scripture, and ensure that every part of the plan was completed, Jesus declares: ‘I am thirsty.’

Now, if you’re thirsty, you need a good drink of water. But the cruelty of the cross meant that wine vinegar was offered. A bitter drink; not very thirst-quenching. And yet that was fulfilling the prophecy of David in Psalm 69. They gave me vinegar for my thirst.

There are over 300 prophecies about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in the Old Testament. And every single one of them was completed and fulfilled. To the last detail, God’s salvation plan has been accomplished.

The man who thirsted on the cross offers you the living water so that you will never thirst again. Jesus offers refreshment and revival if you will but take and drink. Believe in him, trust in him, and that spring of water will well up to eternal life in you. Will you receive from him?

The fifth cross word is a word of suffering.

Jesus says: I am thirsty.

Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
we thank you that through Jesus’ thirst,
he has opened the fountain of living water.
We turn to you afresh;
will you satisfy our thirst,
and give us this spring of water
welling up to eternal life.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cross Words 3 - Comfort (John 19: 25-27)

As we’ve been adapting to the new normal of the current social distancing and self-isolation restrictions, perhaps one of the most difficult aspects has been in relation to death and bereavement. To deal with a relative’s death at any time is difficult, but even more so in these days. So at present, if a relative is nearing the end of their life in hospital, then visiting is either strictly limited or else prohibited. Wakes aren’t possible at present, nor funeral services in church, with just a very small, socially-distant graveside service.

As the Lord Jesus hung on the cross, most of his closest followers had self-isolated. One of the twelve had betrayed him, and was no more. Another had denied knowing him. And the rest had abandoned him. All except one - the disciple whom Jesus loved - John.

And in his gospel, John tells us who else was standing near the cross. Most of the men had gone, but it was the women who were still present, watching as Jesus suffered and died. Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene.

The women who were last at the crucifixion and burial would be the first to witness the resurrection on the morning of the third day. But focus in on one of the women, the first mentioned, the mother of Jesus.

Can you imagine the grief Mary is experiencing? In the gospels, the last we hear of Joseph is in Luke 2, on the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old. By the time of Jesus’ public ministry, we imagine Joseph had already died. And now, Mary stands at the foot of the cross, watching as her firstborn dies.

To lose a child at any time is traumatic. To see him suffer in such a way, her precious, innocent son, in so great an injustice must have been devastating. As Mary stands near the cross, those words spoken to her by Simeon so many years before were now coming to pass:

‘This child (Jesus) is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ (Lk 2:34-35)

As Mary approaches the death of her son; as she plunges into the depths of grief and sorrow; as her soul is pierced it is Jesus who speaks this word of comfort from the cross. He says to her. ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to John, ‘Here is your mother.’

Even in his final moments, Jesus is fulfilling God’s law, as he honours his mother and provides for her in so many ways. John takes her into his home, to provide for her material needs, the food that she needs to survive in the absence of any other means of income. But more than that, she is provided with fellowship, as she and John go through this time of darkness together.

Jesus, who wept at the grave of Lazarus his friend (even though he was about to raise him to life) knows what we’re going through. He is able to sympathise with our experience of grief, and gives us his grace in our time of need. That grace comes through other believers, through practical helps, and through his own presence with us.

How might the Lord be directing you to help others who are in need today? Could you be present in their grief through a phonecall, or a text, or by leaving something at the door in an appropriate and safe way? Could you be the means of providing the Lord’s comfort to those who mourn?

Or perhaps today you are grieving. Look for the ways in which Christ is showing his kindness to you through his disciples. And remember, in the words of that most loved of the Psalms, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’ (Ps 23:4)

The third cross word is a word of comfort.

Jesus says: Dear woman, here is your son. Here is your mother.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, you are the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort; May we know your comfort in these days, and may we be the means of comforting others, as your word takes root in our hearts and bears fruit in our lives. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sermon: John 12: 1-11 Characters Around the Cross: Mary

I wonder if you’ve ever had a memorable meal. A dinner that really sticks out in the mind. Now, maybe you can remember every meal you’ve ever eaten, but I could hardly tell you what I had for dinner last week, let alone ten years ago. But you might remember some memorable meals. Perhaps you remember the best steak you’ve ever tasted (apologies to the vegetarians). Or maybe the most delicious dessert you’ve had (all with no calories, of course!).

Sometimes, though, it isn’t the food itself that makes a meal so memorable. Something happens, and the meal will be remembered for a long time. Ages ago now, I was out for lunch with mum and dad. I had ordered chicken Maryland, and out the plate came, piled high. Chips, bacon, banana fritter, battered pineapple, peas and sweetcorn - it was all there. But what was missing? The chicken Maryland itself! They had forgot to put it on the plate!

Meals can be memorable if they’re for a special occasion - a wedding meal, or a birthday celebration. We had mum out for her birthday one time and we had ordered dessert, when suddenly a birthday cake emerged. Mum saw it coming out from the kitchen and said, oh look, it must be somebody’s birthday - and then realised it was hers!

Or perhaps you’ve had a memorable meal when a ring was presented and you asked (or answered) the question - will you marry me? Meals can be memorable because of what happens at them. And that’s what we find in our reading tonight. We’re not told anything about the food, just that Martha served it, but this meal was unforgettable because of what happened at it - an act of unashamed, extravagant worship.

Jesus is in Bethany. That’s where Lazarus lived - who in chapter 11 had died, but Jesus brought him back to life. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, served the meal, while Jesus and Lazarus and others reclined at the table. For this meal, don’t think of them sitting at the kitchen table or the dining room table. No, at this time, the table was lower, and you lay on your side, feet out behind you, eating with one hand.

Normally when you hear about Martha, you also hear of Mary. And that’s what we hear in verse 3. Mary does something unforgettable: ‘Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.’

I’ve brought along my bottle of aftershave. This is 200ml, so a pint would be two and a half of this bottle. Enough to fill this measuring jug. Except in Mary’s hands isn’t Hugo by Hugo Boss. She has an alabaster jar of pure nard. John says here it’s an expensive perfume.

So I had a look at Boots website (other retailers are available), and their most expensive perfume is (pardon my French) the Dior J’adore Eau de Parfum spray 150ml at £142. The dearest by price by millilitre is Dior J’adore L’or Essence de Parfum spray 40 ml at £112 - or £280 per 100ml. That’s dear, but nowhere near as expensive as the nard Mary brings. She must have saved up for ages in order to have this pint of pure nard.

And what did she do with it? ‘She poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair.’ Mark tells us that she broke the jar. She held nothing back. She poured out the whole lot, giving her all to Jesus. This is costly devotion.

But there’s more going on here. You see, it’s not just costly worship, it’s also unashamed worship. She was anointing the feet of Jesus. For a single woman to let down her hair, to touch and anoint a single man’s feet; this was shocking in that culture. This wasn’t how you were meant to get on.

