“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” John 6:68

That’s why we (should) come to church or read Scripture – Jesus has eternal life for us, and it is particularly accessible to us in those places.

Fittingly, many biblical verses are embedded in our church liturgy. These include: “you have the words of eternal life”, which form part of the Alleluia in between the epistle and the gospel readings. This positioning reminds us that what we’re about to hear read out is not ‘only’ Scripture but the actual words and deeds of Jesus.

And Jesus is not just flesh like the other people in the Bible – He is man and God. Peter’s explanation of why he – and we – need Jesus is an acknowledgment of spiritual poverty. We can help ourselves not at all. We come to church because we realise that we are not enough by ourselves. As Jesus said a few verses earlier: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.” (v.63).

In those verses preceeding our text, Jesus’ hearers were offended by His teaching of His own divinity. He taught that their own righteousness or ancestral pedigree were not enough. Some therefore deserted Him. Jesus asks Peter if he will go too. Gloriously, this is one of the points where Peter really gets the point. His reply – our text – is akin to G K Chesterton’s insight: ‘It’s not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; it’s that it has been found difficult and left untried.’ Peter does not demand that the Christian life must be easy for him to follow it, simply that there is no other show in town.

It is when we lose sight of Peter’s declaration that Jesus’ words are the words of eternal life that we run aground: when we focus more on flesh than Spirit, more on us than Jesus. We all constantly fall back into our old errors and sins – and chief among them, trust in ourselves rather than in God. We need to participate in liturgical statements like this, week in and week out, to help drag us back to a right understanding of our own sufficiency (zero) and of God’s (infinite).

You have the words of eternal life
You are Jesus Christ the Lord.
Hosanna to the Son of David
Hosanna to the King of Kings
Glory in the highest heaven
For Jesus the Messiah reigns.

(You are the king of glory)

Amen.

“Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’” John 18:33

Pilate at this point went back inside the praetorium to question Jesus (it is not clear whether Jesus himself had been brought inside prior to this). He asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” It is difficult to discern Pilate’s attitude at this point. Imagine yourself saying that sentence. Try saying it over and over but at each time change the inflexion on each word. As you do so, the sentence can show us its many meanings. Try “Are You the King of the Jews?” with resultant feeling of unbelief. “Are You the King of the Jews?” gives the feeling of incredulity and sarcasm, but “Are You the King of the Jews?” seems to be suggesting that the Roman governor was impressed by Jesus’ regal disposition and dignity. “Are You the King of the Jews?” seems to be implying that His royalty is not in question but asking whether He is just restricted to dominion over the Jews.

As we go further in the chapter we find that Pilate probably thought Jesus to be harmless (hence innocent) in his Roman eyes. However, in today’s world, how do we discharge our duties when in positions of power? Do we mislead people by asking the right question in the wrong way? Do we just avoid pursuing the truth because we feel it is not our position to pry? Sometimes, we have to burst into other people’s business to make sure greater wrongs are not perpetrated. How many children would be alive today if someone had just decided to ask that difficult question or gone into that house to make sure they were alright?

As Edmund Burke said “All that is needed for the forces of evil to succeed is for enough good men to remain silent”.

Lord Jesus, inspire us by Your courage to be bold in Your service, however difficult that may be. Amen.

“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’” Luke 23:43

Wonderful words, words of grace, spoken to the dying thief, coming from the lips of our Saviour, in His agony on the cross. Wonderful words, words of hope for sinners who are genuine and truly sorry for their wrongdoing and shortcomings. Today you will be with Me in Paradise. There is no purgatory. There is assurance, truly, of being in His presence.

There were two criminals crucified with Jesus. One mockingly asked for Jesus to save Himself and them if He was the Christ. The other rebuked him for his lack of reverence, and also said,” We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” He recognised that he deserved to be punished and he knew that Jesus had done nothing to deserve crucifiction. He also understood more about the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom than most of the other people gathered on Skull Hill, and appeals in faith to Jesus: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus knew his heart, and He knows our hearts. He is looking for faith, faith in His perfect sacrifice made on our behalf on the Cross. He died for me, took the punishment I deserved, so that I can be with Him in Paradise. Wonderful love, wonderful grace!

