You Will Be My Witnesses (Acts 1.4-11)

Introduction

We’ve started a series of Sunday morning talks today on a book in the Bible called the Acts of the Apostles. Andrew started it off at 9am with an introduction and overview - and you’ll be able to listen in to what he said on the church website from Tuesday if you’re interested.

Our plan is to go through the whole book of Acts, all 28 chapters, so it’ll take us some time but I think it will be great because this is one of the most exciting parts of the Bible to read..

The Acts of the Apostles is all about what happened in the first two or three decades after Jesus lived, died and rose again.

What the Church Should Be Like

It mostly describes how the church got started - by which I mean the people, not the building. You see, the word ‘church’ in the Bible is translated from the word ‘ecclesia’ from which we get the English word ‘ecclesiastical.’

That’s misleading because ‘ecclesia’ doesn’t mean church buildings, or church structures or church administrations. It doesn’t mean anything churchy at all. ‘Ecclesia’ simply means ‘a gathering together of people.’

In fact, the very first church was a gathering together of quite ordinary people who owned no premises for the purposes of worship (they met in their homes), they had no money to speak of, they held no power, and they didn’t have ordained clergy as such.

Let me say a little bit about the world in which the very first church sprang up.

Just as English today is the universal language of business, the trade language used by everyone around the Mediterranean Sea at the time of the Acts was Greek. 

In the universities, the theatres, the forums, the political arena and in published literature it was Classical Greek. This was Greek for the cultivated classes, for the privileged, for the educated. This was the Greek of Aristotle, Socrates, Virgil and Homer.

But in people’s homes, in the marketplaces, amongst the slaves and in everyday conversation, there was a simpler, popular dialect called Koiné Greek.

When they wrote the New Testament down, the good news about Jesus, instead of the literary language of the educated classes, they used the simple language of ordinary people that everyone knew. Because the good news about Jesus is for all people, not just the privileged.

The last thing we want is a church that is intellectually detached.

We want to be a church like the early church in which everyone is welcome to discover more about the God who loves them and wants to fill them with joy as they grow in faith.

The popular media portrayal of the church in our day is one that is institutionally dull and in decline. But globally, the church is still rapidly expanding like the early church did, especially in parts of Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Even in this country, there are some areas where the church is growing fast. We were down in London the other week where we heard that the diocese of London has grown by 100,000 people in the last 7 years.

The very first church in Acts of the Apostles wasn’t a perfect church. There were disagreements and disappointments – it was human and it made mistakes.

But it was praying, it was growing, and it was making a huge impact on the world. It was vibrant. It was a little bit of heaven touching earth.

As we travel through Acts we will learn how to be a church that becomes more and more what God has designed it to be; the hope of the world.

Baptised in the Spirit to be Witnesses

I’m not going to be long this morning, but I want to share a few thoughts with you from these first verses in Acts chapter 1.

Jesus says to his closest followers in v4 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

This was about 40 days since the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. There had been several clear, distinct incidents in which he was seen alive by eye witnesses. And now as he is about to leave them he tells them to stay where they are, to wait and to prepare for what’s next.

And he says that something extraordinary is going to happen. And this extraordinary something is still happening in many people’s lives today.

For example, let me tell you about Robert Taylor. Robert was a complete atheist. He had been to church four times in his life. He’d been to his own wedding, his brother’s wedding and to two funerals. 

He was successful in his business but sadly he was unsuccessful in his marriage. So much so that he’d left his wife and two young children. His marriage was over.

One time, he went to a business meeting and his business partner said, “Have you ever considered going along to an Alpha course? It’s a Christian discovery thing.” And Robert said, “Of course not, I’m an atheist, I don’t believe anything like that – why would I go along to something like the Alpha Course?”

Ten days later he was doing another business deal and another businessman said to him, “Robert, have you ever considered going along to the Alpha course?”

To cut a long story short, he decided to find out more and sign up. When he got there he decided to make it absolutely clear to his discussion group that he was not the least bit interested.

His opening remark in his small group, the first night of the course, was “Look I nearly died of cancer when I was thirty. I find life pretty difficult, and not a great deal of fun, and as far as I’m concerned eternal life is the last thing I want, so I really can’t see what Christianity has got to offer me.”

