We have come to the final stretch of Lent, known as “Holy Week.” Think about what that title is implying. We normally talk about a “holiday” (short for “holy day”), where one day is set aside for some special observance or celebration. But for centuries, believers have set aside this entire week for special observance. Clearly, what is discussed during Holy Week is important. Indeed, what we see happen this holy week is the foundation of our eternity. In Holy Week, we see the impossible. The Son of God dies. The Lord of life enters the last place he belonged—the grave. But what we will see this week is that, when Jesus entered the tomb, he did not go alone. He buried all our baggage with him: sin, guilt, shame, condemnation, fear. Jesus will walk out of the tomb. But thanks to him, those things will all stay dead and buried.
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The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke bring us the “Parable of the Tenants.” Jesus told the parable during Holy Week, likely on Tuesday. It was part of the last teachings to the people and the religious authorities before his death and resurrection.
In the Parable of the Tenants the owner of a vineyard sends his servants to ask the tenants for his share of the harvest. This is a normal and reasonable request, but the tenants have other plans. They beat up the servants and send them back empty-handed. Finally, the owner sends his own son, thinking the tenants will surely respect him. But they treat him worse and put him to death. The parable is clearly directed at the Jewish religious leaders who opposed him and are standing right there listening. Jesus is pointing out the history of many in . . . . Israel who opposed the prophets in the past, and now they have risen up against the Son of God himself.
Jesus quotes a verse from the Psalms: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22). Interestingly enough, this is one of the top ten most quoted Old Testament verses in the New Testament.
So is our Christian belief centered around rejection?
It wasn’t just Jesus. In Acts, chapter 4, Peter and John were arrested for healing a lame man and preaching about Jesus. They were brought before some of the same powerful religious leaders who had condemned Jesus to death just a short time before that. The apostles boldly proclaimed that the healing was in the name of Jesus Christ. Their faith was in the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone (Acts 4:11).
Peter later quotes the same verse in his first letter. He tells his readers that the stone which was rejected is precious to them and all believers (1 Peter 2:4-10).
Is the Christian faith about rejection? In a way, yes. There will be some of that. Plenty of that, in fact. God’s way is not the way of the human world. So people will set themselves up against the preaching of Jesus as the Savior of all. But we don’t let that change our valuing of Jesus as the foundation of our life.
The “underdog” wins! We cheer for the ugly duckling who after much trouble finds out he’s a swan and is accepted by a family of swans. We’re inspired by the U.S men’s hockey team that beat the heavily favored Soviets in the Miracle on Ice in 1980.
It’s not always the “most likely to succeed” who win the victory. Jesus was often rejected, but is our precious cornerstone. He’s the foundation and guide for everything we believe and hold dear.
Even though rejection is there, the victory is the main message of our faith. The way of God triumphs. Sin and death are defeated in the only way possible, Jesus’ death and resurrection. What has been pushed aside by natural human resistance is really the greatest message of all. Let everyone know your faith and hope rest on the stone that became the cornerstone!
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Luke 20:17)
A young teenager in Jerusalem named Jacob Eliahu skipped school one day and wanted to go swimming. He had a specific spot in mind. There was a long tunnel in the city with water flowing through it. He challenged a friend to start at one end of it, and he would start at the other. It would be a long swim in the dark, but they hoped to meet in the middle.
His friend quit after a while and turned around, but Jacob made it through the whole tunnel. To find his way in the dark he felt along the wall and made two discoveries. First, the chisel marks from the making of the tunnel changed direction about halfway through. Even more amazing, toward the end of his journey he felt something different on the wall. These were not random chisel marks, but engraved words.
This was in 1880. It turns out he had stumbled across . . . . a message from over 2500 years before about how the tunnel was constructed. And the tunnel went back to the days of King Hezekiah of Judah!
As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? (2 Kings 20:20)
This was a hugely important event for archaeology and the Bible. It was also a reminder of the importance of wells and springs of water to ancient peoples. Water was refreshing and life-giving. God often used water as a picture of his blessings and salvation, as in Isaiah 41:18: I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
It's no surprise, then, that the Lord through his prophet tells us to continually draw from our source of life. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3).
If your life with God appears to be a little dry, you need refreshing! If you have allowed bitterness to creep in, if you have followed too much the pull of worldly goals and put the Scriptures on the back burner, or if you have less joy in your spiritual life than in the past, you need refreshing! Draw from the wells of God’s salvation. Immerse yourself in the Word of God to you. Be filled with life in the remembrance of the power of your baptism, and the assurance you are forgiven in the Lord’s Supper. When you draw from those promises of God, you will never be left thirsty. You will know the joy of God’s salvation!
We can learn as much from life about what not to do as what we should do. All but two of the Ten Commandments are in the negative. “You shall not …” How many of your parents’ and teachers’ messages to you were things like “Don’t touch that,” “Don’t go over there,” and “Don’t speak that way”?
Campaigns they showed us in high school to avoid smoking cigarettes would often give us stories or pictures of what could happen after years of heavy smoking. “You don’t want to spend the equivalent of a new house on cigarettes over the years, do you?” “You don’t want your health to be affected like the lady in the photo, right?”