But Mary doesn’t care what other people think. She is pouring out her worship as she pours out her perfume, as she anoints the anointed one (the Christ). This is unashamed worship, not held back by what other people might think. Sometimes we can be held back because we’re fearful of what someone else might think or say. They might not like it, but don’t hold back. Be unashamed in your worship. Clap your hands if you want to! Raise your hands if you want to! Sing out even if the others around you aren’t.

This was unashamed worship - it had to be, because no one could miss what was happening. John says ‘the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.’ (3) Sometimes when I’m in one of the big shops, I have to take a deep breath before walking through the perfume counters. Candle shops can be overpowering. If I spray one or two sprays of this, you’ll smell it. Imagine if I poured out the whole bottle, and then again with another bottle and a half? You’d definitely smell it!

Unashamed worship. I wonder if we’re in the same category? Is the fragrance of our devotion to Jesus obvious? Can your friends and neighbours tell that there’s something different about you? Or would people be surprised you’re here, surprised that you identify as a Christian?

Extravagant worship is costly and unashamed. But sometimes it can be misunderstood, even criticised by those who should know better.

One of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, he objects to what has just happened. He says: ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ (5) What a waste it was! A year’s wages poured out in one go - think of the hungry mouths to feed. Think of the hands outstretched to receive even a little bit of it.

Perhaps you find yourself nodding along. But the only hungry mouth Judas was worried about was his own. The only eager hand wanting to receive a fraction of the money was his own. John tells us (with the benefit of looking back afterwards), that Lazarus didn’t care about the poor. He was a thief - he helped himself to what was put into the disciples’ money bag. Judas was about to betray Jesus, but he had done that already many times before.

We’ll focus in on his story tomorrow night. But could there be times when we want to sound righteous, and look better than we really are? Caring not for anyone else, but only for ourselves.

But Jesus will not let Judas criticise Mary in this way. ‘Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’ (7-8)

Jesus says that ‘you will always have the poor among you’ - I remember one of my teachers saying that the poor would always be with us, so no matter what we did, there would still be poor people, so we shouldn’t bother helping. That is not what Jesus is saying! In Mark’s gospel, Jesus goes on to say, ‘and you can help them any time you want.’We can and should help the poor. The GFS coffee evening for Craigavon Foodbank was a great success. Maybe we need to be doing more things like that.

But Jesus says: ‘But you will not always have me.’ Mary has anointed Jesus, has prepared him for his burial. Jesus knows that the cross is coming closer, that his death is very near. And Mary has offered her worship to Jesus, her Saviour who will die for her. She did it while she could, before Jesus went to the cross.

Jesus is worthy of this costly, unashamed extravagant worship. Jesus, who raised Lazarus from the dead, would himself die - crucified for us, dying in our place, to give us life and hope and peace. Jesus is worthy to receive our worship, and our praise, and everything we have, and everything we are - with our whole selves, we should worship Jesus, who died for us.

It was a memorable meal. No one would ever forget what had happened, when Mary poured out her worship as she poured out her expensive perfume.

Mary challenges us - will we worship Jesus?

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill in the Characters Around the Cross Holy Week series on Tuesday 16th April 2019.

Sermon: John 21: 1-14 It is the Lord!

Our niece was telling me the other day about how she was at the beach over the Easter holidays with her friend. A little further along the beach, coming towards them, was someone from their school. And so she started shouting ‘hiya!’ and waving frantically, and started running up to them. And when they were only a few feet apart, she realised that, actually, she didn’t know the girl at all. Had never seen her before. She looked like someone she knew, but it wasn’t her at all! So, completely embarrassed, had to apologise and walk away rather quickly!

The story stuck with me, as I was thinking about this story - and asking the question, how do you recognise someone you know. In that case, the person looked familiar but it wasn’t actually them. So how do you recognise someone? There was a story in the news over the weekend of how a drug dealer was recognised by a photo of their hand, with a fingerprint being matched through the photo found on a phone. Now, that’s high-tech police work, but how does it work in everyday life? How do you recognise someone?

Normally it’ll probably be their face. And, more particularly, their eyes. A study by psychologists at Barcelona University found that it’s the eyes that have it - you look at them first, followed by the shape of the mouth, and then the nose.

If you can’t see their face, you might recognise them by their voice, maybe, or their body shape, or the way they walk or move or do something - their mannerisms and behaviour. As we look at this story, John tells us that it’s all about Jesus appearing again to his disciples. So watch and see how the disciples recognise Jesus. How do they do it?

John tells us how it came about. We’ve relocated from Jerusalem, where chapter 20 took place, back to Galilee, where it all began. The disciples had been following Jesus for three years. They may not have been fishing for a while, and so Peter decides that he’s going to go fishing.

Was he maybe forgetting about the whole Jesus thing? Going back to his old family business? Giving up and going home? Maybe, or maybe he was just going fishing, after a stressful time in the city.

Whatever the reason, he’s with six of the other disciples, and when he announces that he’s going fishing, they all decide to go too. Thomas is there, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee (James and John), and two other disciples.

So they climb into the boat, and spend the night fishing. Or at least, trying to fish. It was a bit like the guy who went out to the river to fish, and all day he got nothing. So he called into the fishmongers on the way home, and asked him to throw a couple of fish at him. Why? asked the fishmonger. So I can say I caught them!

The disciples have caught nothing. Talk about a wasted night. No fish, to eat or sell. What a bunch of fishermen! Maybe they were out of practice; they’d forgotten how to do it; they’d forgotten the tricks of the trade; how to read the waters and the fish and to get a catch.

Now, John lets us into the secret of who is standing on the shore in verse 4. But remember that the disciples don’t know that it’s Jesus. They didn’t realise it was him - they don’t recognise him by sight from a distance.

And Jesus shouts out at them, probably the worst question to ask a group of fishermen. It’s the question that you want to ask, when you see them sitting on the pier or by the river, or in Hillsborough Forest - well, have you any fish? Caught anything? Only, it’s almost worse the way Jesus asks it: ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’

He’s showing that he knows that they don’t have any! He’s making sure that they know he knows they don’t have any! Haven’t you any fish? Now, there’s only one way to answer that, when you don’t have any. ‘No!’ What sort of fishermen are they? They’re the sort of fishermen who didn’t recognise Jesus’ voice either.

So Jesus gives them some advice. ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ (6) Now we’re not told what they thought of someone standing on the shore telling them how to do their job! Maybe it would be like a backseat driver telling you how to drive the car... But like it or not, they did it. And, as verse 6 continues, ‘When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.’

The stranger on the shore knew exactly where the fish were. He knew how to get a large catch. There was only one person who could do that. And the disciples had seen it happen before. On the same lake. After a night of failed fishing. When someone had told them to put their nets in a certain place for a catch. That same someone was now standing on the shore.

They may not have recognised him from a distance, or recognised his voice, but by his actions, it suddenly twigs. ‘Then the disciples whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”’ John recognises Jesus, tells Peter, and excitement suddenly seizes him.

