Last week we spoke of the difference between campaigns and callings—highlighting that Jesus did not campaign for his position as the Great High Priest, but was called to that position like the priests of old. He fulfilled his calling and was obedient to his Father, even though that calling led Him to death and suffering. As we looked at this Divine characteristic of Jesus as explained in our lesson from Hebrews 5:1-10, we were simultaneously challenged by the image of humanity as represented in the persons of James and John. Even as Jesus was taking deliberate steps of service and suffering, James and John were campaigning for greatness in Mark 10:35-45.
If we understand James and John, at least in part, to be pictures of our own desire to climb to the top, we were even more astounded at their (and our) inability to understand Jesus’ message when we looked at the lessons which they should have just learned—about children inheriting the kingdom of God, about rich men giving away or emptying themselves of everything, and about the first being last. And yet, James and John (and perhaps us by extension as well) forget those lessons and instead ask Jesus to name who will sit at His right and His left.
This week, I’d like to begin our study by looking a little closer at what it was that Jesus said to James and John. Hear the word of the Lord from Mark 10, verses 35-38:
35Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
38"You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
The Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ
I think that Jesus’ response here is very interesting—He doesn’t immediately chastise them for their glory-seeking question. He doesn’t remind them of the lessons of the children or of the rich young ruler. Neither does He tell them a parable or quote a proverb. Instead, in true rabbinic fashion, he answers their question by asking another question—can you drink the cup I will drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? They indicate that they can—after all, every disciple wants to be just like his rabbi—not only to know what he knows, but to live how he lives and to go where he goes—so of course James and John indicate that they will follow him wherever he leads. Even though it may seem obvious to us, it may not have seemed obvious to James and John that Jesus was offering another prediction about his death.
I don’t know about you, but it’s never really occurred to me before how completely unrelated Jesus’ question seems. What does sitting at His right or His left have to do with His death? Jesus doesn’t respond with a question about their leadership abilities or about their qualifications—instead He asks about their willingness to suffer. It’s as though somehow the suffering is directly related to His glorification. Hear now these words from Hebrews chapter 1, verses 9 and 10:
9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
The book of Hebrews seems to continually reinforce the theme that we are to journey with Jesus as He travels the path toward glorification—a path which leads through suffering and death. Even as Jesus the Son of God had to walk the road of suffering, it should come as no surprise that we too will walk that road. And yet, we have hope precisely because our Great High Priest has gone before us, has been tempted and has suffered in every way—and yet is now seated at the right hand of the Father.
We find a description of suffering in the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 53, verses 3-12—verses that would later be used to describe the Suffering of the Messiah:
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
The Word of the Lord for His children today
I’m often asked how I can believe in a good, loving, and powerful God when there is so much evil in the world around us. With terrorism, war, and nuclear threats, the global issues seem insurmountable. And yet, I find myself much more overwhelmed by the evils that are closer to home—from executions in an Amish schoolhouse to a shootout in South Portland—from arsonists that destroy property to cancer which destroys lives. We’d like to have a neat and clean answer to all of the questions raised by these evils. Why does God give life to people who choose to take it from another? Why are diseases allowed to run rampant taking people before their time? If God is so good—why doesn’t He put a stop to these things?
Theologians and Philosophers call this the “Problem of Evil.” Simply stated, the Problem of Evil goes something like this: “If God is all-good and all-powerful, how can evil exist in the world? Is God unable to eliminate it, or does He choose not to? And if He chooses not to, is He really all-good?”
I suppose that my own personal resolution to the problem of evil has a lot to do with why I consider myself to be a Christian in the Wesleyan tradition. Since we place such a strong emphasis on the free-will of humanity, we realize that the possibility of free-will necessitates the ability to choose good—and to also choose evil. Since God loved us so much that He wanted to create the possibility for us to be in relationship with Him, we could not simply be puppets that could only do good—for in order to experience the joys of an intimate relationship, we must also be aware of the possibility of being out of relationship. In order to fully appreciate our ability to do good, we must also understand our ability to do evil. In order to fully appreciate our ability to be in relationship with God, we must also understand that we could, in fact, choose otherwise.
This free-will nature of humanity does not somehow diminish God’s power, as some might suggest—but instead it further underscores His omnipotence. You and I could never create something with free-will. Our best computer programs, while able to operate randomly, cannot do anything outside of their program. On the other hand, God is so powerful that He is able to give His creation a degree of self-sovereignty, even to the extent that we could choose disobedience.
