Purposeful Passion
Commentary
In the 2002 movie Gran Torino Clint Eastwood plays the recently widowed and disgruntled retired auto worker Walt Kowalski. One of the subplots of the movie is Walt’s efforts to mentor the Hmong neighbor boy, Thao. Both Thao and his sister Sue Lao are being harassed by the Spider gang in the Detroit neighborhood. In efforts to try to appease the Spider gang, Thao fails to steal Walt’s beloved Gran Torino car. As the movie progresses, it occurs to Walt that Thao will never be free to pursue a job in construction that Walt arranged until the Spider gang leaves Thao alone. After a series of violent encounters, Walt finally decides to confront the Spider gang on their front lawn. Being a Korean War veteran who owns weapons, both the Spider gang and Thao believe Walt will come in with blazing guns. Instead Walt comes with a cigarette lighter and calls out the Spider gang on the front lawn. The gang mistakenly believes Walt is packing a weapon and guns him down. Walt Kowalski falls to his death, as he is gunned down, with his body in the form of a cross. The Spider gang is now under arrest, and Thao now inherits the Gran Torino he tries to steal earlier in the movie.
The narrative in John invites us to view Jesus’s passion with a purpose. He will be lifted up while among hostile, dark, ungodly forces. That is, Jesus in John has a mission in mind before he is even arrested. Like Walt Kowalski, he has a destiny that will result in “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Each of today’s texts can be read through the frame of suffering with a purpose or mission in the process of suffering and dying. Isaiah’s Servant Song suggests atonement for the people of God as the purpose for suffering. Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus in Matthew’s and Mark’s passion from Jesus’s lips. The psalmist suggests that God also has skin in the game to deliver the psalmist. Hebrews argues that the Passion of the Christ is the ultimate credential for a high priest. Finally, John’s account of the Passion is Jesus’s final hour that was spoken of as early as John 2 during the Cana Wedding sign.
These Good Friday texts suggest that suffering with a passionate mission in mind provides another framework for the crucifixion and any form of suffering. Jesus is less of a victim of an unjust temple and empire government system, but is purposefully carrying out God’s desire for humans to have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). In the process Jesus is being “lifted up.”
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
This servant does not have the camera-friendly appearance one would want to feature in a YouTube or Livestream video of a worship service on social media. He is despised, rejected and a man of sorrows. People hide their faces from him (53:1-3). This servant looks more like a tired, weary working person, showing signs of bad eating habits, who holds down more than one job to keep a roof over his head and food on the table. This servant is not the one who will be nominated for any local or national political office. Yet, this person is one of the work horses of any organization who receives little or no recognition for the efforts he put in behind the scenes. This is the relative who put in countless early morning and late evening hours of labor so a loved one might have a good education or be able to participate in a musical or athletic competition. The suffering does have purpose. This servant does not suffer for suffering’s sake!
Scholars debate whether the servant was the nation of Israel or a messianic figure that New Testament authors identified as their Messiah. That is, the suffering servant may be applied to Jesus of Nazareth. More liberal scholars (R. Bultmann, and E. Kasemann) argue the servant is a Greek or Hellenist idea borrowed by the New Testament writers. Both views hold that this Suffering Servant song was reinterpreted in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
This Good Friday the text begins with a song of exaltation, “Behold my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high” (Isaiah 52:12). To preach this text one might use this verse as the interpretative lens for all suffering the servant endures in any part of his or her life. That is, he shall be lifted up and exalted.
To preach on this text point out that one purpose of suffering for the servant is for sins and indiscretions of a people. One question often cited is, “Does our God’s wrath need to be appeased by such a servant figure?” One response is the reality of “sin.” Isaiah wishes to provide a pattern of: Humiliation, exaltation, and a new way of life while disclosing God’s power (Brueggemann, 143-144).
After the completion time of discomfort and suffering of the servant, the text says, “He shall see the fruit of the travail of his should and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). This is the good news of the text. There is new life for those who suffer now. There is a distant exaltation in the future.