Now, normally when you’re jumping into the water to go swimming, you take off unnecessary clothing, but here Peter puts on his outer cloak to jump into the water. Off he swims, the hundred yards, as the other disciples follow in the boat, dragging the net full of fish. Peter can’t wait for the boat, he wants to get to be with Jesus. Is that our desire? To want to be with him, no matter what it takes? Or do we only want to be with him when it suits?

When they come ashore, they see ‘a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.’ (9) Do you know, whenever I finish preaching, I can be quite hungry. So when I get home this evening, I’ll get the toaster going, and have some supper. Now if that’s after preaching, then I can imagine that after a hard day’s night, working like a dog; sorry, a night of working hard at fishing, the disciples were starving. So Jesus provides for them. He has the beach barbecue lit, and some food already on it. Fish - which he already had - and bread.

I’m sure it smelled good, and tasted good. Perhaps we should have had a bbq tonight! But even though Jesus has it all sorted, he tells them to bring some of the fish they had just caught. Fish which Jesus had also provided for them.

Peter brings the net ashore. It’s full of fish, large fish at that, 153 of them, to be precise. But even with so many, the net wasn’t torn. That figure, 153, is a detail that shows us that this is an eyewitness testimony. They counted the fish, and remembered the figure, it was so impressive.

When Jesus invites them to come and have breakfast, John writes a strange line. Look at verse 12. ‘None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.’ It’s almost as if they know, but still aren’t sure - they can’t quite take it in that the Jesus who was crucified is now alive, and inviting them to eat with him. They dared not ask, because they know it is him.

Jesus himself serves them, taking the bread and giving it to them, and the same with the fish. He supplies their physical needs, as well as confirming that he is indeed alive. Once again he is known and recognised by his actions, by his servant-heart, taking bread and giving it.

This evening, Jesus invites us to his feast - not a breakfast bbq - but the supper of bread and wine, as we recall his death for us and celebrate that he is indeed alive. As you come to the table, take a moment to recognise that the Lord is here, offering us the sustaining food we need. May we know that it is indeed the Lord that we encounter here, as we look forward to the heavenly banquet, when we will see him face to face.

May we have the eagerness of Peter, an earnest and eager desire to be with the Lord - not just here in this building, but everywhere we go, to know his presence with us, his power within us.

It may have taken them a while to recognise him, not by his body shape, or by his voice, but eventually by his familiar action, the supernatural provision of the catch of fish. But once they knew it was the Lord, they rejoiced, and they went to be with him - the third time he appeared to them, after he was raised from the dead. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 15th April 2018.

Sermon: John 20: 24-31 Doubting Thomas becomes Trusting Thomas

In recent years, we’ve seen the invention of lots of new words and phrases. So, for example, if you haven’t had your dinner yet, then you might be getting a bit ‘hangry.’ My spell-checker didn’t like that word, but it’s the word to describe when you’re angry because you’re hungry. Hangry - see if you can use that one tomorrow!

Another recent addition was the word of the year in 2016: post-truth. It describes the way society seems to be moving away from truth and facts, to focus much more on personal preferences and opinions. And, when you think that 2016 was the year of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, perhaps it was the perfect word to sum up the year.

But what will it look like to live as a Christian in a post-truth kind of world? Perhaps you’ve already had the encounter with someone who doesn’t believe. They reassure you that, if Christianity works for you, then that’s nice and good, but it’s certainly not for them. It might be true for you, but it’s not true for everyone. But is that really true?

You see, at the heart of the Christian faith are a series of facts, of things that are true. We’ll affirm them later in our creed - that Jesus died; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day. That creed is either true or false. Those things either happened or they didn’t happen.

But how can we be sure? If you’ve ever wondered about the truth of the resurrection of Jesus, then Thomas is your friend. You see, we know him by another name - not Didymus, as the passage suggests, but rather his supposed full name: Doubting Thomas.

Of all the newly invented words like hangry or post-truth, there’s another one that perfectly applies to Thomas. It’s a four letter word, spelled F O M O - fomo. Anyone know what it means?

FOMO is the fear of missing out. It’s the anxiety that comes, particularly on Facebook, that you’ll be sitting at home, missing our on something exciting. So, imagine the scene. You’re at home, doing nothing much, scrolling through social media, when you see that all your friends are at a party, but you weren’t invited. You have the fear of missing out.

FOMO was only invented fairly recently, but it perfectly describes Thomas’ situation. From verse 19, we hear of what happened on the first Easter Sunday evening. The disciples were all together, doors locked for fear of the Jews. They still didn’t really understand that Jesus was risen - even though the women reported the empty tomb, Peter and John had seen the empty tomb. Then, suddenly, Jesus stood among them. He speaks word of peace - to transform and commission.

No wonder the disciples were overjoyed when the saw the Lord! Their fear was gone. They really did have hope. They could rejoice that Jesus had defeated death. All the disciples were glad. All, that is, except for Thomas, the first FOMO feeler.

Look at what verse 24 says: ‘Now Thomas... was not with the disciples when Jesus came.’ The disciples were all there; the twelve, well, eleven since Judas wasn’t around, and well, ten, since Thomas was somewhere else. Thomas was missing, and he missed out. Where was he? Had he popped to the shop? Visiting family? Out for dinner? We don’t know where he was, but he wasn’t there.

The other disciples don’t wait to share the good news when they see Thomas: ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he won’t believe them. Do you see his threshold of proof? The kind of evidence that he’ll require before he’ll believe that Jesus is alive?

‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’ (25)

He’s been with the other disciples for three years - he knows what they’re like, yet he won’t believe what they say. He wants the facts - he wants to see, and he wants to touch. Think how the conversations would have gone that week. But Thomas, we’ve seen him. We know he’s alive. Why won’t you believe us?

One whole week has passed. It’s now tonight, a week after Easter. Thomas is still unbelieving, still living up to his Doubting name. The disciples are gathered, and Thomas is there this time. The doors are locked, yet Jesus came and stood among them. Again, he speaks those words of peace. And then do you see what he does next?

The risen Jesus invites Thomas to do everything Thomas had said he would have to do in order to believe. Jesus had heard Thomas, knew what Thomas needed, and so provides Thomas with the opportunity to stop doubting and to believe.

‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ (27).

Up to this point, Thomas was skeptical. He wanted physical proof. He wanted to see, touch, and then he would believe. But look closely at verse 27 and 28. Does he touch Jesus? Does he take up the invitation to touch his hands and side? No! He simply replies: ‘My Lord and my God!’

Thomas didn’t believe the word of the other disciples, but he did believe when he saw Jesus face to face. His doubt was gone. To misquote the Monkees song, ‘then he saw his face, now he’s a believer.’

And you might think - well, that’s all right for Thomas. He could remove his doubts by seeing for himself. Seeing is believing, isn’t it? And we won’t be able to see, so how can we believe? Do we need to take a leap in the dark?

Do you see how Jesus replies? ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ (29).

