A Hill With A View
A Disciple’s View of Calvary
Introduction:
It’s appropriate in the weeks leading up to Easter that we devote extra attention to the story of Calvary. The preaching of the cross is central to Christianity...there can be no Christianity without the cross. The idea of subsitutionary atonement...that Christ died in our place for our sins...is the painful and magnificent centre of our faith. We as Apostolic Pentcostals can place so great an emphasis on the experience we have in God that we forget to place any emphasis on the experience of the cross that made ours available. So, in the weeks leading to Easter we are taking another look at Calvary.
However, our viewpoint in these messages isn’t the deep spiritual and theological significance of Christ’s sacrifice. While it’s important that we believe and understand the theology of the cross, in this series we’re looking at Calvary through human eyes. We’re trying to understand how the message of the cross is redemptive in our day to day living. To do that, we’re exploring how five different people present at Christ’s death may have looked at Calvary. And in their stories we learn how the cross brings the power of redemption to work in our daily lives.
We’ve looked at Mary’s view of Calvary...and through her story we learn that the Cross has a redemptive message to all parents suffering the loss of connection to their kids; the message of Calvary is, “Stay as close as you can!” And we also learned that the message of the cross tells you to, “Stay open...someone else may need you!” Through this the cross teaches you that your life is about more than your pain.
Then last week tried to look at Calvary through the eyes of yet another... this time through the eyes of one of the criminals who were crucified with Jesus. Through our brief and horrible encounter with his story we learned that the Cross of Jesus Christ offers redemptive hope in the most hopeless of circumstances. We learned that if we can humble ourselves, accept responsibility for our choices and actions, and will recognize Christ as our King, then we can begin to live a different life, a new life much different than the old.
Today we’re looking at Calvary through the eyes of a third witness to the crucifixion, and it’s as unique a perspective as the first two. You see, today we look for a redemptive message through the eyes of the only disciple of Jesus to actually stay with him as he died.
Body:
John...
He is the person who was closest to Jesus during His earthly ministry. He was also one of original twelve apostles. John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote a significant portion of the New Testament; five powerful books in the New Testament were written by John.
He was a man of spiritual interest...he was a follower of John the Baptist before he became a disciple of Jesus. Yet, he’s pictured as being a man of strong temper and will; he was nicknamed a “son of thunder.” He was a hard working man; the Bible describes him as a fisherman, from a family of fishermen. And apparently he may have even been a cousin of Jesus, for his mother Salome is called the sister of Mary, Jesus’ mother. He was one of Jesus’ inner circle; Peter, James, and John were closest to Jesus...and out of these three John is referred to as “the disciple that Jesus loved.”
It seems that these things, probably along with other personal characteristics that we aren’t told of, made Jesus feel closer to John than He did to anyone. Every man knows that every once in a while (not very often) a man meets another man that he just ‘clicks’ with...someone he can hang out and do guy things with, but can also talk to...if so inclined. That’s the picture I have of John; he just ‘clicked’ with Jesus. And as a result, he was brought ‘inside’...to that special circle of trusted, close friends.
Inner Circles Are Difficult Places
But inner circles of influential and powerful people are difficult places to be. Influential people aren’t like everyone else in some ways; they’re usually people driven by a strong sense of mission, and that ‘driven-ness’ affects those closest to them in very real ways.
More is expected of inner circle people than is expected of others. You are expected to be willing to serve the needs of the one at the centre, often in what may seem the most trivial of ways. John experienced this. When it was time for Jesus to observe the Passover with his disciples, he sent Peter and John to get the meal ready.
Mark and Luke tell a story of Jesus sending two disciples to go and get a burro for him to ride, and while no names are given it’s not hard to imagine Peter and John trudging off to locate transportation. Those are the kind of things that people in the inner circle often wind up doing; serving the one in the centre.
But not only does the one in the centre expect more of you, those on the outside do too. They expect you to know more about what’s going on than others do, and that you will ‘fill them in.’ Those in the inner circle are expected to pass important messages along, because others know the one at the centre listens to you. They expect you to be able and willing to provide special access to the one at the centre when they feel they need it.