In the modern church situation, what is worth the time, sacrifice and, yes, finances for giving to the church or any nonprofit organization? Who is willing to be the workhorse?
Another approach I wish to uplift is, where does the church spend its limited resources in time, money and the efforts of its faithful servants? In the past, it has been for building projects and repairs. The kneejerk reaction is often, “We need to get more young people involved with the church!” Yet, some studies in church magazines suggest that with the growing number of “Nones” in younger age brackets, this might be unrealistic. When younger families do attend, they might not have the same commitment level in giving as previous generations. So how do we allocate the resources that the suffering servants bring to the table? Isaiah seems to suggest one way or another God will lift up God’s people and the church. [Sources: Walter, Brueggemann, Westminster Bible Companion: Isaiah 40-66, (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998); Brevard Childs, New Testament Commentary: Isaiah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).
Psalm 22
“Because of the citation of Psalm 22:1 in the passion narrative of Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, this psalm is best-known among Christians” (Brueggemann, 113). Roughly, the psalm can be divided into two sections: vs: 1-21a is a complaint in time of trouble. 21b-31 is a song of praise and thanksgiving after the resolution of the trouble. Either section could be separated or broken down into pieces as a sermon regarding abandonment and later praise.
In the first section there is “motivation, complaint and petition.” The psalmist expresses anguish that God, who has promised to stand in solidarity with him, has suddenly abandoned him. Some authors express discomfort with this idea and add “seems” to abandon the person. This has implication when Jesus uses it on the cross in Matthew 27 and Mark 15 — that Jesus using a rhetorical devise in “seeming” to be abandoned, or did God the father truly turn his back on his only son? Regardless, the complaint points to a desperate, despised situation where he is being mocked. The appeal to God is based on past deliverances, and God’s own reputation is at stake if God does not act for God’s people.
Spatial categories used in terms of God’s nearness or distance, measured in how evildoers and adversaries are denigrating the psalm, is like untamed “dogs” ravishing waste in the streets (22:19). A preaching path to pursue might be does God’s distance equal God’s absence?
The image of people gloating over the psalmist while his garments are being divided and casted for lots is echoed in the Passion account of Jesus in John 19:24. Reading John’s gospel in its entirety, this act of lost garments, nakedness and shame are Jesus’s “hour” when he is being glorified and lifted up on a cross. It has purpose! Jesus’ death is giving his life for those who believe in him (John 3:16-17).
The psalm takes a sudden turn “in the midst of the congregation (vs. 22b)” with a song of praise and thanksgiving. It might suggest that the place or people of worship are a source of blessing. The psalm shifts as a result of a new direction, or resolution of the problems. Something decisive as occurred, and the psalmist expresses gratitude for all God has done both among the people of Israel and the nations of the earth (22:27-28). How is a given congregation good news or addressing people who are seen as disposable or outcasts in any given community? For example, a person whose name and reputation are called into question in a school, town or county scandal, financial shortfall or natural disaster? Is there good news “in the midst of the congregation?” Maybe a person who has been accused of a crime, yet not found guilty identifies with the psalmist here.
Divine fidelity is a theme that ties this text to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) lesson in Isaiah 52-53 above. Can God be trusted to deliver his people in very difficult, crushing time when a sovereign presence seems, or maybe is, absent? Does God turn God’s back on God’s people? This is a path to explore for those people who feel empty, despairing and see no purpose in life. The people of faith in the Hebrew Bible also experienced this. However, God eventually reveals a purpose. This results in songs of praise and thanksgiving from God’s people. [Source: Walter Brueggemann, and William H. Bellinger, New Cambridge Bible Commentary: Psalms, (Cambridge University Press, 2014)].
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
In every community I have served in as a pastor, I have had contact with a handful of people of faith who seem to know much about scripture, church tradition and how they both connect to practical life experiences. When I ask about their education credentials they respond, “I did not have much formal education. I went to the school of hard knocks.” It is to such people this Hebrew text is addressed. One could divide a sermon into two parts 1) Exalted Priest (4:14-16) and 2) Knowledge through suffering.
