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“God’s Son”

Sunday, March 16, 2008
By pastor John Jorgenson

Matthew 27:11-54
“Jesus was led up by the spirit unto the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards was famished.

“Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Who do you want me to release for you Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed Him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’

“Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then Pilate asked, ‘Why. What evil has He done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’

“So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ So Pilate released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governo’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews.’ They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they striped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

“ As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene, named Simon; they compelled this man to carry His cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered Him wine to drink mixed with gall; but when He tasted it, He would not drink it. And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over Him. Over His head they put the charge against Him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ Then two bandits were crucified with Him, one on His right and one on His left. Those who passed by derided Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him, saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He wants to; for He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’’ The bandits who were crucified with Him also taunted Him in the same way.

“From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed His last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After His resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man as God’s Son!’”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise be to God.

This story of the end of life for Jesus is a challenge for each of us today. People were astonished. How could this be? This was happening to God’s Son! Doesn’t God care? We now know that Jesus brought a new idea of who God is and how God works with us to save all of creation. This action challenged the religious and political leaders and they got rid of Him. This battle is still going on in our world some 2000 years later. What can be done?

Beginning back in Advent, we raised the issues of being ready, of being worthy and of being able. These concerns are sharply brought to our attention once again as we witness what happened on that day when Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem. The ugly actions of religious and political leaders were violent and yet in spite of what they did, Jesus forgave them for, as He said, they knew not what they were doing. Reviewing this story certainly makes me thankful for Easter and the joyful message, “He is not here; He is risen.” Now we have hope!

So then are we ready, are we worthy, and are we able to accept the thought that this individual, this Jesus, who had been helping people, who had been curing their illnesses, who had been feeding them, and who had been restoring life to those who had died, was now Himself to be tried as a criminal. He was to be punished and to be executed as a criminal. This happened simply because He was challenging what the traditional leaders had been presenting as truth. He also questioned the huge amount of conflicting laws and requirements, most of which were primarily for the benefit of the leaders and which kept the ordinary people in bondage. They were slaves to this teaching as they tried to satisfy what they were taught and what they accepted and believed to be about Almighty God, Creator of all that exists. All of this Jesus simplified all into two clear requirements, Love God and Love your neighbor, period. That was all that God required of anyone in order to be accepted by God the Creator, the Initiator of life.

So then today is Palm Sunday. Today we focus on Jesus entering Jerusalem, the capital and primary city where the major political and religious leaders lived, planned and carried out what they believed to be the ultimate and comprehensive will of Almighty God as the religious leaders defined it. This entry to Jerusalem was to be the ultimate challenge to their human abuse of religious belief and thinking. Jesus came in peace, riding on a donkey and the ordinary people welcomed Him by throwing their coats on the road to form a special dust free entry to this hallowed city.

However, by Friday this welcome mood would be completely changed. By Thursday the leaders had made their plan to get rid of Jesus once and for all. They would have the Roman Ruler Pilate execute Jesus for this challenge to their role as religious leaders in this part of the world. They also convinced the ordinary people to support this plan.

Of course Jesus was aware of this and He spent Thursday preparing his followers for what was to happen, including the ugliness of the trial and the crucifixion.

This preparation continues for us even today. This Holy Week, it is our opportunity to renew and refresh our commitment to what Jesus taught about God, what Jesus taught about God’s relationship with us and what Jesus taught about our relationship with one another. Our world has not changed much since that time. And so once again the question for us then this morning is: are we ready, are we worthy, and are we able to respond to the challenges of today? We are to be helping people, we are to be curing their illnesses, we are to be feeding them, and we are to be restoring life to those who have died. This is what we are to be doing with our lives with what God has given us.

When we reach out and extend friendship to someone, we are doing just that. We are helping them as Jesus did. We are curing their illness of being depressed and lonely. We are feeding them as we share what we have and enjoy it. We are restoring them to life when we extend our interest and care for them in the midst of what ever they face and finally we do that when we offer to work with them to achieve this new life that God has provided us.

The matter of being ready, being worthy and being able then is over as we realize what Jesus did for us. The ultimate relief of Easter Sunday morning begins as we see the bright light shining. It begins as we have a new series of God-given moments when we can express our thankfulness to God and when we reach out to one another as friends sharing faith together. I suggest we keep this in mind as our friend Ian Scott shares his insights into the impact of Jesus on the life of Barabbas on this coming Friday evening. May that impact be our experience as we Thank God for this priceless gift.

Amen.