Episode Transcript
WEBVTT
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Considering these things. Let's turn to
John Chapter Nineteen and continue to read in
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God's word, and I'm here.
It preached John Chapter Nineteen. Someone read
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verses one through five. Then pilot
took Jesus and flogged him, and the
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soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns
and put it on his head and arrayed
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him in a purple robe. They
came up to him saying Hail, King
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of the Jews, and struck him
with their hands. Pilot went out again
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and said to them, see,
I am bringing him out to you that
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you may know that I find no
guilt in him. So Jesus came out
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wearing the crown of thorns and the
Purple Robe. Pilot said to them,
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behold the man. Let's pray one
more time. Lord, we do ask
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that you would bless your word to
us, that you would establish us in
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it. I'm please bless the preaching
of your word. May My words be
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faithful and true to you, to
what you have said. Your spirit be
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at work and all of us,
and we pray this in Jesus name.
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I'm in so this here at the
beginning of John Chapter Nineteen. I think
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I titled this sermon something like the
shaming of Jesus. I'm this is because
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that's what this passage, this these
few verses one through six that I've just
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read, a really about. I'm
Jesus has been struck multiple times already,
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especially when we add up the different
accounts that are in the gospels, and
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his pain, his physical pain,
is going to increase, and it does
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even here in these verses. Right, he is flogged, a crown of
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thorns is placed on his head.
But John's focus in this passage is not
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the inflicted pain that Jesus experiences,
but it is the inflicted shame that Jesus
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experiences. These things are not totally
separate from one another. I read recently
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that there are studies that show that
even like our brains, process these two
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things, shame and pain, basically
the same way. Not that they're the
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same thing, but there are there's
overlaps in the ways that we feel them
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and on the ways that we experiences
them. The main point here, though,
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is to focus on what is John
saying right, what is John Emphasizing,
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and it is very much the mocking
and the shaming of Jesus. On
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this Jesus himself on prophesied. I
said was going to happen on in the
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other Gospels and even in the Prophets, we read that he would be humiliated,
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that he would be mocked, that
he would be shamed, and it's
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important to recognize this for several reasons. One is that it helps us to
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understand why pilot flogged him and then
brought him out in front of the people
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and said I find no guilt in
him. Did that strike anyone else's kind
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of odd? Don't you usually proclaim
the guilt, or at least pretend to
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proclaim guilt, and then give the
punishment? Why the punishment? And then
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he is not guilty, and then
the crucifixion? Well, remember, pilot
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says. He says I'm bringing him
out to you that you may know I
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find no guilt in him. Behold
the man. If Jesus were being treated
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like this for punishment, pilot wouldn't
say these things, he'd say something else.
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That's because Jesus is treatment here isn't
about punishment, it's about putting him
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in his place. It's about letting
the people know and letting Jesus know that
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he is not in his place,
so to speak, and he is going
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to be put there. I'll explain
this more. Remember this, just notice
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this detail. Pilot calls Jesus before
this the King of the Jews. You
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remember that. The crowds are there
and he he uses this phrase to incite
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them. He uses this phrase,
King of the Jews, to appeal this
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near rioting crowd. Now he calls
him the man. Right, behold the
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man. It's interesting. He doesn't
use his name, he doesn't use this
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title that he used before. But
how? But what? But what's is
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striking is how this man, of
course, is dressed. He has been
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stripped of his regular clothes and a
robe of Purple Robe has been put upon
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him, something he would not wear
normally. Jesus is not looking like he
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normally does. A crown has been
placed on his head, sort of like
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the victory crowns that would be received
some time, except this is a mocking
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crown, right, it is a
crown of thorns. He calls him the
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man, but he dresses him in
this fake King's garb. Jesus, in
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pilot's mind, and then the crowds
mind, has been disgraced. He has
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been among the highest people, the
the highest status. He has been in
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the courts of the high priests.
On he will be in the court of
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Herod, he's in the court of
pilot, but in these courts he is
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not elevated among them, right,
he doesn't come to a high position.
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Instead, he is pushed down by
the highest powered people. And that,
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of course, is would always hurts
the most in shame. The closer and
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connection you are to someone, the
more you value someone's opinion, the higher
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status they have in your mind,
the more it hurts, the more embarrassing
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it is, right, which is
why critiques from spouses heard a lot,
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which is why a boss hurts a
lot. And that was the intention here,
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to shame Jesus. He was whipped, stripped and then clothed with this
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ridiculous robe and this crown of Thorns, before these people, before the very
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people who hated him, because they
wanted to put him in his place.
