On the day that changed the world, one person was the first witness.

Jesus rose from the dead. Mary Magdalene had “eyes to see and ears to hear” her Lord, and so she did.
Their encounter, briefly recorded in John 20, reveals an intimacy as Jesus calls Mary by name, and Mary’s response of shock and joy (not romance though – beware of finding things that are not there!).

The ‘men’ had left Mary at the empty tomb in her grief. She had witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross, and in that moment, as she had desired to anoint His body properly following the Sabbath rest, His body was not to be found.
Yet He was there, unrecognised but present. And He made Himself known to Mary, but that wasn’t the end. He gave Mary encouragement and instructions for the disciples and other followers of Jesus. Mary Magdalene returned to the large gathering with the Good News: “Jesus is alive!”

How like the Lord to use an unlikely messenger to be first to see and hear the Good News, and be the one to tell everyone else! This woman who had been wrecked by seven demons (Luke 8:2) was honoured by God on this historical day.

Do you believe you are unworthy… unlikely… ineligible to be used by God, to see and hear Him? To declare the Good News “Jesus is alive!” ?
You are truly worthy to do so when you open your eyes and your ears to what Jesus is doing in your midst. When you place your trust in Him, placing yourself, your skills, talents, time and resources at His disposal, He will use you in ways you could not even have imagined.

I doubt any person in Jerusalem on that one day would ever have believed that Mary from Magdalene would be forever known for her faithfulness and witness to the risen Jesus.
May your own doubts and fears be replaced by confidence and courage that comes from God Himself, who raised Jesus from the dead and who has poured out His Spirit upon those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Jesus is alive! Come, Lord Jesus!

It was an unequal encounter:

• Pilate, the Roman governor with the might of an Empire behind him.
• Jesus, a Nazarene carpenter whose followers scattered when He was arrested.
  

As the interrogation continued, Pilate realised that he might not be the most powerful man in the room… He found Jesus’ answers to his questions unsettling:

• “My kingdom is from another place”
• “I came into the world to testify to the truth”
•  “Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me”

Pilate sent Jesus to be flogged, not caring how the prisoner was treated by the soldiers. They stripped Him, mocked Him, flogged Him, dressed Him up as King with a crown of thorns and an old purple cloth – but still Jesus did not wilt.
Pilate went back to the Jews and asked them why Jesus had been brought to him to be sentenced to death. It just didn’t add up, and their response did not help.
“This man claimed to be the Son of God” they told Pilate.

Oh that’s just great.

Pilate questioned Jesus further and instead of retreating, the Man seemed determined to be crucified, as if it were necessary! Nobody wanted to be crucified!
Pilate finally cracked.

• “Don’t you realise that I have the power to free you or crucify you?”
  

But Jesus’ answer really pushed Pilate over the edge.

• “You would have no power over me if it were not given you from above.”

Pilate was trapped, ensnared by his own weakness because of his desire for power, and peace within his jurisdiction of Jerusalem, to further his ambition in Rome.
So Jesus was condemned to be crucified on the Roman cross.

• Pilate was weakened by his enslavement to fallen humanity.
• Jesus was empowered by His Heavenly Father.

It was an unequal encounter.
 
Jesus was led to Golgotha through the streets of Jerusalem, jeered by the Jews and Romans, grieved by His family and His followers.
He was lifted up on the cross.
As He exhaled His final breath, He declared “It is finished”.
 
The curse of sin from Eve’s first bite of the forbidden fruit, to the last heartbeat before Christ’s return, was atoned for by Jesus, the lamb who was slain.
It was a hell of a cost, to Jesus, to God.

• The heavens went dark.
• The Most Holy Place in Herold’s Temple was exposed.
• The earth quaked.
• Death itself was shaken.

