We have a distorted view of God when we view God as a cop around the corner instead of a late night neighbor...

This week we have been addressing the view of God as a cop around the corner. We talked about the reality that we can live life with the assumption that there is actually a permanent record out there with all the wrong things that we have ever done. We can live life with the assumption that we are probably doing something wrong right now and that God is lurking around some dark corner of our lives with His radar gun, just waiting to nail us for whatever it is so that He can add yet another entry into our permanent record.

We talked about the reality that we get to this place because we view God as a God who exists to give us rules. We view God as a God who gives us rules and people like pastors and Sunday School teachers to teach us and help Him enforce the rules to keep us from getting out of control.

However, to view God as a cop around the corner who is simply a rule maker that busts the rule breakers is a distorted view of God. We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke.

And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless and true view of God that can help us rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the cop around the corner and replace it with an accurate view of God that will enable us to experience a growing relationship with God. So let’s jump into this section of the gospel of Luke together, beginning in Luke 11:5:

Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; ⁶ for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' ⁸ "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

Now to fully understand what is happening in this event from history, we first need to understand the context in which this event from history takes place. You see, as the disciples followed Jesus, they were striving to not only know what Jesus knew; they were striving to do what Jesus was doing. However, as the disciples did life with Jesus they noticed something about what Jesus was doing that they were not doing. As the disciples watched Jesus pray, they recognized that there was something different about Jesus when Jesus prayed. I mean the disciples, they prayed to God, but when Jesus prayed, something seemed to be happening between Jesus and God.

And because of that reality, in Luke 11:1-4, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.  Jesus responded to their request by teaching them to pray. Jesus lesson on prayer is referred to today as the Lord’s Prayer.  Jesus modeled for the disciples, and for followers of Jesus throughout history, how we are to approach God in prayer. Jesus modeled the reality that we are to approach God as one who is worthy of our awe because He sets the agenda as our provider, our forgiver, our deliverer, and our leader who is beyond anything we can wrap our minds around. And it is in this context that we jump into this event from history.

Luke brings us into this event from history by explaining that Jesus moved from teaching his disciples about prayer to telling His disciples a parable about prayer. Now a parable is an earthly story that is designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. Jesus began His parable by basically saying “If any of you had a friend who came to your house at o dark thirty and asked to borrow enough food to feed some of his friends who had shown up in the middle of the night at his house after a long journey, what would you do?”

Now to fully understand what Jesus is saying here, we first need to understand a few things about the Jewish culture of the first century. In the Jewish culture of the 1^st century, one was required to be a good host to a traveling visitor. In addition, the members of the community were responsible to help others in the community to be able to be a good host to visitors. However, in this case, a man had a late night visitor who arrived unexpectedly. And unlike today, this man could not run down to the local Wal-Mart to get food for his unexpected guests. This man had no food to offer and there was no store to go buy food.

And as a result, this man was faced with a choice; this man could either bother his neighbor to get the food he needs or this man could not bother his neighbor and be a poor host. In addition, most homes in the 1^st century were one room homes. So knocking on his neighbor’s door would wake up everyone in the home, which is why Jesus explained that the neighbor initially responded to the knocking by telling the man to go away before he woke up his entire family.

However, notice what Jesus says next “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.” What is interesting is that the word persistence here conveys the sense of shamelessness. In other words, the man shamelessly and boldly kept knocking. And as a result of this man’s shameless boldness, his neighbor responded by giving him the food that he needed.

You see, the neighbor gave the man the food that he needed because the neighbor knew that the man would not have knocked if he really didn’t need the bread. The neighbor gave the man the food that he needed because the neighbor knew that the man would not have knocked if he didn’t believe that the neighbor would give him the food that he needed. And to make sure that His disciples did not miss the meaning of the parable, Jesus took the time to explain the meaning of the parable, which Luke records for us in Luke 11:9-10:

 ⁹ "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.

As Jesus explained this parable to His disciples, we see revealed for us the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we are invited to ask God when we have needs because God desires to respond to our prayers so as to meet our needs. When Jesus uses the word ask, here, this word is an invitation to pray. When Jesus uses the word, seek here, this is an invitation to pursue God and God’s will. And when Jesus uses the word knock, this word conveys a word picture of a person entering into and experiencing the presence of God.

 So Jesus is basically saying to His disciples, and to followers of Jesus throughout history, that everyone who asks receives an answer to what they ask for in prayer; everyone who seeks God and His will finds an answer to what they are looking for; everyone who knocks with a desire to experience God’s presence, will receive a response to their knocking.