Jesus isn’t saying that you’re blessed if you switch off your brain and accept any old story about Jesus being raised. No, we may not have see Jesus, but we can believe he is alive, because of the eyewitness testimony of the first disciples. We can believe that Jesus has defeated death because Thomas and the other disciples met him, saw him, touched him, shared food with him.

Because Jesus died on the cross and was raised to life, Jesus is exactly who Thomas recognises him to be - Lord and God. but even that isn’t enough. And isn’t even what Thomas said! Is Jesus ‘my Lord and my God?’ Is he your Lord and your God?

Thomas might have missed out on the initial excitement of the first Easter Day, but within a week he too knew that Jesus was alive. Thomas speaks to our post-truth world, not only through his dramatic turnaround, his emotional appeal, but also through the undeniable facts - that Jesus died and rose again.

And John tells us why he writes about Thomas, and about everything else he has included in his gospel: ‘These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ (31).

Take some time tonight, or over this week, to read through John’s Gospel. Everything John writes is to show you who Jesus is, so that you can be sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But having that head knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, isn’t enough. Here’s the rest of his purpose: ‘... and that by believing you may have life in his name.’

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And through John’s gospel, he says of himself: ‘I am the resurrection and the life...’ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life...’ Jesus died in our place for our sins, but Jesus has defeated death. He is alive, and so we too can receive his life as we trust in him. This is the hope we have as we stand at a graveside; as we feel the pain of loss - that Jesus is the life, and will give us eternal life.

We can believe it because doubting Thomas became trusting Thomas. He gives us truth for a post-truth world. He didn’t miss out. And neither will we, as we trust in Jesus Christ, and say to him and about him: ‘My Lord and my God.’

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 8th April 2018.

Sermon: John 20: 10-18 In the Garden

‘Why are you crying?’ That’s the question that Mary Magdalene is asked, not once, but twice in our reading. Perhaps it’s a question that you’ve been asked yourself, as the tears have been flowing. Why are you crying?

If it’s not too painful, think back to the last time you cried. Perhaps it was in the hospital or doctor’s surgery. Maybe someone told you something you didn’t expect to hear. Perhaps you were overwhelmed by grief, or fear, or hopelessness, or a combination of all three. Maybe you stood by the grave of a loved one.

That’s where Mary was as our reading began. We’re still tracking the events of the first Easter morning. Last week we heard how she had gone to the tomb of Jesus early on, while it was still dark. When she’d arrived, she discovered that the stone had been removed from the entrance. Straight away she ran to get Peter and John. They had the race to the tomb, went in, saw the nearly empty tomb (just the grave clothes were there). But then they had gone home again.

Mary is still at the tomb, crying. So she decides to look inside. And what does she see inside? Verse 12: She ‘saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.’

And they have a question for her. ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ What’s the reason for your tears? What do you have to be crying for? So, she gives her answer, her reason: ‘They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him.’ She doesn’t know where he is.

But notice that she thinks that Jesus is still dead. ‘They’ - whoever they are, have taken Jesus away, and i don’t know where they have put him. That’s the same summary she gave to Peter and John earlier in the morning - see verse 2.

Someone has obviously come and moved the body. Jesus must still be dead, lying in some other tomb, or some other place. Where can he be? Her tears are flowing because the body of Jesus has been removed.

With that, she turns around, and sees a man standing in the garden. She doesn’t realise who he is - but John tells us that it’s Jesus himself. And so, again, Mary is asked the exact same question. ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ Although Jesus also adds on an extra bit - was he trying to help her to realise who he was? He asks: ‘Who is it you are looking for?’ (15)

Mary still doesn’t recognise him. She reckons he must be the gardener. And so she answers in something the same way again: ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you put him, and I will get him.’ (15)

She wants to find Jesus, and yet she doesn’t realise that he’s standing in front of her - not a lifeless body, but a life-giving Saviour.

At this point, Jesus utters just one word. Her name. Mary. And instantly she recognises him. She realises that he has been in front of her that whole time. The he hasn’t been laid anywhere, because he isn’t dead any more. Jesus is alive - risen to new life, so that he will never again die. She bursts out with that response: ‘Rabboni! which means Teacher).’ And with that, she rushes to embrace him, to show her devotion to her Lord, now risen from the dead.

Jesus tells her not to hold onto him, because he hasn’t yet returned to the Father. Instead, Mary is sent with a message for the disciples. She’s the first to have met the risen Jesus, the first to witness the resurrection, the first to share the good news that Jesus is alive.

‘Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’

Entrusted with this message, Mary is the bearer of the good news of what Easter means for us. Because of what happened in the garden, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have a new status and a new relationship.

Jesus describes the disciples as ‘my brothers’ - we are included in his family, we are siblings with the Saviour. And if we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, then we are sons and daughters of the King. Jesus says: ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’

Jesus was the only one who could truly call God ‘my Father’ and ‘my God.’ From before the beginning of time, from eternity past, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have existed, one God. But now, through his dying and rising, Jesus enables us to call God ‘our Father’ and ‘our God.’ It’s the fulfilment of when Jesus taught the disciples to pray: ‘Our Father...’ It’s truly possible now, because Jesus died for us and rose again to new life, to bring us into his family.

The garden is the place of transformation. Maybe you watch those sort of garden makeover programmes on TV. Beforehand, it’s all overgrown, with weeds and nettles, a real mess, just a jungle. And then the team get to work, and you see the progress being made until finally, it’s all done. There’s a little pond, and a patio area, and a range of plants, shrubs, and trees. The place has been transformed.

In the story of the Bible, the garden is also a place of transformation. In our first reading we heard of Eden. A garden paradise. The place where everything was good, good, and very good. The place where God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.

But that perfect paradise was marred forever. Adam and Eve believed the lie, took the fruit, and swallowed death. They hid from God. They blamed each other, and even blamed God. As a result, they were removed from the garden, separated from God, and suffered the effects of the curse. The perfect paradise became a place of thorns and thistles: ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’ (Gen 3: 17-19)

Thorns and thistles. To dust you will return. And yet this garden is now the place of transformation. As Jesus was crucified, what adorned his head? A crown of ...? Thorns. Jesus bore the curse, and fulfilled the curse, by dying the death he did not deserve.

Jesus now lives, reversing the curse, again bringing us near to God, so that we can call him our Father and our God. The grave could not hold him. Death could not keep him. Jesus lives, and so we too will live with him. And where will we live? In the perfectly restored garden city, where the tree of life yields its fruit; where the river of the water of life flows. So why should Mary weep? Why should we weep? Mary is transformed, there are no more tears: ‘I have seen the Lord!’

We too, can believe her testimony. And when we do, we will receive the same promise - of life everlasting. Life that begins again, in the garden.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday 8th April 2018.

Sermon: John 20: 19-23 Peace be with you

This evening gives us another opportunity to reflect on the good news of Easter. And, because it’s a praise service, we get to lift our praise to our risen and glorified King Jesus. But the first Easter evening wasn’t just as relaxed and enjoyable for the disciples.