When we hear about “examples” our first inclination is probably to imagine . . . . good examples. Examples we want to follow. Having examples not to follow can be just as useful.
The first section of 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, is dedicated to a bad example. The example is of the Israelites in the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did (1 Cor 10:6), the Apostle Paul writes. There are plenty of spiritual lessons there. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were … (v.7). We should not commit sexual immorality … (v.8). We should not test Christ … (v.9). We should not grumble … (v.10). All these things have already been done by the Israelites. Let’s not repeat them!
But, of course, the same testing of God happens among all people, and among Christians today. We fall into the same temptations. God says, “Do not,” and we do.
The same Jesus Christ who grants us forgiveness in his grace when we repent and believe in him is ready to strengthen us. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (v.13). God’s strength helps us hear a “Do not” in Scripture and make it an “I won’t” in practice.
Every job or role has its tough parts. I knew a man who worked as a forklift operator in a warehouse. He’d be (usually lightly) made fun of by his coworkers because half of the time he could sit on his forklift and be on his phone or take a quick nap. But when he was on, he was on! He had to fly back and forth for a long time with ceiling-high stacks of heavy goods. If he made a mistake he could ruin thousands of dollars of merchandise, and would get a good talking-to from the boss. Parenting, waiting on tables, doing surgery, managing a team, and just about everything else all have their fun and easy moments, and their tough and stressful moments.
Prophets had direct communication from God and could sometimes see the future or do miracles. Pretty fun! Overall, though, the Old Testament prophets had it tough. They were very often not well received.
Listen to how the people of Israel responded when Jeremiah the prophet preached to them in chapter 26 of his book:
But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! 9 Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” (Jeremiah 26:8-9)
The reaction of the people and their leaders is typical. It’s to be expected. Who wants to listen to a prophet say they’re in the wrong? Who wants to hear that their beloved . . . . city of Jerusalem and their temple will be destroyed? The messenger must die!
Jeremiah wasn’t fazed. He simply answered them, “Do what you have to.” “The Lord sent me to prophesy … all the things you have heard” (Jeremiah 26:12).
Christians can boast that by grace they are children of their heavenly Father who fills them with every spiritual blessing. They live under the protection of the Most High. All is directed for their good by God himself. They will be transformed with heavenly bodies in the place of perfect peace through faith in Jesus. What a glorious life!
But they all have their moments like Jeremiah. We all have our moments like Jeremiah. Try calling your friend and neighbors to repentance. Try living in holiness among those who are not even making an attempt. You often will not get a flattering response, even if it is the Word of God you are sharing.
Life with God is not intended to be easy all the time. Keep speaking the truth of Scripture. Don’t allow the tough spots to derail you from this wonderful life of living under God’s grace and eternal blessing!
“OPEN DOOR POLICIES: God’s Surprising Strategies for Getting Sinners Back Home”
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
When a wayward child wanders far from home, how does a loving parent pursue them without driving them further away? One thing that parent does is let the child know that there is an ongoing open-door policy. The child knows they will always be welcomed back home. Likewise, when we wander from God, he always keeps his door open for us. But God doesn’t just passively wait for us to return. He lovingly pursues sinners in ways that make them long for home.
In the Church Year, we have come to the season of Lent. The word Lent comes from an old English word for spring: “lengthen,” when the days grow longer. For over 1400 years the Church has set aside the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter as a time of repentance and renewal. In this 40-day journey to the cross and tomb, we will see the surprising strategies our heavenly Father uses for getting sinners back home, close to him and the loving care he offers.
God’s Glory Is a Different Glory It was a unique gathering, the one on the Mount of Transfiguration. Not all of the Twelve disciples were there. Just three handpicked by Jesus – Peter, James, and John. Those three, plus Jesus, plus two more men long dead, Moses and Elijah. It would have been quite a group to stand around with and have a chat!
When we get together with friends we might reminisce about our moments of glory. That tournament in high school we came back and won by just a point or two in the last seconds. The time our child won a spelling bee. Maybe a brief moment of fame from appearing on a game show or exchanging words with a celebrity. “Glorious” moments are fun to talk about.
Jesus, Moses, and Elijah could have brought up Moses’ high point of raising his staff and leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. They could have also recounted . . . . Elijah’s unique and amazing journey to heaven at the end of his life accompanied by a chariot of fire and horses of fire.
The moment of glory on their minds was different. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Jesus’ departure was his exodus. That’s the word there. “Exodus.” In the first exodus God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt. Now Jesus’ exodus in Jerusalem – his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven – would free his people from sin and eternal death. As Paul writes to the Ephesians: …6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (1:6-7).
Jesus’ glory would take suffering. Glory, suffering, and deliverance through forgiveness and eternity go together for him. His suffering was glory, because it brought good for the world. Our most glorious moment is not ours. It’s Christ’s.
Of course, we can have fun remembering with friends and family big moments of accomplishment. We can also reminisce with joy about God giving us his grace through Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Who knows who might be listening and wonder about this “different” glory in our Savior?