You see, Jesus wanted the disciples to clearly understand that the issue isn’t with God; God is waiting to engage us and answer our prayers. The issue is with us as His followers, who hesitate to ask God for what we need. Too often we are afraid to ask a good and loving God for what He already longs to give us.

After teaching His closest followers about how we are to approach God in prayer as the One who is worthy of our awe because He sets the agenda as our provider, our forgiver, our deliverer, and our leader who is beyond anything we can wrap our minds around, Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples did not view God as a cop around the corner. Jesus wanted to hammer home the reality that if an irritated neighbor responds to such shameless boldness, then we can be bold with our gracious God.

Just as the neighbor responded to the request not because of their friendship, but because of the shameless boldness, God responds to our boldness. Unlike the cop around the corner, who we avoid bothering because of their position of power and authority, God is approachable and should be approached often and with confidence.

However, it is important to understand that God does not always give us what we want, but He will always give us what we need.  Unfortunately, these verses have been used far too often by those in the prosperity gospel movement to advocate a name it and claim it mentality when it comes to prayer. In other words, the only reason that you do not have riches and material blessings in your life is because you have not been knocking hard enough with enough faith.

The problem with this distorted and false view of these verses is found both in the context of these verses and the very words of Jesus Himself. Let’s look at the issue of context first. If you were to back up in the gospel of Luke just seven verses, we see Jesus teaching His disciples how to about pray. Now, I have a question for you. Was Jesus teaching His closest followers to pray that God would give them a large house, a second car, or a larger college fund or retirement account?

 No, in Luke 11:3, Jesus called His disciples to pray give us each day our daily bread because in the culture of the day you lived day to day when it came to bread. In the first century, people worried over where they were going to get their next meal. Jesus was teaching them to pray for their needs to be met, not for their wants to be fulfilled. We see this reality reinforced by what Jesus says next in verse 11:

 "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? ¹² "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? ¹³ "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

Jesus begins verse 11 by basically saying “Which one of you father would even consider giving your child a snake if they asked for a fish? Would any of you do that?” Now in the desert climate where Jesus was speaking, a fish and a snake were somewhat similar in appearance. While similar in appearance, however, their value was totally different. A fish was a staple of the diet of the Jewish people in this region of the world. A snake, by comparison, was extremely dangerous to a child. In our area, it would be as if Jesus was saying “What father would give their son a diamondback rattlesnake, when they asked for a bratwurst”?

Jesus then provided a second example to reinforce His point: “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?” I mean, the answer is obvious isn’t it? No good father would do something so horrific and unloving to their children. Jesus point is that just as an earthly Father would not deny their children something they needed to survive; God would not deny a need that we requested of Him. And just as an earthly father would not give his children something that was dangerous, God would not respond to our request by giving us something that was dangerous for us.

Jesus then hammered His point home in verse 13 by explaining that if human parents, as flawed and broken beings who are bent toward selfishness, are able to generously meet the needs of their children when asked, then how much more would the selflessly loving Heavenly Father generously meet the needs of His children when asked. And one of the good gifts that God generously gives His followers is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus here is revealing the reality that God gives His followers the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to experience God’s presence, guidance, and intimacy. It is the Holy Spirit that unites us to Jesus, brings us to experience God’s presence in prayer, and empowers us to pray in a way that pursues God and His will for our lives.

And it is here, in this event from history involving a conversation between Jesus and His disciples about prayer, that we discover a timeless and true view of God given to us by Jesus that can enable us to rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as a cop around the corner. And that timeless truth is this: We have a distorted view of God when we view God as a cop around the corner instead of a late night neighbor. 

The timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as setting up a speed trap so that he can catch and expose all the wrong you have done. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the keeper of a permanent record out there with all the wrong things that we have ever done. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as lurking around some dark corner of our lives with His radar gun, just waiting to nail us for whatever it is so that He can add yet another entry into our permanent record.

We have a distorted view of God when we view God as a God who exists to give us rules. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as a God who gives us rules and people like pastors and Sunday School teachers to teach us and help Him enforce the rules to keep us from getting out of control. We have a distorted view of God when we view God as a rule maker that busts the rule breakers.

