The resurrection was an event that changed the world, but how?

Seismic Events Change Things

Have you ever come across a big pond or lake. The water is completely calm and flat.

Then you throw a stone in the lake. Where the stone lands, there is a big splash, but then ripples spread out from the splash point and the whole lake is changed.

In the same way an earthquake or seismic event happens in one place, but the vibrations from the event spread out and soon the whole landscape is changed!

Sometimes there are moments or events in history, that happen in one place, but their effects spread out and change the whole world.

Recently, the outbreak of Covid in Wuhan in China, was such an event. The disease spread out from there and changed the whole world!

Of course, earthquakes and diseases are terrible events, that change the world for the worse – at least in the short term. Yet, today we remember an event that transformed the world for the better.

In our reading today, Matthew tells us about an earthquake, when the angel comes down and rolls the stone away from the tomb. What Matthew is hinting at is that something had happened that was going to change the whole world!

So how does the resurrection change things. What was the world like before the resurrection and what is it like after the resurrection?

Before:

I want to consider things from the perspective of ordinary people and especially those who followed Jesus. There are three things we can say about them, that is true for many of us when we have not fully understood the implications of the Resurrection.

Fear:

The first is a life ultimately ruled by fear. In the first century, this is how the Roman’s ruled. Basically, it was do as I say or else we will kill you. The Romans were bullies and the ultimate means of bullying people was to crucify them.

So, when Jesus was crucified by the Romans as ‘the King of the Jews’, they were saying, this is what happens to anyone who does not do what we say. They controlled people with fear and there did not seem to be anyway to stand up against them.

Ultimately, the fear of being killed or even the fear of death can be something that controls us all. Of course it is not just death, but fear of all kinds of other things as well – fear of being criticised, fear of being lonely, fear of being poor. Such fears are often used to control us.

When Jesus was arrested and crucified, the disciples hid in fear of being arrested and killed themselves. The Romans and the leaders in Jerusalem, seemed to have the power of life and death. They were the ones to fear.

Deaf:

Secondly, people tend to be naturally deaf to what God is saying to them. That was certainly true of the leaders in Jerusalem who refused to listen to Jesus and had him killed in order to silence him.

But even the disciples did not hear Jesus properly. He told them again and again that he was going to die and rise again, but they did not want to hear that he was going to die. He told Peter that he would deny even knowing him, but Peter did not want to hear that he would let Jesus down. The disciples followed Jesus they learnt from him, but they were deaf to the things he said that they found difficult.

Fail:

Thirdly, people tend to fail to be the kind of people God wants them to be. Pilate failed to uphold justice and had Jesus killed even though he thought he was innocent. The Jewish leaders failed to welcome God’s son, but instead had him killed.

Even the disciples failed Jesus. Peter when Jesus was arrested, followed him to the courtyard where he was on trial, but when asked whether he was a follower of Jesus denied even knowing him. As Jesus died, Peter must have felt an utter failure.

So, when Jesus was dead and buried, the disciples had good reason to be afraid, they were deaf to what Jesus had told them would happen and they felt like they had failed Jesus big time.

But then there was a seismic event! Jesus was raised from the dead!

After:

So how was the world changed by the resurrection?

Hope:

Firstly, Fear is turned to hope.

With Jesus dead and buried it looked like the bullying power of Rome was to be feared. There was no hope of anything other than being under their power or the power of whoever was strongest.

But, when Jesus rose from the dead, that threat and that power was completely undermined. This is shown almost comically in Matthew’s gospel. The soldiers guarding the tomb are completely terrified by the angel that comes to open the tomb and reveal it is empty! The forces that killed Jesus are powerless in the face of his resurrection.

Now there is hope. The fear of death has no more sway, if the God of Jesus Christ has power over death. We may one day face death, but we can have a confident hope of life with God forever more, if we are on the side of Jesus.

Hear:

Secondly, the deaf can now hear the truth.

When the angel explains to the women what has happened, he says Jesus has risen, ‘just as he said.’

Before the resurrection, the disciples did not believe the things that Jesus said that just sounded crazy. Now, they can see that all that Jesus said was true. The resurrection proves that Jesus is right. They can now properly hear and understand his words and teaching.

Now they can go and make disciples of all nations, because only now have they come to fully trust in Jesus’s words. When we see that Jesus is the one who rose from the dead, just as he said, then we realise that we have to hear what he says and obey it.

