Genesis 10-11: Tower of Babel

Pastor Scott Jonas

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

            I hope you are studying Genesis along with me.  You can follow along with our Daily bible readings.  You will see a pattern emerge.  Gift, Sin, Grace.  Gift, Sin, Grace.  God gives a gift to human beings.  They abuse that gift, we call that sin.  That comes with consequences.  But God saves the day by his mercy and grace.  Gift, Sin Grace.

            We say that in Genesis 1-4.  Gift:  All of creation was a good gift to Adam and Eve.  Sin:  the first couple abused God’s generosity by using it for their own selfish purposes.  They were kicked out of the Garden and forced to live a hard life apart from their creator.  Grace:  The Lord does not take their life but is patient and promises a Savior to make all of creation right again.  Then there is the same pattern in the Flood story.  God told people to fill the world and care for this gift.  But they instead filled the world with sin and violence which meant that God had to bring the flood in order to stop the violence.  This breaks God’s heart.  But God in his mercy, promises to never flood the whole earth again.  Noah and his Family are saved and the world is on a better path.

            Today.  Genesis 11.  After Noah, the world is given a second chance.  He again tells them to spread out and fill every land.  It is a present to new generations.  It has been wiped clean of the violence and savagery.  But over time the new generations create new sins.  Instead of destroying each other they decide to with one voice to join forces against God.  The Lord must create another path.  He transforms their one language into many so they can’t organize greater and greater evil.  They will not be unified again until the savior comes.

            When God initially gave the earth to Adam and Eve he said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”

Then after the Fall Sin and the Flood, God told Noah and his sons, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.  6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,  for God made man in his own image.  7 And you,[a] be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”  Do you see the contrast between before sin and after sin?  Everything is more complicated.

Gift, Sin, Grace.  The Tower of Babel Story starts in the plains of the land of Shinar, the Mesopotamia valley.  People were supposed to spread out over the whole earth, but they don’t.  The go to the nearest plush valley and stake a claim.  They don’t want a mission from God; they want a cushy life like back in the Garden.  They refuse to go to the ends of the earth in order to steward the earth.  They want control of their destiny.  God wanted them to spread out so people could have a bounty of resources on every continent.  Instead they bunch up  around the first best water source.  The rest of creation will have to fend for itself.

So they ignore the words spoken to Noah, “Go and fill.”  They do the opposite.  “Go and build” makes you visualize bands of people spreading out.  Instead they stop and build upwards.  They needed a rural society to produce plenty of food.  But they started an urban society that would fail.  God gifted them a new technology, the brick.  Instead of making a house for every man woman and child they went to work on a Tower.

It was probably more of a pyramid.  The Ziggurat pyramids are known from Ur, Babylon and other Mesopatamian cities.  This architecture dates back to the 3^rd millennium B.C.  Why a tower or pyramid?  They say in the text, “Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be dispersed over the whole earth.”  It’s curious.  Some speculate that they were trying to build a tower up into the heavens where God lives.  In this theory they wanted salvation by force than as a gift from above.  This might be true but the Hebrew word for Heavens can be translated sky, stars or where God dwells.  Another possibility is that they wanted a monument to their own magnificence.  A final possibility is they wanted flood insurance.  If they don’t trust God to keep his promise then a Tower is the perfect tool to avoid God sending torrential rain, killing all of your people and dispersing their bodies to the ends of the earth.

            God gives them a new technology, the brick.  Before bricks, buildings could only be one story high.  Must have imported huge oven.  Bitumen as mortar. Imported from far away

Ususally used nothing or simple mud.  Not right kind of stones or trees.  But now they could go much higher.  Like all gifts from God, this new technology can be used for good or for evil.  They could have use to God’s glory, building houses for every family.  But instead they use it to make a name for themselves.  They go against the Lord’s will and think only of themselves.

            Think of all of the technologies mankind has received from God.  How have we used used it as a society?  How have you used it as an individual?  The automobile?  New drugs?  The computer?  The discovery of genes?  What’s another new technology that can be a gift from God of can be used for evil?

            So they build a tower, to thumb their nose at God.  Let’s see you send a flood bigger than our tower!  They are trying to God proof their lives.  What do we need God for if we have the latest technology?  That is actually the modern Gospel.  Technology will save us.  You see it in most movies.  It was in the movie Black Panther, “If we create an advanced society full of cutting edge technology then we won’t need God or faith.”  Those are antiquated, outdated notions.

            God realizes all this.  They refuse to listen to his original words, “Fill the earth and take care of it.”  They refuse to learn from the fall of Adam and Eve.  They don’t want to follow Noah instead they have to learn everything all over again.  It seems like every generation has to realize the same serious lessons.

