An Easter Way of Seeing

John 20:1-9

Note:  This sermon accepts the centuries old view that John was the “other” disciple.  Please note that for this online version, I have followed this sermon with some additional material addressing some questions raised in the message.

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We had a great time in Texas.  We loved seeing David, Kelly, and, of course, Kieran who is almost five-months old now.  It was a joy holding him, feeding him, talking to him, and just watching him.  As we began packing to go, I told the kids I’d like to stay and just text everyone in the church “The tomb is still empty.  Think about it.”

Well, obviously, we did come back.  So this morning let me tell you the tomb is still empty.  Now, let’s think about it.

After the hectic Passover things were settling down to a normal pace.  The first day of the week had dawned and promised to be uneventful.  Of course, most people were aware that the once-popular teacher from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, had been crucified;   gossips were whispering about charges of blasphemy and sedition.  And, now that he was dead and buried his followers had made themselves scarce.  Most of them hadn’t been seen since before the crucifixion.

Who could blame them for hiding?  The Romans might have decided they were dangerous too.  Probably not, but you could never be too sure with the Romans.

Yet, not all of Jesus’ followers were remaining behind closed doors.  A handful of women, including Mary Magdalene, were determined to visit his grave and anoint his body with perfumes and spices to show their respect.  John mentions only Mary but the other Gospels name the others who went on this errand.

Instead of finding the tomb sealed and guarded they found it open and empty. 

Things started happening pretty quickly after this.  Mary Magdalene arrived to report the empty tomb.  As Peter and John prepare to investigate, the rest of the women arrive with their strange story of the two “young men” who claimed Jesus was alive. John’s account doesn’t mention this.

I think John abbreviates the women’s account because it is widely known and because he wants to move ahead to his own story.

John, perhaps because he was younger or perhaps because he can run faster, gets to the tomb first.  He looks in.  Peter arrives and, being the bolder of the two, actually enters the tomb and looks around.  John follows.  What they see plays an important part in John’s account. 

The Bible says they saw, “the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.”

In accordance with Jewish burial customs strips of linen had been tightly wound around Jesus’ body.  In this case, some seventy-five pounds of spices had been wrapped up with the cloth.  The body would then resemble a mummy, although the wrapping did not cover the head.  A separate, turban-like cloth covered the head and face.

Within the tomb of Jesus, Peter and John saw this burial cloth, looking for all the world as if it had just collapsed upon itself.  It bore the general shape of a human body but none was there.  The cloth looked like a deflated balloon.  Add to this the fact that the head wrapping was neatly folded and set aside, away from the rest of the wrappings.

John uses several verbs to describe how he and Peter saw what was in that tomb.

Peter saw what was there in the sense that his eyes took in what was before him.  The presence of the wrappings and the head cloth registered on his consciousness so he could have reported to the others what was there and reported accurately.

John saw what was there in the sense that his eyes took in what was before him.  But not only did the presence of the wrappings and the head cloth register on his consciousness, their significance did as well.  As John humbly puts it (referring to the “other” disciple), “He saw and believed.”  The two remnants of Jesus’ burial clothes pointed to the Resurrection. 

R. C. H. Lenski lays out the thought-process which the wrappings must have inspired.

No human being wrapped round and round with bands like this could possibly slip out of them without greatly disturbing them.  They would have to be unwound, or cut through, or cut and stripped off.  They would thus, if removed, lie strewn around in disorder or heaped in a pile, or folded up in some way.  If the body had been desecrated in the tomb by hostile hands, this kind of evidence would appear.  But hostile hands would have carried off the body as it was, wrappings and all, to get it away as soon as possible and to abuse it later and elsewhere.  But here the linen bands were.  Both their presence and their undisturbed condition spoke volumes.  Here, indeed was a sight to behold.  Jesus was raised from the dead!

Peter saw what John saw, John saw what Peter saw.  But they saw differently.  Both saw the same data—the same linen wrappings and head cloth in a condition they shouldn’t have been in if the body had been stolen.

Peter saw this and went away puzzled.  John saw this and something clicked.  He suddenly knew what it meant;  Jesus had risen from the dead.

John’s Easter way of seeing led him to an Easter faith.

John’s faith may not have been robust;   he’s not recorded as sharing it with anyone, although he may have.  Still, he possessed at least a glimmer of faith which appears to be more than Peter did at this point.

Yes, Peter would become a believer in the resurrection but why didn’t he experience the same birth of faith at this time?  We don’t know precisely but let me offer what I hope are some reasonable suppositions.

1.  John may have possessed a more intuitive mind than Peter.

I don’t mean to suggest he was more gullible or more credulous, but that he may have simply been better able to discern the inferences from the facts at hand. 

Some people can look at the facts and see what others overlook.  In the short story Silver Blaze Conan Doyle depicts Sherlock Holmes with this type of intuition.

