Reflections — Pastor’s Blog

Have you ever been unable to find something you were sure was there? The women experienced that at the empty tomb. They were sure that was where the body of Jesus was. They had seen him buried there. As Matthew 28:5–10 tells us, the absence of the Lord meant that he was, and would be present, not only with the women, but with you as well.

Jesus is absent from the tomb. The tomb stands empty. The women arrived to perform their last service to their Lord. They had been faithful during his earthly ministry. They, unlike the frightened disciples, had witnessed the death of their Lord, Matthew 27:55,56. Now they were visiting the tomb, and, as the other gospels tell us, intended to anoint the body. An angel rolled away the stone to reveal the empty tomb. His majestic appearance struck terror in the hearts of the Roman soldiers. Rolling back the stone was not so much to allow the Lord to exit (his risen body could appear in wonderful ways), but to show that the tomb was indeed empty. What had been a sealed barrier becomes a convenient seat! The empty tomb demands an explanation. The leaders of Israel had feared a hoax, and had obtained orders to seal the tomb. The women were at a loss. Note John’s account of Mary Magdalene’s grief. God provides an angelic messenger with the news that the empty tomb is explained by the resurrection of the Lord. God not only works great works of redemption, he provides the explanation, the meaning of those events.

Continue reading “The Presence of the Absent Lord”

In Matthew 21, the gospel presented you with the triumphant King entering Jerusalem. The royal title, “Son of David,” was shouted by the crowd. Messianic prophecies were being fulfilled. But now, in Matthew 26:63–64, that messianic , triumphant King is on trial. The high priest places him under oath as he demands to know if Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Listen to the silence of your Savior. The King who entered Jerusalem on a donkey is on trial—but is still King. The pace of Matthew’s narrative begins to slow down as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Listen to the shouts of the crowd: “Son of David!” That’s a royal title. The people are hailing him as the messianic king, though their concept of his kingship is flawed. Matthew explicitly quotes Zechariah, pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of that messianic prophecy. The cries of Hosanna are from Psalm 118, a psalm that not only looked back to the Exodus from Egypt and was used at the Passover, but also looked ahead to the fulfillment of that event. Don’t miss the irony that the one hailed as King on Sunday is now a prisoner on trial late Thursday night. The complex legal situation made Jesus’ trials complicated. The hearing before the Sanhedrin, over which Caiaphas, the high priest presided, was held to come up with a reason to sentence Jesus to death. But the Romans reserved to themselves the authority to execute criminals. Thus this hearing would be followed by a trial before Pilate. Many false witnesses came forward with conflicting allegations. Finally two testified that Jesus had said he was able to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, apparently an intentional twisting of his words in John 2:19. Even though the high priest baited Jesus, he refused to reply. The natural reaction would have been to object to false testimony, to correct misinterpretations of what he had said. But Jesus is silent.

Continue reading “The Triumphant King on Trial”

How do you respond in a crisis? The response of Peter and the other disciples to the crisis of the arrest of their Lord is important, not so much for what it tells us about the disciples, but what it tells us about the Savior as Matthew 26:47–56 points out.

Your Lord was betrayed by his “friend.” Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. While Jesus prayed in Gethsemane Judas had gone to lead the crowd from the chief priests and elders to arrest Jesus. Jesus apparently prolong his wrestling in prayer until Judas and the band were close. Despite the moonlight, it may well have been dark under the olive trees of Gethsemane. Thus Judas had arranged to indicate Jesus by greeting him with a kiss. Matthew again underlines the treachery by reminding us that Judas was one of the twelve. The greeting and kiss were signs of friendship, but in this context they are acts of betrayal. There is some evidence that a rabbi spoke first in exchanging greetings with his followers (for them to speak first implied equality with him). Thus the greeting and kiss may have included a not-so-veiled insult.

Continue reading “Betrayed, Defended, and Forsaken”

If a police officer issues a summons, you need to pay attention and show up in court. How much more do you need to respond when the summons comes from God, Acts 2:38–39!

Listen to God’s summons. Repent! God’s call (verse 39) might be translated “summons,” see Acts 4:18. It is a call, not only to Israel, but to the nations to repent as the blessing of the Holy Spirit extends beyond the Old Testament covenant people. The command grows out of a conviction of sin, verse 37. Don’t allow the call to repentance to be minimized as you present the gospel. Though it may not be popular to call people to repentance, ambiguity regarding man’s sinfulness makes it impossible to appreciate the depths of God’s grace in Christ. Repentance involves a change of mind, leading to a new life. It not only marks conversion, but also characterizes the entire Christian life this side of heaven. The kingdom belongs to those who have turned (and continue to turn) from sin to Christ. Peter’s command in his Pentecost sermon echoes through the years to your ears as well.

Continue reading “Baptism and God’s Promise”

As pastor I’ve seen people face death in a variety of ways. But there is something different about how Jesus confronts death in the olive grove known as the Garden of Gethsemane as Matthew 26:36–46 records it for us.

See Christ beginning the sufferings of his death on the cross. Christ began to suffer the pains of hell. Christ’s sorrow is an overwhelming sorrow. His soul is overwhelmed to the point of death, verse 38. He seeks the watchful support and prayers of the disciples, especially of Peter, James, and John. If you ever question the true humanity of Christ, this scene resolves those doubts. This scene in the garden marks a transition in Christ’s work. Christ begins to be sorrowful and troubled, verse 37. You cannot explain the transition simply in terms of what is going on in Christ’s heart and mind. He know beforehand what lies ahead. The actions of Judas (whose footsteps are approaching), and even of Satan, don’t explain the beginning of this suffering. Rather, the beginning of this intense suffering lies with the Father. Jesus has completed his work of teaching his disciples. They have left the upper room. Now the Father begins to forsake his Son. The agony in the garden will culminate in the cry of Matthew 27:46, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” “In death God is near to his own, so that it becomes for them a passage to eternal life. But that is not how Christ experienced it. He, with his holy nature, lived through it as no sinful person can; he took the cup into his hand and—voluntarily—emptied it to the last drop. By the power of love, he laid down life itself and, fully conscious and with a firm will, entered the valley of the shadow of death. There he was, and felt, forsaken by God, so that in precisely that fashion he might be able to taste death for everyone (Heb. 2:9)” (Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 3, pages 389–390)

Continue reading “Your Will Be Done”