Inner circles are difficult places because you form expectations of the one at the centre. You expect that since you are dependable and faithful and efficient, that since you serve him and the mission, that you should be granted special consideration...a special place. John expected this. He expected Jesus to make him his right hand man...but Jesus shot him down. And that would have been hard to take.
So at last, inner circles are difficult places because they’re lonely places. “It’s lonely at the top,” people say. But it’s lonelier next to the top. It’s lonely because your very closeness to the one at the centre isolates you from others. They think you’re different somehow, or that you think you’re better than them. It’s lonely because you represent the one in the centre, even when he says or does things you don’t understand.
John At Calvary
The loneliness of John’s position is finally seen at Calvary, as Jesus is dying on the cross. Out of the original twelve, no one’s really sure about who is left. Judas is definitely out...they know that he was Jesus’ betrayer. Peter may be...can’t really be sure...he denied Jesus when the chips were down. Mark...only God knows where Mark is; when Jesus was arrested he was so desperate to get away that when they grabbed his robe, he got out of it and ran off naked. In fact, they all, all of them, left Jesus alone that night. And standing at the cross, not one of the twelve can be found...expect for John.
Application:
Here’s the message this morning for everyone who’s trying to follow Jesus, for everyone who is His disciple.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll never be lonely.
We don’t really think about it when we start out to serve the Lord, but the fact is that being a disciple of Jesus Christ separates you from others. Jesus Himself made that clear when he taught that following him meant valuing him and his purpose above all others. Jesus made it clear when he taught that following him meant placing that relationship above all others. Jesus made it clear when he taught that no person, place, thing, or event in this life could have more significance or value than his kingdom and his work.
But you’ve felt it, haven’t you? Even if you never thought of it that way, the longer you followed Jesus the more different you felt...and in many cases, the more differently you were treated. You want different things, you have different values, and you have a different outlook on life. And even if you never intended to set yourself apart, you found yourself in some ways isolated.
And it makes you feel lonely.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll never have to take an unpopular stand.
Some things are just right. You know them when you encounter them. Every once in a while you encounter something that you just have to stand for, simply because it’s right. And at times that can be unpopular. It’s much easier to say nothing, do nothing, and when the chips are down to just melt away into the crowd. When the entire world is flowing one way, it’s so much easier to flow with it.
Standing brings notice. Standing brings pressure. Standing brings scrutiny. By standing at the foot of the cross, John was marking himself to the enemies of Jesus who were there. By being present when all others had abandoned Jesus, John was showing himself to be committed, sold out, ‘hard-core’ if you will. To all of those powerful people there who hated Jesus, John had placed a big target on his own back. But there he stood.
Sometimes you’ll have to take a stand that’s even unpopular with other Christians. Hey, just because we all call ourselves by his name doesn’t mean we always do what he said. Obedient, committed followers of Christ are often more unpopular among lukewarm Christians than they are among those who don’t profess Christ at all.
Following Jesus does mean that you’ll never be truly alone.
But while loneliness would have washed over him, and while he was the only one of the disciples present, Jesus gave John a powerful, comforting message. “John, here’s your mother.” Wait a minute! John already has a mother. What’s Jesus doing? Well, he’s committing Mary to John’s care, but he’s also doing something else...something wonderful, something amazing.
Ask any mother and they’ll tell you; as long as she’s alive her child has her heart. As long as she’s alive, her child has a home. As long as she’s alive her child has unconditional love and acceptance. When all the world is against you, just talk to mom...and for a little while none of it matters. As long as mother is alive, you’re never really alone.
Jesus was telling John, “I know it’s been hard on you. I know that following me hasn’t been easy. I know that you’ve stood when no one else would. And I know you’re often lonely. But today I’m placing someone in your life to help you, strengthen you, and comfort you. And from this day onward you’ll never really be alone. “
Closing:
In Psalm 68, the poet wrote of how God cared for the widows and orphans. He continued by saying, “and He sets the solitary in families.” God cares for you in your loneliness, and He’s placed you in a family that loves you and cares for you. And when you feel that all of life has arrayed itself against you, and you feel so isolated and alone, God will bring someone into your life to be there.