As they gathered together, they didn’t have a chiming bell to invite any and all who would come in. There was no loud, rousing music and triumphant hymn singing. In fact, they didn’t really want anyone to join them. The door wasn’t open. It was closed. Locked. Bolted. Danger outside, fear within.

Our readings today are keeping track with the events of the first Easter Day. This morning we heard of what Mary Magdalene, Peter and John saw - Mary saw the stone rolled away from the tomb. Peter and John saw the strips of linen still lying where the body of Jesus had been. John saw and believed that Jesus was alive.

Mary (in the passage we’ll look at next Sunday morning) then meets with Jesus, and goes to the disciples with the news ‘I have seen the Lord.’ Even with that eyewitness report, the disciples are still afraid. Perhaps even more afraid now than before.

Before, they might have been scared that they would be next to be arrested, tried, beaten and crucified. Now with Jesus’ body missing, the Jews might be even angrier. They might come after the disciples to get their own back.

And so the disciples are together, on the evening of that first day of the week. They have the doors locked for fear of the Jews. They’re fearful. It’s as if they’re listening out for the march of soldiers; the arrival of unwelcome visitors.

Then suddenly, in the midst of their fear, even with the locked doors, a visitor appears. A very welcome visitor. ‘Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

To the fearful and frightened, Jesus speaks a word of peace. Now, this greeting of peace was one that was common - indeed, still is to this day among Jews - they’ll often say ‘Shalom.’ But this is far from a customary greeting. Rather, it’s a bit like the Passover meal itself.

Jesus was celebrating Passover with his disciples, using familiar words, the same words used for hundreds of years, when suddenly he gave them new meaning, with new words added in. This is my body. This is my blood. So it is here, that Jesus takes this regular greeting of peace, but invests it with a new understanding of what peace means.

What is peace all about? Perhaps you’re looking forward to a couple of days of peace and quiet. An absence of fighting or stress or noise. But peace isn’t just the absence of war, it’s a positive, blessed life under God’s kingdom. And Jesus shows us what peace is all about.

‘After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.‘ Peace is possible only through the nail-marked hand and spear-pierced side. Jesus shows them the ‘wounds of love’ - the scars of the cross, the only basis for peace with God, and with one another.

And what a difference it makes to the disciples, knowing that Jesus is with them, that Jesus is alive, that Jesus has triumphed through the scars of the cross. ‘The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.’

They weren’t just a wee bit happy. Not just a tiny bit more thrilled than they had been before. They were overjoyed. An overabundance of joy as they see the risen Lord.

Are you like the first disciples this evening? Are you fearful, for whatever reason? Are you locked away, present, but still remote, reserved, trying to keep yourself safe and free from harm. Even behind your locked doors, Jesus appears. He is with you on the inside of your fear. And he speaks those same words to you tonight. ‘Peace be with you.’ Jesus has conquered. Jesus longs to give you joy, even to make you overjoyed. Because he is with you. He is alive.

Now, maybe the disciples thought that that would be enough for one evening. Jesus speaking peace and bringing transformation to them. That’s grand. Let’s sing up and go home. We’ve experienced that peace for ourselves. But Jesus isn’t finished with disciples who are just transformed. So he again speaks peace to them - peace to be shared.

‘Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”’ (21) On Tuesday evening we thought about the domino effect of God’s love - the Father loves the Son, who loves the disciples, who are to love one another. In the same way, just as the Father had sent Jesus, so now he sends the disciples.

The message of peace isn’t to stop with the eleven in the room. It’s a message to be shared far and wide, as the disciples are sent out to bring peace wherever they go. And once again, it’s peace with God that is front and centre.

As Jesus breathes on them, he promises the gift of the Holy Spirit. And with the action, comes the words: ‘If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’ (23)

As the disciples bring the gospel of peace, they bring the offer of sins forgiven. And we still bring the possibility of sins forgiven, if we know the gospel of peace. Just as the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus has sent us to bring this good news to everyone we meet. So that they know they have a Father who loves them, that they can have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In a matter of minutes, the disciples were transformed by the peace Jesus offered, but they were also commissioned by the peace Jesus still offers. Have you experienced that peace yourself? If not, Jesus offers it to you tonight. And if you have, why would you not want others to share in it? Peace isn’t something to be kept to yourself. It’s something to be shared, far and wide. Jesus says, ‘Peace be with you.’ And you. And everyone. Amen.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Easter Sunday evening 1st April 2018.

Easter Sermon: John 20: 1-9 The Not Quite Empty Tomb

Today is Easter Sunday, and it’s a day when we get to enjoy some Easter eggs! Has anyone had any Easter egg yet this morning? Maybe after dinner you’ll be able to eat some!

Today I’ve brought along some Easter eggs to help us tell the story of Easter. We were doing that yesterday at the rectory, but not everyone was able to make it. So here are some Easter eggs to tell the story.

Here’s the first one. (Open it - what’s inside?) We have a cross inside. Jesus died on a cross on the first Good Friday. He died to take away our sins, all the wrong things we have done. But that isn’t the end of the story.

In the second one, what do we find? (Open it) We have a stone. When Jesus died, he was buried in a tomb - a cave. A big stone was rolled in front of the tomb to seal it.

Here’s the third one. What’s in it? It’s empty. Why is this empty? It’s because the tomb was empty. Jesus was raised from the dead, he wasn’t in the tomb any longer. Jesus is not dead - he is alive, and he gives us his new life for us to share in.

Now I have one more Easter egg. Can anyone guess what might be inside it? ... Inside we find some glasses, spectacles. Now why do we have some glasses inside this last egg?

What do you use glasses for? To see! And our Bible reading today is all about seeing. We hear about Mary Magdalene, and Simon Peter, and the other disciple (who is John himself, the author of this book of the Bible). So let’s see what they saw!

In verse 1 we’re told what Mary saw. She ‘went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.’ The big massive stone that was in front of the tomb - it had been rolled away. That’s what Mary saw. The tomb was open. So she ran and told Peter and John.

Do you ever have races with your friends? Maybe at school. And sports day will be coming up in the summer term. Well, Peter and John had a race. They ran to the tomb. Peter was older, John was younger, and John must have been a wee bit competitive. He makes sure that we know that he made it to the tomb first (4). John says - I won the race! I’m faster than Peter!

John made it there first, but didn’t go inside. Maybe he was afraid. But he bent down and looked in. And what did he see? ‘He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.’ (5)

Then Peter arrives, and goes on in. Verse 6 tells us what he saw: ‘He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that he been around Jesus’ head.’

now, we think of the tomb being empty. That’s even what the New International publishers have put as a wee heading at the top of the section. ‘The Empty Tomb.’ But John and Peter both see something inside the tomb. It’s not entirely empty. What did they see?

The strips of linen. Now, we need a volunteer. You see, in those days, the person who had died would be wrapped in strips of linen, with spices packed into the binding. I’ve brought along some strips of... toilet roll. And we’re going to wrap you.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he didn’t need the grave clothes any more. He didn’t need the strips of linen, so he left them behind. And that’s what Peter and John saw - the strips of linen lying in the not quite empty tomb.