And a as result, we become focused and consumed with whether or not we are keeping the rules. And that focus on whether or not we are keeping the rules becomes the focus and determines the depth of our relationship with God. And inevitably we end up living life in fear of God. However, God does not give us rules so that we would fear Him. Instead God gives us rules so that we can experience freedom. You see, we experience true freedom when we are lovingly given guardrails that enable us to experience the life that God designed us to live. The freedom from guilt, shame, condemnation.

However, unlike the cop around the corner who we avoid bothering because of their position of power and authority, a more accurate view of God is that of a late night neighbor. A more accurate view of God is that of a late night neighbor invites us to pray to Him, to pursue Him and His will and to enter and experience His presence.

A more accurate view of God is that of a late night neighbor who is approachable and should be approached often and with confidence. And while God is a God who will not always give us what we want, God will always give us what we need. Yet, too often we are afraid to ask a good and loving God for what He already longs to give us. Too often we can find ourselves in a place where we believe in God instead of believing God.

However, like the late night neighbor, God invites us to simply ask and come to Him, even at o dark thirty. You can come because God delights in us shamefully and boldly asking Him to meet you where we are at so that He can lead us to the place that He desires us to be, which is in a growing relationship with Him.

So here is a question to consider: Which of these two views describe how you view God? Do you view God as the cop around the corner? Do you view God as lurking around some dark corner of our lives with His radar gun, just waiting to nail us for whatever it is so that He can add yet another entry into our permanent record? Do you view God as simply a rule maker that busts the rule breakers?

Or do you view God as a late night neighbor? Do you view God as a late night neighbor who is approachable and should be approached often and with confidence? Do you view God as a late night neighbor who will not always give us what we want, God will always give us what we need? Do you view God as a late night neighbor that invites us to pray to Him, to pursue Him and His will and to enter and experience His presence, even at o dark thirty?

Because the timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as a cop around the corner instead of a late night neighbor...

God as a cop around the corner...

At the church where I serve, we just launched into a brand new sermon series entitled Distorted. During this series we are going to address an all too frequent reality that many of us can find ourselves facing. We can find ourselves facing this reality regardless of where we are at when it comes to God.

You see, regardless of whether or not you buy the whole Bible, Jesus, or church thing; regardless of how often you have attended church in the past; regardless of the fact that you may feel like you do not know and do not feel that you can ever know about whether or not the Bible or church is real or relevant; regardless of all the bad experiences that you may have had with Christians and churches, we can all find ourselves facing this reality.

And that reality involves how we view and perceive God. The reality is that, regardless of where we are at when it comes to a relationship with God, we can have a distorted view of God because we have a distorted perception about God. And it is those distorted perceptions about God that can lead us to make distorted assumptions about God.

The great writer C.S. Lewis wrested with this reality in his life and once famously said “I do not want my image of God, I want God.” And so often, just like C.S. Lewis, we can find ourselves in a place where we have made God into our image, based on our view of God that is the result of our distorted perceptions and our assumptions about God.

And because of that reality, during this series, we are going to spend our time together addressing six distorted views of God that flow from a distorted perception and assumption about God and that can result in us shaping and molding God into our image. During this series, we are going to strive to replace those distorted perceptions and assumptions about God with six accurate views of God that were given by us by Jesus Himself so that we would be able to experience a growing and maturing relationship with God.

This week, I would like for us to address the distorted view of God as a cop around the corner. How often do we view God as the cop around the corner? I mean, if all it takes are a couple of flashing lights and a squealing siren to evoke fear of being found out, of being exposed, what fears and anxieties can rise to the surface in our lives at the slightest thought of being caught by God? Maybe I have just described how you view God? Maybe you view God as setting up a speed trap, so to speak, so that he can catch and expose all the wrong you have done. How many of us live out our day to day life with these assumptions about God.

How many of us live life with the assumption that there is actually a permanent record out there with all the wrong things that we have ever done. How many of us of us live life with the assumption that we are probably doing something wrong right now and that God is lurking around some dark corner of our lives with His radar gun, just waiting to nail us for whatever it is so that He can add yet another entry into our permanent record.

But how do we get to the place where we view God as the cop around the corner? You see, we get to this place because we often view God as a God of rules. We get to this place because we view God as a God who exists to give us rules. We view God as a God who gives us rules and people like pastors and Sunday School teachers to teach us and help Him enforce the rules to keep us from getting out of control.

However, the problem with viewing God as the cop around the corner is that our day to day lives become focused and consumed with whether or not we are keeping the rules. And as a result of our focus on whether or not we are keeping the rules, whether or not we are keeping the rules becomes the driving focus of our lives and determines the depth of our relationship with God. Thus, our image and view of God becomes that of a rule maker that busts the rule breakers and we end up living life in fear of God.

