WESTMINSTER CONFESSION DOCTRINES:
CHRIST’S HUMILIATION, CRUCIFIXION, AND RESURRECTION
Philippians 2: 5-11; Mark. 8: 27-31
In 1999 I stopped taking my health, my weight, and my life
for granted. As I have told people, June 1999 was the month I found out I had
diabetes. Since then I have had a physicals, a baseline EKG, cholesterol,
glucose, and other blood tests three times a year, and I check my sugar levels
two or three times daily. That day in June ’99 was, as Dr. Phil says, “A
changing day in my life.” Mutual Fund
websites remind us that October 1929 had three days that changed a generation:
Black Thursday, Black Monday, and finally Black Tuesday, when the stock market
crashed and people lost millions in investments. Trust was shattered, new
protections put in place, and President Roosevelt was saddled with an economy with
the ox in the ditch. That was a
changing day in the life of Americans.
In our own recent history, 9/11/2001, was a changing day in our world; in your own world, a marriage or birth or a
graduation or promotion may have been that; or perhaps it was the death of a
spouse or a child. Those are all watershed days that people remember since
their lives are changed because of them. But
in the annals of recorded civilization, virtually all historians record one
event that changed human history the most: and that is the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The
event on which Christians hang their hopes, erect churches, remember
commandments, and fight for the freedom to pray is that event. Conversely, even
some dreadful events such as the Crusades of the 11th through the 13th
centuries, the rise of the Third Reich and Klan marches in the 20th
century, and the Ethnic “cleansing” of Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs (who were
Orthodox Christians) and the Croatians (who were Roman Catholics) just a decade
ago all were empowered, so they declared, because of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be
interesting to hear what Jesus had to
say about all that has been done supposedly in his name? People have been influenced
differently, but his birth to a chosen young woman named Mary, his baptism by
the forerunner- John, Jesus’ healings and teachings, and his ultimate role as
the Lamb of God has changed the world. Following the Jewish tradition of Temple sacrifice, God
came to earth in Jesus to die, paying the price for sins. That darkest of
Fridays and brightest of Sundays was cataclysmic. I pay homage to my health
with thankful prayers and regular visits to my doctor; each year you and I
honor the birth of loved ones in some way.
But how are we honoring the Day of Resurrection in America these
days? Today around our state, a foreigner would be hard pressed to conclude
that this is a Holy Day for half of our nation as so many people have declared
on census forms. I am a Christian” more
than half of our citizens check; “Do you go to church?” Yes, they check; “How
often?” and even if the truth is just Christmas and Easter, most declare a few
extra days even amid shaky evidence.
Others say they are “spiritual” but not church goers, Let me address
that this way: although there have been some rotten things Christian pastors,
missionaries, or congregational members have done in the name of Christ the
Lord, that does not let you or me off
of the proverbial hook of living life differently because Christ or remembering
to worship, pray to, and to serve Almighty God. Christian hymnody, and even
contemporary Christian artists, proclaim this message if we have the ears to
hear. In 2005 the Newsboys recorded this prayer to Jesus: “I’m forgiven because
you were forsaken, I’m accepted, you were condemned. I’m alive and well, your
Spirit is within me, because you died and rose again. Amazing love, how can it
be, that you, my King, should die for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true, and it’s
my joy to honor you, in all I do, to
honor you.” Good lyrics and theology.