The strips of linen were there, but Jesus wasn’t there. He’s alive. He is risen from the dead. And that means that we too will live with him.

Right at the end of verse 8, we’re told that John ‘saw and believed.’ He still didn’t understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead, but he did believe that Jesus had done it.

My Easter eggs remind us that, in the words of the creed we’ll use shortly, ‘Christ died for our sins... he was buried... he was raised.’ Mary saw the stone rolled away. Peter and John saw the linen strips, left behind when Jesus rose to new life. Next Sunday morning, we’ll see what else Mary saw that first Easter morning. But we can rejoice today, because Jesus is alive!

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church on Easter Sunday 1st April 2018 at the Easter Family Celebration.

Good Friday Sermon: John 19:30 Famous Last Words - It is finished

‘He gave his life for strangers. He must have known that he didn’t really have a chance. If that doesn’t make him a hero, I don’t know what would.’

Those words formed part of the tribute paid to the French policeman Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, who died last Friday. An Islamist terrorist had taken people hostage in a supermarket in southern France. And Arnaud traded places with one of the hostages. He took her place, and died in her stead. And on Wednesday, he was honoured with a national memorial service.

A new national hero was recognised. Here’s what the French President said of Arnaud: ‘To be willing to die so that innocent people continue to live, this is the heart of a soldier’s promise.’

Tonight, we have heard again the story of the first Good Friday. The betrayal, the arrest, the denial, the trial, the flogging, the condemnation, and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. What was it all for? Why did Jesus die? What makes Good Friday good?

The answer comes in the very last words that John records before Jesus gives up his spirit. All week we’ve been focusing on the famous last words of Jesus, and tonight we hear his very last words spoken on the cross. Three words in English, one word in the Greek: ‘It is finished.’

But what does he mean? Does he mean ‘I’m finished’? It might look as if Jesus has given up, that he’s been beaten and broken, and he is finished. But that’s not what he means.

Perhaps he is referring to the wine vinegar he had been given. Verse 30 says: ‘When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”’ Was he saying that he had finished taking a drink - just like you might say ‘all done’ when a baby finishes a bottle? That’s not what he means either.

The clue to what Jesus means comes a little further back in verse 28. ‘Later, knowing that all was not completed...’ That word completed is the same word that Jesus says when he says ‘It is finished.’ So what he has completed? What is finished?

Jesus is saying that his work of salvation has been completed. The saving work that Jesus came to do has been finished. And the scale and scope of his work shows just how wondrous the cross is.

Arnaud, the French policeman, gave his life for strangers, but the Lord Jesus died for people he knew and loved - people like you and me, known by Jesus, and loved by Jesus. And while that’s a wonderful comfort, to be known by Jesus, and loved by Jesus, it also highlights just how amazing his death for us really is.

Remember what was said about Arnaud by the French President? ‘To be willing to die so that innocent people continue to live...’ The amazing truth about Jesus’ death for us is that he knows us - as we really are. None of us could be described as innocent. Jesus was - ‘I find no basis for a charge against him’ said Pilate - but he couldn’t say that about us.

Jesus died to pay the debt we could not pay. He died in our place for our sins. And as he dies, Jesus says ‘It is finished.’ That word, tetelestai, was the word written on an invoice to show that the bill had been paid in full. Completed. Paid in full.

Perhaps you’ve been in a shop with a dangerous looking device on the counter. A spike, or nail, pointing upwards. And whenever a bill is paid, the bill is put on the nail. It’s finished. It’s been satisfied, it’s been completed. Paid in full.

Our sins, however many, however serious, have been paid in full, as Jesus was nailed to the cross. These famous last words of Jesus aren’t a cry of defeat or disappointment. No, they are a cry of victory. Jesus has completed the work he came to do - to die for a world of lost sinners - to die for you and me.

May you know the joy of sins forgiven. Your burden lifted. The price paid, as Jesus says, ‘It is finished.’

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Good Friday 30th March 2018.

Sermon: John 17: 1-26 Famous Last Words - Glorify your Son

When we think of the Lord’s prayer, we immediately think of the prayer we say at every service - ‘Our Father, who art in heaven.’ But tonight, we’re focusing on the Lord’s other prayer, which comes right at the end of a long piece of teaching. Everything from chapter 13 through to chapter 16 happens over the course of one evening. And the prayer of chapter 17 comes at the end of everything Jesus has been teaching his disciples.

Jesus knows that in a few hours, he will be crucified, and so he takes time to prepare the disciples for his death, and for what will happen after his death and resurrection. And this prayer sums up all that he has been saying to them. As Jesus prays, he does so for his disciples to hear. In other places, Jesus had gone off on his own to pray, but not here. He wants the disciples to hear what he’s praying.

It’s a bit like the wee fella who was saying his prayers by the bed one night. And as he does so, he shouts out really loudly, ‘God, please let me have a new bike for my birthday.’ His mum says to him, why are you shouting? God isn’t deaf. No, he says, but granny is! This is a prayer that the disciples are meant to hear.

So as Jesus prays, it’s late on Thursday night. In a few hours the soldiers are going to come to arrest him. He’ll be tried, beaten, and crucified. How would you pray if that was you? If you’re like me, you might ask God for it not to happen. You might think, I’m Jesus, get me out of here... But that’s not how Jesus prays. So what is it Jesus prays for?

First of all, Jesus prays for himself. Now, that might seem strange. You might have been taught to pray using the ACTS guide - Adoration (praising God for who he is); Confession (saying sorry to God); Thanksgiving (thanking God for answered prayers); and then Supplication (which is asking God for things, for others and for self). Yourself comes last. But here, Jesus prays for himself first.

Here’s what he prays: ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.’ Jesus asks the Father to glorify him, so that he may glorify the Father. Jesus isn’t out for himself and his own glory - it’s so that the Father is glorified. But what is glory? What does it mean to be glorified?

To glorify means to bring glory to; to honour; to praise; to lift high. A few years ago you might have heard the chorus ‘Glory, glory, Man United’ ringing around Old Trafford. Maybe not recently, though! Or think of the celebrations after Ireland’s Six Nations Grand Slam victory. All the clapping and cheering for the team that beat all-comers. Jesus prays that he will be able to glorify the Father. It’s a bit like the Lord’s prayer - ‘Hallowed be your name’ (may your name be honoured).

So how does Jesus glorify the Father? He does it by giving eternal life to his people. Jesus gives us eternal life - life that will go on forever; life that is of a different quality; life that is all about knowing God the Father, and the Lord Jesus.

Jesus was sent to earth with a mission. His job was to bring us eternal life, by completing the work the Father gave him to do. So say that your mum or dad sends you out on a mission. You’ve to go to the shop and get a few things. You’ll bring them joy if you get everything on the list, if you’ve completed their instructions. That’s what Jesus has done. He has perfectly fulfilled the Father’s instructions, in everything, every day for thirty-three or so years. And in a matter of hours he will complete the work by dying on the cross.