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Shame, mocking, embarrassment, humiliation. Shame is the soul killing tool that
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will use when we want to tell
someone you don't belong, you're not worthy
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to be loved, you're not worthy
to be connected to us, you need
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to get out of here, and
it's a message that we of course,
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here all the time. Maybe it's
a message. You even tell yourself.
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I'm not this enough, smart enough, strong enough, rich enough, confident
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enough, hopeful enough, obedient enough. I don't belong, I'm not worthy
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to be loved. I should go
hide. That's all shame right. That's
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what shame does. It disconnects us, it pushes US away. That's what
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shame sounds like. And Shame is
the tool that we use to push people
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out or to force them to fit
in, and that's what they're doing here.
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They were doing these things to Jesus, they were mocking him, they
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were putting him on display, because
Jesus is not fitting in, and he's
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not just fitting in, but he's
threatening them because he's not fitting in.
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Jesus is doing things and saying things
that doesn't fit into their legalistic, chip
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on the shoulder, holier than now, political religious life that they had built
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for themselves. Think on how Jesus
had been living, think about the things
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that he was doing, think about
who he was. Jesus was from the
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wrong part of kind of the country. He was from backwater Nazareth. He
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spent time with the wrong people,
prostitutes, tax collectors, sinners, even
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one of his own disciples matthew,
one of his own main disciples. Matthew
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was a tax collector, someone known
for extorting the people for political money causes.
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As tax collectors especially were them,
his disciples didn't even follow the general
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rules that everybody else was kind of
expected to follow. He did things like
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trust women, talk to them,
respect them. He gave children his attention.
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He even told his decide. You'd
even rebuke his disciples when it came
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to bringing children to him. Jesus
refused to promote himself with the higher classes
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and, even worse, he didn't
even care what they thought of him.
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He just didn't care. He wouldn't
follow their man made religious rules. He
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didn't care what they think, he
wasn't worried about them, and he was
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willing to say what he thought about
them too, instead of Pan or ring
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to them, instead of trying to
get into their circles, instead of trying
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to become one of them. He
called them whitewashed tombs, broods of Vipers.
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He called them hypocrites. Add to
all of this that the people loved
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him. They loved him he did
these miracles, he this bold, confident
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teaching. He spoke his mind.
He wasn't afraid. It's like you had
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no shame. You can see,
then, why the Lord, our Lord,
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was a huge threat to them,
huge threat. He was not going
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to go along with it. He
did not fit in to their culture,
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their religious, political, legalistic self
promoting prey on the street, court of
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sorry when steed, make yourself look
gone so they know you're fasting, all
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of that stuff. He wasn't going
to do it, and that's why Jesus
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need to be put in his place
and eventually he needed to be gotten rid
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of all together. As I said, shame is one of the main reasons
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we separate ourselves from others. We
don't belong, we don't fit in,
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I'm not worthy to belong here,
and it's also the tool that we use
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to push others away, to communicate
to them and to everyone else that this
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is not acceptable. Now you might
ask, why didn't they just follow Jesus
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go along with the things he said? Well, that's a good question right.
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That would have been a much better
response. I'll tell you the answer.
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Because to listen to Jesus, to
do the things he said, to
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do, to believe the things he
said, he was from, the father
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that he came from heaven, that
his kingdom was not of this world,
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that we should give up our possessions
to other people, that we shouldn't to
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always demand our rights, that we
should love our enemies, that we shouldn't,
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that we should bless them and not
curse them. All of these things
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and more. To do those things
and to give up the things of this
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world meant to give up the life, the culture, the House of cards
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that they had built from their celves. It would have meant risking feeling shame
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themselves, risking disgrace, risking dishonor
it would have been meant to say,
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my life is a pretend thing,
my life before God is not real,
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my life in this world is fake, my power is fake, my wealth
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is fake, my my importance is
fake, it's all fake because before God
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I have nothing. I'm naked and
ashamed. That's what it would have taken
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to follow Jesus. The sad thing
is is that Jesus promises to us that
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when we come to him naked and
ashamed, he promises to cover us,
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not disgrace us, but grace us. Right when we come before Jesus and
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we say I'm a mess, look
at me, and we're only concerned about
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what he thinks. He doesn't plow
us into the ground say that's exactly right,
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you stupid, worthless piece of garbage. He lifts us up and he
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says my love is sufficient to cover
it all. Don't worry about it,
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no condemnation for you, peace with
God. Through me, my blood will
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atone for all your sins. All
Wash you wider than the snow. All
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remove your sins as far as the
east for the West. You've got nothing
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to worry about. I'll take care
of it all. Following Jesus doesn't risk
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disgrace, because Jesus comes to give
us grace, being vulnerable, being honest
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and about our guilt, about the
things that we've done wrong, about the
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sin that we're born into. Seeking
forgiveness doesn't bring curse, it brings blessing.
