Asbury Church

In John chapter 11, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, but before he does so he famously weeps over Lazarus’s death.

Why?

Wouldn’t it make more sense for Jesus to say, “Hey everybody, stop crying and watch what I’m about to do!”?

Why does Jesus weep?

This Easter we looked at the miracle of the raising of Lazarus and what that miracle tells us about the greater miracle of the Resurrection.

This past Sunday we looked at the decision of the Jewish leadership to have Jesus murdered. It’s not that they miss what he’s doing; rather, they know he is performing “signs” and yet they still decide to reject him. Caiaphas the high priest explicitly states that it is expedient to have one man die so that the Romans will leave the Jews alone. It turns out there is something worse that being spiritually blind—it’s to see what God is doing and hate it. Here’s how not to be like Caiaphas.

This past Sunday we looked at the famous words of Jesus in John 10: “I am the good shepherd.”

Jesus compares the shepherd to the thief: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

What this means is:

1. It is a dangerous world—there is a malevolent force that wants to destroy your life;

2. But if you are part of Jesus’s people, you have nothing to fear.

When something bad happens, the question to ask is not, “Why did this happen?” or "Why me?”

Those questions keep you focused inward–on yourself–and turn you into a victim.

In John chapter 9, when the disciples ask Jesus why a particular man was born blind, Jesus tells them they are asking the wrong question.

The question is not, “Why did this happen?"

The better question is

What can God do with this?

Are we just going through the motions? Or did the ancient church know something that the modern church seems to have forgotten about how to reject the patterns of this world in order to have our hearts conformed to the heart of God?

How do you know if Jesus is who he says he is? How do you know if Jesus’s teachings are true? There is only one way to find out: You have to take a step in faith and test his teaching by beginning to live them out.

At Asbury, we celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday. I believe it is one of the more important tools Christ has given his church, or to use another metaphor, that it is spiritual medicine for God’s people.

Jesus himself talked about spiritual food, and at the Last Supper connected his sacrifice with the exodus and Passover from Egypt.

Here are some practical reasons why we do what we do at our church.

At times, Jesus seems to deliberately say and do things that other people will find off-putting or that will make him enemies.

This is seen, for example, in John chapter 6, where Jesus drives away a crowd of potential disciples because of the offensive nature of his language.

The reason he does this is because he knows that the most loving thing he can do is make clear what the stakes actually are: life and death.

Jesus wants to bring everyone to a point of decision: will you follow him, or will you decide to leave?

If Jesus sat down next to you and asked you, “What do you want me to do for you?” what would you say?

I have a working theory that most people don’t really know what they want, because they don’t really know what they need.

It would seem that the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5 would obviously want to be healed.

But, what does he really need? What about us?

The world’s idea of love is exactly wrong. See, the world thinks that one has to be worthy or deserving of love in order to receive it.

The Bible’s idea of love is the exact opposite. Love isn’t something one earns, but rather a free gift one receives. The one who loves *chooses* to will the good of the other. Love is a choice.

This means it is possible to love people who are wrong.

We see this with Jesus when he interacts with a mess of Samaritan woman. He moves first toward her, and her entire village is changed as a result.

Love goes first.

To whom do we need to go first this week?