It was an unequal encounter. And as we well know, it is not the end of the story. Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, prevailed…

[This sermon was delivered as a dramatic narrative]
The elderly man held the attention of the dimly lit room. His thick, guttural accent was as strong as when he was on the boats with his brother in Galilee.
They had been known as the ‘Sons of Thunder’ then, a name given to them by Jesus Himself.
Jesus… if only they had seen then what they knew about Him now…
The people in the room waited for him to retell the story. They had heard it every time he visited as he travelled around all the cities and gatherings of the followers of Jesus around Asia Minor. They waited, because they knew it was worth the wait…

It was the Fest of Tabernacles, and the week before Passover. Jerusalem was bursting with pilgrims, about ten times bigger than its usual population.
Jesus had denied the attention of the crowds for so long. But this one day He attracted the greatest attention of the city during the greatest event, the Feast of Tabernacles and the week before the Passover.

• The word had gotten out that Jesus was back, would enter Jerusalem in public defiance of the Jewish authorities.
• The crowds built up in anticipation, including those pilgrims from Galilee who had been part of the 5000 fed by Jesus in the wilderness, and those taught by Jesus on the Mount.
• Jesus instructed His disciples to bring the donkey back to Him to ride on… they laid their coats on it for Him to sit on…
• The crowds brought out the ceremonial palm branches prepared for the celebrations of the Festival, and then broke off the branches and leaves and laid them on the road before Him.

•  “Hosanna”, the crowd had cried. “God saves, God save us!” was their cry.
• “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”
• Somehow they had known, although Jesus never allowed them to call Him ‘King’ or ‘Messiah’.

It happened just as Zechariah had said, twenty generations beforehand…  if only they had known.

As they drew near to the city, the people who marched with Jesus told the stories about Lazarus to those who came out of the city to welcome Jesus.

• “He raised the dead man, you know.”
• “What dead man?”
• “That man, right there. Lazarus. Go and ask him. He’ll tell you.”

Others, though, ground their teeth in anger as the crowds swirled around the man sitting on the donkey, riding up into Jerusalem and the heart of the Festival.

• “Now what are we going to do?” they asked each other.
• “The whole world has gone after Him.”

More conflict followed, and more divine revelations. A voice from heaven.

• He washed their feet…
• The supper in the Upper Room…
• The bread broken… the wine offered… body… blood… the new covenant.

If only they had known.
 
But now they did know, and he had been commanded by his King, Jesus the Christ, to tell the story, to tell the nations.

• To tell so all people would hear, and find in Jesus the freedom He promised of life to the fullest, of light in the gathering darkness in this world.
• To tell of the sacrifice of Jesus on that Roman cross just days after crowds had cried out “Hosanna! God saves, God save us!”
• To tell of the impossibility of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.
• To tell of the anticipation of Jesus’ return, just as certain as that day when He rode the donkey into the city.
• To share the Holy Spirit, the gift of God, to give them understanding and confidence in sharing the story. To help him remember… to know what he now knew, about Jesus, God the Son.

 
But he remembered Jesus as the friend, the carpenter who had laughed at him and with him out on the boat, on the road, in the fields, in the towns and cities, who called him and his brother James “the Sons of Thunder”. The Teacher with unrivalled authority, the miracle worker and the Master with power over demons and sickness.
He remembered the night Jesus was arrested, the day Jesus died, and running through the streets of Jerusalem early in the morning to find the tomb empty.

He was the disciple that Jesus loved, and his name was John.

He wanted to see His friend Jesus again, whichever way it would happen. But he knew Jesus would return to this world again, and it would not be on a donkey, but riding on the clouds, with trumpets and angels shouting “Hosanna! God saves, and God has saved us!”
John looked around the room at those who had gathered in secret, careful of spies and traitors who would see them arrested and even killed just for meeting with him.

He opened his mouth, and in his distinct Galilean accent, he said “Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Here is an intriguing encounter, not just because of the extraordinary nature of the miracle, but because it remains untold in the other three Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. There are some interesting reasons put forward about why this is so… (Leon Morris’ commentary on John’s Gospel gives an extensive treatment to this).