Jesus, pitying the sighs
Of the thief, who near You dies,
Promising him paradise:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May we in our guilt and shame
Still Your love and mercy claim,
Calling humbly on Your name:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

May our hearts to You incline
And their thoughts Your cross entwine.
Cheer our souls with hope divine:
Hear us, holy Jesus.
Amen. (LSB 447)

“So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’” John 10:7

Jesus our Master, Shepherd, Friend,
Our guide on whom we can depend.
You’ve known us before life had begun,
You count your lambs Lord one by one.
Should any of us go astray,
You gently guide us on The Way.
Help us to weather the storms of life
Keep us safe from foe and strife.
Teach us to help all those who need
A guiding hand, a friendly deed
And when at Heaven’s door we wait
Admit us Lord – you are The Gate.

Amen.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

Recently, I’ve started going to the gym again. It is time to get in shape, lose weight, and get that body beautiful.

It seems I’m not the only one wanting to tone the body up, as the Fitness Industry Associates (FIA) record that over 8 million people in the UK possess a gym membership at one of the 5,700 gyms located throughout Great Britain. That is a lot of people worried about taking care of their bodies.

And did you realise that in 2009 just under 36,500 aesthetic surgeries took place in the UK, according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS – yes, that is what they call themselves; you can’t make this stuff up). Despite the recession the number of cosmetic surgeries increased by 6.7%, and the number of men undergoing cosmetic surgery rose by 21%. We are concerned with the body beautiful in the UK!

St. Paul refers to the Church as “the Body of Christ”. And some today complain that the Body of Christ has grown a bit spiritually fat and flabby. Paul warns us against such things as he encourages Christians to fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:11-12) and remain strong through constant spiritual exercise (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 2:16; 3:13-14). And we at our peril deny the words of the old children’s hymn, ‘we are weak’. But to our joy we continue singing, ‘but He is strong’. It is His strength that transforms His Body and allows us to be used by Him. In fact, the author of Hebrews encourages us to, “lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”. (12:1-2). The Body of Christ IS strong and vibrant not in itself, but only when she focuses on Jesus Christ and His cross. His weakness makes us a strong and beautiful Body.

Lord Jesus Christ, beautify Your Body, the Church, by removing all our sinful pride. Give us the strength to run with endurance the race You have given to us, Amen.

“All who see me mock me;
they make mouths at me; they wag their heads…”
Psalm 22:7

Lent is the season of penitential reflection and preparation in anticipation of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus. Psalm 22 expresses the profound loneliness of one separated from God, one for whom God is remote or absent and seemingly powerless. Its lament was vividly fulfilled at the crucifixion of Christ at Calvary.

This verse describes the suffering of one who is held in contempt for his belief in the Lord God by those who reject God and see Him as without power. They mocked him with their mouths hanging open in disgust and mockery. This is exactly what happened to Jesus, as recounted in the Gospels: “kneeling before Him, they mocked him, saying ‘Hail, King of the Jews!…and those who passed by derided him wagging their heads…so also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself’” (Matthew 27:29, 39-40). Jesus was the humiliated, suffering Christ “despised and rejected of men” (Is. 53:3). Why would He permit this? Why did He not defend Himself before Pilate and His accusers, but remain silent?

Jesus endured this to save us from the condemnation we have earned by our sins. His suffering and humiliation “describes His obedience at the time when God poured out His wrath upon the Son against the sins of the human race.” (Chemnitz) Jesus willingly suffered in order that He might become the perfect sacrifice. He did not defend Himself at His trial because He was obedient and willing to be crucified – for us. “The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all” and “He was wounded for our transgressions” (Is. 53:4). His silence when He was accused and mocked led to His condemnation, but also to our forgiveness. He endured humiliation, mocking and death that we might live with Him and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). By His wounds we have been healed.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Mark 10:47

Here we have a blind beggar in a huge crowd, probably in their thousands and noisy, all moving around and talking and trying to find out what is going on. When we are in a big crowd – and I mean a BIG crowd – it can be very confusing as to what is actually happening. We have the luxury of Public Address systems, massive TVs to show the person or personas at the focus of attention. Sometimes to actually get to the event, without actually knowing where it is, we often follow the crowd in the hope that at least some of them are heading to where you want to go. Now imagine being blind in that melee. A beggar. No-one is interested in you, and quite possibly would want to avoid contact with you. He could not see the best place to stand to hear Jesus, he was just surrounded by lots of people and used his ears. When Jesus appeared before the crowd, a murmur – or maybe shouts would have gone around –’That must be Jesus!’ So Bartimaeus does the only thing he can – he shouts at the top of his voice. He calls to Jesus to have mercy on him. Despite all the hubbub, movement and noise, Jesus hears him.

