March 24, 2003
April 27
___John 11: 55-57; 12:20-37, 44-50
Living to die or dying to live
___By Craig Vire
___As an English clergyman, John Owen championed both congregational church government and religious liberty. He was appointed as private chaplain to Oliver Cromwell in 1649 and was vice-chancellor of Oxford University from 1652-1657.
___While lying on his deathbed, he instructed his secretary to write to a friend, "I am still in the land of the living."
___"Stop," said Owen. "Change that and say, 'I am yet in the land of the dying, but I hope soon to be in the land of the living.'"
___Life confronts us with the land of the living and the land of the dying. Sometimes it's difficult to avoid confusing them. Jesus identifies the difference between the two in John 12:25 when he says, "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
___Some people are living to die. Preoccupied with worldly concerns, they fail to make spiritual preparation for eternity. Their focus is so fixed on the "here and now" of life that they seldom consider the "there and then" of death. Living is consumed with the pursuit of success, prosperity and personal interests to the exclusion of spiritual considerations. They love this life but lose everything in death.
___Other people opt to die in order to live. For them, the present life in this temporary world is a time of preparation for eternal life. Spiritual questions and concerns are ultimately of more importance than material and physical realities. They loosen their grip on possessions so they may hold more tightly to a Savior who gave his life for them. They die to self and the world so they may gain Christ and the kingdom of God.
___The hour has come for Jesus to end his public ministry. He will shortly embrace the agony of the cross. The sinless son of God will pay for the sins of all people through the sacrifice of his life. He will die so others may live.
___The hour also has come for individuals to make a decisive decision whether to receive or reject him as their Savior and Redeemer. They must choose between living to die and dying to live.
___Living to die
___The chief priests and Pharisees choose the path of living to die. They are consumed with matters of national security and exhibit no concern for matters of eternal security. The plot to take Jesus' life is proceeding as planned. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of the renegade rabbi is instructed to report the information.
___Judas' reaction to the anointing of Jesus by Mary indicates he is living to die. Mary pours an extravagantly expensive perfume on the feet of her master and wipes them with her hair. She understands the precious value of the remaining few days left to share his presence. No material gift expresses adequately the love she holds in her heart for him.
___Judas comprehends the worldly worth of the expended perfume and estimates its value as equivalent to a year's wages. His heart holds no concern for the needs of the poor. He is an embezzler entrusted with the money bag of the disciples' common treasury. He cannot see Jesus for who he is due to the worldly covetousness that grips his heart.
___The crowd rushing out to greet Jesus as he enters Jerusalem also makes its choice. They cry, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Palm branches are spread in his path. Both the psalm and the palm branches were employed when the Maccabees celebrated the deliverance of Jerusalem and its temple from Syrian conquerors during the intertestamental period.
___The crowd sees in Jesus the potential for a worldly military and political leader who will unify national opposition to the tyranny of Rome. He comes instead to set his people free from the tyranny of sin and death. He is a king, but his kingdom is not the worldly one they envision. The crowd is living to die.
___Dying to live
___The inquiry of the Greeks who wish to see Jesus signals the end of his public ministry to the Jews. The receptiveness of these Gentiles highlights the hardheartedness of his Jewish audience. They seek answers to spiritual questions his countrymen ignore.
___Jesus declares the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. This will not be accomplished through the worldly cheers of the crowd. To be glorified means he will be lifted up on a cross.
___Like a grain of wheat, he will be buried in the ground. The seed and the Savior must die or they will remain alone. There will be no harvest of believers without his sacrificial death. Those who choose to serve him must follow him to the cross. They must die to the world to live eternally with the Father.
___Jesus will be raised up on a cross. In the world's eyes, the sinless Son of God will die a shameful death as a common criminal. From God's vantage point, the Son will be exalted because he fulfills the expectations of the one who sent him.
___Though deeply troubled, Jesus cannot pray to the Father for escape from his impending death. He was born in Bethlehem's manger for the purpose of dying on Calvary's cross. The Savior prays only for God to be glorified through the work of the crucified Son.
___A voice from heaven affirms that God has glorified his name and he will glorify it again. The Son glorified the Father when raising Lazarus from the grave. God will be glorified a second time when Jesus' resurrection is accomplished.
____The love of the cross attracts
___Crucifixion is a gruesome image. Nails will be driven through tender flesh. Jesus' weight will be suspended on those wounds.
___The crowd protests his grotesque execution. They cannot reconcile the contradiction between his death and the promise of Scripture that the Christ will live forever. Many witnessed the raising of Lazarus, yet the possibility of resurrection does not occur to them in this hour.
___Romans 5:8 provides the only reasonable explanation for the willingness of God to crucify his son. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us."
___A medieval monk announced he would be preaching the next Sunday evening on "The Love of God." As the night arrived, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lit a candle and carried it to the crucifix. He first illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound, and finally, his wounded feet. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.
___The cross is the ultimate demonstration of the love God holds for the human race. There will be no greater sign given to mankind.
___The victory of
___the cross attracts
___Jesus declares his death will usher in judgment upon the world. The evil one will be cast out in a decisive manner. In the wilderness temptation, Satan offers to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he will bow down and worship him. Now the tables are turned. The Son's obedience to the Father will deal a death blow to the prince of this world.
___Micheal Cocoris in "Evangelism, A Biblical Approach" quotes A.B. Simpson as saying the gospel "tells rebellious men that God is reconciled, that justice is satisfied, that sin has been atoned for, that the judgment of the guilty may be revoked, the condemnation of the sinner cancelled, the curse of the Law blotted out, the gates of hell closed, the portals of heaven opened wide, the power of sin subdued, the guilty conscience healed, the broken heart comforted, the sorrow and misery of the Fall undone."
___The light of the cross attracts
___Jesus calls for the crowd to walk in the light his truth reveals. They must choose between stumbling through the darkness of the world's ways and allowing the light of his presence to illumine their hearts to the ways of God.
___Jesus states that when a person sees the Son for who he is, the Father also is revealed. His spoken words come directly from God. Those who reject the Son will be judged by the words the Father speaks through him.
___During his artistic career, Michelangelo produced many masterpieces of sculpture. He once described the creative process as a matter of chiseling away the extraneous material obscuring the image already present inside the marble. His task was to liberate the figure trapped within the stone.
___Jesus comes to remove the superfluous ways of the world and liberates individuals to experience the life of God. The light of his life enables the believer to choose rightly between the ways of the world and the ways of God.
___Deciding to decide
___The pioneering American psychologist William James once observed, "When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice."
___The decision the cross places before us cannot be avoided. Each person must decide between two options Christ provides.
___We may choose to live in such a way that we will die without Christ. Or we may choose to die in such a way that we will live eternally with him.
___One thing is certain: We all must choose.
___Questions for discussion
___Why do people avoid the topic of death?
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