However, to view God as a cop around the corner who is simply a rule maker that busts the rule breakers is a distorted view of God. We see this reality revealed in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And it is in this section of this account of Jesus life that we discover a timeless and true view of God that can help us rid ourselves of the distorted view of God as the cop around the corner and replace it with an accurate view of God that will enable us to experience a growing relationship with God.

Friday, we will jump into this section of the gospel of Luke together…

Easter is significant because Easter provides the opportunity to be freed from the power of temptation by following the example of Jesus life...

Today, we are going to finish answering a question that we began to answer last week surrounding the issue of Easter. And that question can be summarized in two words: "So what?" In other words, "Why should I care about Easter if I don't buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing?" And even if you are here this morning and consider yourself a follower of Jesus, is there something significant about Easter that we may be missing? While Easter is significant when I comes to how I can experience a relationship with God, is there something significant about Easter when it comes to how I live out my day to day life as a follower of Jesus that I might be missing?

In a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Hebrews, we discovered a timeless answer to the question “So what? Why should I care about Easter if I don't buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing?”And that timeless answer is this: Easter is significant because Easter provides the opportunity to be freed from the power of death through Jesus death and resurrection. You see, Easter is significant because Easter is about God the Father providing us the opportunity to be brought into the splendor and radiance of being adopted as a child of God through the suffering of His One and Only Son Jesus so that we could be insiders and a part of the family of God.

Easter is significant because Easter is about Jesus entering into humanity to become “one of us” and to proclaim God to us before dying for us. Easter is significant because Easter is about Jesus willingly entering into humanity so that His death on the cross would put an end to the power of the Devil to bring eternal death to those who were chosen by God to be rescued from their rebellion and become a part of the family of God.

 

And Easter is significant because Easter is about God the Father demonstrating His concern to help those of humanity who He has chosen to experience the fulfillment of the promises that He made to live in relationship with Him as part of the family of God that He would have His Son Jesus take on humanity and enter into humanity so that He could die for humanity. 

However, not only do we celebrate the reality that the events of Easter provide the opportunity to be freed from the power of death through Jesus death and resurrection. In addition, while Easter is significant when it comes to how we can experience a relationship with God, Easter is also significant when it comes to how we live out our relationship with Jesus in our day to day lives. We see the writer of Hebrews reveal this reality in Hebrews 2:17-18:

 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Here we see the writer of Hebrews reveal for us the reality that for Jesus to free us from the power of death through His death, He had to be made like His brethren in all things. In other words, Jesus had to experience the human condition in its fullest sense so the He could demonstrate His connection, unity, and solidarity with humanity. The writer of Hebrews then explained that the reason why Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense was so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Now to understand what the writer of Hebrews is communicating here, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing that we need to understand is what the writer of Hebrews is referring to when he uses the phrase “merciful and faithful high priest.” In the Jewish sacrificial system, the High Priest represented the Jewish people before God. It was the High Priest alone who entered into the Holy of Holies in the Temple on the Day of Atonement to offer a sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the people.  This sacrifice atoned, or covered the sins that had been committed. God would see the atoning sacrifice rather than the sin so that the penalty no longer had to be extracted from the person who had sinned.

Now that leads us to the second thing that we need to understand, which is what the writer of Hebrews refers to when he uses the word propitiation. The word propitiation is a big, fancy, church mumbo jumbo talk word that refers to satisfying God’s right and just response to our selfishness and rebellion. Now with these things in mind, we see that the writer of Hebrews is revealing for us the reality that Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense so that He could compassionately and reliably represent us before God. 

Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense so that He could represent us on the cross in a way that satisfied God’s right and just response to our selfishness and rebellion. And Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense so that He could represent us on the cross in a way that removed the guilt that came as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of humanity.

And because Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense, the writer of Hebrews explains that since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. In other words, since Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense; since Jesus character was tested through the suffering He experienced while here on earth; Jesus is uniquely able to render assistance to us in our times of testing and suffering.

You see, Jesus is fully aware of the testing that suffering places us through. Jesus is fully aware and is fully equipped to aid and assist us through the times of testing that suffering produces in our lives because Jesus has successfully passed the test of suffering. Jesus successfully passed the test of suffering in a way that put an end to the power of the Devil to bring eternal death to followers of Jesus who have been adopted into the family of God.

