WEBVTT 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:03.720 As I mentioned before, it really is a joy for me to be with you. 00:00:03.820 --> 00:00:07.799 This church is very special and has a big impact in our diocese. 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:12.839 I'm so grateful for Tommy and Dan and how much leadership they provide. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.600 Deborah has stepped up to the plate and served us in our synod gatherings. 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:20.559 Thanks be to God for Elizabeth and Jane. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:26.339 Now we have a new deacon, Amy Atchison, from among you, so praise God for that. 00:00:26.339 --> 00:00:32.519 And I imagine a few of you may have been there this morning. 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:38.659 If you were there, you heard me mention that Palm Sunday in Anglican churches is a bit of a challenge liturgically. 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:46.039 You might have already picked that up because we have this massive 90-degree turn that has, you know, we take it full speed in the middle of the service. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:53.120 So we come in with all the joy and the celebration and the palms and the kids get to laugh and, you know, act like kids. 00:00:53.260 --> 00:00:55.960 And the adults got to act like kids and it's really fun. 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:57.020 All that kind of stuff. 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:00.299 And we're recapitulating the events of the original Palm Sunday. 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:05.620 And usually there's a Palm Sunday reading from the gospel, which we heard tonight from Luke chapter 19. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:12.340 And some celebratory songs about Jesus, usually with the word Hosanna, which again, Dan, thanks a lot. 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:12.939 We did that. 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:14.240 Hosanna in the highest. 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:16.859 And then there's a sermon. 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.200 And it may also speak about Palm Sunday. 00:01:19.460 --> 00:01:23.359 But at the same time, somewhere along the way, what happens is exactly what happened. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:27.659 And when Tommy read the gospel tonight, we take this sharp 90-degree turn. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:28.579 We don't even pause. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:30.319 And we just turn a different direction. 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:34.200 And suddenly we are reading about the passion of Jesus Christ. 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:50.460 So the theme goes from the Hosannas of Palm Sunday to the somber and, in a sense, dark theme of rejection with which we enter into Passion Week. 00:01:50.459 --> 00:01:55.919 We try to bring this all together in this one worship service today. 00:01:56.679 --> 00:02:02.599 I've made the decision in the sermon today to take that hard 90-degree turn toward Passion Week. 00:02:03.039 --> 00:02:09.759 And really focus on that last evening at the Last Supper in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:16.799 If you have your Bibles, please turn with me because I'm actually going to go back beyond what Tommy read in Luke chapter 22. 00:02:17.459 --> 00:02:19.060 Take out your phones if you need to. 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:19.959 Turn to Luke 22. 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:22.060 Just turn off that little ringer-dinger thing. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.000 Make sure that it's silent. 00:02:29.579 --> 00:02:36.680 Luke is interesting in his recounting of this event because he includes some distinctive elements that are not in the other gospels. 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:41.939 And I'm actually going to mention those sort of in like a drive-by sighting of these three events. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:43.700 And just even comment on them. 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:50.319 Because as you prepare your hearts for Passion Week, there is much fodder in this passage for your own soul. 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:56.120 And the things that I mention, even in passing, might be something that God wants to speak to you. 00:02:56.500 --> 00:03:02.600 And I encourage you to take some time this week in Luke chapter 22 and just sort of sit with this text. 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:09.280 But having mentioned three things in passing, I'm going to actually drive up and park by three others. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:11.219 And spend a little bit more time. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:18.280 So somewhere in here, I hope that you have the opportunity to reflect on some things and begin to prepare your own hearts. 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:21.419 In terms of some things I just want to mention to you and call it to your attention. 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:25.539 One of them is the argument amongst the disciples about who is the greatest. 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:29.280 About halfway through in Luke chapter 22 verse 24. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:33.939 It's just amazing to think about this because Jesus has just washed the disciples' feet. 00:03:34.860 --> 00:03:37.759 He has told them, I've shown you what to do. 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.439 He says, the disciple is not above his master. 00:03:41.920 --> 00:03:44.180 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:47.439 And in fact, what I'm doing by this is telling you how to serve one another. 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:51.620 And then within a few minutes, they're arguing about one another, about which of them is the greatest. 00:03:51.620 --> 00:04:01.900 And surely if the name of the game in town is to wash each other's feet, maybe they're thinking, well, the fact that you washed my feet before yours makes me more important than you. 00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:05.539 And the disciples seem to come back to this time and time again. 