Clan:

Thirdly, the resurrection shows us that those who fail are welcomed as part of God’s clan.

The disciples failed Jesus. If he had stayed dead, then their failure would have remained. But, he came back from the dead and the key thing he says to the women, is to tell the disciples that he will see them again. As he does so he calls, them ‘my brothers’. In other words, they are now family, they are part of the clan!

The resurrection shows us that God’s ultimate aim is to welcome back those who have failed to live for him into his family, his clan. He came to create a new people, to live out this resurrection life, to hear his words and to have hope and not fear!

Has the resurrection changed your life?

So, has the resurrection changed your life.

Do you live in fear or hope? Are you deaf to what God is saying through Jesus or are you ready to hear him?

Do you feel that you are too much of a failure for God or do you recognise that he wants to welcome you into his clan?

Have the ripples of the resurrection event on that first Easter Sunday reached your heart yet?

Maybe this Easter Sunday, you need to take notice of the radical change that the resurrection has brought about and invite God to come into your life and change you, to bring you from death to life.

The Coronation is coming up, but how does it compare with Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem being proclaimed as king?

Symbols of the Coronation

In about 1 months time, King Charles III is going to have his Coronation. The event is going to be a great event to watch and if you want to watch it with others we are going to show it on the big screen at St. Luke’s.

During the Coronation there are lots of different parts to the ceremony. Can anyone tell me some of the things that happen when the king is crowned?

…..

Let me just share four things that happen and some of the items attached.

1. The Gold State Coach

Firstly, the king travels to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach. This is not any ordinary vehicle. It is pulled by 8 horses and is covered in gold!

It was built in 1762 for George III. In today’s money it would have cost £3.5million to build!

2. St. Edward’s Crown

The most important moment of the ceremony is when the crown is placed on Charles’s head. The crown is called, St. Edward’s crown.

It was originally made for Charles II in 1661.

3. Fanfare of Trumpets

When the crown is placed on the king’s head, everyone in Westminster Abbey cries, ‘God Save the King!’ and there is a Fanfare of Trumpets!!

This is a kind of declaration that the king has now been crowned.

4. Coronation Chair with the Stone of Scone

Part of the ceremony also involves the king sitting on a special chair or throne called the Coronation Chair. It is a chair originally built in 1300 to house a special stone.

The Stone of Scone used in coronation of Monarchs of Scotland, but stolen by Edward I in the invasion of Scotland in 1296. From then on all the English Kings were crowned on the chair and the stone.

All of these symbols and more suggest how grand and important the new king is. Across Europe when kings used to have a lot more power, than they do today, most kings and queens would have been crowned with similar symbols. The grander and more expensive the symbols the more impressive and powerful the king or queen was seen to be.

Today is Palm Sunday. As Christians we look back to a moment when Jesus came to Jerusalem and was welcomed by many people as a new king. Like the Coronation, there were lots of symbols used, but these were very different symbols to the symbols used for a king today and show us that Jesus was a very different kind of king!

Symbols of Jesus’s Kingship

So, what were the symbols that showed Jesus was a king.

1. Donkey

The first one was how Jesus came into Jerusalem. It wasn’t in a Gold State carriage, but on a donkey! At first glance this does not suggest that Jesus was a very important king or even a king at all. Surely, a king would come in a chariot or on a warhorse – not a donkey?

Yet, for the Jews coming into Jerusalem on a donkey was Jesus saying, look I am doing what the prophet Zechariah said 500 years before:

“Say to the Daughter of Zion,

`See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

(Matthew 21:5; Zechariah 9:9)

In doing this Jesus shows us that he is a very different kind of king. He does not come as a great warrior to overthrow people or force his rule on others. Neither does he show off his power or might. Rather it says he is gentle.

Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus gave this invitation:

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

When we accept Jesus as our king and decide to follow him in our lives, we find that it is much less demanding and soul destroying than following any other leader or philosophy or way of life. Jesus is a very different kind of king.

2. Palm Branches

Secondly, Jesus did not wear a crown, but he was welcomed into Jerusalem with palm branches, which the people laid in front of him along with their cloaks to form a kind of carpet to welcome him into Jerusalem.