And Jesus is fully aware and fully equipped to aid and assist us through the times of temptation that entice us towards evil and away from God. We see this revealed for us just two chapters later in Hebrews 4:14-16:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of  need.

Here we see the writer of Hebrews urge readers to respond to the reality that Jesus experienced the human condition in its fullest sense so that He could compassionately and reliably represent us before God, to hold fast to our confession. In other words, instead of bailing on Jesus to return to Judaism, the readers of this letter were to continue faithfully trust in Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews then explained that the reason why they were to continue to faithfully trust in Jesus was due to the fact that Jesus, as their high priest, can sympathize with our weaknesses. In other words, Jesus, having become one of us, can relate to being enticed towards evil and away from God. However, while Jesus is able to relate to the temptations that we all face, while Jesus was tempted in all things as we are, Jesus was without sin.

In other words, while Jesus was enticed to take a God-given desire beyond God-given design, Jesus never rebelled against God’s design. And because of that reality, the writer of Hebrews encouraged followers of Jesus to draw near to Jesus so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The writer of Hebrews is calling followers of Jesus throughout history to respond to temptation by boldly and confidently running to Jesus. We are to boldly and confidently run to Jesus so that we can experience His transformational activity in our lives in a way that results in us overcoming temptation.

You see, as we have talked about in the weeks leading up to Easter, Jesus provides us the example of how we are to overcome the temptations that we experience as we live out our day to day lives here on earth. We are able to overcome the temptation towards autonomy when we follow Jesus example of investing in close community. We are able to overcome the temptation towards popularity and individuality when we follow Jesus example of selflessly serving others in community with others. We are able to overcome the temptation to value something other than God supremely when we follow Jesus example of seeking to spend time in God’s presence.

And that is what is so significant about Easter that we often miss. Easter is significant because Easter provides the opportunity to be freed from the power of temptation by following the example of Jesus life. The reason that Easter is so significant is not just because of the death and resurrection of Jesus; the reason that Easter is so significant is also because of the life of Jesus.

 

A life that lived the life we were created to live but refused to live. A life that experienced the human condition in its fullest sense so that He could compassionately and reliably represent us before God without sin. A life that was enticed to take a God-given desire beyond its God-given design, but that never rebelled against God's design.

Easter is significant because Easter provides the opportunity to be freed from the power of death through Jesus death and resurrection...

Today I would like for us to spend our time together asking and answering the question "Why should I care about Easter if I don't buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing?" Why is Easter so significant? To answer these questions, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Hebrews.

 

As the title of the book of Hebrews reveals for us, the book of Hebrews was written around 65 A.D. to the Hebrews, which were Jewish Christians who had never heard or seen Jesus in person, but had learned of Him as the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel had been proclaimed throughout the known world.

However, as the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel was proclaimed throughout the known world; and as people from throughout the known world responded to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting and following Jesus, persecution against followers of Jesus began to increase throughout the known world. However, while persecution of Christianity increased throughout the world, those who were involved in Judaism were not experiencing persecution.

And as a result of what was going on at this time in history, there were some Jewish people who stalled and stuck when it came to their relationship with Jesus and were considering bailing on following Jesus to return to Judaism. After all, Judaism was safe, while following Jesus was proving to be dangerous. Judaism was accepted by the culture of the day, while Christianity was opposed by the culture of the day.

And as a result of what the author of the book of Hebrews saw occurring among these Jewish people who claimed to want to follow Jesus but who had become either stalled and stuck, or were considering bailing on Jesus, the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote this letter to communicate a simple but profound message. And that simple and profound message involved the absolute supremacy and superiority of Jesus Christ and Christianity over Judaism.

The writer of Hebrews began his letter by proclaiming the absolute supremacy and superiority of Jesus as the messenger to proclaim God’s message to humanity. And because of the reality that Jesus had a position of absolute supremacy and superiority when it came to proclaiming God’s message to humanity, in the second chapter of the book of Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews encouraged and exhorted the Jewish readers of his letter to pay attention to the superior message of Jesus.

And it is in this context that we jump into this section of this letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of Hebrews, beginning in Hebrews 2:10-13. Let’s look at it together:

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, "I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE." And again, "I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM." And again, "BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME."

Now you might be thinking to yourself "What does any of that even mean?"  The writer of Hebrews is revealing the reality that what was suitable was for God, who is the source and Creator of everything that exists, found it suitable to lead those whom He chose to become His followers into the splendor and radiance that comes as a result of being adopted as a child of God. The writer of Hebrews then explained that how God chose to lead those whom He chose to become His followers into the splendor and radiance that comes as a result of being adopted as a child of God was to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. But what does that mean? 

