What Are The Issues? 6/3/45
Scripture: Mark 11: 1-11a
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
These are the words of Saint John as recorded in the third chapter of the book, the 16th and 17th verses.
It takes a long time for people to make the truth of these words a part of themselves. We are all bent upon having life, and life as abundantly as it can be had. Mankind has always been like that. And the aim is good. We feel instinctively that the joy of life is right. Furthermore it is sanctioned by Jesus Christ and reaffirmed by his disciples.
The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the holy city, the capital city, was an occasion of joy to multitudes of people. For a day, life seemed to them glad, hopeful, full of promise. And Jesus apparently approved the rejoicing even though he knew full well that the multitude had no real understanding of what was going on at the heart of that incident.
For those people had lived long under the tyranny of a foreign government. Their one hopeful, continued longing was that one should come who could and would free them, beat the hated Romans from their shores, save their country for themselves, restore a land in which they would have freedom both in government and in religion.
Naturally, there would be a revolution. For how else can such a thing be accomplished? And the Messiah, the Savior, would be the leader in that movement.
In all of this interpretation, the expectation of the people was misguided so far as Jesus was concerned. For he was not that kind of Messiah. Though the temptation to power had been one of the very real temptations he had had to deal with, he apparently never seriously considered an organized rebellion.
Jesus was concerned not with political foes, but with a greater enemy. And who is that? A man’s own unregenerate self! For in his quest for a free, joyful, abundant life, man may easily be headed pell-mell in the wrong direction. This is often the case when a man seeks happiness and satisfaction guided only by his own instincts, his own prejudices, or his own logic. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the incidents of the week which followed were the beginning of a movement far different from the revolution expected by the cheering throng. It was a movement in which men and women found their true bearings and sought the abundant life in the right direction. It was a movement in which the spiritual attitude of men and women would overshadow the limitations of a temporal world. It was a movement in which personal issues would be squarely faced and right choices made.
Judas was disappointed. He had doubtless been excited by Jesus’ talk of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. Like many another, he had failed to grasp Jesus’ meaning, blinded by his own expectations. And so in the midst of disillusionment and under pressure of temptation he turned betrayer and became marked forever for the pity of some and the scorn of others. Like so many others, he had failed to grasp the issues.
And what were the issues? (1) The first has to do with the very nature of religion. More than once in history has man made of his religion a formalized affair. In such case, man has come to think of religion as essentially defined by the making and keeping of laws, by particular modes of worship, by the keeping of established customs. Sometimes his spirit is lifted by formalism, but more often it atrophies through neglect.
Jesus taught, it seems, that rules, though some there must be, are never of the first importance. The spirit is first. The reverent person, the pure heart, the respectful child, the generous and considerate parent, the life which cultivates no covetousness, no hatred, no falsity - these are far more important than regulations. “The Kingdom of God is with you,” said Jesus. What issues from within you, determines whether you are headed in the direction of abundant life or drifting in the direction of serious trouble.
The most important thing demonstrated by Jesus Christ is that the individual soul can master any situation. Here he was less than a week before the death which was already threatening him, unafraid, riding in humble triumph right into the face of danger among avowed enemies. “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” and not all of the alarm of his disciples, not any possibility of accomplishing a lesser end by organized revolt, nor any shadow of fear or cowardice could dissuade him. He had the reassurance of a soul that has sought and found the will of God in long hours of prayer. He had the definite conviction that right is the greatest power in mankind and that it triumphs in spite of all evil, in spite of intimidations, or death.
Jesus had come to proclaim a religion of freedom and vigor. The source of spiritual strength is not in the words or ceremonials of the priest, not in the laws of the church or of the nation but in right relationship to the eternal verities of God’s universe. The strength of Christ is more than man-made; more than society can make. It is above all, spiritual.
2) Jesus cleared the issue as to who should be considered great in the world. Mankind seems naturally impressionable, even gullible, concerning greatness. We look with awe, respect, fear, or admiration, as the case may be, on anyone who has achieved the “Number One” place in a given group. We perhaps covet the “honors” of prominence. What a great feeling it must be to be able to command men, to dictate policies, to receive the attention of the throng! Jesus definitely taught that greatness lies in another direction. “He that would be greatest among you, let him be your servant,” said the Master. [Mark 10: 44]. And he washed his disciples’ feet - a job to be done by servants and only by servants. He spoke with disapproval of those who love the chief places at a feast and those who delight to be in the public eye. Greatness lies not in what you can do to men, not in how you can manipulate people, not in the “honors” a thoughtless or selfish public heap upon you, but in what you do for people. He who serves humbly, intelligently, generously, with understanding, often sacrificially, is the truly great person.
Conquest is destructive. The way to build is to serve.
3) What was Jesus’ attitude toward the religious institutions of his day among his people? The facts seem to be that he was raised under the teachings of the rabbi in the synagogue, that he was consecrated by his parents in the temple, that he had a deep regard for both synagogue and temple and longed to see them places where men could find a purified and invigorating religion - where men might easily come to feel themselves in the presence of God. He attended the synagogue, “as was his custom” until he was literally thrown out of the synagogue where he was raised. He visited the temple at Jerusalem periodically up to the time when, a few days before his death, he drove out the selfish commercial interests from within its walls and called on its leaders to restore it as a place of worship. [Mark 11: 15-18].
I think he would attend and support and purify the church of today. I believe Christ will bless any church whose people try to face the great issues and decide them rightly. There will be no blessing on a church that temporizes with evils and selfishness, that refuses to cultivate the spirit and manifestations of brotherhood. But the church that is joined by members who want to serve, who want to learn together, good from evil, who want to know and do the will of God, who are willing to sacrifice of themselves for others, who want to train their children in Christian living, will be abundantly blessed with Christ’s spirit.
[Palm Sunday offers you another of those occasions and opportunities during life of making a choice on the great issues. Will you find a way to abundant living?] Will you and I choose to be greatly used, to serve God and our fellows. Shall we give to Christ’s church not only our interest, our work, our support, but the membership of our very self?
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn us or to rule over us in might, but to save us from the wrong direction and lead us to the life abundant.
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Dates and places delivered:
Pilgrim Church, Honolulu, April 17, 1938 [AM] (Palm Sunday)
Wisconsin Rapids, June 3, 1945