Jesus asks that he would again share in the glory of the Father which he had before the world began. Jesus came from heaven, and after the cross and the resurrection, Jesus is returning to heaven. He will be glorified, praised, lifted high.

But what about the disciples? If Jesus is leaving them, how are they going to cope without him? In verse 6-19, Jesus prays next for his first disciples, the men sitting with him as he prays. So what does he pray for his disciples?

The first prayer comes in verse 11. ‘I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.’

Jesus asks the Father to protect his disciples. He says in verse 12 that when he was with them, he protected them, and kept them safe. BUt now they need to be safe - how are they kept safe? ‘By the power of your name.’ It’s a bit like when a wedding takes place, and the bride comes under her husband’s name. We belong to God, we are his, under his name, under his power, in his safe keeping.
Jesus prays for the disciples to be protected. From what? Or whom? Jesus says that the world will hate the disciples - and last week we heard of the work of Open Doors, working with persecuted Christians - people who are hated, even by their own families because they love Jesus. In verse 15 we see who we need protected from - ‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.’ We have an enemy. He is out to get us. But we have the Father’s protection.

Jesus prays for protection. Again, it’s a bit like the Lord’s prayer, where he tells us to pray ‘deliver us from evil.’ But then he also asks that his disciples will be purified. We see it in verse 17: ‘Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.’

Now that word sanctified just means being purified, or set apart for God. Jesus set himself apart by living the perfect holy life, and then dying on the cross for us. He wants us to become purified, set apart for God’s service.

Now, as we come towards the last section, in verses 20-26, we see that Jesus prays for us directly. He has prayed for himself - because if he didn’t go to the cross there wouldn’t have been any disciples, and we wouldn’t be here tonight. He prayed for himself, then the first disciples, and now he prays for you and me. ‘I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.’

The Christian faith is like a big long relay race. Jesus passed the message to the first disciples, who went and told others, who told others, who told others, until eventually the good news reached here in Richhill, and reached you and me here tonight. And from the very beginning, Jesus was praying for you and me. So what does he pray for us?

Verse 21: ‘that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.’ Jesus prays that we may be one; together; united - as Jesus says in verse 23 ‘complete unity.’ In the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one, together. And Jesus wants us to be the same. Completely united. Standing and working and serving together.

It’s what Paul prays for the Philippians in his letter to them: ‘That you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel...’ (Phil 1:27). The picture to get in your mind is a Roman army unit, standing side by side with their shields linked up. All together like that they are safe. But if they start to break up, go off their own way, go in different directions, then they’ll not be safe. If even a small hole opens up they’ll be hit by enemy arrows. Perhaps the song from Old Trafford might sum up what Jesus is praying for - glory, glory, church united.

Jesus prays that we will be where he is; that we’ll see his glory. And because Jesus died on the cross, we have this promise, this sure future ahead of us, as we trust him.

Jesus is glorified, because he has obeyed the Father, and has died on the cross to show us his love. His prayer has been answered.

His disciples were protected and purified as they brought the good news of Jesus into all the world. Jesus’ prayer has been answered.

He wants us to be united, standing together as one, as we journey towards his glory, to be with him, enjoying that eternal life that only he gives. This prayer too will be answered. So let’s be together, helping and serving each other, because this is what Jesus wants; and this is what Jesus prayed for. Let’s pray that this prayer of Jesus will indeed be full answered, as we take our place with him in glory. Amen.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Wednesday 28th March 2018 as part of the Famous Last Words series in Holy Week.

Sermon: John 15: 1-17 Famous Last Words - I am the vine

I’ve brought along something tonight that you’ll hopefully be able to see. Here are my earphones! Now what are earphones used for? They’re for listening music. It’s great. You can be on the bus or sitting in the middle of a big crowd of people, and you can enjoy your favourite music - whether that’s George Ezra or Daniel O’Donnell or anyone in between! There’s just one problem... when I put them in my ears, I can’t hear anything. What’s wrong? They’re not connected. If this end isn’t connected into the ipod, then I won’t hear any music.

Or just think of your morning routine. If you’re not quite awake, you’re trying to get ready and wondering why the hairdryer or the toaster won’t work - they need to be plugged in. They need a connection with the power source to make them work; to do what they were made to do.

That’s what Jesus was telling us in our reading tonight. But rather than talk about earphones or hairdryers, Jesus uses another picture. But before we get to that, a little quiz. What country do you identify with the thistle? (Scotland). The shamrock? (Ireland) The maple leaf? (Canada). The fern? (New Zealand). The vine?

The vine was the national symbol of Israel. In the Old Testament, in Isaiah 5, God sings the song of his vineyard. He’s talking about Israel, his people, as his vineyard. But the vineyard he planted turned out to be wild. It didn’t produce good grapes. But now, here in John 15, Jesus says ‘I am the true vine.’ He’s the real thing.

Now I’ve brought some grapes with me tonight. So where did these grapes come from? How did they grow? They don’t have a factory making grapes like these - the branch has to be connected to the vine. It needs the sap, the power to produce the fruit. In the same way, Jesus says to his disciples: ‘Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.’ (John 15:4)

We need the power of Jesus to live as Christians. If we’re not connected to him, we won’t be able to do anything. That’s why Jesus tells us to remain in him - to rest in him, to abide in him, to be joined with him at all times. It’s only by this that we can produce fruit.

Now, here’s a spot the difference for you. What’s the difference between an apple tree and a Christmas tree? (By the way, it’s only 272 days to Christmas). A Christmas tree might look very nice with lights and baubles and tinsel and whatever else you put on a Christmas tree, but they have to be hung on it. The Christmas tree doesn’t produce all those things itself. The apple tree produces its own fruit.

But which are we like? Sometimes it can be very easy to come along to church or GFS, to look good, to seem to be a Christian with a great outward appearance, looking nice and respectable. But it’s all just decoration. Is that us? Or are we producing the fruit of being a Christian, living out of our relationship with Jesus - we’ll see what that looks like in a moment.

So that’s the basic point Jesus wants us to get tonight - we need to be connected to Jesus. It’s more important than being connected with 5000 friends on Facebook.

But Jesus goes on to show two ways in which being connected to him will impact our life. Here’s the first one: ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’ (John 15:7-8)

So how does that sound? Ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. Whatever you wish. It sounds a bit like a genie and a magic lamp, doesn’t it? Three friends were on a desert island when they found a lamp. The genie each gave them one wish. The first wished he was in Paris and he disappeared. The second wished he was in Hollywood and he disappeared. The third realised how lonely he was and wished his friends could come back...

So is Jesus saying that we can have whatever we want? Could we go outside after the service to find our cars have been changed into Ferraris or Porsches? But we’ve missed out the first part of the sentence. ‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you...’ It’s when we’re connected to Jesus, as his words remain in us, then we can ask whatever we wish and we’ll receive it. It’s not asking for things you want selfishly, rather, it’s about asking for the things Jesus wants because they are the things we want as well. When we’re connected to Jesus, we’ll see answered prayers.