Holmes is asked if he had found anything significant in the reports of the events leading up to the theft of a horse named Silver Blaze.

Holmes then alludes to “the curious incident of the dog in the night time.”

His companion responds, “The dog did nothing in the night time.”

Holmes comments, “That was the curious incident.”

Most of us know a dog barking sometime during the night a theft occurs might be significant.  It takes a unique mind to conclude something significant about the dog not barking.

John may have been able to draw inferences from the grave clothes that Peter just wasn’t able to see.

Maybe you’re one of those people who feels outrun by others who seem so spiritually insightful.  You struggle for the insights they seem to grasp immediately.  Don’t despair.  People like us just have to work harder.

2.  Peter may have been more bound by his prejudices than John.

Luke tells us how the disciples responded to the story the women told.  He says they thought “…the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn’t believe it.”   It’s interesting Dr. Luke should offer that comment.  The word translated “nonsense” or “idle tale” is an ancient medical term that means “the wild talk of those in delirium or hysteria.” (Robertson WP)

Their response to the women’s story is hardly surprising.  In first century Judea a woman wasn’t considered to be particularly reliable.  Women weren’t even allowed to testify in court.  Yet, all the gospels agree the women were the first witnesses to the Resurrection.

Now this is significant, especially when we encounter those who insist the Easter story was spun out of the imagination of the early church.  If the writers had been making the story up, they would have inspired more credibility if they had cast men in the role of the first witnesses.  That they kept women in that role gives their accounts a note of authenticity.

Anyway, both Peter and John would have been culturally disinclined to believe the women.  Yet, John, when confronted by the empty tomb and the evidence within, cast his lot with the women.

My goal is not to suggest John might have been more enlightened than Peter.  I just want you to keep in mind that prejudice can keep a person from faith.

If you reject the Easter story outright, you need to examine how you approach the story.  Are you approaching the story with a truly open mind or with a mind determined beforehand to exclude the possibility of God acting to counter the power of the grave? 

Some Observations On An Easter Way Of Seeing

 John didn’t include this story to remind his readers he could run faster than Peter.  He didn’t include this story to show he was more spiritual than Peter.  He didn’t include it to demonstrate—as some in centuries past argued—the deference paid to Peter in the early church.  I believe John included this story of how he came to have an Easter way of seeing to show us something about the nature of faith. 

John’s purpose in writing his Gospel was to call people to faith.  Naturally he wants us to understand how faith is born, how it develops. 

 So, what does he tell us?

1.  The foundational truth of Christianity is open to scrutiny.

Of all the gospel writers John offers to most explicit invitation to consider and weigh the evidence regarding Jesus.   When he uses “signs” as his favorite word for Jesus’ miracles, it’s as if he wants us to ask, “What do the signs point to?”

As he took us on a tour of the Empty Tomb, he lets us see it really wasn’t empty.  He shows us some forensic evidence and asks us to begin to evaluate it.

All the New Testament writers share this perspective.  They invite their readers to consider the evidence backing up the claims about Christ. 

If you’ve never weighed the evidence for Jesus’ claims or if you’ve begun to question what you’ve been taught about Jesus, don’t be afraid to dig deeper.  Read the Bible carefully, seek the help of good writers who fairly consider the tough questions, let the evidence lead you.

You don’t have to fear losing your faith.  In fact, it may become stronger.

2.  The path to an Easter way of seeing will vary from person to person. 

As John brings his Gospel to a close he will tell the story of several people who come to possess faith in the Risen Christ, who begin to have an Easter way of seeing.  Each story is unique.

As you seek to have that Easter way of seeing, don’t expect your experience to be a copy of someone else’s.  You’re an individual. Don’t be discouraged or intimidated by the stories of others.  You may not have heard of their struggles, their dark nights of the soul.  And remember, you want your Easter faith to be one you can truly own.  Above all, be open to God leading you step by step to faith.

3.  Remaining blind to the Easter way of seeing is the greatest spiritual tragedy.

John wrote his Gospel to encourage people to believe, but he never forgot there would be those who steadfastly refused to believe. 

John never treated these people with disrespect.  He saw them as the victims of a spiritual struggle in which they allowed prejudice, selfishness, and arrogance to keep them from faith.

Their refusal to believe meant they were lost.  They would not share in Jesus’ Resurrection victory.      

If you’re resisting that look which might lead to faith, give up your foolish pride and seek God’s help.  Pray to see the truth, the truth which transformed history.  Pray to understand the significance of that empty tomb.  

Conclusion:  A couple weeks ago, during the Friday Evening Bible Study, we read a striking comment in the book we are studying.  The author, speaking of the Resurrection of Jesus, said the tomb became a womb.  Indeed, that place of death became a place of birth.

