Matthew records Jesus telling his disciples that he is set on going to Jerusalem to die, and they don’t understand him at all. Jesus gives no explanation, other than that he is to give his life ‘a ransom for many’. This phrase echoes both the Exodus and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, and suggests a new ‘exodus’ freeing his followers from slavery to sin.

The sermon examines the calling of Joseph versus the fate of the baker and the cupbearer. In Joseph we see what it means to be “with” God, rather than simply being a pawn of circumstance.

Jesus tells this parable of two men with two very different destinies. But what is our destiny? Are we known by name by the God who gave himself for us?

... and "How can I help?"