But about half way through the course things changed. He found that the reasons why he dismissed the claims of Jesus Christ were not as convincing as he had thought. He began to feel differently about Christianity. A little bit reluctantly, he prayed a prayer turning away from everything wrong in his life.

He later wrote these words: “I felt a real glow, and had to sit down. As I sat down I just started crying and couldn’t stop. That night I knew I had become a Christian... Everyone said I was beaming like a Cheshire cat for the rest of the weekend.”

When Jesus said to his followers “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” that’s what he was talking about. That’s what happened to me when I was 17. Two weeks ago, I was talking to someone here who has become a Christian recently and they said the very same thing happened to them.

God doesn’t want us to go through the motions of religion – he wants us to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Anyway, two days later, Robert decided to tell his estranged wife what had happened. When she heard his story, she laughed at him. She said, “You’ll get over it, Robert.  This is another one of your crazes - it’s like golf and scuba diving and sailing.” 

But she soon began to see that he had changed, and within a few weeks, she invited him to come back and to live with her and the two children. The elder of the two children, aged 7, was called Samuel and, to use his own words, he thought it was “completely fantastic.” He started reading the Bible, and he came across the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. This is what he said, “Dad this is a great book!  I’m in it, not once, but twice!” 

Well, not long afterwards, Robert’s wife started to go along to the local church and their lives were utterly transformed.

One time, Robert looked out of the window and he saw his two children playing in the garden. They’d got two sticks together and two skipping ropes and they’d made them into the shape of a cross, which they’d leant against a tree.

Robert was a bit puzzled about this so he went down and said, “Boys, what are you doing?” And Samuel said to him, “Daddy, we’re thanking Jesus for bringing you home.”

Now, that family’s life was completely transformed by Jesus Christ and by the experience of the Holy Spirit.

On the next Alpha course, Robert helped lead a small group, and since then he’s gone on to help many others to find new faith in Christ. He changed from someone who was hostile to someone who was actively speaking about the Christian faith, through his experience of the Holy Spirit.

That’s exactly what Jesus was talking about in Acts 1; the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It’s a tangible experience of the power of God that you feel and that changes everything. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” said Jesus, “and you will be my witnesses.”

I witnessed the birth of each of our four children. After our daughter Anna was born, I got a taxi home across London. It was about midnight and I got talking to the taxi driver about the amazing thing that had just happened in my life. It was late, I was probably his last passenger before going home to bed and he was like “Yeah, yeah, that’s cool.”

Like Robert’s wife, who absolutely wasn’t interested until she saw the difference it made to his life I’ve found that people only take notice of Christian stuff that they can see is real.

There’s a vicar down in London who, when he was a very enthusiastic young Christian, decided he should witness at a party he was invited to. He bided his time, picked his moment, and went up to a young lady standing on her own, and he said to her “Hi. You look terrible. What you need is Jesus!” The thing is he genuinely didn’t get why she wasn’t interested.

I once talked about my faith with a member of my wider family. They made it clear that they didn’t want to know and told me, basically, that faith is a private matter. It’s a bit like asking someone how they vote or how much is in their bank account. It’s none of anybody else’s business.

And you see faith is personal, because only God really knows our hearts and what we really believe.

But if faith was a private matter, if Christianity was something that nobody should ever really talk about, it would have died out in about A.D. 90 when the last of the 12 apostles died. It would have been just their little secret.

But people in every generation between A.D. 30 and A.D. 2014 have refused to accept that faith is just a private thing. And that’s the only reason you’re here today. You heard about Jesus from somebody else.

There will only be people here tomorrow if our generation is as ready to share faith as all those who have preceded us.

Christian Country?

There’s been a bit of controversy in recent weeks about Britain being a Christian country. Or not. The Prime Minister said that he thinks it is - and that we should be proud of it. Other politicians disagreed. 

Then a group of celebrities wrote an open letter to a national newspaper to show how dismayed they were and that this was unhelpful. But other people said that the Prime Minister was right.

What do you think? In some ways it is a Christian country and in other ways it isn’t perhaps. Maybe it depends what we mean by “a Christian country.”