The people doing this were the crowds coming to Jerusalem from other parts of the country to celebrate the Jewish feast of Passover. They had seen Jesus do amazing miracles and heard him teach them about God and following him in an amazing way. They hoped he would become their new king in Jerusalem and give a better way of life.

Laying palms and coats down in front of Jesus was their way of saying they wanted Jesus to be their king.

But the people living in Jerusalem were worried.

It says at the end of our reading:

“When Jesus entered Jerusalem,

the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’”

(Matthew 21:10)

A new king was dangerous. It meant big changes and it was not good news for those in charge, the Chief Priests who ran the temple and the Roman authorities. Especially as the first thing Jesus did when he came into Jerusalem was to clear out all the money changers from the temple courts! Those who liked things the way they were, did not like the idea of a new king.

Many people today, do not want to think about following Jesus or making him their king, because they don’t want to change their lives or be challenged by Jesus like he challenged the temple leaders. Yet, those who were following Jesus had discovered that he was someone amazing. Jesus is a completely different kind of king. He may challenge you, but any change he brings will be for the best.

3. Shouting

So, Jesus was not welcomed into Jerusalem with an official fanfare, but he was welcomed by those following him with loud shouting.

Split into sides one side, shout the first line, the other shout the second:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

(Matthew 21:9)

They thought the miracles showed that Jesus was the Son of David. God had promised King David, 1000 years before Jesus, that there would be a king who ruled God’s people descended from David forever more. But there had not been a descendant of David on the throne in Jerusalem for 100s of years. The crowds believed Jesus was the king God had promised!

And they believed he was the one blessed by God and completely committed to following God. He came in the name of the lord, he came to bring God’s blessings and promises as he had shown through his miracles and healing.

Most kings and leaders may pay lip service to what God wants, but Jesus is different, he is the king totally in line with God’s will and way. He is God’s gift to us, he is a very different kind of king!

4. Cross

Lastly, we come to the coronation seat or throne. When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem the people were shaken by him. The leaders in Jerusalem were against him and before long there was a different crowd shouting ‘Crucify Him!’

Yet, as he was crucified, a sign was put up on the cross that said, ‘Jesus, King of the Jews.’

The Bible teaches it was on the cross, that he was enthroned that he truly became king. Why? Because on the cross, he was condemning all the wickedness and evil of the world, by taking its guilt on himself. He was also creating a way for us to come back to God, to become part of God’s different Kingdom.

The cross was a seismic moment that shook up not just Jerusalem, but the whole world. Matthew emphasises that by talking about an earthquake that happened at the same time as Jesus died on the cross:

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split…”

(Matthew 27:51)

The breaking of the temple, showed that Jesus was creating a new way to God, a new way to a better life, following him as king.

In the end it is also a new way to eternal life, because Matthew records another earthquake, only a few days later, when Jesus rose from the dead… but that is for next Sunday!!

Will you make Jesus your king?

All the symbols of Palm Sunday and what happened next, show that Jesus was  very different kind of King that wants to welcome us into a very different kind of Kingdom. It is a kingdom, where Jesus as the gentle crucified king serves us and we learn to serve one another.

It may not look grand, impressive or powerful, but it is a kingdom that has lasted 2,000 years and is still growing around the world. Will you choose like the crowds waving the Palm Branches on that first Palm Sunday to welcome Jesus as your king?

In this last in the series on the Lord’s Prayer, we look at why we should ask for the forgiveness and sins, how we should do it and how it helps.

Why pray for the forgiveness of sins?

Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s prayer, to pray, ‘forgive us our sins…,’ but why? We can understand the necessity to pray for our daily bread, we may also understand that if we are Christians we should pray for God’s kingdom to come, but why pray for the forgiveness of our sins?

A Modern Objection:

Perhaps this is an increasingly modern question. We live in a society that does not talk much about God and also does not talk much about sin.

Instead of sin, people talk purely about right and wrong. Doing right is what makes the world a better place for everyone and doing wrong makes things worse for everyone. It is generally agreed that people should be encouraged to do what is right rather than what is wrong, but this is achieved it is thought, by better education and campaigning to make people do what is right.

The need for forgiveness from God or involving God in the process does not seem necessary. In fact many associate it with creating feelings of guilt and so lowering self-esteem. Indeed, people are increasingly offended if you tell them they are doing something wrong, possibly because they see it as undermining their sense of wellbeing by inducing some kind of guilt.

