Sunday Sermon
sunday morning 6th June 2010
Mark 14v17-26
Following the day of preparation for the Passover meal, eventually the time comes and Jesus with his disciples arrive to remember Gods great work of salvation.
1) v17-21 a betrayer in the midst.
Evening comes – time for the Passover meal. Jesus arrives with the 12!
They sit down and begin the meal. But the celebration is tempered with worry and unease especially as Jesus now warns of a betrayer in the midst!
One of the 12 will betray Him. And what a judgement will fall on that one!
Note:
a) they were sitting and eating before Jesus makes his statement!
Enjoying fellowship, they were brothers together, one family.
b) one of the disciples eating with Jesus would betray him! V18&20
A shocking indictment because these were the disciples and eating together was more than a meal it was a statement of family fellowship and loyalty!
Dipping bread into the same bowl! A betrayal from one so close was shocking.
One who before had shown love and commitment now turns and spits in His face.
c) all the disciples are saddened and think it might be them! V19.
They have been around Jesus now for long enough to realise that He is not messing and that they are not yet the star pupils they will become.
But mark too the further deceit of Judas here, putting on a show of sadness and shock!
He sat amongst then as a friend but all the while was planning attack!
d) all that would happen was within Gods plan v21
The betrayal is of course not a surprise to God. It is all happening just as had been foretold.
e) the terrible condemnation on the betrayer! V21.
However the fact that God knew how it would all happen did not take from Judas his responsibility! He is was a free agent who chose his own path.
Yet the path he chose, Jesus shockingly states, negated the whole worth of his life!
It would have been better had he not been born, why?
Because of the punishment he would receive for rejecting the Saviour.
He had been highly favoured but he chose to reject all his privileges, so his punishment would be all the more severe.
App
A sign of life in the Christian is this concern about how we are doing.
Like the disciples, they are worried about how they are doing – “surely not I”
Yet notice Jesus does not answer their fears!
What he does do is bring in the warning and the terrible words of condemnation!
· What are we to do if we fear for our salvation?
Simply make sure that we are right with God!
We need to keep alert, to keep on going, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling! Our choices and decision from day to day really matter.
2) v22-26 a Saviour in the midst!
Then with the unsettling news of the betrayer in their midst Jesus speaks about his death.
He uses the of the bread and the wine they were eating to teach.
The broken bread was his body – in Semitic thought, his whole self, not just the physical.
The crushed juice of the grape was his blood!
What do we notice?
a) these words have caused volumes of theology to be written! “this is my body”
Jesus is the Bread: through him we get the food we need to live. We are to feed on him – that is get our life from him. We are to ”take it” v22, not watch on!
The body of the of the Passover sacrifice could be eaten.
b) He is the Blood: he died. His blood was poured out. V23-24
The blood in the OT was sacred, it was the life of the animal, it had to be poured out on the altar to make atonement before God.
Atonement is an OT word that means to cover over, our sins are covered over, forgiven.
In the NT the word used is Propitiation which is a word that focuses on the means of how our sins were forgiven, our sins were propitiated by the blood of Jesus.
That is by him dying for us!
Why did he die? For the many v24, for us!
His death was for a reason. He died in our place, our substitute.
It is through his blood that our sins are forgiven – Atoned for, covered over.
The drinking of the wine as his blood is the new part that we are involved in, in the days of the new covenant!
In the OT the blood was poured out before God,
But this time the blood is to be drunk!
The blood was the life, Jesus was giving his life!
c) there will be another meal. When Jesus comes again in the Kingdom. V25
but until then He will not drink of the wine.
App
We come to communion to eat the bread and drink the wine. What are we actually doing?
1) first we are being obedient – we are taking what has been given.
he gave the bread and he gave the wine! (NIV has offered the wine, but in the Greek it is gave).
Jesus goes all the way to death for our salvation, he gives himself for us! We are to take!
He does not say “this far but no further”!
He gives and leaves us with the simplest of tasks – taking!
2) we are uniting together. The one cup was shared amongst those who had gathered.
Communion brings us to the same place together.
We are all one in Christ Jesus, we are all equals before Him.
3) we are rejoicing in the Good News. (remembering)
“covenant” God has promised to save and he will not fail.
“poured out for many” whosoever will may come to Jesus for life!
4) we are expecting!
The Passover meal always had the expectation of a greater salvation to come.
Equally Jesus points us forward to the greater salvation to come v25.
sunday evening 6th June 2010
2 kings 5
The books of Kings covers 400 years of Israel’s history.
Starting from the later years of King David, then detailing the account of his son Solomon and the division that his sin caused to the kingdom, through the kings that then followed in the Northern and the Southern kingdoms, onto the Babylonian captivity.
That 400 years are covered in a relatively short number of words makes each individual record especially important.
The details that remain, in other words, are the things that the Spirit wanted the Church to have!