I say this because of the question the disciples ask Jesus in v6. “They gathered round him and asked him ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel’?”

What is that all about? It’s a request for a change at the top. They want Jesus to put someone on their side in charge. Israel at that time was ruled by the Romans. Pontius Pilate called the shots in Jerusalem. So this question is a request for regime change. They want Israel to be like the good old days when they had a monarchy and great leaders like David and Solomon.

I think it’s a little bit like saying “Lord, if only you could put people who think like us in charge of the country, we would be a Christian country.”

But Jesus declines their request. You can’t change people’s hearts by Act of Parliament. You can’t make people believe in Jesus just by changing the laws. Britain won’t be a Christian country because Westminster passes some great legislation.

The kingdom of God is not a political and territorial one. It doesn’t - and cannot - feature on any map. And Jesus says as much.

The wonderful, glorious, righteous, mighty reign of Jesus our king will come when the good news about him has reached the ends of the earth. That’s the message of the Acts of the Apostles.

Ending

Thinking back to that story of Robert Taylor, I sometimes ask myself if more people would believe in Christ if they saw more dramatic changes to peoples’ lives like his. I don’t know if they would necessarily.

Countless people saw Jesus do great miracles, yet they refused to believe in him or give their lives to him. Please don’t let that be true of you!

The greatest miracle of all is the miracle of a changed life - and this can happen to anyone who opens his or her heart and life to Christ.

Make sure of your commitment to Christ today, then ask him to change you from within by the Holy Spirit, and make you a living witness to the miracle of his transforming power.

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 25th May 2014

Water Into Wine (John 2.1-11)

A Baptism Talk

Introduction

Welcome Heidi to the odd growing community of people who want to learn more about God’s amazing love and grow in faith.

That’s what baptism means. It’s about becoming part of a community that is on a voyage of discovery.

That’s why we said at the beginning of the baptism ceremony “In baptism the Lord is adding to our number those whom he is calling.”

You see, baptism doesn’t actually make you a Christian - otherwise we would just say “In baptism the Lord is adding to our number.”

But in baptism people become a part of a community of faith that is on a journey together.

What parents, godparents and all of us do is pray for Heidi and promise to help her stay on the path we’re all on - until she’s old enough to decide for herself. And hopefully, by the grace of God, she’ll choose to stay on the path then as well.

Some people get baptized when their parents say “This is how we want to bring our children up. We want our little ones to know that Christian values are our values.”

This is what Ben and Victoria have done this morning. Other people get baptized in a different way. They wait until they are old enough to say for themselves “This is what I want to do.”

Some people dress up to be baptized. Prince George did for his baptism back in October. But others come just as they are. It doesn’t matter - God honestly isn’t all that fussed what the baby wears.

Some people get baptized with a little bit of water on the head. The main thing is to not drop the baby before I give him or her back to the parents. Other people go right under the water in a pool or river. Then the main thing is to remember to pull them up again before they drown and make sure no one gets electrocuted on the PA system!

The Outside and the Inside

But what’s important is not really the outward form of the ceremony. The important thing is what’s going on inside.

The Bible says that people take notice of outward appearances, but God looks at the heart. We notice clothes and shoes, we notice new hair styles. But God looks deeper than that. He sees the real me and the real you on the inside. He knows everything there is to know about you - and he still loves you.

You might be wondering why we picked a reading about a wedding for a baptism service. Has the vicar finally gone senile and mixed his services up?

Well no! Here’s why I chose that reading. For a start, the really important ingredient in a wedding is not the dress, the rings, the bells, the cake or the best man’s speech. It’s not the bride’s father ‘dad dancing’ or the bride’s sister butchering the hymns.

What is most important about any wedding is the love between the bride and groom and their promise to go on loving each other whatever happens after that.

We remember what people are wearing and who’s here for the party but God is most interested in the love of the bride and groom. People look at outward appearances, but God looks at the heart.

Whatever we remember today, the songs, the promises, the water, the reception afterwards - God loves you, Heidi, he knows you inside and out, and he is calling you to know him. And nothing is more important than that.

Miracles Then and Now

I love the story in the Gospels about Jesus changing water into wine. I mean, isn’t it good that we have a God who turns up to people’s parties and says “You don’t look like you’re really enjoying yourselves enough; here’s a bit more alcohol to be getting on with!”