The word perfect here does not mean to make perfect something that is not perfect. Instead, the word perfect here literally means to bring something to an end or goal. This word conveys the sense of demonstrating or providing the proof that something has accomplished a goal. In addition, the phrase “the author of their salvation” refers to Jesus as being the One who originated and began the rescue of selfish and rebellious humanity from their selfishness and rebellion that had separated them from God. 

And how Jesus originated and began the rescue of selfish and rebellious humanity from their selfishness and rebellion was through sufferings. The sufferings refer to the suffering that Jesus endured as He died on the cross for the selfishness and rebellion of humanity. The writer of Hebrews point here is that the suffering of Jesus on the cross for the selfishness and rebellion of humanity that proved and demonstrated that Jesus had accomplished the goal and plan to rescue selfish and rebellious humanity from their selfishness and rebellion.

When the writer of Hebrews states that “For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father;” this statement, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “For Jesus, who includes a person in the inner circle of what is holy, and those who are included in the inner circle of what is holy all have one Father, who is God the Father”. With this phrase, the writer of Hebrews is revealing for us the reality that when we were outsiders when it came to having a relationship with God, God the Father brought us into the splendor and radiance of being adopted as a child of God through the suffering of His One and Only Son Jesus so that we could be insiders and a part of the family of God.

And because of that reality, the writer of Hebrews explained that Jesus is not ashamed to call those whom He rescued from their selfishness and rebellion through his suffering brethren. Jesus is not too proud to call us His brothers and sisters. Jesus does not simply put up with followers of Jesus. Jesus does not simply hold his nose hoping and looking forward to the future version of us. Instead, Jesus embraces us and welcomes us as insiders who are His brothers and sisters in the family of God.

And to reinforce this reality, the writer of Hebrews quotes from several Old Testament passages that predicted and proclaimed God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah, who would bring those who were far from God back to God. The writer of Hebrews quoted from Psalm 22:22, and Isaiah 8:17-18, to reinforce the solidarity and unity that we have with Jesus as a part of the family of God. The writer of Hebrews then begins to unpack why Jesus, who is God in a bod, would decide to come to the place where He could have such solidarity and unity with His followers as part of the family of God in Hebrews 2:14-16:

 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.

In theses verses, we see the writer reveal for us the reality that, in order to demonstrate His solidarity and unity with His followers as a part of the family of God, Jesus took on flesh and entered into humanity. The word partook here, literally means to have a part or share in something. Since those whom God chose to rescue from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God had a human nature, Jesus willingly chose to enter into humanity and take on a human nature. Jesus, who was God, added to His Divinity humanity by entering into humanity as God in a bod.

The writer of Hebrews then reveals two different reasons why Jesus would choose to add to His Divinity a human nature and enter into humanity. First, Jesus chose to add to His Divinity a human nature and to enter into humanity so that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. The writer of Hebrews point here is that Jesus willingly added to His divinity a human nature and entered into humanity so that His death on the cross would put an end to the power of the Devil to bring eternal death to those who were chosen by God to be rescued from their rebellion and become a part of the family of God.

Second, Jesus chose to add to His Divinity a human nature and to enter into humanity so that through His death He might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. You see, humanity throughout history has demonstrated a fear of death. Humanity throughout history has been intimidated and alarmed by the prospect of death. And humanity throughout history has been enslaved, or subservient to the power of death, as they lived their lives here on earth. And because of the slavery that the fear of death had placed humanity under, Jesus took on a human nature and entered into humanity so that He could set us free from the fear of death through His death on the cross.

The writer of Hebrews then reinforces what Jesus had done to set us free from the fear of death through His death on the cross by explaining “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.” Now this phrase, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “for we would all agree that God is not so concerned about angels that He would extend such help so as to free the angels who had rebelled against God. After all, angels simply are servants who worship Jesus as King and minister to humanity, they cannot rescue humanity.  However God is so concerned and is so driven to help those of humanity that He has chosen to experience the fulfillment of the promises that He made to Abraham to live in relationship with Him as part of the family of God, but who rebelled against God, that He would have His Son Jesus take on humanity and enter into humanity so that He could die for humanity." 