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:09.759 Luke is the only one who inserts this conversation at this point. 00:04:10.420 --> 00:04:12.360 Matthew and Mark talk about this earlier. 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:14.880 But my guess is this happened a lot. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:20.280 Because the disciples were constantly in the game of comparing themselves to one another. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:22.500 Sort of like we do, right? 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:31.480 And Jesus gets them, in a sense holds their face and says, this is not the way it's supposed to be among you. 00:04:32.460 --> 00:04:36.720 And remember this, I am among you as one who serves. 00:04:37.379 --> 00:04:39.420 That was really the theme of our message this morning. 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:42.340 And I just want to repeat it, I am among you as one who serves. 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:46.640 And I would encourage you just, if nothing else this week, just to memorize that one phrase. 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:51.199 It's from the lips of Jesus, I am among you as one who serves. 00:04:51.280 --> 00:04:55.420 And just keep thinking about that and pondering about what that might mean. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:01.980 Another thing that Luke mentions that is distinctive is he mentions the way that Jesus says to Peter, 00:05:02.460 --> 00:05:05.540 Satan has demanded to have you to sift you like wheat. 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:10.180 And this incredible assurance that says, but I have prayed for you. 00:05:11.200 --> 00:05:19.200 And some of you may need to know that when Satan sifts you and, in a sense, blows you up, 00:05:19.200 --> 00:05:22.540 just to remember that Jesus is praying for you. 00:05:23.400 --> 00:05:26.759 And there are times in our lives when we desperately need to keep that in mind. 00:05:26.820 --> 00:05:27.560 I certainly have. 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:33.839 There's another text that the other disciples don't mention, the other gospel evangelists don't mention, 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:36.980 when he describes their future ministry and tells them, 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:40.620 I told you before not to take anything with you, now I'm telling you to take something with you. 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:41.920 And you can kind of reflect on that. 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:47.300 So these are three things that I just mentioned by way of passing that you might reflect on. 00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:52.300 But I'm going to spend more time on three other aspects of this evening, 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:56.460 because these are ones that have really grabbed my attention and grabbed my heart. 00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:59.100 One of them goes all the way back to verse 14. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:01.220 So again, Luke 22, 14, 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:05.100 At the beginning of the institution of the Lord's Supper, according to Luke, 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:11.439 Luke includes something that's a little bit different than what the other gospels say. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:15.620 And when the hour came, he reclined at the table and the apostles with him. 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:22.139 And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:25.480 I'm not sure you've ever thought about that. 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:31.000 But Jesus sitting there and saying to his friends, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you. 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:32.699 Why was that true? 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:34.459 What was his earnest desire? 00:06:34.459 --> 00:06:42.739 He wasn't talking about it in some sort of formal, like, I need to do this because I need to get on past this to do the next thing. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.579 You know, in other words, I'm anxious to get to the end and let me get this one over with. 00:06:47.039 --> 00:06:48.659 No, in fact, it's different. 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:51.139 This is a three or four hour meal. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:59.060 And he's saying, I have earnestly desired to be with you on the eve of my death. 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:08.319 When Jesus would face all of hell's power alone on the cross, he had an incredible longing to be with his friends. 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:17.100 And that's echoed in the many acts of friendship that are outlined in the rest of this chapter and, in fact, in other texts as well. 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:19.660 Because, again, go back to what I've said to you. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:23.639 As they're arguing with one another, he says, I'm among you as one who serves. 00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:26.899 Let me keep reminding you of the truth as a friend does. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:28.160 I'm not disgusted with you. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.340 I'm not done with you. 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:33.240 When Peter is going to deny him, he says, I'm praying for you. 00:07:34.660 --> 00:07:38.300 When he goes to the garden, he says, would you please come with me and pray with me? 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:41.440 And those are just some hints of it. 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.900 If you go to John, it's mind-blowing. 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:48.379 In John chapter 14, after John chapter 13, when he's washed their feet, 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:53.960 in John chapter 14, he says, I'm going to prepare a place for you and I'm going to come back and get you. 00:07:54.280 --> 00:07:55.420 Because I want to be with you forever. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:08:02.759 And he says, when I go away, I'm going to send my own spirit to be among you because I do not want to leave you alone. 00:08:03.840 --> 00:08:07.420 In fact, it's better for you that I go because the spirit's going to come. 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:10.220 But think of the assurance he's giving them. 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:14.020 In John chapter 15, it gets even more profound. 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:15.680 He says, abide in me. 00:08:17.019 --> 00:08:18.299 Share your very life. 00:08:18.479 --> 00:08:20.019 Share my life with you. 00:08:20.359 --> 00:08:25.079 Be as deeply connected as a vine is to the branch. 00:08:27.039 --> 00:08:28.639 Be wed to me. 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:32.759 And then later on in John chapter 15, that incredible statement, 00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:36.699 no longer do I call you servants, but I call you what? 00:08:37.699 --> 00:08:38.179 Friends. 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:42.359 And what I want you to hear in all this, brothers and sisters, 00:08:42.359 --> 00:08:52.219 is this amazing concept that Jesus Christ calls us friends and desires a friendship with us. 00:08:53.199 --> 00:08:57.639 And I don't know how that strikes you, but it strikes me as incredible. 00:08:57.779 --> 00:08:59.000 Well, I can hardly believe it. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:05.340 When I walk my way through life, I most of the time think of Jesus in other ways. 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:11.980 I think of him as someone as an example to follow or a teacher or, of course, my Lord and my Savior. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.299 I think of him as somebody that I must honor, that I must obey. 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:17.620 All of that's true. 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:27.080 But as Jesus moves toward the end of his earthly life, he emphasizes time and time again, you're my friends. 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:33.759 And he spends three or four hours in a meal together with his friends. 00:09:34.780 --> 00:09:40.879 And all of the images of being around the table with friends should crowd into our souls 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:47.480 and help us to realize how Jesus sees us, how he relates to us, how he connects with us. 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:53.820 And I hope you might be able to think about times in your own life when you particularly wanted to be with your friends. 00:09:53.820 --> 00:09:57.320 And for Jesus, this was the night before his agony. 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:02.060 And he wanted to be with somebody that he was comfortable with and that he was friends with. 00:10:02.800 --> 00:10:06.200 I remember years ago, we raised our family in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 00:10:06.379 --> 00:10:08.480 And it was just one of those moments in time. 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:12.280 We were there for several years and ministered in a church. 00:10:12.400 --> 00:10:18.640 And it was one of those moments in time when I can say that we genuinely had a large number of friends in the church. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:23.059 And over the course of the years, there were just a bunch of guys. 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:28.659 We did a lot of incredible things to do, you know, running the rapids and the Saskatchewan River 00:10:28.659 --> 00:10:33.039 and mountain climbing together and all sorts of things that we did together that were an awful lot of fun together. 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:38.899 We had just time and time again a bunch of guys, 12, 15, 20 of us, that would do things together. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:40.379 And there was a lot of friendships there. 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:49.080 Well, as we were moving, one of my friends, Dave Weber, said, let's spend a day together. 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:51.279 Let me get some of the guys together and let's spend a day. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:57.679 So we spent an entire day together hiking one of the most beautiful mountains in the Kananaskis Valley that I love, 00:10:57.939 --> 00:11:03.139 where you get up on the top and you can see the whole valley laid out before you, 20 miles in either direction, 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:05.679 just this vast, beautiful wilderness. 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.440 When we got to the top, Dave had gone there the day before. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:10.340 I didn't know that. 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:15.960 And he had hidden a chalice and a patent, bread and wine, and a cloth. 00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:22.060 And he had arranged our meeting place where there was this flat rock as a table. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:24.360 And he spread the cloth out before us. 00:11:24.540 --> 00:11:26.700 And he had put together a cross of sticks. 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:28.120 And he'd woven it together. 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.620 And he put a cross behind the table. 00:11:31.260 --> 00:11:33.340 And he laid out communion elements. 00:11:33.680 --> 00:11:37.900 And there were about 18 or 20 of us that had hiked up there and spent the day together hiking. 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:40.059 And it was about two days before we were leaving. 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:42.559 And we just sat around the table and we shared communion. 00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:47.419 And then we came down from the mountain and we went to a local tavern. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:50.699 And we shared some other food and drink, as you can imagine. 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:53.480 But it was a wonderful, wonderful time. 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:55.600 It was bittersweet for us. 00:11:56.280 --> 00:12:03.920 But it's amazing for me to think that in very similar ways, that's an echo of Jesus' comments to his disciples. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:08.460 And I believe from that an echo of his comments to you and me. 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.860 I desire to be your friend. 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:22.500 I desire for you to have the trust and the comfort and the peace and ease with me of a friendship. 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:28.159 The second place I want to pause for just a minute is over in verse 42. 00:12:29.560 --> 00:12:31.419 This is in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:37.259 And we are listening to Jesus' prayer. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.019 And Jesus knelt down and prayed, saying, 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:47.059 Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. 00:12:48.459 --> 00:12:52.699 Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:58.620 During Holy Week, two years ago, I was praying through this passage. 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:00.080 Thinking it through. 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.040 Just sort of sitting with it in my prayers. 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:07.220 And for the first time, something hit me like a brick in the head. 00:13:07.280 --> 00:13:10.000 And you may have already seen this long ago. 00:13:10.140 --> 00:13:10.900 It was new to me. 00:13:11.780 --> 00:13:16.960 And as I sat with this, I began to think about this particular garden scene. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:21.620 And I began to contrast it in my mind with another garden scene. 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:25.900 With a man who wrestled with obedience and submission to God. 00:13:27.040 --> 00:13:29.480 And in that other garden scene, he wrestled. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:30.800 In the end, he said, 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:35.780 Not thy will, but mine be done. 00:13:38.420 --> 00:13:41.420 And then generations and centuries and millennia later, 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:47.079 this man was wrestling in a garden with obedience and submission to God. 00:13:47.079 --> 00:13:48.219 And he said, 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:51.799 Not my will, but thine be done. 00:13:53.459 --> 00:13:55.599 What flowed from one garden, 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:03.479 the light was snuffed out and darkness exploded. 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:09.259 There was the birth of death spiritually. 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:11.700 The reign of sin, 00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:13.299 alienation and conflict, 00:14:13.740 --> 00:14:16.519 bloodshed that cried out for justice. 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:22.240 There was the destruction of the icon of God, 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:24.139 the image of God and man. 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:28.460 When God created humanity, male and female, 00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:32.539 he created male and female as the image bearers of God. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:35.059 The icon is literally in the Greek language. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:38.639 And we think of an icon often as a flat image, 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.360 sort of a picture that can remind us of God. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:43.419 But that's not the concept of an icon, 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.840 even in Eastern Orthodox theology. 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:51.659 But it's certainly not the icon or the concept of an icon in Scripture. 00:14:52.439 --> 00:14:55.799 Because as we wrestle with what is an icon or an image of God, 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:59.100 we find out that Jesus is the icon, the image of God. 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:05.200 He is literally the insertion of the presence of God in the material world. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:09.960 He's an intrusion from the spiritual reality into the material world. 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:14.040 And when we were created, we were meant to be exactly that. 00:15:14.160 --> 00:15:16.360 So that as people, male and female, 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:21.120 that we together intrude the presence of God into the material world. 00:15:21.300 --> 00:15:24.580 And when Adam sinned, that was cut off. 00:15:25.540 --> 00:15:28.300 And so suddenly the world lost that sense, 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:32.360 that sacramental presence of God through male and female. 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:36.440 Now, not completely, not without recovery. 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:40.639 But nevertheless, what a dramatic scene. 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:43.820 And we see from that first garden, 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.180 what flowed from that was degeneration. 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:50.459 The second garden, 00:15:51.339 --> 00:15:53.219 in contrast, 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:57.859 what was birthed in this moment when Jesus said, 00:15:58.019 --> 00:15:59.319 not my will, but thine be done, 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:03.000 was then the darkness began to die and the light began to rain. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:06.620 The death of death began. 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:09.979 Not the birth of death, but the death of death. 00:16:10.439 --> 00:16:12.779 Instead of the reign of sin, there was the defeat of sin, 00:16:12.839 --> 00:16:14.259 the reign of grace and righteousness. 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:16.259 Instead of alienation and conflict, 00:16:16.379 --> 00:16:17.559 there was peace and reconciliation. 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:20.259 Instead of bloodshed that cried for justice, 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:23.100 there was bloodshed that satisfied justice. 