The Book of Hebrews was written around 80 C.E. by an anonymous author whose purpose was to write a pastoral letter to a church who is tired and weary of hanging onto their Christian convictions. As a result they were considering changing their devotion of faith to the modern heresies and false religious beliefs of the times. This might be similar to modern Christians losing interest in the church of their youth and becoming fascinated with secularism or becoming of the of the growing number of “Nones” which sociologists report in religious trends.
Hebrews encourages such people of faith to, “hold fast our confession” (4:14) and reality is framed within a “throne of grace” in the one who is merciful, once the secular world disposes of us when we are physically unattractive and obsolete in an artificial intelligence economy. We are still accepted with our weaknesses and shortcomings (cross reference the Isaiah 52-53 text above).
The son will be exalted, identifies with human weakness in any form, and encourages us to live with confidence that the future is hopeful. The ultimate high priest, who is our advocate beyond the grave, also identifies with our human fragility, temptations, suffering, and weakness, as he shed his blood for humanity to have access to life after any death or loss. There the encouragement is to continue onward and upward on the Christian pilgrimage.
Using the model of the Priest Melchizedek, Hebrews believes this priesthood existed before the Aaron and Leviticus priestly order. The latter are not inferior, but chronologically served the people during the temporal and material portions of the faith journey. Jesus’s priesthood like, Melchizedek, has a transcendent quality about it, in that Melchizedek belongs to the eternal order. Why would anybody wish to turn their backs on this good news for temporal gratifications and strokes of the ego from the false gods of this or any age? The writer takes a pastoral care posture for the readers who are weary of the sacrifices entailed in their Christian faith.
Suffering also might be seen as a “qualifying exam” as a part of a rigorous testing process with the desired outcome of a perfected faith. Hebrews frames Jesus’s life experiences as a life of toil, agony and painful learning experiences which resulted in his being exalted at the right hand of the seat of God. The ultimate purpose or passion of Jesus was to become the source of eternal salvation from sin and death. A sermon direction here would be to those whose lives are very difficult — they are following the pioneer of such a faith in the “school of hard knocks.” This is Jesus, the great high priest, as well as the “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1-2. Another short phrase one could consider is, “What do we learn from the suffering we experience now?” For example, when a generous financial giver dies within a given congregation, what are the newest financial constraints teaching this congregation?” [Source: Robert H. Smith, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Hebrews, (Augsburg Fortress, 1984)].
John 18:1--19:42
An obvious approach might be to read the entire lesson, then comment, “Amen, let us leave the sanctuary in prayerful silence.” There are many themes and directions a preacher might pursue with this John version of the passion account.
“One striking feature is John’s perception of Jesus’s Passion as something that Jesus actively undertakes rather than something he passively endures” (Edwards, 88). The high priestly prayer in John 17 provides a glimpse of Jesus’s arrival at his “hour” (first mentioned in John 2). It is not a prayer of anguish, or inner conflict, rather it is similar to Moses’s farewell in Deuteronomy 33. He wishes to encourage his followers (some say the Johannine community during the time of authorship and editing, around 75-95 CE, Edwards, 55-58).
Jesus remains autonomous in his own passion. He alone has the power to lay down his life (c.f.: John 10:11-17, Edwards 88). One way to divide up this John 18-19 lesson might be: 1) 18:1-12, Jesus’ arrest. 2)18:13-27, Interrogation by Annas 3)18:28-19:16a, Jesus trial before Pilate. 4)19:16b-37, the crucifixion and death 5) 19:38-42, the burial (O’ Day, 169). Judas brings a detachment of two hundred or more soldiers to arrest Jesus. There is no kiss of betrayal; rather Jesus willingly gives himself up. Twice in the arrest narrative Jesus answers the arresting crowd, “I am he” (18:5-6). One side direction one might explore is how these are the final of the “I am” sayings in John’s gospel. These include, “I am…the bread of life (6:35), the light (8:12), the gate (10:9), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, truth and life (14:6) and finally the true vine (15:1). All of the above sayings lead up to his arrest in an unknown garden in John, but one he often met with his disciples (18:2).