So from the perspective of many in our society praying for forgiveness is quite strange, even unhelpful.

A Theological Objection:

For some Christians there is also a theological objection. Surely, once we become a Christian, we are already forgiven. Jesus’s death on the cross has done everything necessary to secure our salvation and wash away our sins.

If we keep praying for forgiveness, aren’t we denying that we are already forgiven. Aren’t we making praying forgiveness or confessing our sins a work for our salvation, rather than accepting that we are saved by faith.

At first glance, these are powerful points to make. Yet, Jesus teaches us to pray regularly: ‘forgive us our sins.’ So, why do we need to do so, if we are already forgiven?

David’s Prayer (Psalm 51)

To help us think more carefully about both why and how we should pray for forgiveness it is good to turn to the most famous prayer for forgiveness in the Bible: Psalm 51.

David’s Sin:

This prayer comes as a result of a terrible incident in David’s life. David was very much God’s man. He had shown incredible faith from an early age and God had blessed him and raised him to become king of Israel, promising that one of David’s sons would always be on the throne. David was very much God’s man.

But then just as David was looking most secure and comfortable on the throne he did something really bad. Whist the army were off fighting in a war, he seduced the wife of Uriah, one of the soldiers away fighting for him and committed adultery with her. When Bathsheba became pregnant with his child, he tried to cover it up and when that didn’t work he had Uriah sent into the thick of the battle so that he was killed.

In anyone’s terms this was all wrong, adultery, murder and lying to cover up. What was worse, David thought he had got away with it. After all this was probably not abnormal behaviour for kings of his time and who would know?

But God saw it all and God was not happy. So, God sent the prophet Nathan to challenge David about what he had done. Suddenly, David is face with the problem of his sin.

The Problem of Sin:

Guilt – Our Inner Emotional Pain – vs. 3, 8

Firstly, as we read the Psalm we get a sense of the guilt that David was wracked with.

In verse 3, he says:

“For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.”

Then in verse 8 he talks about his bones being crushed.

The Bible in general and David in particular do not deny the oppressive power of guilt. In a sense this whole Psalm is a cry for the guilt to be removed.

In response to the oppression of guilt our non-Christian culture sees it as something bad for us that needs to be avoided. So people hate it when you challenge them about wrongdoing or they seek to blame their wrongdoing on other pressures in their lives.

Similarly, if we as Christians simply say, we are already forgiven by God and so there is no place for guilt in our lives, then we deny the reality of our ongoing struggle with sin.

Both attitudes seek to avoid the pain of guilt, but in so doing they miss out on what guilt is pushing us to do – to change to be the better people God wants us to be. If David was to do the same with his guilt, there would be every chance that he would just repeat his lies, adultery and murder.

Guilt in the short term may be a painful response to sin and if not dealt with can be very destructive. Yet, when it provokes the right response, it is a painful step in a powerfully transformative process.

God – Our Damaged Relationship – vs. 4, 11

The second problem that David sees with his sin is the damage it has done to his relationship with God. God after all had sent Nathan to challenge David about his behaviour and so David senses that he is under God’s judgement.

In verse 4, he acknowledges that God is right to judge him:

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.”

And in verse 11 you sense David’s fear at losing his relationship with God:

“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Again our society recoil from this talk of God’s judgement. Many deny God’s existence, so that they don’t have to worry about judgement, others just like to imagine that God is not interested, does not care or will just ignore our wrongdoing.

Again, if as Christians we simply say, we are already forgiven, we can quickly dismiss any idea of God’s displeasure at our wrongdoing.

But, this too fails to deal with our sin and can damage any real relationship with God we might have. After all any good relationship has to acknowledge the hurt and upset that one person may cause to another. That is what makes the relationship real.

Praying for Forgiveness:

Praying for forgiveness, rather than avoidance of guilt and the damaged relationship with God, actually seeks to deal with our sinful behaviour, through a powerful engagement with God and a deeper dependence in faith on him.

And that is what we see David doing in this Psalm. In a sense this is a model for a powerful therapy in our lives, with God as our therapist. The more we learn to engage with this process, the more we will be truly transformed to be the kind of people God wants.

So here are five steps to dealing with the problem of sin:

1. Confident, because of God’s character – vs. 1

Firstly, we need to be confident in approaching God that he will forgive us and help us.