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It doesn't bring condemnation, it brings
justification. It doesn't bring abandonment and
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separation and rejection, but peace and
union with God. We're not exiled from
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the kingdom. Were brought into the
kingdom. Now this, of course,
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is all totally backwards from the world
which we live in. But, as
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we said before, as Jesus said, he is not of this world.
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He doesn't fit in. It's a
different thing that he comes and he brings.
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Of course, in order to recognize
that, you have to believe something
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that you cannot see. You have
to believe that the miracles of Jesus are
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more than just a wow, that
the life of Jesus is more, that
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Jesus is life in this world,
is more than just him being confident and
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eccentric. You have to believe that
Jesus is truly offering himself to do the
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things that he says he came to
do and he's offering something that's different from
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life in this world, the cursed
and vain life in this world that Jesus
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doesn't fit in. Is ultimately a
really, really good thing, because who
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wants really to cling to the vanities
of this world, to the striving after
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the wind, to the curse,
to the emptiness and all of these things?
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We all want something more, right. That's what Jesus gives to us,
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something that this world can never provide, something the law can never provide,
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something that we can never get by
simply working harder or atoning from our
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sins. We need something greater than
that, and that's what Jesus provides,
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and because Jesus knew that. That's
how he was able to endure this.
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That's how Jesus not only was able
to endure this but willingly and with the
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joy set before him, enter it
into this situation. Can you imagine standing
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before a crowd of people yelling at
you? That would be intense right,
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but they're not just yelling at you, they hate you, they want to
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kill you. And now you're standing
there in not your clothes, with a
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crown of thorns on your head.
Your body is tired, you've been flogged,
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you've been beaten. How hard that
would be. But Jesus did it
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willingly. Jesus was able to face
that shame, that humiliation, all of
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that, not because he was a
some kind of a narcissist or a psychopath
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without a conscience. Jesus did it
because he knew that his job was not
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to please these people. Jesus didn't
come into the world to get everybody on
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the same page. Jesus came into
the world to announce a new chapter.
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Jesus came into the world with a
specific mission that had been given to him
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by the father. That's why he
was here. That's what he was totally
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committed to and filled with perfect it, perfect integrity. He indeed had no
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shame inside, even though the world
was pouring shame on him from the outside.
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Jesus was able to have this kind
of confidence because he knew who he
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he was in the love of God. His father loved him. He's been
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tired about this for chapters, chapters
and chapters through John. The father loves
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me. I love the father,
I love my people. I am here
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to save them. Jesus, in
other words, wasn't dependent on anything in
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this world to be okay. Jesus
wasn't dependent on what the on pilot thought,
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or Rome thought, or or Caiaphese
thought or the people fought. He
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was sent from his father with this
loving mission that he held to the core
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of his being with total perfection,
and it was this a mission to love
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you, because he loved you more
than his own life, more than his
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own reputation. He was willing to
endure anything to save you, and he
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did. The noise of the crowd, the shame of the high officials.
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It indeed was painful, shameful,
but it was passing and with perfect courage
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and love and hope, our God
did not turn aside and he won.
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He rose from the dead vindicated.
How can you shame a person who's risen
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from the dead? How can you
shame a king who is seated on a
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throne at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty? You can't.
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It's impossible. It's like a little
kid, you know, yelling at a
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great king. What can you do? What can you do? It's ridiculous.
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This is why I saw him too, talks about this. He said,
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you know, the kings and the
people of this hearth, they whisper
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the counsel together. How can we
break apart? The Lord Bonds Between the
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Lords and is anointed, and the
Lord sits in heaven and he laughs.
