Jesus

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12 v 1 - 3

What one word comes into your mind as I say….. JESUS?

Beautiful….. Wonderful……Powerful…….Love…….Saviour…….Friend……. and the list can continue.

Often in our Mini Church services we ask people to choose their favourite songs….. “What a beautiful name” by Hillsong United is often requested and I love it when it is…. What fantastic lyrics it contains:

You didn't want heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now?

As I was praying about todays message, God told me to talk about JESUS. Well that is pretty easy in some ways, but there are also Bible college libraries full of books about Jesus…. What should I share with you? The Hebrews verses then came into my mind. This whole thinking leads us on from where Peter led us last week as he rediscovered John 10v10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full, and the fact that it is not about the Devil and us, but about Jesus and all that he has done to protect us  - his sheep.

Let us look at 3 extracts that will thrill us about JESUS:

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith

Heb 12v2 - 2

The words vary in different Bible translations, but there are two elements high-lighted here, firstly Jesus is the PIONEER, or “author”, “starter”, “source”…. In other words the beginning of faith, and then secondly, he is the PERFECTOR or “finisher”, “completer”, Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 22v13).

John 1 v 1 and 12 wrap this up so wonderfully:

v1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God………………….

&

v12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

The plan of salvation, the path of faith, was there at the very foundation of the World and it worked towards and from the CROSS, on which Jesus gave His life for us, and is continuing to this present day. Our Faith is a demonstration of this working – your testimony, my testimony, the testimonies of the great and small, all of whom have found Faith, Hope and Love in JESUS.

…. And then we have this paradox in our passage…the continuation of verse 2:

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame

Heb 12v2

How can “Joy”, “endurance” and “scorn”, all be mixed up in one sentence? Jesus knew what he was heading towards – the suffering of a lamb being led to slaughter – Isaiah 53v7, the drips of blood as Jesus prayed in earnest moments before he was arrested and his steps towards the crucifixion were started – Luke 22v41-44. Is there joy in these situations – my heart is filled with sorrow and ‘yuck, yuck, yuck’, as I even begin to think about the physical torture of being put to death on a cross, and of course, for Jesus the nails were not the worst of it – as the older and not news hymns put it…..

“We may not know, we cannot tell, what pains he had to bear, but we believe it was for us, he hung and suffered there” - Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818–1895

“Come see His hands and His feet, the scars that speak of sacrifice. Hands that flung stars into space, to cruel nails surrendered. THIS IS OUR GOD, THE SERVANT KING – Graham Kendrick (written in 1984)

But MY JESUS is not for the moment, but for eternity! YES, He did have to endure the pain of the cross because of my sin… our sins….YES, He did have to be hung amongst Criminals, the God of creation… to suffer the shame of a crucifixion and it wasn’t nice! Remember that Jesus is totally God, and yet fully man…. the physical pain was the same as you and I would have felt, BUT the “spiritual” pain of our sin upon His shoulders we can’t know! But it was the path my Jesus knew He would have to walk from the beginning of time (2Tim1v9 - This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,). This is where the JOY came from – walking in obedience to the Father and knowing the cross was a means – the only way in fact – to make the “end” achievable, for sinful people like me and you, to once again have the opportunity to be in the presence of a Holy God.

One of the worship songs chosen during our mini church last Sunday was called LOVE HAS A NAME from “Jesus Culture”. I hadn’t heard it before, but I really recommend you to enjoy the tune and listen carefully to the words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2S3aJIf9w8

One of the verses states:

The name that's lifted up forever
The name that shakes the earth and shakes the heavens
The hope for every heart
The Saviour of the world

And so to our final thought from Hebrews for today….

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners

Heb 12v3

When I have done the correct thing and then I am criticized, I find this very difficult. To be brunt of someone else’s mistake is not an easy burden to carry and yet, if you are not at the top of the work hierarchy ….. your social hierarchy…….. even your family hierarchy, it can be a fairly common occurrence and yet very difficult to deal with.  So, just as our Hebrews 12 v 3 encourages us….. consider this situation for Jesus! He had no sin, He had done no wrong and yet he willingly went to the cross on behalf of all us… and up to the end he faced opposition from all:

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews

Luke 23v35 - 38

It is easy for us to point the finger and say…. ”Well, I wouldn’t have acted like any of those”. I hope not, and I am sure you are genuine in your thinking, but the reality is, each time we are disobedient to the will of God – sin in what we say or don’t say, in what we do or don’t do, we are amongst those “sinners” surrounding the cross and helping to hammer the nails in deeper.

It’s sad, and I feel this sadness as I type, as I know that I am one of those sinners, BUT just remember that word that came to mind as we mentioned the word “JESUS” at the beginning of this message. The cross is not about condemnation, but about forgiveness…

Jesus says in Luke 23v34 as He is hanging on the cross “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 

JESUS - BEAUTIFUL….. WONDERFUL…POWERFUL...LOVE….SAVIOUR…….FRIEND……. or whatever you thought!

What better passage to end with and to understand more fully who JESUS is:

 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2 v 5 - 11

Amen

PRAYER

Questions to ponder:

• Your “Jesus Word” – why did that word come into your mind?

• How can we better give and receive forgiveness?

• What is the challenge for you this week (the same mindset) from the Philippian’s passage?