            Creation needs another breaker.  Remember a breaker is when a system needs a limit so an emergency stop gap is built.  A Sin breaker was built that limited the lifespan of humans.  Otherwise they would have created too much damage.  A Sin breaker was built that brought the flood, so violence would not destroy humanity both the righteous and the unrighteous.  Now a sin breaker is built that turns the one language of humans into many.  This curbs the efficiency of evil.  They can’t organize for bad and for good as their heart desires.  This too is a sad day.  This too must break the heart of the creator.

            So the Lord dispersed them from there to all over the face of the earth and they left the building of the tower and the city, which was called Babel.  They were given a gift, a new technology called the brick.  But they used it for sinful purposes, to avoid following God’s words.  The world is in need of Grace.

            Sometimes in the Bible, the grace comes much later.  In this story it would take thousands of years.  That is how patient is the Lord.  This story, the tower of Babel is sometimes presented in Pentecost.  After, Jesus Ascended into Heaven then something happened.

Genesis 5-9: The Flood

Pastor Scott Jonas

Genesis 5-9

The Flood

Welcome back to the beginning, Genesis.  Last week we covered Genesis 1, everything was created over 7 days by the Words of God and he declared it all good.  Genesis 2, Man is formed from the earth; woman is formed from man.  They are infused with the image of their creator who gives them stewardship over all he made.  Genesis 3, both Adam and Eve spoil creation by defying God and following the serpent’s words.  Genesis 4,  sin’s consequences are extensive.  They lose paradise, easy living, and a close relationship with the Lord.  They gain knowledge of evil, trauma, and a murderous civilization that hits close to home.  Their son Cain, viciously kills his brother, Able. 

      Today we go through the next five chapter which center on the Flood story. I read a tweet from Ruth Buzzie yesterday, “Remember that the Titanic was built by experts and the Arc was built by amateurs.”  We could also say the Titanic was built by moderns and the Arc was built by primatives.  That should humble us.

In Genesis 5, the violence and effects of original sin are worsening.  There were those who were sons of God who lived in his image but they were outnumbered by the sons of man.  “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  Understand how extreme the situation became.  As bad as we think the world is today, it was worse in the days of Noah.  Despite everything we see on the news, there was no human institutions organized to restrict sinful behavior.  There was no church, no formal government, no rule of law, no police, no hospitals, no charities.  It was savagery beyond our comprehension.  A descendant of the murderer Cain was named Lamech.  He bragged, “You wives of mine hear my voice.  I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for insulting me.  If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then mine is seventy- sevenfold.”  Lamech is the Bible’s first known slave owner.

      The plan is in place to send a Savior.  It was decided before the first seven days.  But that is a long term solution.  God needs to do something now about the decaying state of the world.  If he doesn’t, humanity could go extinct.  Wars, slavery, disease and famine will wipe them out.  Those are the natural consequences of their decisions to prey on one another.  If that happens then the righteous will get wiped out with the unrighteous.  Those trying to live in the image of God will be wiped away along with those who only live as a son of man.

      In Genesis chapter six we read a shocking verse.  Maybe it goes against the way you think about God.  God doesn’t need anything, he is completely at peace with in the Trinity.  He has all of the Love and peace available.  We know that God is all powerful as evidenced by his creation of everything seen and unseen.  It would seem that nothing can hurt a peaceful, all powerful God.

      Genesis 6:6, “And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”  That’s the ESV version.  The NIV translates, “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.”  Another says “he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart.”  How is it possible to break the creator’s heart?

      God is all powerful, nothing in creation happens unless he allows it.  And God is all knowing, nothing surprises Him.  Yet, when God created other beings he opened himself up to disappointment, rejection and pain.  What God is experiencing in Genesis is very similar to what Jesus experiences on earth.  God didn’t have to create the world but he did and that made himself vulnerable.  Jesus didn’t have to be born of Mary but he did and that made him vulnerable.  Love makes you vulnerable.

      What can God do to restrict sin before people exterminate themselves?  Modern people look at the Flood story and decry the barbarism of a God that would wipe out most of the population.  It comes down to a choice.  Do you trust the loving creator in his plan to restore all things?  When you look at the options it becomes clearer that he chose the most humane choice.

      What are God’s options to stop the world from suicide?  Option #1.  He could simply remove free will.  God could look at the violence and say ,”Enough.  I gave you my image.  I gave you the world to take care of including the land, oceans and animals, but especially each other.  You’ve decided to make the destructive choice over and over.  Therefore I am removing your ability to make moral choices.”  Then he would have to do something supernatural to remove his image from us.  We would be reduced to animals, who can’t make moral choices.  But at least they don’t kill for the thrill of it.  God rejected the option to remove free will.