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:27.159 Instead of the destruction of the icon, 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:29.360 there was the restoration of the icon. 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:32.799 So that literally, those who are in Christ 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:36.639 are being remade into the image of God through Jesus Christ. 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:41.279 Instead of the departure of the Spirit, 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:44.980 there is the restoration and the invasion of the Holy Spirit. 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:46.039 Jesus says that. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:47.899 I send you my Spirit. 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:50.240 Instead of degeneration, there is transformation. 00:16:52.419 --> 00:16:54.819 The Scriptures talk of two Adams, does it not? 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:57.080 In Romans chapter 5, 00:16:57.080 --> 00:16:59.700 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:00.580 and death through sin, 00:17:00.820 --> 00:17:03.580 and so death spread to all men because all sinned. 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:05.880 Death reigned from Adam to Moses. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:08.620 Even those who were sinning were not like the transgression of Adam. 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:11.900 But the free gift is not like the trespass. 00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:14.940 For if many died through one man's trespass, 00:17:15.019 --> 00:17:17.600 much more have the grace of God 00:17:17.600 --> 00:17:19.880 and the free gift by the grace of that one man, 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:20.640 Jesus Christ, 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:22.240 abounded for many. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.980 The free gift is not like the result of the one man's sin. 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:30.360 For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, 00:17:30.539 --> 00:17:35.160 but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:38.220 You could go on and on and on. 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:42.319 What Adam did in the garden when he refused the will of God 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:46.440 is to produce sin and condemnation that seems endless, 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:49.279 like an explosion, a never-ending river. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.940 But what happens in this garden when Jesus submits to the Father's will 00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:57.740 is that one grace literally sucks all of that condemnation 00:17:57.740 --> 00:18:00.299 unto itself and satisfies it on the cross. 00:18:01.820 --> 00:18:06.140 And now the free gift of righteousness reigns. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.900 Do you see what we are learning? 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:14.660 We battle God's will in our lives. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:15.240 At least I do. 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:16.620 Am I the only one? 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:20.639 If I ask you what are you struggling with in terms of submission to God, 00:18:20.699 --> 00:18:21.399 and you're honest, 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:23.479 probably everybody in this room could come up with something. 00:18:24.219 --> 00:18:25.739 There's something that we're wrestling with. 00:18:26.539 --> 00:18:28.419 Something that we know that the Lord is saying, 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:29.639 will you do this? 00:18:30.199 --> 00:18:30.899 Will you do this? 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:36.620 I've struggled in the last few weeks over some details, 00:18:36.780 --> 00:18:38.380 some issues between me and Sally, 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:40.000 thinking about what we're going to do this summer 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:41.200 as we are on our sabbatical. 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:42.460 Sounds like no big deal, right? 00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:46.080 But I've really had a hard time letting go to the obvious, 00:18:46.340 --> 00:18:50.400 that I need to give up my plans in favor of reality, 00:18:50.580 --> 00:18:52.140 something God is calling me to do. 00:18:52.740 --> 00:18:55.680 I've struggled in my own Lenten practices 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:59.620 with submitting to the fasts that God has called me to. 00:18:59.619 --> 00:19:06.839 But what Jesus tells us is what happens when we submit to the will of God 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:11.099 and what life can flow from that. 00:19:11.979 --> 00:19:16.119 Jesus, as a man, had enormous, infinite authority. 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.079 When he spoke, people knew that he was speaking the truth. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:23.939 When he operated, he gave away life and love and compassion. 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:25.939 Where did that authority come from? 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:29.479 Read the text, Hebrews 5. 00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:33.459 He learned obedience as a son. 00:19:34.379 --> 00:19:35.459 He learned how to obey. 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:36.939 He learned how to submit. 00:19:38.939 --> 00:19:42.579 We see Jesus inviting us to friendship. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:47.479 We see Jesus giving us an example of obedience and submission. 00:19:47.719 --> 00:19:50.659 And my third observation by way of encouragement, 00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:54.059 as you go into this week, is in verse 53. 00:19:54.059 --> 00:19:57.359 When I was with you day after day in the temple, 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:58.960 you did not lay hands on me, 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:02.919 but this is your hour and the power of darkness. 