It is exactly the same for us. We are blind in our sin, but know that Christ is there to take it away and forgive us. All we have to do is to call out and He will hear us and reach into our crowded, busy lives.

Dear Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son into the world to pay the ultimate price and sacrifice. Let us all remember and give thanks and cause a few believers to become a huge crowd of believers. In Your Son’s dear name, Amen.

“So Pilate went outside to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?’” John 18:29

Pilate went out to them – those members and leaders of the Jewish Sanhedrin waiting outside, no doubt impatiently. They would not or could not enter a Gentile’s house, or they would have been considered by their own people to be defiled or unclean. Thus, one of Rome’s most powerful men in the Middle East has to come outside to discuss business effectively on the pavement and find out what it was that troubled them so about this man, Jesus. They were quite prepared to use Rome’s authority and law to kill an innocent man – and oh, how innocent He was – yet they dare not cross the threshold of the Governor’s abode for fear of retribution.

Thus, the fate of the Son of God is bickered over in the street by the men of power at that time. Everything about the fate of Christ is unusual, out of the ordinary and unique. Even how this fateful question was asked and of which the given answer was to lead to His death, to a change in history, and even how we ourselves live to this very day. What a terrible and wonderful thing happened on that pavement on that day.

Prayer: In all our meetings with others, let us keep in our minds that we can have great and wonderful effect in their lives if we speak of You, of Your Son, and the glorious promise of eternal life in praise and joy to those who receive Jesus as their Risen Saviour. In Thy Son’s name, Amen.

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments.” Luke 23:34

Clueless. Unaware. Oblivious. Ignorant. These words come to mind to describe the soldiers casting lots for clothing worn by Jesus Christ for his crucifixion. The Saviour of the world, their personal Saviour, was only a few steps away from them, dying on a cross, bleeding for them. Yet they turned their backs and were more worried about who was going to get His garments. How unaware they were of how close their salvation was.

Isn’t it much the same today? Since Christianity is the world’s largest religion (at least for now), the vast majority of the Earth’s population know Christ was a real person who walked among us. His story for our salvation can be found very easily. Yet people all over the globe choose to turn away, busy themselves with other things, completely clueless as to just how close their salvation is. Even us believers choose, at times, to go our own way, ignore His plan for us, forget to worship and praise Him.

But there is good news. Even while suffering on the cross, looking down at the soldiers’ ambivalence, Christ demonstrated that nothing can separate us from the love of God. While they scorned Him, He had compassion for them. They ignored Him, and He begged the Father to forgive them. Only Christ, true man and true God, could show this kind of love. How wonderful it is to know that Christ will never abandon us, never forsake us.

Lord, forgive us when we fail to notice You in our lives. Grant that we never turn our backs on You. Help us to bring the good news of Your sacrificial love to our neighbours and friends. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

I dedicate this to my little sister who is fiercely afraid of the dark.

The words in John 8:12 take me back to Genesis when God utters the light into being. God’s word is extraordinary, it has the power to create, and it is living. The apostle John also proclaims to us in his gospel that Jesus is that very Word that was with God thousands of years before He was made flesh. To us, every event that has taken place since creation runs on a linear course of time, so we cannot know what lies down the line. But God holds our future in His hands. In the same way that God foreshadowed Jesus’ coming in Genesis, He also knows and anticipates the day when each of us will be in heaven with Him. This is the omniscience of almighty God. He who was there at the beginning and will be there at the end.

The New Testament leaves no shadow of doubt in regards to the legitimacy of Jesus Christ as God. When Jesus makes a speech in the scripture, the apostle whose gospel we find it in usually makes the indication “Jesus spoke”, which is an emphatic affirmation that calls our attention and reminds us of his Godly authority. We were once ill with the incurable condition of sin; Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross liberated us from it.

In literature it is time and again portrayed that nothing good comes from the darkness, and the colour black has become an omen of doom. Shakespearean villains operate under the cover of the night but there is no need for superstitious fear of the night. Rather we should embrace the night as a gift of God that reminds us that in Him we have rest. Our biggest enemy has already been conquered for us on the cross. In the season of Lent we ponder on the sacrifice of the “light of the world” which “the darkness did not overcome”. Thus, to follow Him is to “have the light of life”.

May the words of John 8:12 bring comfort in time of sorrow and spiritual darkness, in the name of Jesus; Amen.