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we see revealed for us a timeless answer to the question “So what? Why should I care about Easter if I don't buy the whole Jesus, Bible, church thing?”And that timeless answer is this: Easter is significant because Easter provides the opportunity to be freed from the power of death through Jesus death and resurrection. You see, Easter is significant because Easter is about God the Father providing us the opportunity to be brought into the splendor and radiance of being adopted as a child of God through the suffering of His One and Only Son Jesus so that we could be insiders and a part of the family of God.

Easter is significant because Easter is about Jesus entering into humanity to become “one of us” and to proclaim God to us before dying for us. Easter is significant because Easter is about Jesus willingly entering into humanity so that His death on the cross would put an end to the power of the Devil to bring eternal death to those who were chosen by God to be rescued from their rebellion and become a part of the family of God.

And Easter is significant because Easter is about God the Father demonstrating His concern to help those of humanity who He has chosen to experience the fulfillment of the promises that He made to live in relationship with Him as part of the family of God that He would have His Son Jesus take on humanity and enter into humanity so that He could die for humanity. 

We are able to overcome the temptation to value something other than God supremely when we seek to spend time in God’s presence...

This week, we have been looking at an event from history where the Devil transported Jesus in a vision to a location and placed all the kingdoms of the earth below Him where He could see their glory, their greatness, and their splendor. Upon positioning Jesus where He could see the greatness and splendor of these earthly kingdoms, the Devil then made an enticing offer to Jesus: "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me."

By offering Jesus the opportunity to have command and control over all the earth in exchange for worshipping him, the Devil was enticing Jesus to value him supremely instead of valuing God the Father supremely. The Devil was enticing Jesus to place him as the object of His devotion instead of placing God the Father as the object of His devotion. The Devil was enticing Jesus to express His submission and dependence to the Devil instead of to God the Father.

We talked about the reality that worship is more about what we do than what we say. Often what we say we worship is betrayed by what we actually worship with our time, talent, and treasure. Remember, temptation entices us to take a God-given desire beyond God-given design in a way that results in us rebelling against God’s design. Thus, we can often be enticed to take a good, God-given thing and make it a supreme thing that becomes the object of our worship instead of God.

Jesus responded to the enticement of the devil to value him supremely instead of valuing God the Father supremely by commanding the Devil to go away from Him. You see, Jesus recognized and acknowledged the reality that there is no other being that was to be of supreme value. And because of that reality, Jesus commanded the Devil to depart from Him.

What is so interesting is that in another account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke, Luke adds the additional detail that the devil left Jesus until an opportune time. In other words, the devil departed Jesus but still kept his eyes on Jesus, waiting for the right opportunity to attempt to entice Jesus toward evil and away from God. So the devil waited. And the devil waited.

The devil waited until a Thursday evening when Jesus and His disciples gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feat of Passover. However, while the devil waited, the devil was not idle. The devil enticed more and more self righteous religious leaders to place themselves in opposition to Jesus. And the devil enticed one of Jesus closest followers, a man named Judas, to betray Jesus.

However, the devil was not finished when it came to his desire to entice others toward evil and away from God. The devil then turned his attention to the rest of Jesus closest followers. After celebrating the Passover meal, after proclaiming to the disciples that one of them would betray Him; after addressing an argument that the disciples were having when it came to who would be known as the greatest disciple by teaching them that one who would be greatest must become like a servant; Jesus turned to His closest followers and made a profound statement that would change the tone of the entire evening. A statement that Luke records for us in Luke 22:31-34:

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; ³² but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." ³³ But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" ³⁴ And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.

Now to fully understand what is being communicated with this statement, we first need to understand something about the English language. You see, in English, the singular and plural form of you look identical. And because of that reality, what Jesus is saying here can be misunderstood. So Jesus statement would sound like this: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift all y’all like wheat; but I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail; and you Simon, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

In other words, Jesus was letting His closest followers know two things: that Satan was going test the disciples, like wheat would be tested, to determine whether or not they were genuinely devoted to Jesus as a result of their confident trust in Jesus and that Peter would temporarily fail the test. However, Jesus also let His closest followers know that He had prayed for Peter that he would rebound from his temporary failure and would return to strengthen His fellow disciples.

Now Peter would not even consider the possibility that he could fail such a test. Peter would not even consider that he could be enticed toward evil and away from Jesus. It did not matter that Jesus told Him exactly how it would happen; from Peter’s perspective, it was not going to happen. However, just a few verses later, in verse 39-40, Luke gives us a glimpse of what happened:

And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. ⁴⁰ When He arrived at the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."

