Hey folks,

I want to start using this blog again! One of the things I’d like to do is start posting my sermon manuscripts and get your thoughts on it! One of the things that they taught me in Seminary at Fuller was the concept of “sermon as community”. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Here it is:

Good morning! For the sermon this morning, I figured I’d start with “show and tell”. This is an anchor rope that I use when I go rock climbing. You secure to of these to your anchor points, like a rock or a solid tree. You bring these two ropes to a point, put two carabiners at the point where you are going to put your actual climbing rope. This knot is extremely important as it “bounds” the rope together and provides protection for you as you climb. It has to be secure. I don’t have to go rock climbing, but I enjoy it. Therefore, If I’m going to do it, I want to make sure that I’m safe….this rope is important.

[show picture of me climbing and Debbie belaying]

This picture shows that I not only have a lot of trust in my rope and the knots I’ve tied, but also my wife!!

Ropes and knots are often symbols of protection or safety. They secure things or people. I can remember as a kid having a rope and when my friends and I would play something, we may pretend to tie each other…oftentimes, probably not a good thing!

This morning’s sermon is about being bound to someone or something else. Let’s read this passage from Matthew 27:1-5 (TNIV):

[show scripture on PP]

1 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. 2 They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

The writer of Matthew wants to demonstrate that religious leaders viewed Jesus as a threat to their hold on power. Jesus had come into this world with some bold claims about being the Son of God, or God in the flesh, the very same essence or being of God. Plus, he came preaching a message of good news to those who were on the outskirts of “proper society”, those who felt like outcasts, that they, as well as everyone else, were loved by God and that he had come to bring life, full life to all. Jesus threatened the status quo of the religious world that dominated that society. He challenged the authorities of that day as they diminished people and used them for personal gain. The religious leaders were blinded by their understanding of their traditions and their status so much that when they were confronted with the human embodiment of their faith tradition, they could not recognize it.

They thought that the Son of God would come as a conquering hero. Instead, God came to them in Christ as a servant. God the creator, coming to serve his creation. God, practicing ultimate humility.

I googled humility while researching this sermon, here are some words that may help us understand the action of God in and through Jesus Christ: modest, meek, not proud, self-abasing, “egoless” (love that!). It comes from the Latin word “humilis” which means low and from the earth.

God lowered himself. He became one of us. This was not the religious leaders idea of God and this example of how God moves and transforms us threatened them…and it threatens us.

This threat to their power had to be killed. The phrase for “come to the decision” implies in the Greek that they knew what they wanted to do. They were simply trying to figure out how to do it. It was against the law for them to execute anyone, so they sent him to the Roman governor, the only authority that could execute anyone on trumped up charges. They bound him with rope, probably to show the secular authorities and the people of that time that Jesus was somehow a threat.

They didn’t have to bind Jesus, he wasn’t going anywhere. Jesus, who could’ve called out legions of angels, showed his humility by subjecting himself to human authority in order to act on our behalf even to the point of death in order that we may have life with God. We, all of us sinners in this room deserved that death, yet Jesus died for us.

We can see in this morning’s passage that Judas realized what he had done, he was truly repentant I believe. That Greek word in vs. 3 means literally a changing of one’s mind. He realized that he had betrayed Jesus, the man whom he had followed for 3 years. Yet he, like the priests, thought that Jesus would be a conquering hero, delivering Israel from Roman oppression. Judas may have wanted to force Jesus’ hand so to speak by betraying him. Judas loved Jesus, the word “betray” is an intimate word. You don’t betray enemies, you betray friends. We only betray those whom we love. But, Judas didn’t understand. He called Jesus Rabbi, or teacher, at the last supper, not Lord.

The story before this text in Matthew is the story of Peter’s betrayal. Yet, it has a different outcome for Peter. Peter recognizes Jesus and goes towards him. Judas goes to the temple priests for help. They both confess, they both own their sin, but Peter knows that he needs someone to save him. The priests tell Judas that it is not their responsibility, but his.

So, Judas, in remorse is bound as well, only to a hangman’s noose of his own doing. At the end of his life, he didn’t go to God, he went to the religious leaders who should have pointed him towards God, but instead pointed him towards himself. They let him down and he was left with nothing but guilt.

What Judas didn’t realize, but Peter did, was that we all share responsibility for our sin, we are all guilty, yet Jesus willingly took on that responsibility, took on our guilt, and nailed it to a tree. Judas, like Peter, is covered by Jesus’ actions, the amazing Grace of God.

The question for Judas, as for us this morning, are we going to live into the reality of what God has done for us? God has bound us to him. We are not worthy, yet God, in his goodness has secured us to him by showing us humility and by his actions through Jesus. God’s love is demonstrated through Christ and God’s humility is revealed. As unworthy as we are, God says we are worthy of his love, even to the cross and beyond as Jesus conquers death three days later!

God is calling us to follow his example of humility, to serve others, to honor others. If we live in this reality that Christ offers us through his actions, then we will want to love as he loved. Sometimes that takes us places we may not want to go. It often means that we have to serve others. By living into this, we begin to experience life and trust and faith, and a God who loves us relentlessly. By living into this reality of God’s love, we’ll begin to see a changed world.

Do we trust God? He is pursuing us and holding on to us, will we believe?