Certainly it gave birth to Christianity.  But it also gave birth to a new way of seeing. 

The empty tomb gave birth to a new way of seeing history.   History is not spiraling out of control.  It has a goal, an objective.  In Christ, God was accomplishing his purposes, using the treachery of the religious leaders and the cruelty of the Romans.

The empty tomb gave birth to a new way of seeing death.  The great enemy has suffered a rout that foretells its ultimate defeat. Your Easter way of seeing changes the way you see the loss of your loved one, your friend.  Your grief can be real but need not be overwhelming.

The empty tomb gave birth to a new way of seeing disappointment and loss.   You may experience the darkness of Saturday following the death of a dream, a hope and know that God may surprise you with something totally unexpected on Sunday.

The empty tomb gave birth to a new way of seeing pain and suffering.   The crucifixion was the greatest injustice.  A sinless man died accused of the gravest sin: blasphemy.  But that injustice was overturned as the stone rolled away and Christ emerged vindicated from the tomb.  It reminds us that someday God will make things right.

The empty tomb gave birth to a new way of seeing God.  The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ remind us that God has not elected to remain remote from his rebel creation.  As the creed says, for we humans and for our salvation the Son of God came down and was incarnate.  He lived with us and endured the worst we could do to him, so we might live with him and enjoy him forever.   

The empty tomb gave birth to a new way of seeing ourselves.  When we stand back and look at the One who walked out of that tomb on the first Easter, we will embrace a new self-understanding.   We see that we could not die the death he died, a death died for the sake of others.   We, like the thieves who died beside him, deserve the sentence of death.  Only his innocence allowed him to die for others.  We see that, without him, we could not experience the resurrection he experienced, for, as sinners, death would have a right to hold us in its grip, to exact the penalty for our rebellion.  We see that our only hope is in Christ, not in ourselves. 

Paul Meier understands this, when he writes.

Christ is the key to our victory [over death].  If you want to disarm death, you must disarm yourself.  Drop your weapons of self-sufficiency and control and surrender your life to Jesus.  You must realize that no matter how hard you fight, death will win unless you turn everything over to Jesus and let Him take command.  He is the only One who has power over death.[1]

So, let me repeat the affirmation with which we began:  The tomb is still empty.  Do you see what that means?

                                                                                                      

Added Material

Reconciling the Gospel accounts:  Because each Gospel writer had his own purpose in writing and choosing his material, they weren’t always clear about the sequence of events.  Fortunately, it’s not absolutely necessary to know the order in which things happened to grasp the gist of the story.  Still, let me offer what may have been the sequence of events leading up to Peter and John’s visit to the tomb.

o  The women arrive at the tomb and discover it empty.  (All Gospels)

o  Mary Magdalene may have broken away from the others to report the discovery to the Eleven.

o  Meanwhile, angels appear to the women to tell them that Jesus had risen as he had promised them.  (Luke 24)

o  In response to Mary Magdalene’s report, Peter and John set off to see to the tomb.

o  Along the way or just before they leave, they encounter the other women who are returning to tell their story. 

o  This prompts Peter and John to quicken their pace and literally run to the tomb. 

Alternative explanations of the Easter story:  The prejudice that keeps a person from believing has various expressions.

The prejudice may be against those proclaiming the gospel.  The early church sometimes encountered those who would not believe because of the low social status of the evangelists.  Others allowed cultural or racial prejudices to close their eyes.

Perhaps the most deadly and persistent prejudice is a bias against the supernatural.  Those who deny the very possibility of miracle, who insist there is no God to do the unprecedented in human history, will never be persuaded to believe in the Resurrection—no matter how powerful the evidence.

Those who cling to anti-supernatural prejudices will believe almost anything.

They will believe any number of even less believable alternatives:

o  That someone other than Jesus was crucified,

o  That Jesus didn’t really die on the cross,

o  That a frightened band of disciples stole the body from under the noses of the Roman guards,

o  That Jesus’ enemies, for some unexplained reason, stole the body which was just where they wanted it to be and then forgot where they had put it when the Resurrection stories started spreading,

o  That the women and the disciples all went to the wrong tomb and concluded Jesus had risen (an explanation which assumes the opponents of the gospel never thought of pointing out the right tomb once the Christians started preaching about the Resurrection),

o  That hundreds of men and women all shared the same hallucination of the Risen Christ (a psychological phenomenon which has never been repeated),.

There are other “alternative” explanations just as fanciful.  One cited in Time a few years ago was totally the product of its author’s imagination.   He suggested that Jesus was buried in a shallow grave and his body was eaten by wild dogs;   the disciples, upon finding the body missing, jumped to a conclusion which included a resurrection.

The Resurrection of Jesus was not captured on film and archived in a museum for you to watch to bolster your faith.  Yet, for two thousand years, some of history’s greatest minds have examined the evidence we do have and concluded the Easter story is the best explanation for what happened.

