10 April 2009
GOOD FRIDAY
U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris
Fortress Chapel
Contingency Operation Site (C.O.S.) Sykes
Tall-afar, Iraq
BIG IDEA: When Christians are slapped with humiliation, they should avoid retaliating and “turn the other cheek”.
REFERENCES: Job 14:1 (KJV) Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble; Leviticus 24:18-20 ESV (Preventing a person from taking the law into his own hand); Luke 6:27-38 ESV (Parallel to Matthew 38-42); Exodus 21:18-27 ESV (Laws about Slaves); Exodus 21:26-27 ESV (Laws about eye and tooth) When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his eye; If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth; Matthew 5:38-42 ESV (Retaliation); Matthew 5:38-39 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; John 18 ESV (Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus); John 18:19-24 ESV (The High Priest Questions Jesus); Acts 23 (Paul slapped before the Sanhedrin Council and unknowingly rebuked the high priest – “white washed wall” in other words: filth and dirt covered-over); Ephesians 4:26 ESV (Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil); Matthew 23:23 ESV (Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others; Amos 8:9 ESV (The coming Day of Bitter Mourning) “And on that day,” declares the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight”.); Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 (The Story of the Crucifixion is told in all of the Gospels); Ezekiel 16:42b ESV (I will be calm and will no more be angry);
I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: John 18:19-24 (ESV)
II. READ THE PERICOPE: John 18:19-24 (ESV)
III. READ THE TEXT: John 18:22 (ESV) When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”
IV. PURPOSE: To inspire the hearers to do as Christ did, when they are slapped with humiliation, and turn the other cheek”.
V. SERMONIC THEME: “How to Retaliate when you’re Slapped with Humiliation”
VI. INTRODUCTION:
Welcome to all of our Contemporary Worship Service visitors. We are so glad you decided to join us on this evening that Many Christians, all over the world, commemorate and call Good Friday.
For it was on a Friday, over twenty-one hundred years ago, that our Savior – Jesus Christ – was put to death. What at first seemed to the disciples of Jesus to be a tragedy was recognized after the Resurrection as the source of salvation and hope for humanity.
In his first recorded evangelistic sermon after the Ascension, Peter presented Jesus’ crucifixion as something determined “by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge”. For it is through the Crucifixion, that we have been offered life, and believers who have put their trust in Christ have been forgiven for all of their sins. For the Good Book says in Romans 6:23 ESV The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, it doesn’t matter what sins we have committed. If we apologetically repent of our wrong doings to Christ and ask him to come into our lives; He is both loving and merciful enough to forgive us of our sins and then give us eternal life.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
Move 1: Therefore, in our scripture, tonight we want to briefly explore “How to Retaliate when we are slapped with humiliation,” and some of the activities which led up to that Good Friday evening over twenty-one hundred years ago.
a. Now, my brothers and sisters, as professional Soldiers and civilians (working for the US Government) we are privileged to attend some of the best schools in the world.
b. And those of us that were professionals prior to coming into the military (or those of you whom maybe civilians …
c. … and became SME since coming into the military) have a wide range of experience, knowledge, and education.
d. We’ve graduated from the basic and advance courses of our branch; we’re matriculated at some of the world’s finest institution of higher education.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 2: Still, if we’re not careful, we can allow others to make us feel like we’re incompetent; and that we don’t know our subject matter.
a. But, the devil is a liar!
b. We’re all competent and knowledgeable of our field of study.
c. The problem sometimes lies in the fact that others “think” they know our field better than us; and they’ve never studied Greek or Hebrew.
d. Others think they know our field better than us;
e. … and they’ve never studied marriage and family counseling dynamics.
f. Others think they know our field better than us;
g. … And they’ve never studied courses like Old and New Testament.
******** TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 3: Still, we are mandated to love and forgive those that slap us with humiliation.
a. We are mandated, on this Good Friday, to love and forgive both our real and perceived enemies.
b. However, in order to truly love and forgive those whom have wronged us, we need God’s help.
c. In order to avoid retaliating and love and forgive those whom have slapped us with humiliation, we have to turn to Jesus for help.
d. We have to explore what Jesus, himself, did when he was slapped with humiliation.
e. The Good Book says in Job 14:1 -Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 4: Now, my brothers and sisters, before we set in motion such exploration, allow me to momentarily careen upon a particular lesson taught by Jesus – early on in his ministry - which is found in The Book of Matthew – Chapter 5, verses 38-39.
a. For who can ever forget the many teachings and lessons Jesus shared primarily with his disciples in the Sermon on The Mountain?
b. As you may recall, there was a portion of the Sermon on The Mountain that dealt specifically with Retaliation.
c. For the scripture says (in Matthew 5:38-39): You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
d. This particular law found (in Exodus 21:23-25 and Leviticus 24:18-20) was instituted to prevent a person from taking the law into his own hand in an effort to avenge himself.
e. In the culture of the surrounding nations during Moses’ time – vengeance usually meant taking a life for an eye or a life for a tooth.
f. Therefore this law of Moses brought the situation into the realm of justice instead of revenge. And, the law (during Moses time) did not rule out the possibility of forgiveness. Therefore, the law was not simply a law of revenge, lex talionis in the Greek, as it is often called. Instead, Moses’ Law taught that vengeance belongs to God (Deuteronomy 32:35);
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 5: Whenever, we see indication of vengeance in the Bible – it’s always God’s vengeance.
a. For the Good Book says in Romans 12:19 ESV – Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for I is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he thirsty, give him something to drink; for bo so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
b. Likewise, in our text tonight, we find ourselves witnessing “The Betrayal, Arrest, and Humiliation of our Savior – Jesus Christ.
c. At this point, in our particular passage, we are overhearing Jesus being questioned by
Annas (the perceived High Priest) at a preliminary hearing to determine grounds for a formal trial.
d. This trial was planned to give the impression that Jesus was a leader of a revolt against Rome and a false prophet among the Jews.
e. The interrogators questioned Jesus about the disciples with the intent to imply that Jesus used his followers as Soldiers.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 6: Therefore, there are 3 points that I would like to discuss regarding how our Savior responded UNDER PRESSURE when He was Slapped with Humiliation in hope that we would follow His example.
a. The First Point is CALM. Jesus remained CALM under pressure.
b. Likewise, as Christians, we can’t allow ourselves to fall apart when we suddenly find ourselves outside of our comfort zone. Instead, we must remain calm.
c. The prophet Ezekiel say it best when he said (in Ezekiel 16:42b) I will be calm and will no more be angry.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 7: The Second Point is Patient. Jesus was Patient under PRESSURE.
a. He didn’t allow the enemy to see him shaking and quivering.
b. He trusted God to be with him in the midst of the Crisis.
c. The Psalmist said (in Psalm 37:7) Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
d. In other words, my brothers and sisters, we need to allow God to move on our behalf in the midst of the pressured situation or circumstances.
e. It’s not enough for us to be patient … but as believers … we must WAIT PATIENTLY on the Lord our God to intervene.
f. He may not come when you want Him to; but He’s always ON TIME.
g. Jesus patiently waited for the enemy to do what he needed to; and then He trusted God to take control of the situation.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 8: The Third and final point is dignified.
a. Yes, Jesus was dignified in the midst of humiliation.
b. The Good Book says one of the Soldiers in uniform Slapped Jesus with the palm of his hand.
c. Many theologians believe that the Soldier also had a club in his hand when he slapped our Lord.
d. Now, my brothers and my sisters, if Jesus was slapped with humiliation; and if Jesus was belittled and talked down to – what make us think the enemy or a belittling spirit want use somebody to talk down to us?
e. Our Savior was slapped with humiliation;
f. … and I don’t know about you, but I would not have wanted to be the human being that slapped the creator.
g. I know we (Christians) often talked about Judas and how we wouldn’t want to be like Judas.
h. But, I also wouldn’t want to be the Soldier who slapped divinity with humiliation.
i. Still, in order to do what Jesus did, we have to know who we are and whose we are.
j. When we are talked down to we should hold our heads up high – remembering that Jesus was humiliated too.
k. Yet, when he was slapped with humiliation, he modeled for us all “How to retaliate” by being Calm, Patient, and dignified when slapped with humiliation.
l. Turn the other cheek.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
CELEBRATION: (Isaiah 53:4-7):
I want to be like Jesus – my role model – when I’m slapped with humiliation …
The Good Book says: … Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