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He holds them in derision, he
mocks them, he shames them because what
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can they do to him? This
is ridiculous. The Lord did not turn
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aside and he did not discern aside
because he loved us. I want to
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conclude with this. If they did
this to the Lord Jesus, do you
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think it's possible that the world might
want to or might actually do this to
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you? It is, and in
fact it's not just possible, it's not
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even probable. The Lord says it's
going to happen. Peter says don't be
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surprised when it happens. It's going
to happen. It might be little,
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might be big, but we're told
by Jesus to expect this and of course
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we should expect this right because if
he doesn't fit in, if he's not
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clamoring after the affection of this world
and we find ourselves united to him and
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if we belong to that same father, if we are united to God with
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that same kind of intimacy, if
we are citizens of a kingdom that is
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not of this world, they are
going to be times where we don't fit
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in. Simple just doesn't work if
we're not clamoring and trying to promote ourselves
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and trying to glab after riches and
wealth and fame and all the rest.
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But we're okay because we have peace
with God and we can endure sorrow and
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death and grief and the world's not
going to pressure us to turn aside from
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Jesus and turn aside from his commands
and we're just going to stay steady and
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do what he wants us to do. That's going to really make some people
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mad. It made them mad with
our Lord and mad enough to kill the
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creator of the world? Do you
think they might find me or you a
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little easier target? Of course,
it's important to recognize this, because the
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scriptures calls to recognize it, and
it gives us time to prepare. Really,
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the scriptures tell us to be awake, be sober minded, think about
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these things, put on your armor, put on Christ and that's what we
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need to do. How do we
do that? We do it by building
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up our faith in the very promises
that Jesus gives to us, by building
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up our faith in him, by
looking at moments like this, in reminding
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ourselves of who he is, why
he did it what he does. Because,
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beloved, when we look to his
promises, when we look to the
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things that he has promised us,
the threats and the shaming of this world
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will, all of a sudden,
or maybe little by little, matter less
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and less. Think about this.
When the God of the universe promises to
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you a kingdom that is imperishable,
undefiled and kept in need for you in
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heaven by him, what do you
what do you need to get? What
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do you need to clamor after?
What do you need to try and secure?
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What do you need to be disobedient
about in order to get these things?
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If the world, if the if
you, if you're if you're on
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a walk and you walk by a
yard of fenced in yard and there's a
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little tiny dog yipping at you,
you don't run in terror. Right,
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you shouldn't. If you don't,
you don't, you know, run as
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fast as you can because of this
great threat of this Yipping Dot, right,
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you, you baby. Well,
that's cute. That thinks it's such
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a big dog. You know,
be like her, tough. I talked
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this way. You don't run.
Maybe you laugh because you understand that though
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it barks and bears its teeth,
it's not really a danger to you.
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And when we come to understand who
we are in Christ, the world becomes
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like that, just as it was
for Christ. Because we are in Christ,
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we can look at the world through
his eyes, through His Holiness,
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his righteousness, his kingdom and calms
our hearts, reminds us the things are
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going to be okay and even better
than okay, because he promises to us
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that this world will pass away and
he will give to us a new heavens
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and a new earth that will be
forever and be wonderful with no shame,
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no guilt, no sorrow now because
we won't fit in always. That doesn't
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mean that we're supposed to be obnoxious
people. Certainly doesn't mean we're supposed to
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be evil people. God tells us
to be ambitious about living quietly. He
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tells us to seek peace with our
neighbors as far as it is possible.
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He tells us to bless our enemies, but sometimes it's not possible. And
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what Jesus tells us by His crucifixion
and his death and his resurrection is that
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it'll be okay. So we can
be bold, we can be courageous,
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we can speak truth and not fear. We can look to Christ and we
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can find our strength in Him,
knowing that in him we are perfectly loved,
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totally worthy. We have fellowship with
God and with the one of the
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saints, with one another for all
time, and nothing, the scriptures say,
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nothing can separate you from that love. When we are in Christ,
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God has us totally in his hands
and he will not let us go,
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which allows us to be brave,
allows us to take risks, it allows
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us to speak and to act and
to think like Christians, to let our
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light, as he says, shine
before men so that they may give glory
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to God. Let's give glory to
God ourselves. Let's pray