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[1] Paul Meier and David Henderson, Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain, Nashville:  Thomas Nelson, 2009, p. 261.

What Kind of Church Would You Like?

Colossians 2:1-7

 Once again Paul speaks of his desire for the church at Colossae.  Again, he is talking about one of the church’s tasks.  His words draw a beautiful picture of the ministry of nurture.

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 What kind of church would you like?  Some pastors might say they would like a growing church.  Of course, only about a third of churches in central Ohio are growing and much of that growth is transfer growth.

To be honest with you, most pastors would welcome numerical growth in their churches.  I’m no different.  Not only would numerical growth say we are reaching more people, it would open the door to more opportunities for service and ministry.  Still, few pastors would say that’s all they want in a church—more people.

Certainly, even the most missional church member sitting on a pew wants more from a church than more people on that pew.  For them, the answer to the question “What kind of church would you like?” would never simply be, “A growing church.”

Despite the growth, Paul knew the church was threatened by bad theology, corrupt practices, and eroding confidence.  He wanted that church to be more than a growing church. 

When you get out of bed on a Sunday morning, the only morning many of you can sleep late, you want more out of your church than the knowledge that each Sunday you will see new faces. 

In this passage, in which Paul once again reminds the Colossians of his concern for them and their fellow Christians at Laodicea, the apostle outlines his vision for them, a vision which includes clues to the kind of church he would like them to have.  I think it’s the kind of church that might appeal to you.

I

WOULDN’T YOU LIKE A CHURCH THAT IS

A COMMUNITY OF ENCOURAGEMENT?

My purpose is that

they may be encouraged in heart…

We’re rapidly getting to the point where an optimist may be defined as someone who believes the newspaper won’t be delivered this morning.  We have some TV and radio personalities who make a fortune telling you how bad things are and then have the audacity to advertise hand baskets. 

Don’t you sometimes long for encouragement?

A church should be a place where its members find regular encouragement along their pilgrimage.  Encouragement literally infuses an individual or a group with courage and strength to face what comes their way.

Paul could probably see the gathering clouds of persecution and trial on the horizon. In time, Asia Minor would become the center of the persecuting frenzy.  Paul knew the Colossian Christians would face trouble because of their commitment to Christ. Some of them would be beaten.  Some of them would be driven from their homes.  Some of them would die.

Because churches are beacons of truth in a dark world they may face danger and hostility from a culture which would rather have the truth suppressed.  Then, too, it takes profound courage to stand for what is right in a world gone morally mad! 

I like the comment of Ralph Sockman, “The test of courage comes when we are in the minority; the test of tolerance when we are in the majority.”  If I can elaborate on that, in a world such as ours, it seems our courage is tested far more often than our tolerance.  Frankly, in a world such as ours if we have the courage to take the unpopular moral stand, we will be called intolerant. 

The Colossians needed to be encouraged in heart.  They would face difficulties which might make their hearts fail, which would tempt them to give up.  They needed the fortitude to keep going.  We may not face the persecution they faced but we do face situations that might cause us to quit.  Are you surprised at that?

Several years ago I heard a young woman, who had personal knowledge of the event (she was too young), say that no Christians had trouble during the Great Depression.  Of course that’s simply not true.  Christians lost jobs, Christians went hungry.  In some places churches had to close their doors because they couldn’t pay their bills.  These Christians needed courage to keep going.  Christians aren’t immune to trouble but we can find courage to go on.

In the first century, Christianity was considered dangerous, in part, because Christians took it so seriously.  Had they embraced a live-and-let-live attitude toward religion they would have never known persecution or opposition.  Instead, they chose to proclaim Christ as Lord, to insist he was absolute deity who had sovereignty over all creation.  For this they were despised.

If you see some similarities between that first-century world and ours, don’t be surprised.  You’re not the first.  We face similar challenges.

What was the source of the encouragement which enabled them to stand firm and work hard for Christ?  Where do we find the same encouragement? 

That encouragement is rooted in an understanding of who Christ is and what he has accomplished. Is there a secret to experiencing spiritual confidence and hope?  Yes, Christ.  But the secret is no secret.  It has been revealed wherever Christ is preached.  It is known by all who truly trust him.

The church that truly proclaims Christ is a place of encouragement.  In such a place you learn of the One who can bring you through the toughest times.  You can encounter the One who will stay with you when the going gets tough.  You will be surrounded by those who have—in his Name—pledged to love as he loved.

II

WOULDN’T YOU LIKE A CHURCH THAT IS

A COMMUNITY UNITED BY LOVE?

“…welded together in love…”

There’s a lot of hate in this world.  The church should be a place where love is the hallmark, a place where you will be loved—warts and all.

Weymouth’s translation of phrase “knit together in love” is a strong one.  It is an attempt to grasp the intensity of the language Paul used.  Those who are part of a healthy church possess a love which united them despite personality differences, economic differences, ethnic differences.  

There seems to be a natural progression here.  A church which continues to be encouraged by the message of Christ will become a community bound by love.

Paul understood that such a church would possess a solidarity and unity which would keep it together in the toughest times.  For this reason, Paul labored to teach believers to love God and to love each other.  For this reason, Paul struck swiftly and hard at anything which threatened unity.

By contrast, the false teachers were trying to create a divided community, a community of spiritual "haves” and “have nots.”  If these teachers had triumphed, they would have created a group of “Super Christians” who had been taught “secret doctrines” and who had supposedly had special, mystical experiences which made them superior to ordinary Christians, who, in turn, would have been regarded as second-class citizens in the Kingdom.  Love and unity are the first casualties in such a situation. 

Next to fall will be the church’s integrity and its appeal to men and women who know their need of grace. 

In the face of this threat, Paul prayed that these Christians would continue to see the binding power of love at word.  The Colossian church had people from Jewish, Greek, Roman, and other backgrounds.  They had been welded together by their common commitment to Christ.  A modern day example might be those Churches in Israel where Christians of Jewish and Christians of Palestinian backgrounds worship together.  That’s the power of love.

Several years ago, Josh McDowell said the two greatest fears of most young people is that they will never be loved and that they will never be able to love.  When the church is what it should be, those fears will be silenced.

There’s a lot of practical theology in the little song which says:

“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord:

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

III

WOULDN’T YOU LIKE A CHURCH THAT IS

A COMMUNITY KNOWN FOR SOUNDNESS?

My purpose is that

… they may know the

mystery of God, namely, Christ, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of

wisdom and knowledge. [4] I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by

fine-sounding arguments. [5] For though I am absent from you in body, I am

present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how

firm your faith in Christ is.

In our day, a lot of people are sure of one thing:  They are not sure of anything.  They long for a solid footing.  They yearn for sound beliefs.  The church should be a place of soundness.

Such soundness is manifested in two area. 

To begin with there is soundness of doctrine. Of course, Paul never implies that merely being able to articulate the cognitive content of the Christian faith makes one a Christian;  being a Christian implies a relationship with Christ, generated by the Spirit in response to our repentance and faith.  Still, the health of a church may be tested, in part, by what that church believes and teaches. This is true because what we believe is part of the “mystery” God has revealed to us, the mystery God wants to shape our world-view..

To underscore this Paul used three words to refer to the church’s doctrinal understanding.   Each of them suggests something about the nature and character of what we believe.

*                       God gives the capacity to apprehend the truth.  That’s implied by the word “knowledge.”  God wants us to understand what he is doing in the world, to grasp how Christ is at the center of his plan.  So, he gives us the capacity to understand.  Does this mean you  must become a theologian?  No, but it does mean that you can understand what you need to understand to find salvation and certainty in Christ. 

*                      God gives the capacity to apply the truth.  That’s implied by the word “understanding.”  Here’s an important fact about Christian doctrine.  It is never intended to be knowledge for the sake of knowledge.  Christian truth is to be applied to life.  God gives believers the insight needed to give the truth practical expression in daily life.

*                      God gives the capacity to argue for the truth.  That’s implied by the word “wisdom.”  Throughout history there are those who would challenge God’s truth.  In a healthy church, there are those who can speak up in its favor, those who can defend it and show how it speaks to our deepest concerns.  In almost every great revival in the church, there were those specially gifted to defend and speak up for the truth.

In a beautiful image Paul reminds the Colossians that their exploration of the truth will never exhaust the “treasures” found in Christ.  Some are concerned because Paul says this “wisdom and knowledge” is “hidden.”  They shouldn’t be.  It doesn’t matter if something is hidden if you know where to look.  Paul has told us where to look.

We also need to remember that the soundness which marks a healthy church is manifested in soundness of devotion.  (4-6)

From the earliest days of the church there have been those who would try to exalt their ideas and theories to the level of gospel-truth.    Some of these ideas might be pure speculation, some of them may be wild guesses based on limited information given in the scripture.  All of them had the potential to distract from the truth.

The false teachers at Colossae, whoever they may have been, were gifted talkers.  Paul says they were able to “deceive…by fine sounding arguments.”  As Taylor translates it, they used “smooth talk.”  Somehow, as bizarre as their notions may have been, they made them sound plausible.  I have no doubt that none of them began their appeals by saying, “Okay, before we start, you have to throw that Bible away, you have to forget about Jesus.” 

No, they wouldn’t have done that. 

In the face to this threat to the Colossians, Paul called for a resolute devotion to Christ.

The very language he used in verse 3 implies the rational for this.  As McDonald points out the modifier ‘all’ excludes every other exception.  “There is no other ‘treasure-house of knowledge or wisdom but Christ’…”  That’s why Paul is so concerned about the impact of the false-teachers.  He knew that to be talked out of Christ is to be talked into error.

With this in mind Paul calls the Colossians to be like soldiers standing with an “unbroken front” for Christ.  The enemy, in this case any who would try to break through to create confusion and doubt, is skillful and relentless.   The enemy’s goal is to undermine confidence in Christ the Savior and, consequently, to undermine confidence in our salvation. 

It’s essential for those committed to Christ to maintain the integrity of their initial commitment.   Once you’ve trusted Christ, there is never a proper time to switch our allegiance.

Paul was pleased that, despite the threats of false teachings, most of the Colossians were standing strong.  He can say to them, “Just as you once trusted Christ as your all-sufficient Savior, keep on trusting in him.” 

You can only know this stability when you maintain an ongoing relationship with Christ.  It begins as we are “rooted” in him.  Simply put, we rest on the work Christ has done for us in the past—forgiving, redeeming, reconciling, adopting, and sanctifying us.  Then we seek to be “built up” in him through which we keep our faith fresh and new.  In this way we gain new insight and understanding of our salvation.

Paul sees Christ as the beginning, middle, and end of our faith.  Despite the enticing chatter of twenty centuries of false teachers, we never outgrow our need for Christ.  Healthy Christians in a healthy church understand that.

When you realize you will never outgrow their need for Christ you’ll realize

 Christ will provide all your needs.  Don’t be surprised if you burst into joyous thanksgiving.

At least some of that thanksgiving will be because you’ve found a church you longed to find.

Proclaiming Confidently

Col. 1:24-29

The crisis of confidence faced by the Colossians may have caused the church to lose sight of its role in the world.  Throughout the history of the church, Christians have generally agreed the church has four great tasks:  Worship, Proclamation, Nurture, and Service.  Either directly or by implication, Paul addresses each of these tasks in his letter to the Colossians.  He has already modeled confident worship before the Colossians.  Now he models the way a confident church out to proclaim the gospel.

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Oswald Hoffman—a great communicator himself —wrote of the imperative need for the church to continue proclaiming the gospel:

“Without continued proclamation of the Good News in Christ the church would never have got off the ground:   In a generation it would have become extinct.”

In an age when the very notion of announcing any message with passion, authority, and conviction seems strange, Paul reminds us that the church has an ongoing responsibility to proclaim the Gospel.

He does so by pointing to his own ministry of proclamation.

Before we examine what he says in detail, I need to talk about the elephant in the room.

I have always found verse 24 difficult to understand.  In no way could Paul be saying his suffering is redemptive.   But what does he mean? 

Paul seems to be speaking of his call which came when he first encountered Christ on the road to Damascus.  Remember how Paul had been feverishly persecuting the young church, then he was confronted by the risen Christ.  Christ asked, “Why do you persecute me?”  Somehow Christ was so intimately linked to his church that when it suffered He suffered. 

Could this be what Paul has in mind, that the suffering of those doing the work of spreading the Gospel is felt by Christ so that it is his suffering as well?  More to the point, is he saying that the suffering of the church is necessary if it is to bring Christ’s message into the world?  Certainly, in light of history, it’s rare for the church to go long without knowing persecution somewhere.

I think Paul means the accomplishment of Christ’s purpose in and for the church requires those who are willing to suffer with and for the church.  Throughout the history of the church, the spread of the gospel has called for men and women who love the cause of Christ enough to suffer.

They might have suffered physically as did Paul and the martyrs.  They might have suffered isolation and loneliness as do missionaries who carry the gospel to remote regions and new peoples.  They might have suffered humiliation and ridicule as do Christians in many places.  They might have suffered the loss of opportunity as do Christians in places like communist China and Muslim lands.

Whatever the situation, the faithful suffering of these Christians has helped the advance of the Kingdom.  They have advanced the Kingdom because they embraced the same commission Paul embraced.

Paul’s commission charged him to “proclaim the word of God in fullness.”   The pursuit of this mission became his ruling passion.  His intensity is captured in verse 29:  “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.”

Here is a commitment which refuses to be casual:  “I labor, struggling…”  As the Weymouth translation puts it, “I labor with all my strength.”  It is a labor which is familiar with bone-weariness.

Here is a commitment which relies upon God’s power.  Paul knew his energy alone would be insufficient for the task to which Christ called him, he needed God’s own power.  He saw that power at work in his life and freely acknowledges it. 

Paul was never a boastful man, never sought the spotlight.  He tells the Colossians so much about his commitment to the ministry of proclamation because he wanted them to know the church’s message is important.  The church has the stewardship of a message which can change the world, but only if the world hears it.

In the midst of talking about his ministry, Paul touches on every issue which should matter to a church doing the work of proclamation.

We can evaluate our ministry in light of those concerns.

I

WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH THE MESSAGE

Most of the first chapter of Colossians is concerned with the message of the church.  Paul knew the the crisis of confidence being faced by the Colossian Christians was rooted in their doubts and questions about the message which had been proclaimed to them when the church was founded.  If they would regain their confidence, it was essential  they return to that message.

1.  We need a clear understanding of the content of the message.  Paul sums it up simply when he says, “Him we proclaim.”  For Paul, proclamation must focus on Christ.  Christ is the only legitimate message of the church. 

*                    God’s self-revelation finds its clearest expression in Jesus Christ.

*                    Salvation from sin and fulfillment in life have their source in Jesus Christ.

*                    Jesus Christ has conquered death, a victory we may share because of our relationship with him.

*                    God will bring history to its appropriate end through the agency of Jesus Christ.

The message of Christ is summed up in the word “gospel.”  I’ve always liked William Tyndale’s definition of the word “gospel.”  Tyndale, who produced one of the earliest English translations of the New Testament in the 16^th century, said “Euangelio (that we cal gospel) is a greke worde, and signyfyth good, mery, glad, and joyfull tydings, that maketh [those who hear it] synge, duance and leape for joye.”

When the church makes something other than Christ the subject of its proclamation, it abdicates its appeal and loses its power.  The Colossians—and Christians of every age—were tempted to substitute a message of legalism for a message of grace.  Now,  would that make anyone want to sing, dance, or leap with joy?

2.  We need a clear understanding of the character of the message. 

It is “the mystery kept secret for ages…but now disclosed.”  The word “mystery” is an important one in the New Testament.  God’s mysteries are secrets in that we could not deduce their content on our own—our sin and human inadequacy keeps us from perceiving their meaning—but we, nonetheless, know the content of those mysteries because God has chosen to make them known.  This is an important note on the character of Paul’s proclamation:  it is God’s own revelation.  This is a secret God wouldn’t keep to himself.

The heart of the mystery we’ve come to know as the gospel is God’s plan to bring salvation through the Incarnate Son.  This mystery had three aspects:

·         God would accomplish his goal through the death of Christ on the cross.

·         Through Christ the Gentiles would be invited to enjoy the blessing of salvation.

·         Through Christ the entire created universe would ultimately be reconciled to God.

 Although the shadowy outlines of God’s intention and purpose had been known for generations, the full meaning and intent of his will was not understood until the new age inaugurated by Christ.

When we have the proper grasp of the content and character of our message how we understand our ministry of proclamation is transformed.

That the very content of the gospel came from God is a severe warning against succumbing to the temptation to change or alter it.   This is why Paul reminds us he had been called to proclaim “the word of God in its fullness.”

That the very content of the gospel came from God should bolster our confidence as we proclaim it to our age or any age.

II

WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH METHODS.

We live in a “how to” culture.  We buy manuals, hoping hone our skills at woodworking, gardening, computer repair, interior decorating, and just about every other conceivable topic.  You should know they’re even available for those involved in the ministry of the church.  Alongside stuffy books on homiletics (the art of preaching) you can find simple booklets on how to prepare a sermon.  You can find such how-to books on teaching Sunday school, conducting music, leading a committee, and even praying in public.  It’s a reflection of our times.

Paul nowhere provides a manual on how to minister.  But in this verse he lays the foundation for an important principle.  When he tells the Colossians that his proclamation of Christ involves “admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom…” he is suggesting  we need to embrace methods which appeal to every type of person.

“Admonishing” is probably a better translation than “warning,” although the idea of warning is included in the word’s meaning.  The note of warning is coupled with an element of instruction.  I’ve seen one translation which renders the word as “counseling” but that seems a little too tame.  I think there is a note of passion in this word. 

  It reminds me of a comment attributed to Lincoln, “When I hear a man preach, I may not believe what he says but I want him to believe it.”  No one who heard Paul preach ever doubted he believed what he was saying. 

We’re not told all the details but admonishing must involve confronting and challenging others about false beliefs or corrupt lifestyles.  It’s not a style of proclamation that is for everyone but it is one which is sometimes needed in a world in rebellion against God.

At the same time Paul also lists “teaching” as one of his methods.  While some would have responded to a passionate admonition, others would have been more responsive to the reasoned appeal of teaching which involved discussion and dialogue.

The key phrase Paul uses in discussing his method is “with all wisdom.”  In using it Paul doesn’t mean he came away sounding wise and erudite like the false teachers in Colossae.  Instead, he means he took care in choosing his method.  This is done with wisdom and insight into human nature and need.  No one method would work for everyone.  Imagine, two thousand years ago Paul knew what some are just discovering:  People have different learning styles.

As we discuss methods of proclamation we might tend to think exclusively of preaching.  The truth is, proclamation—sharing the good news about Jesus Christ—involves everyone in the church.  Part of the genius of the early church was the confident enthusiasm that made every believer a missionary.

When the pastor alone proclaims the gospel, it is available in only one translation.  When each Christian takes up the responsibility, it is available in a multitude of versions.

And that responsibility takes a multitude of forms.  The church proclaims from the pulpit, in the Sunday school classroom, from the choir loft, on the street corner, in the break room where one worker quietly shares the faith with another.

III

WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH MOTIVES

Of course, we proclaim the gospel because we wish to call men and women to belief in Christ.  But Paul is more specific in defining his motivation.  He says  he proclaims the gospel “so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” 

Paul’s choice of words is directly related to the situation in the Colossian church.  It’s seen in his insistence that he wished to proclaim the gospel to “everyone.”  The false teachers who were harassing the Colossian church believed their message was for the elite few.  Paul believed it was for everyone.

At the same time, he defines his goal in terms which would have struck home with the Colossians.  He said he wished to present everyone who responded to the gospel as “perfect or mature in Christ.”  Frankly, I prefer the translation found in some marginal readings: “complete in Christ.”

Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase captures the ideas of maturity and being complete in Christ.  He renders the verse:  “We teach…so that we can bring each person to maturity.  To be mature is to be basic.  Christ!  No more, no less.”

The goal is not simply conversion; it is the attainment of a healthy relationship in Christ.  The notion of being complete in Christ implies that all the believer needs may be found in Christ.   The same thought is found in 2:9-10 where Paul says, “In Christ, all of God dwells and you are compete in him.”

Paul was taking a direct shot at the false teachers who were saying it wasn’t enough to trust Christ, that you needed Christ plus something else.  It doesn’t matter if that plus is followed by a call to follow a list of taboos, an esoteric experience, or belief in doctrines not taught to the church at large, such teaching misses the truth that Christ alone makes us complete.  He alone makes us able to stand before God, knowing our sins are forgiven.

Even though Paul had never met the Colossian Christians he could not stand by and allow the crisis of confidence become either a full-fledged commitment to heresy or a the source of a life marked by fear and questioning.  Paul wanted each man and woman who responded to the gospel to have the confidence which would enable him or her to have the peace, joy, and hope which is every believer’s birthright.

That ought to be our motive as well.  Why?

*                      The believer who is confident of being complete in Christ will be a living testimony to the greatness of God’s grace in providing salvation.

*                      The believer who is confident of being complete in Christ is freed from the pursuit of self-generated righteousness, freed from the self-serving tendency to see serving others as a way to enhance their standing with God.

*                      The believer who is confident of being complete in Christ will be content with his or her role in the body of Christ, freed from the jealous ambition which seeks position and prestige as tokens of God’s favor.

*                      The believer who is confident of being complete in Christ will be especially on-guard against any false teaching which would erode that confidence.

*                      The believer who is confident of being complete in Christ will be eager to proclaim the gospel which calls everyone to that same experience.

When we understand this motive, we will understand why the real work of proclamation is not accomplished by commando evangelism.  We can’t just sweep into an area, share a few verses, lead in a memorized prayer, and then depart to prepare for another raid on an unsuspecting prospect.  A commitment to evangelize involves a commitment to the evangelized.

CONCLUSION

The church is called to proclaim.  The church does this work in many and varied ways.

Maybe you’ve traveled the South and seen those faded old signs on the road side, the ones which simply say, “Jesus Saves.”  Whoever erected those signs was committed to the ministry of proclamation.

Maybe you’ve overheard a fellow-passenger on a plane flight quietly witness to a seat mate.  That man or woman who risked being the target of rudeness or ridicule was committed to the ministry of proclamation.

Maybe you’ve read a notice about a Christian scholar who was coming to a local campus to present the intellectual and factual arguments for Christianity.  That scholar who has spent hours wrestling with the best minds in philosophy, science, and history is committed to the ministry of proclamation.

Maybe you’ve seen a news story about a young couple, recently graduated from college, who are planning to leave family and friends to live in a remote corner of the world to serve as missionaries.  That young couple is committed to the ministry of proclamation.

Maybe you know a grandmother who spends her days writing letters to young women in prison, letters telling them of God’s unconditional love for them.  That grandmother is committed to the ministry of proclamation.

How would anyone know if you were committed to the ministry of proclamation?

Anyone making such a commitment may be sure of these truths:

Anyone committed to the ministry of proclamation will somehow suffer for their commitment, sometimes at the hands of the gospel’s enemies.

Anyone committed to the ministry of proclamation will see people of all sorts respond to the wonderful story of the gospel.

One more thing is true:  Anyone committed to the ministry of proclamation will welcome your commitment.