In this chapter we see some of the work of Elisha the prophet who followed after Elijah.
1) 1-5 a problem!
In these verse we are introduced to the great man Naaman, a mighty warrior who also had a problem, he suffered from some kind of skin condition.
But hearing of a possible cure he goes off to Israel!
We see a picture in v1 of how God delivered his punishment on the Israelites.
He used the foreign kingdom of Syria to punish his disobedient children.
But, nothing happens to the children of God by accident!
Even the most terrible of circumstances are under Gods hand.
Punishment on sin is of course at the heart of the Gospel!
Why did Jesus have to die? For our sin! He was punished for our sin!
So that we can go free!
App
Today we are not punished for our sin, we are however disciplined as Christians.
Discipline is one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian life to come to terms with:
What is Gods doing in all that he puts us through?
He is working out our salvation.
Therefore, how we respond to Gods dealing with us are of vital importance.
How should we respond to Gods discipline?
Go in a huff, give up, indulge the sinful nature further!!
V3 tells us of the little slave girl who humbled herself under Gods mighty hand!
She loved her enemies!
The problems that we face may indeed be Gods discipline, and as such are opportunities for us to grow and be saved!
Why should we endure through our discipline?
Because of Jesus!
He was handed over to the Romans and horribly killed but all according to Gods plan and purpose.
He was punished for our sin, and endured to bring our salvation!
We will not be punished for our sin, but we will be disciplined! Why?
Because God loves us, because we are his children!
2) v6-19 Panic and Provision
In this next section Naamans problem becomes the king Jehorams problem!
He panics and wonder what is afoot! Thinking that war was on the agenda again!
But Elisha steps in with divine provision for the moment of trouble!
Quite calmly he says he will deal with the situation, just send Naaman to him.
Then tells Naaman just to wash 7 times in the Jordan v10
· Here was this great warrior expecting some special show, but there is nothing!
Yet the simplicity of the command was what Naaman need to point him to his greater soul need.
He washed and was cleansed of leprosy, but more he realised that Yahweh was the true God and thus worshiped him!
From this little girl humbling herself under Gods mighty hand we see a foreigner is converted!
What a key conversion it is in Naaman.
It shows that God is the God of salvation for the whole world, not just the nation of Israel.
Jesus picks up on this in his ministry too. (LK4v27)
App:
What can we learn?
1) The importance of staying faithful to God in difficult circumstances.
It is so often the case that when things are hard and we remain faithful that God works wonders!
2) From Elisha we see how to lead someone to salvation:
Elisha recognised Naaman was a seeker!
He had come to Yahweh for help! (directed of course by the wee Israelite slave girl!)
But he was a great man, a mighty warrior.
He was not ready to receive Gods grace at that point.
Elisha gets him to the point where he can receive salvation. how?
By giving him a simple command that he had to obey to be saved! V10.
How do we come to Christ?
By humbling ourselves and obeying the simple command: “repent for the Kingdom of God is near”!
Thus: our duty as followers of Jesus is to deliver that same simple message!
The great encouragement is that any response that people make, even if somewhat unwilling God meets with His undistinguishable amazing grace!
As we see:
Naaman after some persuasion is willing to give is a go!
And God of course meets him more than half way.
God delivers him from his skin disease and his soul disease!
What we see is the overflowing grace of God at work! Full healing full restoration!
His skin may have been childlike, but his soul was new born.
3) v20-27 Punishment
In this next scene we see the ungrace of Gehazi.
If Elisha was concerned about Naamans salvation, Gehazi was concerned only for himself!
He chases after Naaman for a gift, using lies and deceit to get what he wants.
But Elisha knows what has happened and delivers Gods punishment, Gods discipline on him!
Massive riches were on offer, Gehazi could not resist!
(Elisha wanted to give God all the glory so he took nothing for himself).
Gehazi however had a divided heart! He wanted some stuff v20!
To get the “stuff” he has to concoct some lies v22
Then the folly of his actions are revealed, in that he cannot even use the stuff, he has to go and hide them in his house v24!!
Further Elisha knows what has gone down and delivers Gods punishment on him.
App:
What do we learn from Gehazi?
· The love of stuff is folly! Why?
1) Ultimately possession rot and fade.
2) It destroys character, because it destroys our relationship with God!
Jesus said you cannot serve both God and money, Mat6v24.
The good news of the kingdom is that we do not need stuff!
God has provided all we need in Jesus. In him we are rich.
· Only if we live in God’s presence will we be able to resist the temptation of “stuff”!
Elisha resisted the “stuff” how? because he lived in God’s presence v16!
“stuff” tends to soften our dependency on God, and then it takes our eyes off God!
We lose out! Yet there is great hope! God will bring us back.
He will discipline us to bring us back to himself.
Everytime Gehazi looked in a mirror, he would remember his sin, but also his God!