It’s not the way people tend to think of God – but the Bible says that people criticised Jesus for eating and drinking a parties too much. They wanted something more religious and unexciting from the Son of God but Jesus just isn’t like that.

It’s one of Jesus’ amazing miracles. Jesus’ miracles aren’t just magic tricks – in fact John’s Gospel calls them “signs” because they always point out something important about God. Turning water into wine points to something important about what God is like.

But have you ever wondered what would happen, in this health and safety obsessed age, if Jesus did his miracles today in Stockton on Tees? They’d lock him up.

Take the feeding of the 5,000 for example. Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish – it shows us that he is a God who cares about hunger and he provides. But these days, serving bread and fish to crowds at an outdoor event couldn’t be done without a license from the local food inspectors. He’d have to have a certificate to show it had been properly handled in a hygienic environment. And the pest control people would make a big fuss about the baskets of leftovers being disposed of properly.

Jesus walked on water. It shows us that he is not limited by the things that restrict us. He is above nature and master of it. But these days, walking on water wouldn’t be allowed would it? It could only be done if it were preceded by a disclaimer that no one should try it at home without a life jacket and a qualified lifeguard on hand.

What about the miraculous catch of fish? This is when Jesus told some fishermen who hadn’t had a bite all night to throw their nets over the other side of the boat. When they did the nets bulged with fish so much they nearly tore. It shows once again that Jesus is over all creation. But well, that wouldn’t do today. Due to EU quotas to prevent overfishing, the miraculous catch would no doubt exceed the permitted limits leading to severe penalties.

Then there’s the healing of a man born blind. Jesus touched his eyes and they were opened. It shows that our eyes can be opened whether we are physically unable to see or whether we are spiritually blind. But if that happened today, imagine the nightmare from the DSS. All disability benefit would be stopped immediately and the man would face an intrusive investigation into whether his previous claims had been genuine.

Raising the dead? Jesus raised several people from the dead; the widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus. It shows that he has power over death. Well, the environmental health wouldn’t be happy about this one as there are strict rules governing the proper disposal of bodies. And think of the headaches trying to explain to the bank after the formerly diseased person tried to use their credit card.

As for turning water into wine, this would provoke immediate protests from the drinks industry who would argue that it was unfair competition amounting to a monopoly. It would also be denounced by various Christian bodies as irresponsible and encouraging drunken revelling.

What does this amazing miracle mean?

Bring to Jesus What You Have

In our culture, no one can come to the wedding reception unless they have received a nicely printed invitation. But the Middle East in Bible times, your entire village - plus anyone who wanted to come - could just turn up.

In our culture, a wedding celebration lasts less than a day. In the Middle East in Bible times, wedding parties usually lasted about a week.

But this is a lovely thing; Jesus will gladly attend any wedding that he is invited to. And after the wedding, Jesus will gladly help any husband and wife in any marriage where he is welcome. And I hope he is welcome in your home.

At this wedding, the bride and groom are in a major fix. They have run out of drinks (partly perhaps as a result of Jesus turning up with his 12 mates). Running out of food and drink would have been a great disgrace and a major embarrassment.

As you bring Heidi up, you will need tons of wisdom and bags of patience and loads of love. And possibly the odd glass of wine now and again. Jesus is an inexhaustible supply of all those things.

Here’s what I love about this story; it shows us the way that God works. The newlyweds didn’t have what they knew they needed but they brought to Jesus what they had.

You see, every parent has moments when they just don’t know what to do next. Children go through phases of temper tantrums in Tesco’s. Or they are ill and nothing seems to work. Or they constantly ask you questions when you are absolutely exhausted.

When I was about 3 or 4, it was the mouse. I found a dead mouse in the garden and I was thrilled. I decided to adopt it as a pet. It didn’t do much but it was small and furry and I thought this dead mouse was cute. But my mum inexplicably failed to see the potential in my new pet.

She said no and buried it in the garden. But 3 year olds are not stupid. I worked out where she had buried my new little friend so I dug it up, brought it inside again, put it on the kitchen table and stroked it because it was sad that mummy sent it outside.

