Pentecost 2013

In this sermon I include quite a number of verses which I allowed, mostly, to speak for themselves as I spoke to the church. 

(Read Acts 2: 1-4)

The day of Pentecost speaks starkly about what the Holy Spirit does, what His power, role and work are. Also, the day of Pentecost testifies to what an indescribable honor God bestowed on us—because God led us into the sphere of His own divine action. He made us partakers of the divine life, even co-laborers with Christ.

To better open up the majesty of what God bestowed on the Church on the day of Pentecost, it is in my opinion indispensible to compare the baptism of Jesus Christ, in which the Holy Spirit played a central role, with what happened on the day of Pentecost, in which the Holy Spirit again played a central role. It is one and the same Holy Spirit, and in the sphere of God's plan and purposes it can't be coincidental that these two events contain such similarities.

In both events we see God's Spirit doing what God's Spirit does, what is essential to the Spirit's acts in the sphere of creation. What is it that the Holy Spirit does?

The Spirit indwells: (look at Romans 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 3:16; Gal. 4:6; John 14:23—about this last one, emphasis on the point that while the Holy Spirit isn't specifically named in this verse, the whole meaning of the verse depends on the role of the Spirit in bringing the presence and power of the Father and Son into our lives)

The Spirit enlivens and fills with power:  (look at 1 Cor. 2:12,13; Gal. 5:16-18, 25; Eph. 5:18; John 6:63)

The Spirit manifests God's glory: personally, I believe that the glory that appeared in the tabernacle was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit; also that the "star" that led the Magi to the house in Bethlehem where they found the Christ Child was a specific manifestation of God's Spirit. Also (look at 2 Cor. 3:7-8; 1 Peter 4:14)

The Spirit brings forth a new creation: (look at 1 Cor. 12: 13; 15:45; Titus 3:5)

This is the Spirit of God who was displayed in the most awesome way in both the baptism of Jesus Christ and the day of Pentecost.

Let's look at the familiar passage concerning Christ's baptism (read Matt. 3: 13-17).

The baptism powerfully testifies of the Trinity which today's holiday especially proclaims [Note: Pentecost is known in Ukraine and other countries where the Orthodox Church predominates as "Trinity Day"]. Father, Son and Spirit in one action announce the beginning of a new day, a new reality, an entirely new order of things. The Father speaks, the Spirit descends, the Son receives the anointing. This is the official appointing and empowering of God's Christ before the whole world. This is the greatest manifestation of the Holy Trinity in world history. We cannot imagine the depth of the glory of this moment. The Spirit of God anoints the Son of God in whom dwells all the pleasure of God the Father. Man could never have dreamed up such a scenario. God astonishes us with the perfection of His self-witness. And, by the way, witness is also another key role and work of the Holy Spirit: (read John 15:26).

And so we return to the day of Pentecost. In light of everything I've said already, what I want to underline are two aspects of this great day: appointment and honor.

"Appointment" itself has two aspects: authority and power. Either one without the other is useless. On the day of Pentecost, God dramatically, in front of the whole world, fills His Church with power and confirms her authority to preach the Name and Gospel of His Son.

Concerning this authority, the Scriptures tell us: (look at John 17:2; Acts 9:27,28; 16:18; Philippians 2:9)

And concerning this power, the Scriptures say: (look at Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:4,5; Ephesians 3:16)

Together with the appointing of the Church, the day of Pentecost testifies to the indescribable honor God deigned to bestow on His people.

The Lord God condescended to baptize His Church with the very Spirit with Whom He baptized His holy Son Jesus Christ, and in so doing declared with stunning clarity that He receives us in the name of His Son—receives us, indeed, into the very life and fellowship of His beloved, risen Son. Who can put that honor, the glory of that, into fitting words? I can't. I think we all realize how unworthy we are of it, how infinitely far any of us is from earning such honor, but that's precisely what grace, God's overflowing love, is all about.

The day of Pentecost is the holiday of the Holy Trinity's superabundant, overflowing love, openly displayed in the anointing of the Church of Christ—anointing for love, for witness, for authority and power, for fellowship with the Most High and for the glory and joy of the Creator and our Redeemer forever. 

Meaningful Numbers

In the Bible there are significant numbers which witness about key realities in God's revelation, in His historical plan of redemption, and in His own nature and character. For example, if I just mention the number three, we right away think of the Holy Trinity. If 12, the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 12 apostles, and the 12 gates in the New Jerusalem. If 1, the fact that there is only one God.