And yet, even though my brain can approach a fairly good (albeit not perfect) response to the Problem of Evil, I continue to come back to my own inability to answer the sorts of questions I’m asked—why do good people seem to suffer more? Why are innocent children gunned down in their classroom? Why do those who do evil seem to always get ahead while the ‘nice guys finish last’? And perhaps the most difficult questions of all deal with diseases—like cancer—which seems to be no respecter of persons and can take the young as well as the old. My resolution to the problem of evil handles things like terrorists and school shootings fairly well. But I struggle with responding to diseases and acts of nature like earthquakes and hurricanes—for those seem less directly connected to humanities ability to make choices—good or bad.
And yet, it’s not so hard to understand that the world in which we are living is a fallen and broken world. When Adam and Eve first disobeyed God, we are told that the world changed—God spoke these words to Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
The state of creation was tarnished at the fall, and so we have some basis of understanding for the origin of disease and natural disasters. And yet, we are often not satisfied with the explanations…like Job, we find ourselves covered with sackcloth and ashes (figuratively) and questioning God. Or, like Job’s friends, we find ourselves attempting to answer the unanswerable questions, when we probably should simply remain silent.
Our passage from Job that you heard this morning is a reminder of how to deal with the problem of evil. For when we get done asking our questions, we are left with God’s responses—“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Do you know the dimensions of the heavens? Can you command the sun to rise and the moon to set? Do you know where the darkness hides? Or where the moon lives? Surely you know—for you were already born—you have lived so many years.”
Aside from being evidence that God understands the subtle art of sarcasm, this scripture lesson reminds us that God is God and we are not. His ways are higher than our ways, and His understanding no one can fathom. While I wrestle with the notion that God would cause, or even allow, pain and suffering in our world, I must also recognize that He does have a plan, and that ultimately He will defeat all of evil, in order that we might more plainly see His glory.
Perhaps the most common question that is asked after a tragedy like Columbine, or 9/11, or the Amish shootings is this question, “Where was God when that happened?”
Where do you find Jesus when you are in pain? Where is he when you are suffering? Where is He when you are full of questions and don’t have any of the answers?
I can only respond this way—“He’s right there with you.” When you are drinking the cup of suffering, know that He already drank that cup. When you are being baptized in fire—know that He has already walked that road. When you walk through the shadows, know that He is with you. Where do you find Jesus when you are suffering? He’s there in the midst of the suffering, providing you with comfort, guidance and protection.
Paul writes these words in Romans chapter 8, verse 17: “17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
The journey which Christ took was a journey of emptying Himself, taking on the form of a servant, and becoming a ransom for many. His path to glory led Him through suffering. His path to eternal life led Him through death and the grave. Ours will too.
And so, the lesson I’d like to leave you with is this—when you are walking through the shadows and are wondering where Jesus is—know this—he’s right there with you, leading the way through the darkness until you can see the light. We find Jesus in the suffering—for in the suffering we learn about God’s grace and how He sustains us.
And when we are not currently suffering, it is incumbent upon us to seek out those who are—not only so that we might be able to minister to them and be the physical presence of Christ to them, but also because in serving them we might also enter the presence of the suffering Christ.
I’m reminded of Jesus’ lesson about the sheep and the goats that was recorded in Matthew 25. After separating the sheep from the goats, Jesus says:
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, ’Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37"Then the righteous will answer him, ’Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40"The King will reply, ’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
If we want to see Jesus, we must go to those who suffer…for it is there that we will find Him most clearly. For in their wounds, we will see His wounds. In their scars and bruises we will be reminded of His scars and bruises. Indeed, he was wounded—and it was for our transgressions and wrongdoings. He was bruised—and it was for our iniquities and sins. Our chastisement is upon Him. And so we find him—not among the rich and powerful and influential, but among the poor and the weak and the outcast.
We find glory through His suffering. We find power through weakness. We find wealth through extravagant generosity. We find healing in His brokenness. We find life in His death.
And so, we come to His table to receive physical and tangible reminders of His sacrifice for us. There is no better reminder that we find Christ in the midst of our suffering than to come to this table to experience once again the broken body and shed blood of Christ.
In a moment we will ask Him to bless our time at His table, and then all who have confessed Him as Lord and Savior are invited to come and feast at this table. You’ll come down the aisle, receive the elements, and return to your seats where we’ll partake together, celebrating the unity of the Body of Christ.
Let us pray.
Benediction: Jude 1:24-25To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
(Listen to this sermon online @ http://www.capenazarene.org/ftp/sermonaudio/cecn_102206_finding.mp3 Or, you can subscribe to the weekly podcast at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129585252)