This went on for some time. I still remember my mum’s screams! Every parent has times when they just don’t know what to do next.

What’s lovely about the wedding at Cana is that they give to Jesus what they have – and he takes care of the rest.

They have six stone water jars (and the Bible says that they were “the type used by the Jews for ceremonial washing”). Basically, they were used to wash dirty feet. You walk around dusty streets in open toed sandals and dip them in the pots to freshen up before supper. If you’re looking to serve up something nice at the reception it’s not a lot of good. But it’s all they have. Six empty foot washing jars and a tap. Jesus says, “All right, fill them up.” I’m sure they protest. “Yeah, I know Lord but what we need is wine!”

Jesus just looks at them. They realise in one of those heart-sinking moments that he is serious. So they do what he says and they bring the six dirty, stone jars filled of water to Jesus. He looks at them in the eye, keeps a perfectly straight face and says “All right, now serve it up.”

It’s not recorded, but I sort of wonder if they just burst out laughing and said “That’s brilliant, that is! You know what I love about you guys from Galilee – you’ve got a terrific sense of humour haven’t you?! … You’re not joking are you?”

And showing scrupulous even-handedness, it must have been the lad on Work Experience who was assigned the task of serving it up to the person in charge.

“Go on, you do it.”

“Why me?”

“Because you need the experience, it’s part of the training course, go on.”

So the young lad, with a lump in his throat, brings this dull, warm, tap water from the foot washing pots up to the master of ceremonies. You can just imagine it can’t you?

“Oh, they’ve sent you have they lad? I’ll tell you a trick of the trade. They always serve the top vintage first and when the guests have had so much to drink, they can’t tell the difference, they whip out the cheap plonk. This’ll be disgusting…”

“Wow. Where did you get this from?”

To be honest, would you have said “Oh, out of the foot washing pots!”

“Is it all right then?”

“All right lad? It’s the best I’ve ever tasted!”

“It is? Oh, it is!”

“Have you got much of it?”

“180 gallons.”

Ending

2,400 half pint glasses of the very best grand cru.

As you bring Heidi up, take the little you have and bring it to Jesus. And watch him take care of the rest; doing in your family far, far more than you could ever ask for or imagine.

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees 18th May2014

Thanks to Eric Delve for inspiration for the story telling.

From Broken Dreams to Burning Hearts (Luke 24.13-35)

Introduction

There is a Dutchman called Andrew van der Bijl who used to fill his old Volkswagen Beetle with forbidden Bibles so that he could give them out them to Christians in Communist Eastern Europe during the cold war.

And, in his little book ‘God’s Smuggler’, written under the name Brother Andrew, he writes how each time he arrived at a border control or customs office he prayed a simple prayer, “Lord, you opened the eyes of the blind, now close eyes that see”. It was a high risk thing to do. He could have been instantly shot or sent to a gulag. Time and time again armed border police would suspiciously search his car, packed with illegal Bibles, then say, “Very good sir, you may proceed.” It’s a fantastic story and if you want something exciting to read then ‘God’s Smuggler’ will not disappoint you.

Have you ever wondered why, until Jesus broke bread with the two travellers in v31, they didn’t recognise him? It’s curious. After all, they probably knew him quite well. But on the road, they spoke a long time with the Lord whilst walking together without having any idea who he was. Why would that be do you think?

People have made suggestions to try and explain it. Maybe Cleopas and his friend were too traumatised by the recent events to notice anything unusual? As they were walking westwards with the setting sun dazzling their eyes, maybe they could only see Jesus’ silhouette? Maybe Jesus had a hood, which hid his face. But why didn’t they recognise his voice?

Verse 16 gives us the answer. It says, “They were kept from recognising him” So their inability to discern who was with them was not physical, or practical, or emotional, it was spiritual. God opens eyes and closes eyes and God closed theirs.

God does close people’s eyes, for a time and for his purposes but, gloriously, he also opens them.

Have you ever had the sensation of suddenly seeing something new in God’s word that you hadn’t noticed before? Have you ever had one of those moments of grace when the Lord just uncovers something new and exciting in your life? God opens our eyes, which is what he did for our two friends in verse 31. 15 verses after having their eyes closed by God we read, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him.”