Jesus was a long way away from Bethany where Lazarus had become ill, and eventually died. Mary & Martha had put the call out to Him to come, with the assumption that Jesus would immediately come, and their brother Lazarus would be healed.
But Jesus did not go. And Lazarus did die. So when Jesus got to Bethany, there is no surprise in the confrontational tone of both the sisters in turn: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, 32).
But there was a greater encounter happening in Jesus’ ministry, and He trusted Lazarus’ family, including Lazarus himself, to understand after all had been finished. He declared “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) and then proved it.
At the tomb, after the large stone had been shifted, “God spoke… and it was so” (refrain of the creation account of Genesis 1). In this instance, Jesus spoke: “Lazarus, come out!”, and so he did (John 11:43-44).
Jesus used the illness of Lazarus to reveal the greatness of His authority, that it even extended above death, over a man who had been dead over four days. Jesus trusted that Lazarus, Mary & Martha were faithful toward Jesus, and that they would understand His actions. So they did, their faith and trust in Jesus not just confirmed, but increased all the more.

Then word got around… a plot was hatched by the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus, and Lazarus (John 11:45-57).

But the resuscitation of Lazarus in John 11 had a sequel in John 12. Later on, ‘six days before Passover’ (John 12:1), a dinner party was held in Jesus’ honour. During this encounter, Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with the indescribably expensive nard (perfume from a distant land).
There was a greater encounter at play here that Jesus revealed, that this anointing was the preparation for His imminent death (that the others could not foresee). Yet Judas’ reaction to the action of Mary was the seed of his betrayal of Jesus which would lead to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion.

These encounters remind us that there is often a greater encounter occurring that we are unaware of, that God’s perspective is infinitely higher, longer and greater than our limited, mortal and usually self-centered lines of sight.

• Mary and Martha wondered how Jesus could let Lazarus die. Instead Jesus did something much greater.
  
• Judas could not understand the waste of such a large amount of money in the form of a jar of perfume, and reacted by putting into motion the very events Jesus knew must occur.

Another lesson from these encounters is the importance of gratitude in such unknown circumstances.

• When Jesus arrived back from His travels, both sisters went out to meet Him – to ask Him “why?”, surely, but also trusting Him to do what He alone was able to do.
  
• A banquet was held in Jesus’ honour next time He came to Bethany where Lazarus, Mary and Martha celebrated their common life together – without anyone except Jesus knowing what was to come.

“The next day…” Jesus mounted a young donkey and was escorted in Jerusalem city with great acclaim. Seven days later He was condemned and killed outside the same city walls.

In contrast to the invalid at the pool in John 5, the man born blind in John 9 proves to be a feisty character who wasn’t afraid to confront the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.
The gift of sight to a man born blind is a true miracle, and all judgments of sinfulness on the part of the man’s parents, and indeed he himself, were cast aside by Jesus.
So when the Pharisees investigated this miracle, and took the man to task for their own disbelief, he wasted no time in turning their ungodly abuse of power back upon them.

The real crunch in this encounter is found in the final 7 verses (John 9:35-41) where true meaning is revealed:
Jesus said: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
The Pharisees couldn’t believe their ears! “What!? Are we blind too?”
Jesus responded: “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:39-41, variations mine)

Isaiah foreshadowed this encounter in Isaiah 6:9-10, the account of his own calling to be a prophet:
“Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

The apostle Paul often used the analogy of light versus darkness when writing about those in relationship with God, and those not (Ephesians 4:17-24, Colossians 1:12-14). Those who live in the light of the knowledge of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6) will call Him ‘Lord’ and will be free.

Those who will stubbornly refuse to acknowledge their own guilt and thus reject Jesus’ free offer of forgiveness, new life and light, will remain guilty, and worse, blind to their guilt.
They truly do walk in darkness, as the very first chapter of John’s Gospel previews: “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:5)

An incidental encounter? Jesus just ‘happened’ to be wandering amongst the lame and sick in this location?