During the trial while the hearing in front of Annas was illegal because he is the father in-law of the high priest without legal standing. Eventually he was before Pontius Pilate and other Jewish leaders. One caveat a preacher may observe to avoid anti-semitic concerns, is the text specifies it was the leadership of the Jewish temple, not the average Jewish citizen who sought to have Jesus executed. Neither group is concerned about innocence or guilt, but rather their own self interests. If “blasphemy” is the legitimate charge against Jesus, the Jewish leaders could have him stoned without the audience of the Roman governor (c.f.: Stephen in Acts 7).
There is discussion of what is Jesus king over in terms of kingdom? The word play indicates misunderstanding between a temporal, political kingdom and a larger comic one (John 1:1-14). A sermon track might be, “Which kingdom or political interests are we willing to suffer discomfort, possibly die?” This question becomes very real in many unstable third world countries, and unfortunately in recent years destruction of houses of worship in first world countries such as the USA and New Zealand. When will a people actually denounce their religion for a political benefit within an earthly power, as the Jewish leaders declare, “We have no king but the [Roman] emperor” (19:14-15).
A related theme is, “Where does power come from?” Pilate and the Jewish leadership view themselves as exclusive power brokers of their times. John’s gospel suggests that the God of creation from whom Jesus left and will ascend to have the final word. This might point to a sermon on sovereignty — even amidst an unjust Roman execution of Jesus.
While the world rejects Jesus, his authority from God overshadows all assertions of power by earthly authorities. He freely gives up his life on the cross. Jesus’s final words in John are, “It is finished,” or literally “accomplished.” This suggests Jesus’s mission he began back in John 1:14, “When the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This is another example of a transcendent God whose sovereign power has the love of humankind in God’s plans for creation.
While John’s crucifixion account lacks the conversation of the two thieves beside Jesus on other crosses, Jesus forms a new family while lifted up on the cross. Jesus’s mother (with him since John 2 at the Cana wedding) and the disciple whom Jesus loved are now to become a new family.
Other miscellaneous themes one might identify include his clothing is taken and divided up among the soldiers in this and the other three gospels. The irony of mocking Jesus as a king and dressing him in purple and a crown of thorns is that, as God’s word that became flesh, Jesus really is the king! He carries his own cross. His death with the water and blood has been disputed by scholars, but he did willingly die rather than struggle to stay alive, which would result in soldiers breaking his legs. John re-introduces Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea who wish to bury Jesus’s body. These two men are “round” characters in John’s gospel because the reader is unsure if they are followers or not, as identified in previous chapters.
The final major theme that John’s gospel presents Jesus’s hour of being “lifted up,” is on the cross of his execution (3:14; 8:28; 12:32). While there is no ascension event as in Luke-Acts, John presents Jesus’ being lifted up as his hour of glorification, rather than suffering. Jesus reigns from the cross in John! He controls all that happens to him right up to the cross so God might be glorified as well bringing his own glory (17:15). While John does not specifically have an apocalyptic scenario as do the synoptic gospels, the “messianic age,” is already present in Jesus’ ministry. The good news here is that this advances Jesus’ plan for all believers to go “prepare a place for you;” “I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). [Sources: Ruth B. Edwards, Discovering Biblical Texts: Discovering John, (Wm. B. Erdmann’s, 2003); Gail O’ R. Day and Susan E. Hylen, Westminster Bible Companion: John, (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)].
Application
Suffering for a purpose for which one holds a passion or life mission is one way to view the crucifixion of Jesus in John’s gospel. God has Jesus on this mission to be “lifted up.” There is a candid admission of forces of darkness, wicked political and religious leaders who serve as obstacles. John’s characters are not as predictable as in the Synoptic gospels, hence the questioning Nicodemus in John 3 proves to be a follower.