For David this confidence comes in verse 1, with a deep understanding of God’s character, his compassion and unfailing love.

For us as Christians, our confidence is even greater. We know he has already forgiven us. Jesus says he gave his blood on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. His once for all sacrifice is all that is necessary to win us forgiveness, to pay the price for our sins.

No matter what our sin we can approach God with confidence, because our sins have and will be forgiven.

2. Confess the reality of our sin – vs. 3-5

But that does not mean we can ignore our sins. The next step David takes is to acknowledge the reality of his own sin. Indeed, the reality of his specific sins, his adultery, lying and murder have pushed him to acknowledge something deeper. He was like us, sinful from birth.

This is not a step into self-loathing, or depression – it would be without God to help. No it is an acceptance that there is something fundamentally wrong with us and we need God’s help to ever have any hope of change. Not just God’s help to stop being adulterous or murderous, but to accept that we need a deeper transformation.

3. Convert my inner self – vs. 10

This brings us to the next step. If the first two steps are about acknowledging what God is like and what we are like, the next two are about seeking the real change we need.

The first change is to ask for God’s help to convert our inner self. Verse 10 expresses this very powerfully:

“Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

David does not just say, “Sorry!”. He says, “Help me! Change me!” And he is not just asking for help to stop murdering people or to stop lying or to stop committing adultery, he is asking that the whole attitude of his heart is changed, so that such behaviours become completely against the kind of person he has become.

If you weed your garden by cutting off the weeds at the top, the weeds will grow back. If you pull the weeds out, roots and all, you will stop them growing again. It is this kind of rooting out that David is praying for.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells us not just to pray for forgiveness, but also to be rescued from all sin:

“Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.”

We may already be forgiven, but the reason we keep praying for forgiveness is to help us in the process of rooting sin out of our lives.

4. Connect again with God – vs. 11-12

Fourthly, David’s prayer for forgiveness, is also seeking to connect again with God. He expresses a longing for a renewed relationship and a valuing of the joy and support that that relationship brings.

He says in verse 12:

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation…”

In experiencing God’s displeasure at his sin, David longs once more for the joy of knowing God and being in a perfect relationship with him. The result of his seeking forgiveness is a deeper reliance on God’s salvation and joy in what God has done for him.

For us as Christians this will also involve a return to understanding what Jesus has done for us on the cross and a deeper gratitude and rejoicing of his saving work there and the price he paid for our sins.

But, also understanding the price he paid for our sins, is important in showing us the need to forgive others as well.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says to pray,

“Forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others.”

Jesus follows that up in Matthew’s gospel with the verses:

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

It’s only as we remember how much God has done in forgiving us, that we see the utter necessity to forgive others. After all how can we accept God paying such a great price to release us from our debt of sin and guilt to him, if we are not willing to release others from their much smaller debt of sin against us.

When we are serious about connecting again with God and accepting his forgiveness, then we will also forgive others.

5. Contrite before God – vs. 16-17

All of this is to accept that in and of ourselves we cannot become perfect people. We do mess up, we do sin. We need God’s help to forgive us, remove our sin and restore our relationship with him.

In this sense we come to him as contrite, broken in our own pride, but rejoicing in his love and acceptance.

Our world today with its focus on the importance of self-esteem finds this idea difficult to accept. Yet, a self-esteem built on a denial of who we really are will never be stable or sustaining. Perhaps it’s no wonder that mental health is an increasing problem in our society.

True resilience comes from being broken before God and rejoicing in allowing him to renew and restore us to recreate us to be the kind of people he really wants us to be. That is a process, but a process in which regular confession of sin plays an important part.

The Result of Forgiveness:

We saw that the immediate problem for David created by his sin was his guilt and broken relationship with God. Such painful realities pushed him into praying for forgiveness.

And the result of that forgiveness is that the guilt, although painful for a while is soon removed. For example look at verse 7:

“Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean;

wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”

More than the inner guilt being removed, there is a joyful restoration in the relationship with God, which overflows from David in praise of God to others:

“Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

you who are God my Saviour,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.”

Acknowledging our sin, may be painful at first, but when we deal with it through prayers of confession – genuinely seeking God’s help, and a transformation or our inner selves and relationship with him, then we discover a life of deeper joy and love and we become the kind of people that truly shine for him.