      Option #2.  God could have ended the whole thing.  Rebooted the system.  Wiped away the good with the bad.  He could have started over.  Have you ever done this with something you created?  Iv’e written whole sermons and thrown it out and started over.  Maybe you’ve planted a garden that went south and it all had to be ripped up.  Maybe you started a home project like installing a sink and at some point you said, “There has been too many mistakes, I’ve got to bring in a plummer to do this all over again.  My family likes crocheting.  I’ve seen them work for a couple of hours, only to realize that they missed a stich.  They unravel the whole string of yarn and begin again with the first stich. God could have unraveled the whole string of creation and began again.

      But God refuses to end the whole thing.  That is because he was not surprised by his unrepentant creation.  God made no mistake here.  Everything was created good.  But created things have minds of their own.  They can fall.  So God’s plan all along was to continually recreate creation.  It needed to constantly be reformed so that it didn’t decay beyond repair and to prepare it for the Savior.

      So God chooses the Flood.  He calls the one righteous family who he has given faith.  He tells Noah that the violence is growing too much.  It has to end.  Noah and his family are to make an arc, shaped like this sanctuary only much bigger.  Imagine.

      God doesn’t give Noah the whole plan, just like he doesn’t give us the whole plan.  All Noah knows is that God is going to stop the violence by flood therefore Noah’s job is to build an arc according to the Lord’s specifications.  His family and a sampling of the animals will be spared.  That is all he knows.  He doesn’t know the rest of the story like we do.  Noah has a choice like we all do, Do you trust the loving creator in his plan to restore all things?

      The plan could be to just save the animals.  Noah and his family are merely the necessary help until the flood is over.  When the water recedes then their purpose is fulfilled and they are no longer needed.  The world will continue without people.  Noah doesn’t know anything more than build the arc and fill it.

      You and I have so much more information than Noah.  We don’t even know if He had the story of Genesis 1-4.  We have the complete old and new testaments.  Yet our task is as simple as Noah’s.  Build God’s church and fill it.

      We aren’t given any dialogue from Noah to God.  Nor do we get his inner thoughts.  But he is human.  He must have questioned God.  He must have wondered how this all is going to turn out.  His family must have thought at times he was out of his mind. 

      But together as a family and God’s people they listen to the Lord’s words and follow them.  They see the violence rise around them and they don’t despair but stick to the plan.  Build the Arc and fill it.  Then it rains from above and water erupts from below.  Everything happened as God foretold.  They are in that Arc with the animals.  It is almost like the Garden all over again.  Man and woman caring for their fellow creatures, maybe even naming them.  The Flood wipes away the rest of creation, including the violence.  It breaks the Lord’s heart.

We know the rest of the story. 

      You and I are here because the Lord sent that Flood.  If he hadn’t maybe creation implodes in violence.  The Lord wanted you to be a part of his creation.  He wanted you to be born and baptized with water.  The water of Baptism wipes away your sin as well.  The words of Jesus are said over you.  From that day on you have a choice to make, Do I trust my loving creator in his plan to restore me and all things?

Genesis 1-4: In the Beginning

Pastor Scott Jonas

Beginnings

Genesis 1-4

4/14/18

            “In the Beginning”

            Over the next few months, we are going on a deep dive into the book of Genesis.  Next to the Gospels, Genesis is the church’s most foundational reading.   If you get Genesis wrong, then you will get everything that comes after it wrong.  If you don’t understand the truths in the beginning then you will not understand Jesus.  Genesis is the opening chapter to the history of Salvation.  You can’t skip the opening chapter and expect to follow the dramatic reveal at the end of the story.  Easter is that dramatic reveal. Today, we are going back to the beginning so we can appreciate the resurrection.

            I say the “History of Salvation” on purpose.  Genesis is history.  Francis Schaeffer wrote a book the year I was born called “Genesis in Space and Time.”  Schaeffer wants to build the case that Genesis is rooted in history.  The events that are described happened at a real place at a real time.  Moses speaks of Genesis as history that took place before he was born.  Jesus speaks of Genesis as history.  When Jesus was teaching on the last days he said, “For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.”  Jesus says the history of the World is from the beginning of creation to Jesus arrival on earth to the end. 

Genesis is history but it is more.  It is also the story of salvation.  It is not just to give us facts and places and names.  Genesis gives us facts and places and names in order to show God’s plan for the world.  He created this heaven and earth and it was good.  His creation rebelled against Him.  He stayed connected to them through his presence and words.  Eventually he would send the Word to be present for the last phase of salvation.  Genesis is the History of Salvation.

Today we focus on the first four chapters of the book.  If you only had these first four chapters you could still know a lot about God’s plan for Salvation.  Chapter 1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth over 6 days and it was good.  Chapter 2, goes into detail how God created man and woman, adam and eve.  They too are good and God creates them in his own image so they can bless the rest of creation.  Chapter 3, the serpent contradicts God’s words and Eve and Adam fall for it.  Sin enters the garden and contaminates the world.  The consequences are death but God promises a savior.  Chapter 4, The first family is thrown into the bleak wilderness where it is a dog eat dog world.  Brother kills brother.  Cain murders Able.  The next generation is worse than the first.  Everything seems to be decaying.  If a savior doesn’t come soon, creation will destroy itself.  That is the first four chapters of the Bible.

Creation’s dire situation doesn’t really change from Genesis chapter 4 until Christ comes in John chapter 1.  Everything seems to be falling apart in the rest of Genesis, as well as the eras of Pentetuch, Judges, the Kings and the prophets.  Moses prayed, If a savior doesn’t come soon, creation will destroy itself.  Joshua, King David and Isaiah all prayed the same prayer.  Come Saviour, your creation desperately needs rescueing.  That is why Genesis 1-4 is so foundational.

Lutherans have always understood this.  We get that the fall is pivotal to understanding Jesus.  Because of Adam and Eve, we need Jesus.  We need his restoration.  If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.”  Adam and Eve sinned which required a new behavior, “repentance.”  Our first ancestors needed to learn to admit their failure, turn the other way and ask God to make them new.  In Genesis 3 we became sinners.

I say this is pivotal for a reason.  A pivot is hinge like on a door.  It connects two objects and allows those two objects to go in different directions.  Genesis chapter 3 is the hinge between a perfect creation and a spoiled creation.  It connects God saying “Creation is good”  and “Creation knows evil.”  Before this pivot point of the serpent, everything is functioning as it was designed.  Afterwards, people can use themselves in ways not prescribed by the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Before the tree of Good and evil, all is bliss.  After, all is misery.

Lutherans recognize this key truth in our teaching and our worship.  The Ten commandments teach that we can’t fully obey God’s words just like Adam didn’t fully obey.  The Lord’s prayer tells us we need to repent just like Eve needed to repent.  In our Lutheran services, we always confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean, we have sinned against the Lord in thought word and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone.  We are sorry that we have not loved God with our whole heart or our neighbors as ourselves.  We recognize that we justly deserve God’s present and eternal punishment.  We plead with the Father for the sake of his son to have mercy on us.”  The need for that confession was pivotal in Genesis 3 and it is still pivotal.

But what if we emphasize Genesis 3 without what comes before or after?  What if we talk about confession without a good creation preceding it and without a redeemer proceeding?  Then we have a hinge without a door and without a frame.  We have something valuable but it is not complete.  We need all three a hinge, a door and a frame.  So too, we need to emphasize a Good creation, the fall and the savior.

Imagine someone asks you how does God feel about humanity.  You remember your catechism, the ten commandments and say, “We fail to Love the Lord with all of our heart and soul and mind.”  You think about the question, “How does God feel about humanity” and  remember Genesis chapter 3.  You say, “God says we are like Adam and eve, sinners who need to repent.”  You remember the worship service and say, “We are by nature sinful and unclean.”  You even remember the news and say, “The world is filled with horrible things.”  All of this is true but it is incomplete. It correctly points to our sin and even our need for a savior but it leaves out the very beginning of the story.  Without the very beginning we get stuck.

In the beginning, it was just the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  There was nothing else.  No universe.  No Angels.  No People.  There was perfect love and unity between the three persons of the trinity.  Imagine an ideal family of three, that has nothing but Light, Affection and Truth.  They didn’t need anything.  But they had so much love that they wanted to share it.  They only way to share it was to create.  They formed light and darkness, planets and stars, land and water, animals and people in order to spread their happiness.  It took seven days to complete this new system.  When God looked at it all, he smiled and said, “It is good.”

Before we emphasize man’s sinfulness, we must emphasize the teaching of the introductory chapter.  The Lord created everything out of love.  Creation was at peace.  The way we teach about heaven is the way the earth was in the beginning.  Doesn’t that make you want to get back there, to that time and place in history?  The Lord walked in paradise side by side with his people.  We had that.  We could talk to God face to face.  We could have a conversation with a giraffe.  There was no death or loneliness or injustice.  That is a foundational part of the story.  You don’t get that if you begin with “God says we are sinful beings.”

In our historical liturgy we always have an extensive confession that reminds us of the Fall.  But where is the beginning?  It’s there, if you look.  In the creed, we say ,”I believe in God the Father almighty maker of heaven and earth.”  It is the first thing we proclaim.  It doesn’t explicitly state the goodness of that original creation.  So maybe we need to remember it when we say it together.  As you start any of the creeds, remind yourself how everything started.  There was no sinful nature.  Everything and everyone was happy.  Mountains were happy, so were oceans, and sheep.  “I believe in God the Father, maker of a happy heaven and earth.”

You can also take yourself back to the beginning when I say the invocation, “We begin in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  That is all there was before Genesis.  They were complete.  Yet they created something to love.  When you hear the words of the invocation remember what it was like before the history of Salvation.

Then after Genesis 1 and 2 then we go to Adam and Eve’s terrible descent into sin.  That descent became our nature. They passed on their contaminated bodies and souls to Cain and Able.  Eventually they passed them on to us.  We are born into the same situation.  If there is no savior then we will not survive.  So we confess and hope.

Then comes the final part of the story, The Father sends the son.  Jesus lives, and dies.  He volunteers to be crucified side by side with his creation.  Three days later, he rises from the dead.  The consequences of sin is being reversed by the Holy Spirit.  We are slowly but surely returning to the Garden.  Someday we will walk side by side with all of the redeemed.  The history of Salvation will end with Jesus coming down on the clouds and Looking over his creation.  He will see the whole earth and say, “It is good.”

John 21: I am Home

John 21

Series: John              Text: John 21             Title:  Jesus Appears

Goal:  That the hearers would stick close to each other

            Today we come to the end of our series with the final chapter in John.  You may have noticed that John the author does not mention himself by name in the story.  Likewise, John focuses not on himself but his mentor Peter in Chapter 21. 

            Flashback to Peter before the resurrection.  He bragged at the Last Supper ,”All may fall away but I will never fall away.”  He was more than full of himself.  He set himself apart from the other disciples.  “These guys might turn their backs on you.  But I won’t.  Peter is casting aspersions on the 11 but saying he is better.  It’s as if he is saying, “Andrew is my brother so I know he’s not as brave.  James and John are mommas boys.  Thomas lacks conviction.  Simon the Zealot already left one cause.  Matthew might go back to his tax collecting.  The only guy who who is as solid as me is Judas.  There is something about him.”  Peter throws his friends under the cart.  imagine their consternation, shaking their heads saying “All will fall away.”

            Then that very night, Peter tries to stay true to his words.  He and another disciple approach the High Priest’s courtyard.  There is speculation as to who the other disciple was.  Some say Joseph of Arimethea or Nicodemus because they are on the Jewish council.  Someone else has said that joining Peter at the High Priest’s house is Judas.   He can get in because his betrayal made him known to this household.  But a more probable guess is that Peter is with John.  John likes to remain anonymous.  Also, early church fathers wrote that John was born a priest so his family was known by ciaphas the high priest.  Whoever the other disciple is, they are the only disciples who dare follow Jesus at this dangerous moment.  The other disciple who is nameless is known by the High Priest so he is allowed to enter.  Peter is not known, he must stay outside.  This is when he is approached by a servant girl who hears his Galilean accent and tattles.  She points at Peter and accuses, “He is with Jesus.”  Three times this happens.

            Peter was brave but he also was coward.  Just like us.  It must have been devastating.  Not just because he betrayed his Lord but also because he thought he was better than his friends.

            Jesus is killed and raised from the dead.  Later Jesus appears to Peter and the disciples.  JEsus says, “Peace be with you.”  Peter sees for himself that Jesus truly is Lord and Savior.  The world’s sins are forgiven.  Peace has been achieved between God and man.  Creation has been made right. 

            There is a difference between knowing that the world’s sins have been forgiven and feeling that your sins have been forgiven.  As a pastor, I experience this all the time.  People come to me and say, “I know I’m forgiven but..”  “It still hurts.”  “I still feel like I let God down.”  “The memory of my failure still haunts me.”  Peter knows that God is good.  That Jesus is all he said he is.  But he can’t get past what happened outside of the High priest’s gate.

            Later, Peter is with Thomas, Nathaniel, and two other disciples at night.  Peter wants to be alone.  He says, “I am going fishing.”  Not “Let’s go fishing” or “Who wants to go fishing?”  He says “I am going fishing.”  This is the first time in John’s Gospel that Peter says he wants to be by himself.  When Peter is called by Jesus to follow him, Peter is working with a group.  When Peter walks on water he has Jesus in front of him and the disciples behind him.  In the Garden, when he swung a sword to defend Jesus  the ten were by his side.  The only time in John’s Gospel that Peter is alone, away from the disciples, is when he gets separated from the group and he betrays Jesus. 

            How would you like your worst moment immortalized like that?  Imagine that a private embarrassment went public.  One commentator even suggested that Peter’s enemies might have made rooster calls as he walked by.  He blew it big time and everyone knew he blew it.

            So Peter wants to fish at night off on his own.  This might be the first step in isolating himself from the group.  One night turns into a series of lonely nights.  Then he feels himself becoming more distant from his friends.

            But the disciples do not allow him that first step.  They say “We will go with you.”  Those are good friends.  They could have been bitter towards him saying, “You said we were going to fall, but it was you.”  There is no hint of that.  They never make him feel guilty.  Instead they recognize that he shouldn’t be by himself.  In Genesis, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”  That doesn’t mean that we should never be out of the presence of others.  We all need to relax and recharge.  But it does mean that we are social creatures.  We must beware of behaviors in which we keep our friends at arms length.

            Jesus made the disciples a family so they could deal with crises like this.  He was the perfect dad who was always there for the household.  He knew that the days ahead would be rough and he prepared them.  He showed them how to love one another through sacrifice.  The disciples all made the big sacrifice, eventually dying for Jesus and the church.  But they also made the little sacrifices, like going out on the lake in the middle of the night because your friend is in pain.  Few of us will have to make the big sacrifice but the opportunities for the daily sacrifices are all around us.

            The disciples are like your friend who is concerned about your recent texts and says “I’m coming over with ice cream.”  They will drop everything because you part of the family of God.  Family is so important to God that he gives us more than one shot at it.  You have the family you are born into.  You have the family that you create.  And you have your brothers and sisters in Christ.  You maybe an orphan.  You may not have chosen the married life.  But everyone who is in Christ has this family, your church family.  We need to look out for one another, because life is tough. 

            So Peter’s friends tell him that they are coming, whether he likes it or not.  Was it a quiet night where no one said anything?  You know how you can help someone through a tough time just by being with them.  No words are spoken.  You are just together.  That is called the ministry of presence.  When you don’t know what to say, sometimes you don’t need to say anything.  Just be with them.  We don’t know what the tone was on that boat.  We do know that they collectively caught zero fish.  If Peter was on that boat by himself, he’d be thinking”I stink as a disciple and I stink at fishing.”  But his friends are with him.  He doesn’t stink at fishing, they stink at fishing together.  They fail together as a team.  That is Alive in Christ, win or lose, we are in this together.

            But of course, winning isn’t up to us.  Being successful as a church is not dependent on our skills, our ingenuity or our bravery.  It depends on Christ.  In the haze of the early morning, the fisherman hear “Guys, do you have any fish?”  They yell back in unison, “NO!”  The male voice said, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat.”  The disciples can not see the man’s face but the cast.  Maybe they are so tired and loopy that they will try anything.  But maybe they believe that the man on the shore can see something from his angle.  Fisherman often got help from people on shore who had a different vantage point.  Another reason to not fish alone.

            They cast the net on the other side and immediately they feel that it is heavy with fish.  They can’t haul it in.  They have to get closer to shore in order to get men in the water to help.  Another reason to not fish alone.  As they get closer, John has young eyes and says to Peter “It is the Lord.”  John doesn’t say it aloud to the group in general.  He says it specifically to Peter.  He knows that this is what Peter needs.  Peter needs JEsus. 

            Peter is fishing in his skivvies.  He is so excited to see Jesus but He doesn’t want to greet him in his underwear.  The Jews believed that greeting someone was a religious act.  You must wear an outer garment to perform a religious act.  He throws on his coat and jumps into the water.  He has to swim the length of a football field.  Peter reaches JEsus and they have breakfast.

            In this moment, Peter is alone with the Lord.  The fisherman are busy hauling in and counting the 153 fish.  It is an enormous catch.  Why does John give us a number?  Some try to make is a symbolic number but I think it was just such an exceptional catch that they recorded the number.  Fisherman love to measure their success.  So while the others are busy with the squirming sea creatures, Peter and Jesus sit together.

            What I love about this scene is that it is so normal.  Jesus started a fire.  There were fish cooking on it.  They were just two guys by the water enjoying each other’s company.  Peter has spent three years together, so they have had this type of time before, but the last 40 days have been nothing but drama and miracle.  It’s been an intense time.  Jesus focused on preparing the disciples.  Peter denied Jesus.  The cross.  The resurrection.  It has all been anything but normal.

            But Jesus works through miracle and he works through normal.  Peter sits there at the feet of his rabbi, wet.  The other disciples gradually come by and sit as well.  No one says anything because they are just so grateful to be with their teacher and Lord.  He hands out bread and the fish.  They have breakfast.

            You wonder if Peter is feeling guilty still about his denial.  The disciples have never reminded him of it.  But now with them here and Jesus, it had to weigh on him.  After they finished eating,  JEsus says to Peter “Simon, son of John, do you love me more these?”  Simon, son of John do you love me more than these.”  Who or what are the these?  Some have said that JEsus was pointing to the 153 fish.  Do you love me more than your old life as a fisherman?  I don’t think Jesus was referring to the fish.  Peter proved he loved Jesus more than that when he left the fish, jumping off the boat into the water to see Jesus.  The other possibility is that JEsus was pointing to the other disciples.  Do you love me more than these disciples?  Now does that mean “Who do you love more your friends or me?”  That seems obvious.  Or does it mean, “Who loves me more you or the other disciples?”  You said “all will fall away except for you.”  You said you love me most.

            This seems harsh as if JEsus is putting Peter’s failure in his face.  I don’t think that is it.  Instead what JEsus is doing is is connecting Peter’s love for his savior to his friends, the church.  Jesus says “Feed my sheep.”   PEter do you love me?  Yes Lord you know I Love you.  Tend to my Sheep.  Simon son of John do you love me?  Peter was torn up inside because Jesus keeps asking the same question.  Lord you know everything; you know I love you.  Feed my sheep.

            Jesus is saying, “Peter, I know you love me.  The way you show you love me is to love your friends, the men and women of the church.  You are already forgiven.  I have given you my peace.  Now I need you to forgive yourself an move on.  Don’t wallow in your self pity.  Serve the people I have given you.  You are a pastor now.  You are a shepherd.  These people are counting on you.  They have forgiven you as well.  Put your grief into action.  Share your experience with the disciples.

            Peter now has a personal mission.  Jesus has turned his failure into an opportunity to encourage and feed others.  Whenever anyone in the new church messes up Peter can pull them aside and say, “Let me tell you about the time I denied Jesus.  If Jesus can bring me back from that, he can do the same for you.

            There must have been a lot of failure in the early church.  They failed together.  They learned from their failure, they forgave each other and God changed the world through it.

            When you fail, here is what you do.

1.      Do not isolate yourself

2.     Allow the church to minister to you.

3.     Overcome failure through serving God’s People.

John 20: I am Peaceful

Pastor Scott Jonas

4/1/18

John 20

I am Peaceful

Everything changed on that first Easter morning.  Jesus overcomes death at Golgatha, the place of the Skul.  Creation has been saved through his work on the cross.  He was dead but now he is alive and that affirms every teaching that came from his lips.  Jesus taught, “I am the bread of Life, the true manna that came from Heaven.”  True.  “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.”  Check.  “I am the door.  If anyone enters by me he will be saved.”  Correct.  “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Indeed.  “I am the Vine.  You are the branches.” Verified  “I am the Good Shepherd and I lay down my life for my sheep.”  Amen.  Jesus said “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” Double Amen.  Easter has changed everything.

Jesus has brought peace.  This peace is not a temporary ceasefire in the war between good and evil like at the end of a Star Wars movie.  Jesus’ peace is a state of wholeness which includes health, prosperity, security and spiritual completeness.  Jesus obeyed the Father’s will to the grave.  Isaiah says this kind of “righteousness brings peace.”  The resurrection has restored the relationship between the Father and his people.  We possess the security that comes with a covenant of peace.  His peace brings blessing though pardon for sin, strength, assurance of a listening God, and Joy.  When a pastor says “Peace be with you” , this is the Total Peace we proclaim for you.

According to the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene was the first to experience this Peace.  She arrived at the tomb, saw that the tomb was disturbed.  She ran and told Peter, “They have taken the Lord and we don’t know where they have laid him.”  Peter and another disciple race to the tomb.  The other one got there first, which maybe indicates that it was young John.  He and Peter see the grave clothes.  They weren’t in disarray but were neatly folded.  The other disciple saw the empty tomb and believed.  He had peace.  He was spiritually whole.

Mary is not spiritually whole.  She is balling nearby.  Imagine going to the gravesite of someone you love and the ground is dug up and the casket is open.  Devastating.  It’s bad enough that he had to suffer and die a horrific death but now she can’t even take care of his corpse.  His body is not resting in peace.  It has been violated.  She sees two figures in white and asks if they know where they took her Lord.

Just then she turns around and there is another man.  In her grief she can’t see straight. WE know grief can incapacitate like that, don’t we? Her mind can’t comprehend.  So Jesus says to her, “Precious woman, why a you weeping?”  She assumes he is a grave robber.  And yet she is willing to be polite if that means the return of her Lord’s remains.  “Please Sir, just tell me where I can find my friend’s body.”  That’s when Jesus gives her his peace.  He calls her by name, “Mary.”  She screams, “Teacher!”  In that moment everything is changed.  All that Jesus taught her is affirmed.  He kept his promises to her.  His arms envelop her.  She is whole.

She runs and announces to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”  Jesus’ peace has spread to two people, Mary and the other disciple who believed.  Peter is still holding onto some issues.  The John text doesn’t say he believed or had peace.

That leaves a lot of people who did not witness Easter.  Most of the disciples were not there.  On Good Friday we sang the Hymn “Were You There?”  It asks were you there when they crucified my Lord.  The last verse asks, “Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?”  Mary, some of the women, Peter and another disciple, John were there.  Thomas and the rest of the 12 were not.  His family was not there.  Lazarus’ family did not see him that day.  Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and the man who was blind from birth were somewhere else. The thousands who saw his miracles were not there.  What about them?  Where is their peace?  I was not there when God raised him from the dead.  You were not there.  What about us? We want peace.

It’s natural to doubt the resurrection.  The disciples doubted.  Every one of them.  They didn’t have peace until they saw with their eyes.  We are thousands of miles and years from the original Easter.  We are taught about Jesus’ resurrection from an early age, but then we wonder.  Did He really rise from the dead?  How do we know?  Maybe he didn’t really die.  Instead he fainted and woke up mummified.  Maybe his enemies stole the body.  Maybe the disciples hallucinated the whole thing.  Maybe his distraught followers embellished the whole thing.    These doubts bring the opposite of peace.  We feel insecure.  These thoughts make us sick to our stomach.  It’s like it chips away at our happiness.

You are in good company.  The disciples all experience what you do.  They needed to see with their own eyes the resurrected Lord.  It’s one thing to hear an unbelievable story from one of your closest friends.  It’s another to experience the same unbelievable story. 

Just like you, Thomas the disciple wasn’t there that morning.  He also wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the rest of the disciples.  They were behind locked doors.  It also says they were afraid.  Even though they heard the Easter story from Peter and Mary, they were still fearful.  Then Jesus stood among them and says “Peace be with you.”  They freaked out so Jesus showed them his hands and side.  Again he says, “Peace be with you.”  This is a common Jewish greeting.  It was the equivalent of saying “The Lord bless and keep you.”  But when the risen Lord says it, the words transform into something more powerful than saying hello.  He is giving them something substantive.  He is permanently restoring their souls.

Then Jesus does something strange. He breathes on them.  I don’t know if this was heavy breathing.  I don’t know if this is mouth wide open blowing.  I don’t know if he was able to supernaturally produce gail force winds.  But he blows on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven;  if you withhold forgiveness it is withheld.”  That substantive power comes from a breath.  That breath gives me the ability to forgive sins in the beginning of the service.  That wind allows you to forgive anyone who comes to you asking to be restored by God.

But you weren’t there and Thomas was not there.  For some unknown reason, Thomas was not with Peter on Sunday.  He was not with the other disciples on this occasion.  Perhaps he is isolating himself after the death of his friend.  The good news of Easter does not bring him back to the 12.  We all mourn differently.  In his grief he cannot conceive a risen Lord.  Maybe he is beating himself up.  After all, Thomas failed to be there when they crucified his Lord.  What if this act of cowardice caused him to stumble into a downward spiral where he can’t see anything good.  All he can see is his own doubt and sin.  This clouds his vision.

The Gospel of John tells us that Thomas declared himself ready to die with Jesus.  When they returned to Jerusalem to after the death of Lazarus, Thomas recognized that the Jewish leaders were a dangerous threat.  To go towards that threat was inviting death.  “Let us go that we may die with him.”  Thomas proclaimed.  They didn’t die but only because the resurrection of Lazarus brought out many supporters.  Later, on Maundy Thursday, Jesus looked over the dining table and said “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many resting places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Thomas did not see the resurrection coming so he couldn’t see the resurrection after the fact.

            Jesus has a heart for people like Thomas, for people like you.  Thomas was called the Twin.  He was our twin.  We too doubt the resurrection because we couldn’t see it.  The other 10 disciples said “We have seen the Lord.”  Thomas said “Unless I see in his hands the marks of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”  Peter said “never” and Jesus changed his mind.  Now Thomas says “never.”

So Jesus brought the resurrection to Thomas.  Eight days later, He made a special trip.  Just like before, Jesus appears alongside them in a locked room.  He says, “Peace be with you.”  He offers his hands and side.  The text does not say that Thomas took him up on his offer instead he said, “My Lord, and my God!”

Then Jesus turned his focus to you.  He said, “Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe?”  Jesus knows that for those of us who were not there, we need a miracle to believe in Easter.  That is why he breathed on his disciples and gave them the spirit.  That Spirit was breathed on you at your baptism.  Without it you would spiritually be just like Thomas.  Alone in a room, arms folded, demanding that Jesus appear so you can touch for yourself.  When Jesus appeared to Thomas he no longer needed to touch, he only needed to see. 

You and I do not need to see with our eyes because the Spirit has opened the eyes of our hearts.  The fact that you are here, two thousand years and thousands of miles away from the first Easter is a miracle.  Jesus chose you just like the 12.  He revealed  himself to you.  Now you have peace.  Not a temporary peace like the wolrd gives.  But a peace that can only come from Jesus.  He gives you a state of wholeness.  He gives you life.  He gives you prosperity.  He gives you security.  He gives you spiritual completeness.