An intriguing encounter: the man did not request to be made well. We are not told that he showed any gratitude.

And the sequel…  the man was “caught breaking the Law” by carrying his sleeping mat on the Day of Rest by the religious leaders. Jesus met the man later in the Temple, and warned the man to stop sinning (in terms of his attitude toward God, not carrying a sleeping mat). Jesus warned him that to continue in sin would have worse consequences than being lame, lonely and frustrated for 38 years.

The man’s response? Turn Jesus in to the leaders at the first possible opportunity.

An instructional encounter: John 5:16 – this encounter led to conflict between Jesus and ‘the Jews’ who opposed Him, and His "cavalier" attitude to the Sabbath had become the catalyst.

God uses innocuous encounters to His glory, even when they are incidental, intriguing and instructional. This encounter laid the foundation for an extended discussion of the nature of Jesus and His unique relationship with God the Father.

May we be prepared to hang out with those we normally wouldn’t, even those Jesus has to remind to understand the consequences of sin toward God are far worse than physical infirmity or suffering.

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29)

This was the Sunday message following the Christchurch massacre. It was a God moment: Jesus, a Jew, encountering a disenfranchised Samaritan woman, alone at a rural well. It was an encounter that should never have been and broke a myriad of cultural taboos.
And yet it did, and not only this woman but a whole village came to hear what Jesus had to say, and respond to His invitation to worship the God they knew but were unable to wholly worship due to the Jewish restrictions.

Jesus’ response to one person in one moment was the way to approach those who are different, even “enemy”. And Jesus did this despite weariness, heat, hunger, thirst and cultural etiquette, and hostility.
Jesus recognised the woman’s ‘thirst’ of desire and its origin. He offered ‘living water’ to quench that thirst. She immediately countered with questions about worship, and God. Jesus recognised her question and showed her a glimpse of a time when the Jerusalem Temple would not be involved in worship – and the Jews would worship in Spirit and truth, with the Samaritans, and Gentiles.
Of course, if the Jews heard such things, Jesus would never have made it out alive. Indeed, He was in Samaria because He had to get out of Judea in a hurry, away from the Pharisees who were growing suspicious.
 
This encounter is an example of overcoming hostility through listening and opening doors to reconciliation as we have been reconciled to God through Jesus. Wrongs made right. Surprising grace to this woman, to the Samaritans, to Israel, to us.
In the wake of the Christchurch murder of innocent Muslims, this was a timely reading and message.

We should keep the living water of Jesus flowing through true worship – not of tradition (like the Jews) nor obstinacy (like the Samaritans) nor idolatry (like this woman), but of the God who creates and sustains us, and who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus death & resurrection.

“Oils aint oils” was a famous phrase for an oil company some years ago. In Nicodemus’ evening encounter with Jesus, he learned that “faith aint faith”.

Nicodemus was the 1% of the 1% of Jews in Jerusalem, but after reading the first chapter of John’s gospel, the astute hearer/reader would understand that this was not what made a person right with God. Such a reader would also pick up the depth of language and concepts Jesus uses in His conversation with this powerful Pharisee.

• Our English translation barely captures the nuances of the concepts in the original (Greek) script: “Born again” can also be understood as “born from above”
• The same word can be translated as breath; wind; Spirit.
  
• The idea of birth/new life permeates the conversation but is restricted in our translation.

All these combined ideas and language were used by Jesus to bring Nicodemus from an understanding of “are you for us or against us” (John 3:2) to beginning to realise the new kingdom of God that was unfolding in his presence, in Jesus the Christ.
Importantly, this encounter commits the hearer/reader to grow in their faith, and not remain an infant, immature and undeveloped in the faith – especially from the point of view after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension.