There’s one more effect. Have you ever seen a domino display? You need a steady hand to set it up. One domino moves the next and on and on... We see something the same here as Jesus talks about love. ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.’ (John 15:9) The Father loves the Son, who loves us, and who do we pass it on to? ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’

These words were said in the upper room, just hours before Jesus went to the cross. It was there that he demonstrated the greatest love of all: ‘Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.’ (14) It is as we receive his love - as we see just what Jesus did for us that we are connected to him. The cross is where we see the love of Jesus. Never wander from the love of Jesus. His love is the power that flows from him to us. His love will make us fruitful, as we become more like Jesus.

Jesus commands us to love one another. That’s because it isn’t easy. We’re all different, with different personalities and preferences. It takes the love of God to overflow in our hearts to each other as the fruit of the Spirit grows.

One of the problems of buying fruit is that sometimes it goes off quickly. It isn’t all eaten and it goes bad. My banana has seen better days. It’s past its best. It’s only good for the compost heap. But the fruit that we produce when we’re connected to Jesus endures for ever: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.’

Are you connected to Jesus? Perhaps you realise that you’re disconnected, far from him. You need to be plugged in, grafted on. Come to him tonight. Look at the cross, and discover his great love for you, to lay down his life for you.

But maybe you are a Christian. Stay connected. Return again to the cross, and let the love of Jesus flood your heart and overflow - as you pray like Jesus, and love like Jesus, producing spiritual fruit that will last forever.

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Tuesday 27th March 2018, as part of the Famous Last Words series for Holy Week.

Sermon: John 14: 1-14 Famous Last Words - I am the way

Saying farewell is never easy. To know that someone isn’t going to be around, for whatever reason, can be difficult to get used to. And yet, it happens all the time. Your neighbours who’ve been there next door for ages sell up and move away. Your colleague or boss is shifted to another branch. Your children or grandchildren move off to university. Your relatives up sticks and settle in another country.

At least with most of those moves, you don’t lose contact. You can still keep in touch. But there is another farewell which (for the meantime) is a firmer, more final kind of farewell. Whether a sudden shock or a long, drawn out, gradual decline, it’s hard to say farewell when a loved one dies.

For the disciples of Jesus, our reading tonight is the shocking type of farewell. Just before our reading, at the end of chapter 13, Jesus has told the disciples that he is going to be with them only a little longer. That where he is going, they can’t come. It takes them by surprise. They weren’t expecting this news.

It’s now Thursday evening - everything from John 13 through to John 17 happens in one night, and that’s before the arrest, trial and crucifixion. Jesus is preparing his disciples for all that’s going to happen in the next day, and then life after Good Friday. They’re saddened by the new that he’s leaving them - after all, he’s been with them for three years. They’ve seen and done so much together. And on Palm Sunday, Jesus had been welcomed into the city.

They thought this was the victory they had been longing for. They imagined Jesus was about to take his rightful throne. And Jesus says he is leaving them? Where is he going? What’s happening? What sort of farewell is this?

It’s no wonder Peter jumps in to say that he’ll follow Jesus now, that he’ll lay down his life for Jesus. Very shortly Peter will deny even knowing Jesus. Peter can’t die for Jesus - Jesus has to die for Peter. That’s why Jesus must go.

Jesus is leaving them. Their friend, guide, master, and Lord is leaving them. It’s no wonder that chapter 14 begins with those very familiar words from the funeral service. It’s obvious that their hearts were troubled by this news; that they were anxious about the future, worried about what would happen. It’s why Jesus says this:

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.’ He doesn’t want them to be anxious, or to have troubled hearts. And the way to avoid troubled hearts is to trust God, and also trust Jesus - through all that is about to happen. Even when they don’t understand it.

Jesus says ‘trust me’ - I wonder if anyone has said those words to you recently. Maybe buying a car, and you’re not sure about it. Trust me. You’ve been let down by someone before. Trust me. They give you a promise, and you have to decide if you believe them, if they’ll actually do what they say they will do.

So what is it the disciples have to trust Jesus for? In verse 2 he gives them a promise - the reason why he is going away. ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms.’ Now, whether you’re used to hearing about mansions (dwelling places) or rooms, the point Jesus is making is that he’s making a home for us; a place prepared.

A while back we were doing an overnight stay in a hotel with friends. There was some confusion over the booking, and when I rang up the day we were due to go, it turned out that only one room had been booked. Our friends’ room. Thankfully they still had some left!

Worse, a friend of mine arrived at his hotel in London. He found that the hotel had double booked his room; there was definitely no room at the inn. So he had to traipse across London, wheeling his suitcase behind me, to go to another hotel from the same company.

But that won’t happen to any of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus is saying that our place is prepared; it’s certain. He is going to prepare a place for us. He goes to make everything ready. And not only that, he will personally come and take us to be with him.

This isn’t like the holidays that you might have been on. You arrive at the airport and you’re loaded onto a hot and sticky bus for the trip around half the hotels in the resort before you come to yours. No, this is more like Jesus personally escorting us, bringing us with him.

Now, when you think to yourself - Jesus has been preparing our place in glory for two thousand years, this will be some place! But it’s not that the preparation has taken so long. It’s the going that prepares the place. It’s by Jesus’ death on the cross that we are guaranteed our place, as we trust him.

As Jesus says ‘you know the way to the place where I am going’, Thomas jumps in and says, Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’

Isn’t that true? You need to know where you’re going, your end destination, before you know what way you’re going to get there. Do you see what Jesus says in verse 6? These are well-known words. Yet they tell us exactly who Jesus is.

‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

Jesus says ‘I am the way.’ He is the way, the route, the path. Notice that he doesn’t say ‘I am a way’, one option among many; he is the only way, the only way to get to the Father.

Jesus says ‘I am the truth.’ He doesn’t only speak true things; he is the truth. As you hear in court, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So we can depend on what Jesus says. We can trust his words. We can trust him.

Jesus says, ‘I am the life.’ Real life is found only in Jesus. He gives us life because he is the life. Remember that Jesus is about to go to the cross. He’s about to lay down his life, in order to bring us to God, in order to give us his life.

There is no other way, no other truth, no other life. Only Jesus can show us the Father. Only Jesus can reveal God to us. In his life, works, words and witness, Jesus shows us what God is like, because the Father is in Jesus.

Through the death of Jesus on the cross we have the promise of our place prepared; our room in God’s house. It’s there for us, as we trust in God, and trust also in Jesus. So are you depending on him today?

Jesus is the way. Are you going his way? Are you going with Jesus, or going on your own way? Do you need to turn around, get back on track, to go with Jesus?

Jesus is the truth. Are you living by his truth? Or are you believing someone else’s truth? Who are you listening to? What are you building your life on?

Jesus is the life. Are you experiencing his abundant life today?Are you certain of his everlasting life when the time of your own farewell comes?

Jesus says to us, and to all his disciples: ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.’

This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Monday 26th March 2018 in the 'Famous Last Words' Holy Week series.