I have used the sermon title, “It is Finished” to preach this text. This allows the preacher to identify any mission which needs proactive planning and action to take place, despite opposition and even mean spirited lying and back stabbing thrust upon the church leadership. Does a congregation have to face up to eventual scaling back and possibly closure in the near future? There has been discussion as to whether many struggling mainline churches are dying or changing? Possibly, a planned-out death would be a better way of “lifting up” a church’s tradition and ministry, rather than enduring or suffering painful years of slow death.
“It is finished,” can apply to any chapter of the life of a person or congregation which has entailed some pain, but has resulted in some purpose or meanings (similar to the Hebrews text). On this Good Friday, here is an opportunity to affirm God’s sovereign power despite the appearance of any evil or dark forces that have seemed to win the day.
Alternative Application
Do we really believe in a transcendent God? In the Book of Hebrews, even seasoned believers are tempted to consider that local deities and other sources of fulfillment in life besides that of traditional Judeo Christianity are viable options for a lifestyle. Is the world of atheism, secularism and immediate gratification winning the day in the absence of any recent demonstration of “transcendent” or “super natural power?” Have some scientific theories squashed the possibility of a God such as in John 1:1-14?
The narrative in John invites us to view Jesus’s passion with a purpose. He will be lifted up while among hostile, dark, ungodly forces. That is, Jesus in John has a mission in mind before he is even arrested. Like Walt Kowalski, he has a destiny that will result in “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Each of today’s texts can be read through the frame of suffering with a purpose or mission in the process of suffering and dying. Isaiah’s Servant Song suggests atonement for the people of God as the purpose for suffering. Psalm 22 is quoted by Jesus in Matthew’s and Mark’s passion from Jesus’s lips. The psalmist suggests that God also has skin in the game to deliver the psalmist. Hebrews argues that the Passion of the Christ is the ultimate credential for a high priest. Finally, John’s account of the Passion is Jesus’s final hour that was spoken of as early as John 2 during the Cana Wedding sign.
These Good Friday texts suggest that suffering with a passionate mission in mind provides another framework for the crucifixion and any form of suffering. Jesus is less of a victim of an unjust temple and empire government system, but is purposefully carrying out God’s desire for humans to have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). In the process Jesus is being “lifted up.”
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
This servant does not have the camera-friendly appearance one would want to feature in a YouTube or Livestream video of a worship service on social media. He is despised, rejected and a man of sorrows. People hide their faces from him (53:1-3). This servant looks more like a tired, weary working person, showing signs of bad eating habits, who holds down more than one job to keep a roof over his head and food on the table. This servant is not the one who will be nominated for any local or national political office. Yet, this person is one of the work horses of any organization who receives little or no recognition for the efforts he put in behind the scenes. This is the relative who put in countless early morning and late evening hours of labor so a loved one might have a good education or be able to participate in a musical or athletic competition. The suffering does have purpose. This servant does not suffer for suffering’s sake!
Scholars debate whether the servant was the nation of Israel or a messianic figure that New Testament authors identified as their Messiah. That is, the suffering servant may be applied to Jesus of Nazareth. More liberal scholars (R. Bultmann, and E. Kasemann) argue the servant is a Greek or Hellenist idea borrowed by the New Testament writers. Both views hold that this Suffering Servant song was reinterpreted in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
This Good Friday the text begins with a song of exaltation, “Behold my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high” (Isaiah 52:12). To preach this text one might use this verse as the interpretative lens for all suffering the servant endures in any part of his or her life. That is, he shall be lifted up and exalted.
To preach on this text point out that one purpose of suffering for the servant is for sins and indiscretions of a people. One question often cited is, “Does our God’s wrath need to be appeased by such a servant figure?” One response is the reality of “sin.” Isaiah wishes to provide a pattern of: Humiliation, exaltation, and a new way of life while disclosing God’s power (Brueggemann, 143-144).