00:20:04.159 --> 00:20:06.079 Luke's the only one who brings that one in. 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:10.460 This is the hour of your darkness. 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:14.019 The hour you've been given. 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:16.279 Indeed, it will be. 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.319 Will it not? 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.259 As Jesus is arrested, 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:25.839 what will be unfolded in the next 12 to 24 hours 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:33.160 is hatred and violence and injustice and cruelty and mockery and betrayal, 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:40.420 desertion, pain, dereliction, exposure, shame, guilt, separation, loss, and confusion. 00:20:40.860 --> 00:20:43.259 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:48.940 It will be a dark time when all the forces of evil will be unleashed. 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:57.940 We will see Satan unmasked in his full, horrible glory. 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:01.480 We will see hatred. 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:06.240 But, and this is my point, 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:08.200 Jesus said this is your what? 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:10.579 Hour. 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:10.659 Hour. 00:21:12.539 --> 00:21:14.559 This is your hour. 00:21:16.819 --> 00:21:17.899 In the psalm, 00:21:18.699 --> 00:21:19.539 we read, 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:23.740 this is the day the Lord has made. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:25.619 The eternal day, 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:26.839 the everlasting day. 00:21:26.939 --> 00:21:28.359 On the other side of the hour, 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:30.599 there is the day that the Lord has made, 00:21:30.679 --> 00:21:32.039 and it's a never-ending day. 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:36.159 And so even though we want to rush past this weekend to Easter, 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:39.199 we cannot help but go through this week thinking of Easter. 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:39.699 Can we not? 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:43.819 The darkness will be dark. 00:21:45.859 --> 00:21:47.319 But life conquers death. 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:51.059 So again, I want to bring this home. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:53.539 As we hear Jesus saying, 00:21:53.619 --> 00:21:54.359 I want to be your friend, 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:59.000 I want you to imagine him saying that to you in your loneliness, 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:00.679 in your shame. 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:03.259 As we see Jesus saying, 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:03.980 not my will, 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:04.720 but thine be thine, 00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:09.259 I want him to be our example and to befriend us in our own struggles with submission. 00:22:10.140 --> 00:22:11.700 But as we struggle with darkness, 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:15.880 and as we find ourselves overwhelmed by the sense of, 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:16.360 well, 00:22:16.460 --> 00:22:17.620 the words that come to us, 00:22:17.660 --> 00:22:17.880 right? 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:20.460 The images that come to us that say, 00:22:20.560 --> 00:22:22.160 there's no hope. 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:22.740 It'll never be, 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:23.759 it'll never be any different. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.099 I mean, 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:28.259 I have a person that I dearly love that I talk to frequently. 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:30.640 And his mantra is, 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:31.700 it will never change. 00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:32.680 It will never change. 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:33.599 It will never change. 00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:36.460 I will always be the failure I am. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.559 I will always be the failure I am. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:41.240 And he's a believer. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.519 He's a follower of Jesus, 00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:45.039 but he can't get his head around it. 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:46.779 And all I can say is, 00:22:47.299 --> 00:22:48.559 in my home prayers, 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:50.159 it's an hour. 00:22:51.139 --> 00:22:52.099 It's one hour. 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:55.279 And there's an eternal day on the other side of this. 00:22:56.159 --> 00:22:57.639 And it will end. 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:00.139 And so I encourage you, 00:23:01.399 --> 00:23:03.000 as you enter into this week, 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:08.779 I want you to experience the fact that the darkness is an hour. 00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:14.400 And experience the fact that the day is forever. 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:15.339 Hallelujah. 00:23:16.299 --> 00:23:16.579 Amen. 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:19.000 Three lessons. 00:23:19.940 --> 00:23:21.220 Please meditate on these. 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:23.779 Meditate on Jesus as your friend. 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:31.779 Meditate on the beauty and the life that comes from obedience and submission to the Father. 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:40.920 Father, meditate on the fact that the hour of darkness will be followed by never-ending day. 00:23:41.879 --> 00:23:44.680 In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:45.259 Amen.