Jesus

Under Grace

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For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 7:14

 

For me the whole book of Romans turns on this statement. Paul argues that Jesus has radically altered the environment in which we live. No longer are we under the law, but now in Christ we are under grace.

 

To be “under” is to be subject to the authority, rules, manners, and destiny of another. The phrase “a man under authority” (Matthew 8:9) was used by a Roman centurion to describe his character and position, and his understanding of Jesus’ ability to heal without actually coming to his house. Jesus was amazed at his faith.

 

Throughout the letter we call Romans, Paul, is working out what it means to be under law and subject to it and what it means to be under grace and to be subject to Christ Jesus. Our understanding of what we are living under has profound implications on our character and life.

 

What are you living under?

 

In Christ Jesus, I am under grace.

 

I am under the abundant riches of His work at the Cross.

 

I am under the extravagant expression of His love.

 

I am under the power of a new kingdom regime.

 

I am under grace.

 

Our world needs to see

 

a woman under grace;

 

a man under grace;

 

a community under grace.

 

It will be amazing!

 

Easter: Hope for Life’s Greatest Disappointments

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Big Idea: Jesus does not avoid us when we fail. John 21:1-22

In the Resurrection encounters of John’s Gospel, Jesus meets His followers to reveal Himself; along the way He becomes the answer to their grief (20:1-23), doubt (20:24-29), and disappointment (21:1-22).

 

Peter’s great disappointment.   John 13:36-38 & John 18:15-18, 25-27

Peter had failed to stick with Jesus. Peter denied he knew Jesus. Peter’s bold appraisal of courage and faithfulness turned into lies, curses, and avoidance. Peter was crushed!


Jesus’ abundant grace.  John 21:1-14

A large catch of fish and breakfast on the beach!


Jesus restores those crushed by disappointment!

Jesus invites you to commune with Him.  vs. 15

17For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.19Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.  Revelation 3:17-20

The disappointed need relational attachment affirmed by Jesus.

 

Jesus raises the question of allegiance and affection.  vs. 15-19

3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.  Revelation 2:3-5

The disappointed need character built on the foundation of Jesus’s love.

 

Jesus calls you to align your life with His mission.  vs. 15-19

“I will build my church.”  Matthew 16:18
“Feed my lambs.” “Tend my sheep.” “Feed my sheep.”
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Matthew 6:33

The disappointed need purpose and vision for life clarified by Jesus.

 

Jesus commands singular discipleship; no comparing and no predicated obedience.  vs. 18-22

“If it is my will that he ______, what is that to you? You follow me!”

The disappointed need the Resurrected Lord Jesus’ grace for “a long obedience in the same direction.”

 

The Lord of Heaven at Your Feet

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1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,but is completely clean. And youare clean, but not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you?13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.15For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.16Truly, truly, I say to you, a servantis not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.17If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

 

How could the servant’s task become so majestic?

 

Such honour in servanthood was indelibly imprinted on the minds of the disciples only when the Lord of Heaven and Earth disrobed and knelt to serve them.

 

This was more than a “before we eat lets deal with your feet” crisis.

 

This was a crisis of the heart. The disciples’ hearts where still unyielding to each other and to the common needs of their daily lives.

 

Peter would have preferred that Jesus pass over his feet.

 

But Jesus would not. And like Peter, if we refuse the service of Jesus for not only the regeneration of our heart but also the cleansing of souls we will miss out.

 

We will miss love.

 

And we will not love.

 

Love in motion dignifies and refreshes.

Wait in front of Jesus dear Church. Let’s receive Him for He “loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

(Ephesians 5:25-27)

 

He is the Lord of Heaven at your feet.

 

 

 

Because He Cares for You.

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Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7


Anxiety

Our anxiety may be connected to the good gifts God has given us except when its not. Then our anxiety, our sense of unease, in the world and in ourselves may be  connected directly with futile attempts at covering up our sin. Most often though our anxiety has to do with fear that we might lose something God has give us, that we might not perform well, that someone else is going to take from us what we value, or that we might not measure up. At those points the good things are becoming ultimate things.
Opportunity and Humility

Whatever its source, anxiety creates an opportunity for the disciples of Jesus. Anxiety is a call for humility. Humility recognizes the greatness of God for He exists without requirement of our acknowledgment. Humility seeks to enlarge rather than diminish the knowledge of His Presence among us. Anxiety diminishes the reality of God and His care for us. Anxiety taps into pride and seeks to enlarge our own greatness.

 

Without a Christ-informed view of God shaped by the Cross, even the knowledge of God’s greatness can create anxiety. But it is the Cross that affirms this confession, “He cares for you.” Humility enters into the space created by His mighty hand.


Prayer

Casting anxiety upon Jesus is a prayerful process in which we lay our burdens (each item or matter of anxiety) down upon HIm. We recognize Jesus as our greatest gift. We realign our lives with the purposes of God for they are all that will prevail in a broken and fallen world. We lay claim to the promise of His competence, His acceptance, and His grace towards us. We trust Him and receive His peace. We are then empowered by His Spirit, with the assurance of our citizenship in His Kingdom, to lean into this world as it is and love.

 

 

Your body is meant to be a sacred space.

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18So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

John 2:18-22

 

Jesus saw two temples: The temple Israel built with stones. And the temple of His body built by God.

 

Which temple mattered the most?

 

Which holy space is God’s most dear concern?

 

Jesus had just cleared the Court of the Gentiles of the people committed to profiting from His Father’s house and the desire for righteousness. When asked for a sign to show His authority, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and three days I will raise it up.” His audience was confused and incredulous. The Temple in which they stood took 46 years to build.

 

But the temple of which Jesus spoke was His body. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) Jesus was looking forward to the culmination of His passion in the resurrection of His body. The implications are staggering. 1) Jesus understood that His body was the first arena for experiencing and knowing the Heavenly Father. Your body is meant to be a holy space. 2) Through Jesus’ occupation of flesh, God has solidarity with people. People matter to God. 3) Therefore the buildings we build for His glory must serve God’s greater purpose for the redemption of people.

 

Jesus anticipated His destruction at their hands on the cross. But he also anticipated  the impact of His completed work of forgiveness for sin: The Holy Spirit would be sent by the Father in Jesus’ name to occupy the “temple” of every one His disciples. Later the apostle Paul would write:

 

For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

 

Grace!