The writer, John the apostle, then continues on to exhort the new Christians to be able to communicate the faith intelligently, faithfully, truthfully.
Nicodemus appears again in John’s gospel, and we find it to be an incomplete journey but importantly, Nicodemus was on the journey. I happen to believe that his inclusion in the gospel points to him having a known position within the kingdom, the early Church in Jerusalem.

This is an encounter with Jesus that John reported and used to teach the Church in his own time, and one we can hear and be reminded of these things again and again, particularly that famous verse in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

During Lent and the Easter weekend, we explored eight encounters ordinary people had with God the Son, Jesus of Nazareth.
There were:

• Nicodemus the curious Religious Leader who came to "check Jesus out".
  
• A Samaritan woman at a rural water well, who Jesus could have quickly dismissed - but did not.
  
• A man who had been disabled for thirty-eight years, enabled to walk (and carry his bed!) by Jesus.
  
• A man born blind, given sight to see by Jesus.
  
• Lazarus who had died, whom Jesus raised from the dead. Mary & Martha, Lazarus' sisters.
  
• Jubilant crowds and angry Pharisees in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
  
• An encounter of unequal power with Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor (Good Friday)
  
• Mary Magdalene, the first witness of the risen Jesus (Easter Day).
  

We will post summaries of these sermons here in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

If you think Jesus was a meek, gentle Teacher who cuddled lambs, read John 8:12-59. Could you deal with some of the measured insults He throws at the Jews who were trying to manipulate and corner Him? In fact, He offended them so much, the debate ends with serious physical violence as the enraged Jewish scholars picked up rocks to try and kill Him!
The Jews had worked very hard to create a pretty box for God. It was made up of the Temple, the laws and rituals, the priesthood, and their distinct heritage as the children of Abraham. They worked hard at keeping God in the box and not letting Him do anything ‘out of the box’.
In fact they had been so good at it, that for four hundred years before John the Baptist, God hadn’t sent a prophet or “Word of the LORD” to His people. They had kept God ‘under control’ despite the successive marches of the Persians, Greeks, Egyptians and Romans through their land.
But Jesus blew that box wide open and exposed the emptiness inside. He told them that God had NEVER been in that box. The Temple was about to be destroyed. The laws and rituals had suffocated God’s people rather than enlivening them. The priesthood wielded power ruthlessly and put down any challenge to their power (read Maccabees, and John 11:45-57). And the claim of being descendants of Abraham were genetically true, yet spiritually barren. Their faith was nothing like Abraham’s.
When the Jewish leadership pushed Jesus to tell them by what authority He taught and did deeds of power, they concluded He had a demonic power. As the argument escalated, Jesus claimed greater power, even life that never dies. The enraged Jews seized on His point and asked Him to clarify that He knew life that never died. They pointed out that faithful Abraham, their ancestor, had died, as did the prophets. They sneered at Jesus, demanding: “Who do you think you are?”
Jesus’ answer blew the Jewish box apart completely… He was not only intimate with God, but the Jews were not. In fact, Abraham knew Him and rejoiced that Jesus was the One to come, and the Jews in front of Him could not see who He was to save themselves… literally.
Then He topped it off with: “I tell you the truth… before Abraham was born, I AM!” (John 8:58) This was an outright claim of being one with the LORD God Most High, and being known even before Abraham had lived over two thousand years before.
Who could say such a thing and live? The Jews were sure they knew – and it wasn’t this middle-aged man in front of them.
How do you respond to Jesus when He blows your carefully crafted box of spirituality apart, and you find that you never had ‘control’ of God – ever?
Do you dare to ask Jesus “who do you think you are?”, and are you prepared to hear the answer?
Do you rejoice with Abraham that Jesus has come, and eagerly look forward to His return, to His resurrection and life, to eternity of full life, in full relationship, fully being known and knowing?
Jesus is greater than Abraham. That’s not a stunning idea to most people, but to His day, it was enough to get Him killed. Jesus is greater than you think. Take a peek in the box you have tried to put Him in – it’s empty. Pray that He will open your eyes to Him today.