If Jesus’ death and resurrection is the watershed of civilization, and if you
have declared Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then your whole life should
look different. You and I should have
been changed somewhere along the way so friends now see we are truly Christians
by our love. How are we doing? And
Sundays, the day of resurrection, the day Paul called “The Lord’s Day,” should
look wholly different to someone
driving through our towns; daily, our outlook, our focus, and our gratitude
should be on Jesus Christ, on his Heavenly Father who loves us still, and on
the Holy Spirit who gives us breath. Next week the whole message will be on
prayer. But as we think about this
Sunday, this “little Easter” to which it has been referred, this “Lord’s Day”
starts off each week with prayer, preaching, and proclamations of our faith. God is worthy of
our praise and receives it gratefully, while each of us wake up, warm up, and
tune up for the coming week. Great athletes know it does no good to warm up after a game, match, or event; warm-up
comes first. An automobile operates
terribly inefficiently until it is warmed up; and you all know how hard it is
to function without your morning rituals to work out the aches, creaks, and
stomach growls that a nightly fast brings. So we start each week afresh with
Jesus. Paul put the message in the form of another hymn when he said “Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
to God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a
servant … and he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, death on a
cross. Therefore God hath highly exalted HIM … that at the name of JESUS every
knee should bow and every voice speak up to confess that Jesus is indeed the
Messiah and Lord.” One way to show
Jesus is Lord is by our worship;
another way is our witness (walking
the walk).
Last week a neighbor of mine fell off a ladder and was hit by
a large branch. He was hurt and his wife instantly called 911. Soon a fire
truck and ambulance were on our street.
In less than 10 minutes, onlookers gathered, neighbors who almost never
go outside felt the urge to go to their front lawn and examine their grass and
trees (supposedly), and curious people a block away came with the same question
that others asked: “What happened?” In
30 minutes everybody had heard what happened; by 45 minutes when he was
transported to the hospital, I would guess that at least 50 people had walked
over to look. Out of those 50, two of us helped cut up and stack the branches
after the ambulance left, and just 6 more offered to help his wife, while 42 just
walked away with satisfied curiosity and shaking heads, glad it wasn’t them.
One day later the man was home from the hospital and that evening, if you can
believe this, he and his wife appeared at my door with a container of homemade
pound cake and a thank you note for my kindness.
Jesus didn’t just cut some wood; he was crucified on timbers
in place of ones who deserved it. All
Christians owe their eternal lives to our Savior, but what thank you gifts or
actions do we offer? I got cake and a card for cutting some branches; of how
much more worth are our eternal souls? At the accident site, 50 people told one
another the news; how good are we at spreading the news of salvation? The Great
Commission commands us to do what comes naturally with curiosity: to tell
others who saved our life. But, and here’s the rub: if people cannot tell you are different because of Christ, or that you
live in the world but not of the world because of Christ, why
would they be swayed by any lame statement that you belong to Christ? For a
long time I had a card on my desk that read, “If you were arrested for being a
Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Wouldn’t it be
tragic if God Almighty, sitting on the Judgment seat, were to review your life,
your testimonies, your deeds, your love, and your days of true worship and,
with furrowed brow, look up and say: “I’m sorry, I cannot find enough evidence that
you loved or appreciated my Son.” Make a difference to God, not just with
regular worship (Though God longs for and is grateful for that), not
just by inviting others to come to church with you, but by witnessing, looking for every opportunity to tell people that Jesus
makes you thankful. And finally, make
a difference by walking the walk so
that people can see Christ in you, when you teach children, when you show
hospitality, when you do something thoughtful for a neighbor, and when you show
care for the least of these, Jesus’ brothers and sisters. The event 2000 years ago was cataclysmic in the annals of history.
Let Jesus give purpose to your worship,
your witness, and your walk with him, even seven days a week.
Then we can be different from the gawkers at God or the bystanders around the
cross of Christ. We can leave the cross with the words of Jesus ringing in our
ears: “Those who would come after me will take themselves off the throne of
their souls, and put me there, and they
will also take up their cross daily, and follow me.”
Let us pray to the Lord Jesus, using this prayer
written by Contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith:
“Above all powers, above all kings, above all nature
and all created things, above all wisdom, and all the ways of man, you were
here before the world began. Above all kingdoms, above all thrones, above all
wonders the world has ever known, above all wealth and treasures of the earth,
there’s no way to measure what you’re worth. Crucified, laid behind a stone,
you lived to die, rejected and alone, like the rose trampled on the ground, you
took the fall, and thought of me above all.” Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Jeffrey A. Sumner August 20, 2006