After the completion time of discomfort and suffering of the servant, the text says, “He shall see the fruit of the travail of his should and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). This is the good news of the text. There is new life for those who suffer now. There is a distant exaltation in the future.
In the modern church situation, what is worth the time, sacrifice and, yes, finances for giving to the church or any nonprofit organization? Who is willing to be the workhorse?
Another approach I wish to uplift is, where does the church spend its limited resources in time, money and the efforts of its faithful servants? In the past, it has been for building projects and repairs. The kneejerk reaction is often, “We need to get more young people involved with the church!” Yet, some studies in church magazines suggest that with the growing number of “Nones” in younger age brackets, this might be unrealistic. When younger families do attend, they might not have the same commitment level in giving as previous generations. So how do we allocate the resources that the suffering servants bring to the table? Isaiah seems to suggest one way or another God will lift up God’s people and the church. [Sources: Walter, Brueggemann, Westminster Bible Companion: Isaiah 40-66, (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998); Brevard Childs, New Testament Commentary: Isaiah (Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).
Psalm 22
“Because of the citation of Psalm 22:1 in the passion narrative of Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, this psalm is best-known among Christians” (Brueggemann, 113). Roughly, the psalm can be divided into two sections: vs: 1-21a is a complaint in time of trouble. 21b-31 is a song of praise and thanksgiving after the resolution of the trouble. Either section could be separated or broken down into pieces as a sermon regarding abandonment and later praise.
In the first section there is “motivation, complaint and petition.” The psalmist expresses anguish that God, who has promised to stand in solidarity with him, has suddenly abandoned him. Some authors express discomfort with this idea and add “seems” to abandon the person. This has implication when Jesus uses it on the cross in Matthew 27 and Mark 15 — that Jesus using a rhetorical devise in “seeming” to be abandoned, or did God the father truly turn his back on his only son? Regardless, the complaint points to a desperate, despised situation where he is being mocked. The appeal to God is based on past deliverances, and God’s own reputation is at stake if God does not act for God’s people.
Spatial categories used in terms of God’s nearness or distance, measured in how evildoers and adversaries are denigrating the psalm, is like untamed “dogs” ravishing waste in the streets (22:19). A preaching path to pursue might be does God’s distance equal God’s absence?
The image of people gloating over the psalmist while his garments are being divided and casted for lots is echoed in the Passion account of Jesus in John 19:24. Reading John’s gospel in its entirety, this act of lost garments, nakedness and shame are Jesus’s “hour” when he is being glorified and lifted up on a cross. It has purpose! Jesus’ death is giving his life for those who believe in him (John 3:16-17).
The psalm takes a sudden turn “in the midst of the congregation (vs. 22b)” with a song of praise and thanksgiving. It might suggest that the place or people of worship are a source of blessing. The psalm shifts as a result of a new direction, or resolution of the problems. Something decisive as occurred, and the psalmist expresses gratitude for all God has done both among the people of Israel and the nations of the earth (22:27-28). How is a given congregation good news or addressing people who are seen as disposable or outcasts in any given community? For example, a person whose name and reputation are called into question in a school, town or county scandal, financial shortfall or natural disaster? Is there good news “in the midst of the congregation?” Maybe a person who has been accused of a crime, yet not found guilty identifies with the psalmist here.
Divine fidelity is a theme that ties this text to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) lesson in Isaiah 52-53 above. Can God be trusted to deliver his people in very difficult, crushing time when a sovereign presence seems, or maybe is, absent? Does God turn God’s back on God’s people? This is a path to explore for those people who feel empty, despairing and see no purpose in life. The people of faith in the Hebrew Bible also experienced this. However, God eventually reveals a purpose. This results in songs of praise and thanksgiving from God’s people. [Source: Walter Brueggemann, and William H. Bellinger, New Cambridge Bible Commentary: Psalms, (Cambridge University Press, 2014)].