There are other numbers that convey special meaning in the biblical narrative. But I want to say a word of warning: We Christians do not practice numerology, which is a kind of occultism. We don't seek secret, hidden revelations in all numbers and quantities that show up in the Bible or other spheres of life. That is inadmissible.

But when God Himself, not in a hidden way but openly, invests significance in some number so that it consistently speaks of something God has done or who He is, then of course we need to pay attention—all the more so as God brings that number back again and again in various contexts. In fact, the repetition of a specific number in Scripture, in such a way that it reminds us again and again of the same theme, even though it is showing up in quite different biblical contexts—this tells us that a single and specific theological lesson about God and His ways is developing, like a thread of thought, through all these different parts of biblical history.

Today we're going to look at a single place in Scripture—that is, a single event in history—where not one, not two, but three such significant biblical numbers play important roles together, in perfect harmony. This is something unusual. Perhaps the "collision" of three such fateful numbers in one event testifies how the event itself overflows with the most intense theological revelation and historic, redemptive meaning. 

But before we look at that place in Scripture, we'll take a quick look at Genesis 1:31-2:3 (read).

For six days God worked, and everything He made, everything He did, was good.   Whatever God created, fashioned, intended, desired, appointed, established, whatever God accomplished over these six days, and whatever was designed to come of what God did, was good. There was categorically nothing that was not good. The "not-good" didn't exist. So you have six days of the creating of everything that isn't eternal, the creating of everything that isn't God Himself, the creating of everything that the eternal God, in the superabundance of Love, deigned to make and bless. And "to bless" means to bestow blessedness, the ultimate bliss and gladness.

On the seventh day God rested. Not because God is able to get tired, but because the work of creation was done; also because there was something else to do.  Notice that the Bible doesn't say that God did nothing on the seventh day; it only says that He stopped creating. So, what does God do when He is not creating?

Well, in the first place the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that God is unceasingly maintaining all things, that is, realizing their continued existence, by His mighty word. So, for one thing, God was doing this on the seventh day. The Scriptures tell us, too, that God is love. On the seventh day God didn't stop being love. On the seventh day, as well, I believe God, in all the majesty of His eternal love and grace, was contemplating His creation and by this contemplation, by this very gaze, was blessing it—because to be contemplated by God is the supreme beatitude. The seventh day is a gift of the Father to His creation: a day of meeting, contemplation and love, a day of exultation.

For six days, God alone creates. The seventh day means the enjoyment of the fruits of the divine act.

Six, and seven.

Now we'll look at one more place in Genesis: 7:13-17 (read), also verse 23 (read).

For forty days the flood increased, until everything that breathed upon the land perished, with the exception of Noah and his family in the ark. The number 40 speaks of God's wrath, of a period of trial, of the power of God and the fear of all flesh before Him.

In Moses' time, when the Israelites rose up against God, God announced the punishment: for forty years, until all the present generation passes away, the nation will live in the desert. While the Israelites knew very well, of course, the way to Canaan—that was no secret!—the point was that the Promised Land was forbidden to them until God said it was time. Before that: a time of testing, purging, preparation for a new day and order of life. 40 days, 40 years. And we all know that the Lord spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and overcoming the devil's temptations, even as He was being tried and proven by His own Father in heaven. There in the desert Christ manifested the perfection of faithfulness and obedience, and emerging from the desert Jesus Christ began proclaiming a new order of things—the Kingdom of God.

And now, let's open Exodus 24 and read verses 12-18 (read).

What sort of moment is this in the history of the nation? Well, God has already led the people out of Egypt and has sealed a covenant with them stipulating that they will be His people and He their God. But now, here at this moment, the Israelites are entering a deeper level of consecration to God. Here they have promised to observe God's holy law; indeed it may be said that at this stage the nation is committing to be God's collaborators (imagine the honor that means!), wholly devoted to the accomplishment of God's will on the earth. And in response God is now, if I may put it figuratively, "fixing to come down" from the mountain, to "live" in the holy tabernacle His people will build according to the plan they received from Him, and reside in the midst of the Israelite nation forever—as long as they stay faithful to Him.

This was an unprecedented moment in history. There had never been anything remotely like this, unless you count the fellowship Adam and Eve knew with God in the Garden. God will come down from the mountain, "move in" to the Tabernacle and permanently live with His people! Now, we know that heaven and earth cannot contain God, but that truth cannot contradict the powerful symbolism of what's happening here and the statement God Himself is making through it. Yes, heaven and earth cannot contain God, but neither can heaven and earth stop God from specially revealing His presence and power, uniquely and gloriously, anywhere He wants and for any purpose He wants. Here in the desert, at the mountain of Sinai, God unveils an unprecedented order of things, a new basis for relationship between God and a holy nation all His own. I will even dare to say that, only after the incomparable, ultimate feat of Christ Himself, this event in the desert is the most significant and powerful in the historical unfolding of God's redemptive work. It is a foreshadowing, too, of that day when God will descend to dwell with His nation, in the very Person of His beloved Son Jesus Christ and in His omnipresent glory in the eternal kingdom and a new creation.

Pay very careful attention, therefore, to the precise sequence and the symbolic connotations of this event:

(Read verse 16 again)

Six days. That is the term of the divine work and accomplishment. For six days God creates; this is the duration of His labor. Notice that during these six days the Lord doesn't invite Moses into the cloud. It's because God alone is Creator, and we get the impression that, there in the cloud, hidden from human eyes, something of surpassing glory is being made ready, something no human may take part in creating. And then, only on the seventh day, on the day of rest, God summons Moses to enter. It's paradoxical that precisely on the day of rest God commands Moses to do something, to act. Yes, the "day of rest" doesn't mean "the day of doing nothing". The day of rest denotes our entrance into God's rest, into His peace and gladness; we contemplate His works and majesty; we contemplate the love of Him who condescends to contemplate, and bless, us. And so, the seventh day, though the last of seven, is always the first day of something new. When the six days of creation ended, something new appeared on the scene: a day of rest, God's rest.

And as if to underline that fact, God kept Moses there on the mountain for forty days. That's the term of testing, purging and preparation for an entirely new order of things. During these 40 days God was showing Moses the heavenly blueprint for the tabernacle, the image of the holy place in which God's glory would dwell.

Six, seven and forty.  These three meaningful numbers all testify that it is God Who first realizes—makes real—everything necessary for our blessedness. The deed, the act, the feat, is His only. Then He invites us to enter His peace and rest, like Moses entering the cloud on the mountaintop, where we may contemplate Him. And it is in the sphere of this spiritual rest that He commands us to serve Him as faithful stewards of what He has made real.

Here there is a whole picture of our salvation in Jesus Christ, inasmuch as He accomplished everything Himself when we were totally helpless and incapable, dead in sins. And once He had done, forever, the perfect work, He summoned the children of His love to enter freely, "Peace I give you, my peace I leave you". And it is beginning with peace, beginning with rest, that we enter into, and launch out onto, our "forty days", days of trial and preparation, not to earn what the works of the flesh never could, but to grow into the faithful collaborators of Christ Himself in joyful devotion to His Lordship.

And He is worthy of this devotion, because (Heb. 3:2-6)"He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end."

And therefore, (Heb. 4:7b-11) "…Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience."

  

Ascension Day Sermon 2013

Today I would like to talk with you about three results, or meanings, of the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before we think about each one in detail, let's just list them to start off with:

1. The Ascension of Christ launches a period in history in which the Church must be His representative in the world.

2. The Ascension underlines the deity of Christ.

3. The Ascension directs our attention to the source, the starting point, of our salvation.

So let's begin with the first point: "The Ascension of Christ launches a period in history in which the Church must be His representative in the world."  Christ's ascension appoints and establishes a period in world history in which God's nation can be witness of Him in a unique manner that was impossible earlier. Jesus says to His Church: "You will be my witnesses."

The apostle Peter tells us (read 1 Peter 2:9). We are to manifest the excellencies, the majestic glories, of Christ. In as much as it was God's will to receive Jesus Christ back to Himself and appoint the Church to do this, as the Body of Christ, it means precisely that God desired and intended such a period in history, one in which His people, His holy nation, would, as witness, manifest the fullness of what it means to be God's people.

The Lord could have, of course, remained on the earth after His resurrection and immediately set up the Kingdom. But He didn't. That was His choice, and all God's choices mean something. The fact of His going away speaks of God's holy intent to appoint the Church to an age and mission on earth, to sojourn here, for a time, in a fallen, mutinous world, bearing the light of the Gospel and testimony of Christ.

Can we fully comprehend why this was God's choice? Of course not. But there are in the history of God's work some hints and glimpses as to why. And the starkest one of all is the history of the Israelite nation. How long the Lord wrestled with His people, exhorting, blessing, punishing, forgiving, rescuing, handing over into captivity and delivering yet again. It all points to the central fact that God desires and wills that on this earth there should be a nation faithful to Him, that lives by faith and in the freedom of love demonstrates perfect obedience (or as near as Man may ever attain it this side of eternity), to the glory of His name.

The pain and grief in the heart of God Himself are audible in the words of the apostle Paul when he writes (read Romans 9:1-5).

This divine desire was not fulfilled in the Israelite nation the way it must be fulfilled before that final, "great and terrible" Day of the Lord. But Scripture declares that, no matter what, the Lord God was determined to display the riches of His grace in a chosen people in this fallen world. And nobody will stop God from enacting what He has determined will be. (Read Romans 9:22-26).   About this very nation the apostle Peter says: (read 1 Peter 2:9).

Today you and I are that nation, in a sense "wandering" in this desert of a fallen world, as we show forth the life and might of Him Who leads us, just as God once led Israel in the desert; even more, He lives in us to unfold and display His redemption and salvation through us. If Christ had not ascended, then this unique period would never have been—precisely this unique period in which exactly this divine intent and desire comes marvelously true once and for all. It is a special moment in the plan of God that never happened before the advent of Christ, and in fact it will never happen again—when we are here, and He is there, but He is in us, and we are in Him, and all of this is a fallen world desperately needing His witness.  For His reasons, desires and will, God so deigned it to be: that we should be left here, for now, by our Risen Savior in this world—but not left as orphans (read John 14:18).

And now my second point: the Ascension underlines the deity of Christ.

A few weeks ago, at Easter time, I mentioned in a sermon that, for now, only Jesus Christ has been resurrected, in the full and true sense of the word. Others were raised from the dead but they died again. Only Christ is risen in true Resurrection. But we, who have a share in Him, await a resurrection like His: (read Romans 6:5). Yes, we will rise like the Lord Jesus Himself. It's amazing!

But when we consider the Ascension of Christ, we realize there's a uniqueness in this event that sets it apart even from the Resurrection.  And I can sum it up in one phrase: we won't ascend to the Father just like Jesus did! The Ascension is Christ's unique right and glory as God the Son.

Christ ascended and sat down at the right hand of His Father in heaven. Christ declared, "I am returning to my Father." He says (read John 16:28).

Which of us can say the same? None of us. None of us came from the Father into this world or will return to the Father from Whom we came. Which of the prophets of God or the patriarchs of Israel could ever speak such words? None of them! And none of them dared try.

The Ascension of Jesus Christ to His Father testifies uniquely of the deity of Christ, and it perfectly concludes the earthly/heavenly revelation of His first coming. It reminds us that He Who returned to the Father is the very One of whom the book of Revelation says: (read Rev. 21:22-23).

Scripture doesn't say that the Lord God and the Lamb and the Church are the temple of the New Jerusalem. Scripture doesn’t say that the Lord God and the Lamb and the Church are the light of the eternal Kingdom. No. It is the Lord God and the Lamb Jesus Christ who are the very Light, Glory and Life of the heavenly kingdom forever. "I am returning to My Father". (Read Hebrews 1:1-3).  

Yes, surely: Christ will come and take us to be with Him where He is; the apostle Paul, led by the Spirit of God, tells of a day when we shall meet the Lord in the air. It is all true. Amen. BUT, no one but Jesus Christ will ever ascend to the Father from Whom He came into this world, returning to the glory He had with the Father before the creation of the world. This ascension, this return, belongs uniquely to the Son of God.  

The third meaning of the Ascension that I wanted to talk about today was: the Ascension directs our attention to the source, the starting point, of our salvation.

(Read Philippians 3:20)

Why do we await a Savior from heaven? Someone will reply, "Isn't it obvious? It's because He is in heaven!" Well, yes, of course, but we await a Savior from heaven also because Heaven—to be precise, the Lord God of Heaven—is the Source, the Author, the Initiator of all our redemption, rebirth, new life and world. The ascension of Jesus Christ testifies that we are called there, to our Maker, to reconciliation with the Father Creator; it testifies that the very essence of life for us is now no longer to be found in this fallen world but in the risen Son in whom we have an eternal inheritance.

(Read John 14:3; Colossians 1:13; 3:1-4)

We await, we expect, a Savior from heaven precisely because heaven—the heaven of God's holiness—is the very place where the new, redeemed Man in Christ must arrive and be forever with Him.

(Read John 14:3 again)

This doesn't mean that our eternal dwelling is "out there somewhere", in space or in some ethereal dimension we call "Heaven". No. About that the apostle Peter says clearly (read 2 Peter 3:10), and the apostle John says, (Rev. 21:1), and also (Rev. 21:5).

There is a new creation, a physical creation, awaiting us in which we'll live forever in new bodies that are like the risen body of Christ Himself. It's a whole new universe God will create, in which there's no decay, grief or tears. But we await this ultimate, consummate redemption and glory from where precisely? From heaven, from the very place we are waiting for our Savior from. God in Heaven is the wellspring and Author of all the eternity we can possibly hope for.  The Ascension of Christ constantly prods us to look up, to strain our gaze in expectation, and know where our hope comes from.

"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven."

Three Kings, Three Signs

This is a very simple sermon and not strong on "practical application", though I must admit I'm never strong on that in general. I mostly aim to present a "picture" and hope the audience gets the point. Probably because that's the kind of sermon I get the most out of myself. This sermon was 2/3 written when I got to church. The final third remained unwritten. I had it sketched out in my head along the following questions: Who is this? What does he see? What does he ask? What answer does he receive? How does he respond? What sign is given?
The response to this sermon was unusually strong and emotional. I myself could not help getting emotional by the end of it. Interestingly, it was also one of the rare instances when I chose to preach in English, with my friend and pastor of our church, Volodya Gorbenko, interpreting. You will notice that the pacing of the sermon, as written—which I stuck to almost verbatim—lends to the constant back-and-forth of a sermon translated on the spot.

(Read Isaiah 7:1-15)

We see a king in fear. There is no faith in his heart. Ahaz was not one of Judah's great kings. But, he was king of Judah, and God gave him every opportunity to live in accordance with truth. Now, here, the Lord offers Ahaz another opportunity to believe.

Ahaz is inspecting the aqueduct, probably to make sure that he can defend the city in case of attack—or at least that he can escape if necessary. The message that Isaiah gives Ahaz from God is terribly simple. "Ahaz, you're wasting your time! Nothing that you're afraid of will happen. You're spending your time and energy—and probably a lot of money—for nothing. Relax, go home, forget about it." 

Isn't that good news? Wouldn't you be thrilled if God sent you such news about something you dreaded and were anxious about? Maybe an operation, or a big debt, or a problem at work. Imagine if news came from heaven, saying, "Your problem is gone; it doesn't exist anymore; everything's fine; forget about it." In fact, I'm sure we have all dreamed of hearing such news at some time or other in our lives when things have been bad. And I know that God knows we dream of hearing such news from heaven. And He knows our pain, and our fear, and even though He does not always say those words we'd love to hear, there is an even deeper sustenance and power for life in Him. So that we can go on victoriously.

But, paradoxically, to Ahaz, who had no faith in his heart, God does say such wonderful news: "The problem is gone. Forget about it!" This is God's grace and mercy. But Ahaz, the man of disbelief, doesn't accept the good news. Amazing! Why doesn't he accept? Again, because of fear. We can imagine how he was thinking: "What's this? This so-called prophet is telling me to stop preparing for war?! Telling me to just relax and not worry?! Does he think I'm crazy? Maybe I should just send an invitation to our enemies to come whenever they want, and we'll leave the gates open for them, and they can find me sleeping in the palace! No, I won't listen to such madness."

And so, Ahaz continues preparing to meet an enemy he cannot possibly defeat. I ask you, which is the greater "madness": to accept the Lord's promise of salvation, or to continue preparing for guaranteed destruction? There is something very analogical here to our spiritual lives. We can accept the Lord's word about salvation by faith, or we can keep preparing ourselves for eternity on our own merit—which means guaranteed disaster! 

The Gospel of Christ is the simplest good news, so simple that it offends the pride of Man. You can do nothing—nothing—to defeat your enemy. Your enemy is sin and death. Oh, yes, you can keep trying, and you can invest all kinds of time, energy, even money, but the end of it all is disaster and defeat. Or, you can open your heart and receive the free gift of eternal life from God, from His love and perfect mercy. You can freely receive complete forgiveness and eternal life from the resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ.

Why would anyone reject such simple, magnificent news? Well, there are two reasons. Jesus told Nicodemus, "They did not come to the light because they loved darkness more than the light." Pride and disbelief erect a wall in the heart against the glory and love of God. Ahaz is a living portrait of this pride and disbelief. Amazingly, God gives him a second chance. In verse ten it says, "Again the Lord God spoke to Ahaz…." Again. That means Ahaz didn't accept the first communication. And God offers Ahaz something that Ahaz has no right to expect: a sign. When God says, "Ask for a sign", He is serious! God never lies. And how does Ahaz respond? (read verse 12).

And yet, Ahaz really is testing the Lord right now, when he refuses to ask. Therefore the prophet Isaiah says (read verses 13-14). In other words, "Alright, Ahaz, you refused the sign I offered you; then I'll give the sign to the house of David. And the sign is Immanuel, who is 'God with us'."

You may not believe, Ahaz, yet I will bring my purpose to its magnificent fulfillment.

More briefly, let's look at another king and another sign.

(Read Isaiah 38:1-3)

This is Hezekiah, Ahaz's son. He's not perfect, but he's a much better king than his father was. It's interesting that Isaiah went to the bad king with good news, and now he comes to the good king with bad news. But that happens in life. The righteous suffer and the wicked flourish. The main thing, though, is how we react to what happens. Ahaz refused to believe. Hezekiah believes, and he turns to God with a broken heart. He doesn't ask for a sign; he doesn't even ask for healing. He only prays, with tears, "Remember me, Lord." And what did the Lord do?

(Read verses 4-10).

This story would sound happy if it ended there, but unfortunately we read in chapter 38 that Hezekiah did something very foolish. He received ambassadors from Babylon and proudly showed them all his treasures and riches. And when Isaiah found out about it, he told Hezekiah, "The Lord says that all your riches, and even your children, will be taken away to Babylon." And how did Hezekiah react? (Read Is. 39:8) "Well, at least I'll have a happy life, so if my behavior brings disaster to the nation later, it's not my problem." Yes, Hezekiah was a better king than his father, but far from perfect!

And now we will look at one more king and a sign that was given to him. Let's read Luke 22: 39-49 (read).

WHO IS THIS? This is the Creator who became man to share our sufferings and griefs, and to redeem us for His eternal kingdom because He is love. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is Jesus, the King of kings.

WHAT DOES HE SEE? He sees the sin of the world laid upon his own soul; he sees the hatred and humiliation, the whip, the cross, the nails, a crown of thorns, the unspeakable holiness that blasts the sin of the world, the infinite abyss of darkness in which no answer comes to the cry, "Why have you forsaken me?"

WHAT DOES HE ASK? "Please stop this if there's any other way; if there's any way at all, then, Father, please… take this away from me." The King of kings never asks His Father in heaven not to win redemption for His people, whatever the price. He only asks if there could be another way, somehow….

WHAT ANSWER DOES HE GET? "No." There's no other way. It will be this; this will happen, now. The King of kings is told: "No."  

HOW DOES HE RESPOND? "Yes." Your will be done, Father. Jesus says "Yes" to the Father's "No"--not as contradiction but as embrace. Your will, Your word be done. The Son receives "No" from the Father as He receives everything from His Father: as the unveiling of Love's perfect glory. And the King is ready to fulfill this glory. For love of the Father, for love of you and me.   

WHAT SIGN IS GIVEN? "An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him."  When God says "No" to the anguished plea of His Own Son, He says "Yes" to His Son's resolve to take the final steps of ultimate surrender to Love's demand. He says "Yes" to His Son's need. A servant appears out of Heaven's glory to meet the King of glory's humblest human need: comfort; strength; the need perhaps of a smile, the need even to be held, and told it will all be alright—you will do this; you will rise again….

Three kings, three signs… But one King of kings, Lord of lords and Risen Savior. Living for the perfect glory of His Father, He perfected the salvation of our souls. Only His total surrender to God could mean total redemption for us; there was no middle way. 

And in going the whole, and terrible, way, He became the Sign Himself, the Sign of glory and eternal life for the whole creation. This is Jesus Christ, and He is our King. May we be living signs of of His glorious, coming Kingdom, in the power of His Spirit and holiness of His love.