Sermon Central
-
Spy Wednesday 2019
Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Apr 15, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: The events of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday didn't happen by chance. Jesus planned meticulously
I think the reason is that Jesus did not want Judas to find out what he was planning to do.
Judas was looking – as were most Jews of his day for all all conquering Messiah. Jesus came to dispel that folk lore.
He was coming as a Saviour King, who was going to give his life to bring us back to God.
Judas I believe betrayed Christ to force his hand – he wanted Jesus to lead a rebellion against the Romans and throw them out.
I wonder if Judas would have betrayed Jesus if he had realised that it would cause his friend to go to the Cross.
May I leave you with just one thought today as I did last year:
At the Eucharist, we cast off the garments of worldly importance and we all come as sinners redeemed by the blood of Christ.
Because in the Eucharist we remember Christ – his body and his blood
When we come to the Eucharist – we find Christ is a great leveller.
The Welsh Methodist preacher Hugh Price Hughes made this interesting reflection
“At the Holy Communion, all men are absolutely equal.
One table for rich and poor. “
Hughes goes on to tell this story:
“I remember a beautiful incident in the life of the Duke of Wellington when he was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
The Iron Duke (as the Duke of Wellington was popularly known) was in church, and was going to receive the Lord's Supper, (the Eucharist) when a peasant, who had not noticed the Duke, knelt down by the Duke.
Discovering who he was, and being much terrified in the presence of a man he considered his superior, he started to get up, when the duke put his hand on his shoulder, and said,
"Don't move, we are all equal here." (http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/hughes/universal_equality.htm)
May I leave you with my one thought put another way:
The Eucharist reminds us that in the presence of Jesus we are all equal. Because we are all equally sinners in need of a Saviour.
As you go forth today to love and serve the Lord, remember that we are all equal before God.
It doesn’t mean that we can treat people in any old way, but as Christians we are called to demonstrate the way of Christ and like Jesus this involves being humble.