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By My Hands, For My Sake: Mary Magdelene – A Good Friday Sermon
By My Hands, For My Sake
Mary Magdalene
Luke 8:2, John 19:25, Matthew 27:55-56
† Iesou, Huios, Soter †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ free you from whatever oppresses you!
Hands once oppressed, and sin filled.
As we have wandered into and out of lives that were involved in the death of Christ, we have seen broken men, the Father of the thief and Barabbas, men who we don’t normally think of as broken, Peter and Nicodemus, and those we don’t think of as being redeemable- like Judas.
This afternoon, we look at a lady, one identified by name at the foot of the cross in each of the gospels. But to imagine what she had endured, only would leave her more distraught, more feeling abandoned as she stood at the foot of the cross.
Her hands, her sin, would require Jesus’s death, a death she would prepare him for by washing his feet with her tears, and anointing him for burial with the costliest perfume.
Yet to look upon Him, as He hangs on the cross…for her sake.
It is perhaps, one of the most compassionate things in scripture, that she would be the first to see him on Sunday morning…
To understand the importance of her, realizing that Jesus was risen, we need to understand where she had come from, from what she had been rescued.
Who is She?
We know only a few things, her brother and sister’s name, and that she was a prodigal, a lady of the evening who became wealthy, but at a great cost.
Mark’s gospel explains..
9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. Mark 16:9 (NLT2)
I do not know how this lady became possessed by demons, but it is nothing to dismiss.
A horrid life, full of trauma, full of pain, full of demonic torment. We don’t know if she ever knew love from parents, or a husband. Used and abused by men, full of despair, robbed of all hope.
Most of us have sins that haunt us that most others do not see. Her sin was more visible than others. But all of us are haunted by our sin, all of us had the moments when we dwelt in darkness.
It is that darkness she worried about as she saw Jesus on the cross, it must have been that darkness that fell, even as His blood dripped to the ground. How her anxiety would grow as she watched Him die.
It is has been said that it is always the darkest before dawn.
But what if you do not know dawn is coming. What if it doesn’t come for a few days.
Do we realize the power of sin had over us, as Mary did? Would we more than sickened at the cross, if we didn’t know there was a resurrection coming?
She knew Jesus rescued her from the darkness before—that is why she would show adoration at a pharisee’s house, even though she would be dismissed and mocked.
She knew what Jesus had rescued her from…
Do we?
We look back and know….
We of course know now, not only would she see the risen Jesus, but she would see Him before Peter and John, before all the others, whose hands were involved…
We will hear that story soon…
When we do, remember the feeling now, as we stand with Mary, an realize the depth of the sin that threatens to overshadow us… and know that it won’t..
And adore Him. AMEN!
I Got Shotgun! A sermon on Matthew 10:32-45
I got shotgun!
Mark 10:32-45
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you the ability to concentrate on what Jesus said, and in those words, find peace and hope!
ADD or something worse?
I’m not sure how it started, but from my earliest days, back before seatbelts, if we were going somewhere in a car in my family, we all yelled out “shotgun” if either one of our parents were not going.
Whoever said it first got to sit up front, leaving the other two in the car.
We “played” the same game in High School, both on the east coast and out here, as we piled way to many people in our cars. I’ve even heard older church leaders call out shotgun when carpooling together… and I might have done it…once or twice
It is a lot like the passage in the gospel – as two of the apostles think they get the best seats in heaven, or at least they are trying to get them!
Let me re-tell the story in Pastor Parker’s Poignant Paraphrase.
Jesus: Hey guys, we are heading to Jerusalem, so I can be betrayed by one of you, beaten up, tortured, put through 2 sham trials and then crucified…
James and John: Jesus – we are going somewhere? Awesome! Can we get the best seats?
Apostles: You two are mean!
Jesus: (shakes his head!) Okay – let’s go over this again….
Did I mention that the apostles have a problem listening—and a very short attention span?
I mean, Jesus is distraught by his imminent crucifixion, and looking for a little support, trying to prepare them for the biggest trauma in their life… and what does he get in response?
“I got shotgun!”
Sacrifice
Let’s go back to Jesus words – we need to hear what they missed.
Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. 33 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man* will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. 34 They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”
A couple of things to notice here.
The first is the phrase. “once more!” This is not the first time Jesus has talked about it, and he will bring it up after the resurrection, They will remember what he says—later!
Far more important is that phrase that ends Jesus words,
“but after three days he will rise again!”
I can’t imagine Jesus didn’t say that without a huge smile, and glint in his eyes! Especially after talking about the betrayal, the trials, the mental and physical torture and death…and oh by the way – three days later…I will be alive…
I cannot imagine anything Jesus saying in the three years the 12 followed him that was any more shocking, any more important!
I am going to be murdered – you will witness it—and then, I will live again!
“Shotgun!”
Sigh….
Sin & Narcissism
As someone who stands up here, I sort of understand people loosing track of what I say, it happens. But I am not sure if this is just an attention span issue, or if there is something deeper at work in this.
Something deeper like a sense of privilege, “We deserve to sit beside you on the throne of God Jesus! By the way, if one is on the right, and one on the left – where does God the Father sit?
You see, that’s the problem with sin, and desiring what we truly don’t understand. We don’t consider the implications and consequences of what we “want!” We don’t the capacity to understand that this sin, which seems so small, can set off a war, damage relationships, hurt our future,
In this case, the other 10 apostles, heard James and John, and the translation says, they were indignant! I thought that meant ticked off, but it actually means grieved and hurting. This stung – whether they simply beat them to it, or that someone would demand Jesus put them first, indicating the others were 2nd or 3rd class.
No matter what, all 12 were sinning, and their relationship with God and each other took the backseat, because they wanted the front seat…
We often do the same thing, placing our wants and desires in our lives in a place where we set God aside, and don’t care what happens to others, as long as we get our way… as long as way…
The blessing
It is a God thing, that Jesus will use this situation to teach a strong lesson about love, and leadership. He uses the sin, and its consequences to call them together to show them an incredible truth.
43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Here is the lesson, that what Jesus came to be about, what the Father wants is not someone who desires the power that people think is being at the top. It’s not about having the ability and authority to command,
When Jesus came into His glory, was on the cross when He died. There was a guy on his right and left – and one went to paradise to be with God for ever. That’s why talked them about being baptized, and about suffering – for that is where God’s glory shown in the greatest and most complete way ever.
As He served, as He gave His life as a ransom for you and I, and so many others.
This is why we proclaim His death until He comes again – because it is glorious – the pain and suffering He endures for our sake… that we share in because we were baptized into His death, so we can rise with Him in the resurrection.
We share in His glory, as we realize the depth and breadth, the height and width of His love for us. And the ability we have to love, because He loves us – our ability to love God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to love each other.
Are you listening? Are you reading to be crucified with Christ, that you might rise with Him? Do you want to go where He is, not today – but for eternity?
And who wants the front seat?
Let’s pray!