In other words, Jesus commanded His closest followers to spend time in communion with God the Father through prayer so that they would not be enticed toward evil and away from God. Now notice what Jesus does next in verse 41-44:

And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, ⁴² saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." ⁴³ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

After commanding His closest followers to spend time in communion with God the Father through prayer so that they would not be enticed toward evil and away from God, Jesus does exactly what He commanded His disciples to do. Jesus spent time in communion with God and basically asked God “Is there any other way? Is there any other way that I can accomplish the mission that You have given for Me apart from what is about to happen to Me? Is there any other way? Yet never the less, I am not going to settle for anything less than doing what You want Me to be doing.”

You see, Jesus spent time in communion with God through prayer because, as the weight of what Jesus was facing weighed down on Him, Jesus felt the enticement towards evil and away from God. Jesus felt enticed by the desire to live His life in submission and dependence to something other than God.  And in His agony as He spent time in communion with God the Father in prayer in the midst of temptation, God the Father sent an angel to support and strengthen Him as He was being enticed towards evil and away from God.

 After spending time in communion with God the Father and after being strengthened by God the Father as a result of His communion with Him in prayer, Jesus went to check on how His closest followers were doing. Luke reveals for us how they were doing in verse 45-46:

When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, ⁴⁶ and said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

Instead of spending time in communion with God the Father through prayer so that they would not be enticed toward evil and away from God, the disciples spent time sleeping. And on the one hand, who could blame them. After all, they were exhausted; the events of the past week had been emotionally and physically demanding. They were running low on both physical and emotional energy.

So while Jesus spent time in communion with God the Father through prayer and was strengthened by God the Father as a result of His communion with Him, the disciples were in a position where they had neither communion with God the Father or power from God the Father. Luke then reveals the results of their efforts in verse 47-51:

While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" ⁴⁹ When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus answered and said, "Stop! No more of this." And He touched his ear and healed him."?

As Jesus responded to His arrest by faithfully engaging in the kingdom mission He had been given, the disciples fled. Peter, who only hours earlier denied that he would fail any test of his devotion to Jesus, reacted to Jesus arrest by cutting off the ear of a servant of the High Priest. And when Peter’s efforts in his own power failed, Peter fled.

Peter fled and followed from a distance as Jesus was unjustly tried and wrongly convicted of crimes that He did not commit by the self righteous religious leaders of the day. Peter watched from a distance and Jesus was attacked and beaten by a mob of self righteous religious people who mocked Jesus as they beat him. And then it happened.

As Jesus was being beaten and taken away to the Roman government to get permission to crucify Jesus a rooster crowed. And at that moment Luke tells us that Jesus turned and looked at Peter. And at that moment Peter felt what every one of us have felt. At that moment Peter knew that he had failed. And in the moment Peter went out and wept bitterly.  Peter went away and wept bitterly because he knew that he had been enticed towards evil and away from Jesus. Peter went away in failure and was nowhere to be found when Jesus was crucified.

You see, Peter failed because Peter failed to respond to temptation the way that Jesus responded to temptation. And it is in the differences between their responses to what occurred during the events that led to that first Good Friday that we discover a timeless principle that enables us to overcome that temptation.

And that timeless principle is this: We are able to overcome the temptation to value something other than God supremely when we seek to spend time in God’s presence. The timeless reality is that the antidote to the temptation to value something other than God supremely is to heed the example of Jesus and seek to spend time in God’s presence.

You see, spending time in God’s presence will keep us from getting enticed to value something other than valuing God supremely because it is when we spend time in God’s presence that we are able to see God as being of supreme value. And spending time in God’s presence will keep us from getting enticed to value something other than God supremely because it is when we spend time in God’s presence that we are empowered by God’s presence to reject the temptation to value something other than God as being of supreme value in our lives. 

Spending time in God’s presence will keep us from getting enticed to value something other than God supremely because it is when we spend time in God’s presence that we are empowered by God’s presence to reject the enticement to place something other than God as the object of our ultimate devotion in life. And spending time in God’s presence will keep us from getting enticed to value something other than God supremely because it is when we spend time in God’s presence that we are empowered by God’s presence to reject the temptation to live our lives in submission and dependence to something other than God as God in our lives.

Because that is what Easter weekend is all about. Easter weekend is about a cosmic conflict over the power of selfishness, sin, and death: a cosmic conflict over the power of temptation that entices us towards evil and away from God...