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
In every community I have served in as a pastor, I have had contact with a handful of people of faith who seem to know much about scripture, church tradition and how they both connect to practical life experiences. When I ask about their education credentials they respond, “I did not have much formal education. I went to the school of hard knocks.” It is to such people this Hebrew text is addressed. One could divide a sermon into two parts 1) Exalted Priest (4:14-16) and 2) Knowledge through suffering.
The Book of Hebrews was written around 80 C.E. by an anonymous author whose purpose was to write a pastoral letter to a church who is tired and weary of hanging onto their Christian convictions. As a result they were considering changing their devotion of faith to the modern heresies and false religious beliefs of the times. This might be similar to modern Christians losing interest in the church of their youth and becoming fascinated with secularism or becoming of the of the growing number of “Nones” which sociologists report in religious trends.
Hebrews encourages such people of faith to, “hold fast our confession” (4:14) and reality is framed within a “throne of grace” in the one who is merciful, once the secular world disposes of us when we are physically unattractive and obsolete in an artificial intelligence economy. We are still accepted with our weaknesses and shortcomings (cross reference the Isaiah 52-53 text above).
The son will be exalted, identifies with human weakness in any form, and encourages us to live with confidence that the future is hopeful. The ultimate high priest, who is our advocate beyond the grave, also identifies with our human fragility, temptations, suffering, and weakness, as he shed his blood for humanity to have access to life after any death or loss. There the encouragement is to continue onward and upward on the Christian pilgrimage.
Using the model of the Priest Melchizedek, Hebrews believes this priesthood existed before the Aaron and Leviticus priestly order. The latter are not inferior, but chronologically served the people during the temporal and material portions of the faith journey. Jesus’s priesthood like, Melchizedek, has a transcendent quality about it, in that Melchizedek belongs to the eternal order. Why would anybody wish to turn their backs on this good news for temporal gratifications and strokes of the ego from the false gods of this or any age? The writer takes a pastoral care posture for the readers who are weary of the sacrifices entailed in their Christian faith.
Suffering also might be seen as a “qualifying exam” as a part of a rigorous testing process with the desired outcome of a perfected faith. Hebrews frames Jesus’s life experiences as a life of toil, agony and painful learning experiences which resulted in his being exalted at the right hand of the seat of God. The ultimate purpose or passion of Jesus was to become the source of eternal salvation from sin and death. A sermon direction here would be to those whose lives are very difficult — they are following the pioneer of such a faith in the “school of hard knocks.” This is Jesus, the great high priest, as well as the “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1-2. Another short phrase one could consider is, “What do we learn from the suffering we experience now?” For example, when a generous financial giver dies within a given congregation, what are the newest financial constraints teaching this congregation?” [Source: Robert H. Smith, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Hebrews, (Augsburg Fortress, 1984)].
John 18:1--19:42
An obvious approach might be to read the entire lesson, then comment, “Amen, let us leave the sanctuary in prayerful silence.” There are many themes and directions a preacher might pursue with this John version of the passion account.
“One striking feature is John’s perception of Jesus’s Passion as something that Jesus actively undertakes rather than something he passively endures” (Edwards, 88). The high priestly prayer in John 17 provides a glimpse of Jesus’s arrival at his “hour” (first mentioned in John 2). It is not a prayer of anguish, or inner conflict, rather it is similar to Moses’s farewell in Deuteronomy 33. He wishes to encourage his followers (some say the Johannine community during the time of authorship and editing, around 75-95 CE, Edwards, 55-58).
Jesus remains autonomous in his own passion. He alone has the power to lay down his life (c.f.: John 10:11-17, Edwards 88). One way to divide up this John 18-19 lesson might be: 1) 18:1-12, Jesus’ arrest. 2)18:13-27, Interrogation by Annas 3)18:28-19:16a, Jesus trial before Pilate. 4)19:16b-37, the crucifixion and death 5) 19:38-42, the burial (O’ Day, 169). Judas brings a detachment of two hundred or more soldiers to arrest Jesus. There is no kiss of betrayal; rather Jesus willingly gives himself up. Twice in the arrest narrative Jesus answers the arresting crowd, “I am he” (18:5-6). One side direction one might explore is how these are the final of the “I am” sayings in John’s gospel. These include, “I am…the bread of life (6:35), the light (8:12), the gate (10:9), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, truth and life (14:6) and finally the true vine (15:1). All of the above sayings lead up to his arrest in an unknown garden in John, but one he often met with his disciples (18:2).
During the trial while the hearing in front of Annas was illegal because he is the father in-law of the high priest without legal standing. Eventually he was before Pontius Pilate and other Jewish leaders. One caveat a preacher may observe to avoid anti-semitic concerns, is the text specifies it was the leadership of the Jewish temple, not the average Jewish citizen who sought to have Jesus executed. Neither group is concerned about innocence or guilt, but rather their own self interests. If “blasphemy” is the legitimate charge against Jesus, the Jewish leaders could have him stoned without the audience of the Roman governor (c.f.: Stephen in Acts 7).
There is discussion of what is Jesus king over in terms of kingdom? The word play indicates misunderstanding between a temporal, political kingdom and a larger comic one (John 1:1-14). A sermon track might be, “Which kingdom or political interests are we willing to suffer discomfort, possibly die?” This question becomes very real in many unstable third world countries, and unfortunately in recent years destruction of houses of worship in first world countries such as the USA and New Zealand. When will a people actually denounce their religion for a political benefit within an earthly power, as the Jewish leaders declare, “We have no king but the [Roman] emperor” (19:14-15).
A related theme is, “Where does power come from?” Pilate and the Jewish leadership view themselves as exclusive power brokers of their times. John’s gospel suggests that the God of creation from whom Jesus left and will ascend to have the final word. This might point to a sermon on sovereignty — even amidst an unjust Roman execution of Jesus.
While the world rejects Jesus, his authority from God overshadows all assertions of power by earthly authorities. He freely gives up his life on the cross. Jesus’s final words in John are, “It is finished,” or literally “accomplished.” This suggests Jesus’s mission he began back in John 1:14, “When the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This is another example of a transcendent God whose sovereign power has the love of humankind in God’s plans for creation.
While John’s crucifixion account lacks the conversation of the two thieves beside Jesus on other crosses, Jesus forms a new family while lifted up on the cross. Jesus’s mother (with him since John 2 at the Cana wedding) and the disciple whom Jesus loved are now to become a new family.
Other miscellaneous themes one might identify include his clothing is taken and divided up among the soldiers in this and the other three gospels. The irony of mocking Jesus as a king and dressing him in purple and a crown of thorns is that, as God’s word that became flesh, Jesus really is the king! He carries his own cross. His death with the water and blood has been disputed by scholars, but he did willingly die rather than struggle to stay alive, which would result in soldiers breaking his legs. John re-introduces Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea who wish to bury Jesus’s body. These two men are “round” characters in John’s gospel because the reader is unsure if they are followers or not, as identified in previous chapters.
The final major theme that John’s gospel presents Jesus’s hour of being “lifted up,” is on the cross of his execution (3:14; 8:28; 12:32). While there is no ascension event as in Luke-Acts, John presents Jesus’ being lifted up as his hour of glorification, rather than suffering. Jesus reigns from the cross in John! He controls all that happens to him right up to the cross so God might be glorified as well bringing his own glory (17:15). While John does not specifically have an apocalyptic scenario as do the synoptic gospels, the “messianic age,” is already present in Jesus’ ministry. The good news here is that this advances Jesus’ plan for all believers to go “prepare a place for you;” “I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). [Sources: Ruth B. Edwards, Discovering Biblical Texts: Discovering John, (Wm. B. Erdmann’s, 2003); Gail O’ R. Day and Susan E. Hylen, