Proof Positive
Proof Positive by Rev. L. John Gable
April 5, 2020 (Palm Sunday)
Karl Barth, perhaps a name familiar to many of us, pastor, professor, theologian, was arguably one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the 20th century. A native of Switzerland, he studied, pastored and taught in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich and was one of the founders of the Confessing Church movement which spoke against the German church’s allegiance with the growing Nazi movement and its nationalistic socialism. He was one of the drafters of the Barmen Confession in 1934, which in the opening paragraph declares, “If you find that we are speaking contrary to Scripture, then do not listen to us! But if you find that we are taking our stand upon Scripture, then let no fear or temptation keep you from treading with us the path of faith and obedience to the Word of God, in order that God’s people may be of one mind upon the earth and that we in faith (may) experience what (Jesus) himself has said: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Therefore, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Barth grounded his theology exclusively on the authority of Scripture and the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and in the ensuing years he wrote his massive Church Dogmatics which grew year by year out of his class lectures and sermons eventually filling four volumes in 12 parts, with 500-700 pages each. It is said of Barth that “he never had an unpublished thought.”
One quick side bar on that, when I was in seminary we were required to read extensive sections of the Church Dogmatics which was no easy task in and of itself, kind of like as one has put it “chewing on a piece of tough bread”, but as I recall the most frustrating part of that experience for me was, after having read page after page of that dense text, he would then offer a summary paragraph… written in German!
All this to say, in 1962, during his one visit to America, Professor Barth was asked by a student following one of his lectures, how he would summarize the essence of the millions of words he had published. The room was silent as Barth reflected on his answer, then said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” So simple any child could learn it, perhaps this was the first “confession of faith” many of us did learn and it may well be the “default” assurance of faith which holds us through all of life. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Profoundly simple, yet simply profound.
But, how do we know that, really? Yes, the Bible tells us so, most assuredly; but what does it tell us about the love of Jesus? That is the question we will explore on this Palm Sunday together.
The starting point of the Christian faith is that God reveals Himself fully in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the One we call the Christ. As the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians, “He is the image of the invisible God…and in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (1:15,19). A remarkable claim to be sure; that in a man God has fully revealed Himself. At the time of His baptism, Matthew records that “the heavens opened and the Spirit descended like a dove on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is My Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased”(3:16). John opens his Gospel by saying that “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. He then summarizes this truth most plainly when he writes, “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life”(3:16). The Word of God, Jesus Christ, is the full expression of God’s love.
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is indeed the central message of the Bible and the cornerstone teaching of the Christian faith, but again, I ask, how do we know that? Of course we can look at the life and ministry of Jesus; at the way He lived His life, in total abandonment and submission to God, and at the lessons He taught about love of neighbor, turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, forgiving 70 times 7 times, and I could go on citing Jesus’ teachings about love of God and love of neighbor. When asked, He summarized the whole of the Judeo-Christian teaching by saying, “These two are the greatest commandments. Love of God and love of neighbor are a summary of all the Law and the prophets.”
Yes, but talk is easy, isn’t it? There have been many through the centuries who have professed “love” as being the great mandate; however, as one has said, “Love talked about is easily turned aside, but love demonstrated is irresistible.” So, what sets Jesus apart from all the rest? Again, look closely at His life and ministry. He didn’t just talk about love, He demonstrated it, which sets Him apart and makes Him undeniable and irresistible. Look at every encounter He had: with sinners and tax collectors, prostitutes and lepers, the demon possessed and untouchables; even with scribes and Pharisees and other religious leaders of the day who were clearly out to get Him. Every encounter was an expression of His love for them, even those with whom He most strongly disagreed. His desire for them was repentance and change, an abandonment of empty religion and a return to the love of the Father. Jesus welcomed all and turned no one away, regardless of who they were, where they’d been or what they’d done…a message we need to hear Him say still to us today. Jesus didn’t just talk about love, He demonstrated it; which brings us to the events of this day called Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday.
To bring us up to speed in the story, Jesus and His disciples have been up in the far northeast corner of Palestine at a place called Caesarea Philippi. It is there that Jesus asks His essential question, “Who do you say that I am?” and Peter gives his now famous answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus needed to hear that confession because it gave Him the assurance that at least His disciples understood who He was, at least as best as they could at that point, and on that assurance the whole focus of Jesus’ ministry changes. Up to this point He has spent His entire ministry up in Galilee, preaching and teaching, healing and performing miracles, demonstrating the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God, all by design away from the religious center of Jerusalem. But hearing Peter’s confession Jesus now begins the final phase of His ministry in order to fulfill the primary purpose of His coming, that being, His sacrificial death for the sins of the world. Multiple times as Jesus begins His journey to Jerusalem He tells His disciples why He is going and what He is doing, and what would happen once they got there. He tells them, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised again” (Luke 9:21-22). Despite the disciples’ resistance and refusal to accept this teaching, Jesus was undeterred; He knew the purpose of His mission and ministry. He knew He was the “suffering servant” spoken of by the prophet Isaiah centuries before; “the lamb being led to the slaughter; the One wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole and by His bruises we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5,7).
Friends, as much as we like to talk about the importance of Jesus’ teachings and healings and miracles (all of which are important to understanding who Jesus is), the Gospel writers focus primarily on the importance of His death and resurrection. As the Apostle Paul begins to share the Good News of Jesus he says, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (I Cor. 2:2). Not Him preaching and teaching and healing, not even Him resurrected, but Him crucified. Look carefully at each of the four Gospels. Take notice how much of each of their writings is given to the events of His final days, the final week of His life, the week marked by the day we remember and celebrate today as Palm Sunday when He entered in to Jerusalem, when He entered into His passion.
The city was filled with visitors come to celebrate the festival of Passover, the festival remembering God’s great deliverance of the Children of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt centuries before. Jesus led His little band of followers in to the city to the shouts of “Hosanna and hallelujah, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” yet by the end of the week those same chants would turn to shouts of “Crucify Him!” Unimaginable and unacceptable to His disciples, Jesus knew exactly that this would happen, He had told them it would happen, and He willingly accepted His fate. Jesus showed His love by willingly assuming the mantle of Messiahship, the burden of being “the sacrificial lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus didn’t just talk about love, He demonstrated it.
On Thursday of that week He celebrated the Passover feast with His closest friends in a borrowed upper room. Reciting the ancient liturgy for that meal of remembrance He suddenly altered the words when He broke the bread, saying, “This is My body broken for you” and when He poured the cup of blessing, saying “This is My blood of the new covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Today we call that day Maundy Thursday because during that meal John records that Jesus gave His disciples a new “mandate”, that they, that we, should “love one another as I have loved you. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). He knew that “love talked about is easily turned aside, but love demonstrated is irresistible.”
At the conclusion of that meal, Jesus left the city and walked over to a garden called Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives and there He took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John, and asked them to sit with Him while He prayed. It was there that the Roman guards arrested Him after Judas, one of the twelve, had betrayed Him. Remarkably, Jesus put up no resistance. He knew this was all a part of the plan. He knew His God-ordained purpose.
After a night-long trial before a mock jury presided over by the chief priest and an early morning audience with the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy and sedition and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah, “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth” (53:7). And there on a wooden Roman cross Jesus offered His greatest act of selfless, saving love; a love not talked about, but demonstrated.
In the 5th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans he writes, “But God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” God PROVES His love for us in Jesus Christ: in His life, in His teaching and ministry, and in His suffering and death. “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is the message we are invited to ponder and reflect on this Holy Week because three days later that love was made “proof positive” when God raised Jesus from the dead! About that we will talk more next week.