The writer of Psalm 119 prays, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Lord, open our eyes! We want to see more of Jesus.

But there’s another puzzle in this little story. In verses 17 to 19, why did Jesus pretend not to know what the two travellers were talking about?

Jesus comes up and says, “What’s that you’re talking about?”

And they say, “What? Oh man, where have you been? Like you don’t you know what’s been going on there in the last few days?”

So Jesus says, “Oh? What things?”

Maybe Jesus was being a good therapist, getting them to express what’s on their minds. Perhaps. Or maybe he just wanted to hear his own obituary. I don't think he is that proud.

I think basically, he was teasing them. There was a twinkle in his eye I’m sure. Don’t forget that Psalm 45 prophesied that the Messiah would be anointed with the oil of gladness. Jesus is never dull company. Did you know that, on average, every human being laughs 17 times a day? I think that with Jesus it’s more. Probably should be for us too.

There’s one more puzzle. Look at verses 25-27.

“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.’

In other words, Jesus was claiming that the Old Testament, written between 400 and 2000 years before his birth, is about him from beginning to end.

It sounds a bit far-fetched because the Old Testament chiefly describes the fortunes of the Jews, their being chosen, their enslavement, their liberation, their law, and their subsequent defiance of it. How can it be that Jesus says that these books are about him?

What would you say to the Dalai Lama or the chief rabbi or the Archbishop of Canterbury if they told you that the complete works of Shakespeare were really a prophetic biography of them? You’d probably respectfully suggest that they lie down for a while. You certainly wouldn’t take them seriously. But Jesus must have backed up what he said with facts.

The Books of Moses

Jesus began, we’re told, with the five books of Moses. What could he possibly have said? Well, all five contain stunning images of Christ.

Way back in Genesis 22, we find a story of a father who is ready to give his only son as a sacrifice for sin. Here’s Rembrandt’s vision of that scene outside Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, possibly the same hill that was later to be named Golgotha.

In the end, Abraham found a ram whose head was surrounded by thorns and he offered that instead. Abraham named the place Yahweh Yireh which means “God will provide.” Did Jesus tell them that in that very place, years later, God finally did provide the perfect sacrifice for sin, offering his only son?

Exodus 12 contains the story of a paschal lamb, an animal without defect or blemish, whose blood is shed. And as long as the people place the blood of this lamb on the door posts of their houses, they are saved from death. Did Jesus tell them about his blood that was poured out on the cross, though he was innocent of any crime?

What about Leviticus? Is there anything about Jesus there? Surely not! But in chapter 16 we read that once a year, the Israelites were commanded to place their hands on a goat symbolising the sins of the entire people. Then they drove the animal away to die outside the city bearing the guilt and sin of the people.

The Pre-Raphaelite artist Holman Hunt painted a picture of this beast. Look at the scapegoat (that’s where our English word comes from) surrounded by bones, its eyes sunken, its mouth dry and its legs giving way; such is the exhaustion of being burdened by the sin of a whole nation. You are looking at a portrait of Christ. Did Jesus tell them that he was the scapegoat?

Numbers 21 describes a time when the people were bitten by a plague of venomous snakes. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent on a staff. Here’s a modern day sculpture of it you can visit on Mount Nebo, close to where Moses died. When Moses lifted up the bronze snake everyone who looked at it was healed.

What has that got to do with Jesus? There is a link and it is Jesus himself who made it. In John 3.14 he said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

What about Deuteronomy? What is there in this book that speaks of Jesus’ future suffering? Deuteronomy is the book where you read, “Cursed is he who is hung on a tree,” which Paul quotes in Galatians 3. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law,” he says “by becoming a curse for us for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”. Jesus took the full deadly curse of the fall upon himself on the cross.

I wonder if it was these very same writings that Jesus reminded those two deflated men about whilst walking on the road to Emmaus with them.

The Prophetic Writings of Isaiah

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.’ So Jesus quoted the Prophets as well.

We don’t have time to go into them all so I’m just going to pick on two; Isaiah and Jonah.

Isaiah, who wrote more than 750 years before the time of Jesus, gave such detailed prediction of his’ traumatic death it takes the breath away.

In chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah it says that God’s servant will be exalted “after he has suffered.”

It says that the people will reject him, that his judgement will be unjust, that he will be innocent in word and deed and that he will not seek release by protesting.

It says that his suffering will be so horrific as to render him physically unrecognisable.

It says that his death will be hastened by the piercing of his body, he will be put to death and, like a lamb led to be slain on a temple altar, he will remain silent. And he will pray for his transgressors as his life ebbs away.

It says that this man, in death, will bear our sorrow and our sin upon himself. He will die amongst criminals and will be buried in a rich man’s tomb. It says that all this will be in God’s plan and purpose.

And finally, after his suffering, his death and burial, he will live again and be satisfied. It is an awesome and incredible piece of literature. And all of it was written centuries before Jesus’ birth.

No wonder their hearts burned within them when Jesus explained it all to them on the road.

The Sign of Jonah

Now Jonah; a children’s favourite about a man who tried to get away from God. He boards a ship, is thrown into the sea and gets swallowed by a passing fish that later vomits him up on a beach. An edifying tale, but what possible connection could anyone make between this story and Jesus’ suffering and glory? Once again, it is Jesus himself who makes the connection.

In Matthew 12, when speaking of the religious hypocrites of his day Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” What does he mean by that? He goes on, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

In other words, the miracle of Jonah is not that he survived the experience of living three days in a fish’s belly – which is what I learned as a kid. Jonah wasn’t alive in the fish. In other words he had been swallowed dead. Read it again carefully when you get home.

You’ll find that it says this: following his ejection from the ship, Jonah found himself in the very depths of the sea. He didn’t just float around in the shallows. The Bible says that the water overwhelmed him and seaweed wrapped around his head on the seabed. But it is impossible to descend to the seabed of the Mediterranean in one breath. Try it. Or rather don’t! Jonah must have been lifeless before he hit the bottom of the sea.

Even if, for the sake of argument, we say that by some superhuman feat he were still alive on the sea bed, there isn’t enough oxygen in the stomach of even a blue whale for a man to breathe and remain alive for 36 hours - to say nothing of gastric acids.

So it is not surprising that that Jonah specifically states that he was in the depths of Sheol. That means he descended to the dead; which is where Jesus was between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Can you see now why Jesus talked about Jonah in relation to his own traumatic suffering, three-day burial and subsequent resurrection?

Jonah died and God miraculously raised him. Jesus died, was raised too, but unlike Jonah, Jesus is still alive today.

Ending

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and stir fire in our hearts to refocus our vision of Jesus, to see him afresh. He wants us to discern his risen presence amongst us whenever we break bread together.

This Jesus, whose suffering and entering into glory was foreshadowed by Moses and announced by the prophets, wants to meet us, walk with us and transform us as he did with the two travellers on the road to Emmaus.

Just like Cleopas and his companion on the road, are there disappointed people here this morning with broken dreams? You thought everything was going well and then something has come along and shattered everything. You feel God has let you down. You feel your hopes have been dashed. The Lord wants to meet with you. You may be surprised by the way he does it. You may not really recognise him. But he wants you to encounter him afresh.

Just like those two travellers, some here today feel they’ve got cold hearts that need setting on fire. You need a word from the Lord. “Our hearts were on fire” they said “when he spoke to us on the road.” I believe there are prophetic words this morning waiting to be spoken to people who feel their hearts have gone cold.

Those two on the road to Emmaus walked with the Lord. Literally. Micah 6.8 says “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Just like Adam and Eve used to walk in the garden with God in the cool of the evening, showing they were friends, God wants us to take a walk with him, isn’t that something?

Some here today want to discern Jesus’ presence in their midst. Tom Wright has a great insight here. Remember the first meal in the Bible. “The woman took some fruit, and ate it; she gave it to her husband and he ate it; then the eyes of both of them were opened” and they were ashamed. Death and decay spoiled God’s beautiful creation. But in this first meal of the new creation Jesus breaks bread and again their eyes are opened. But this time not for shame but for joy. They see it all! The curse has been broken. Jesus is alive. Everything is possible.

Do you need to travel from broken dreams to burning heart today?

Let’s stand to pray…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 11th May 2014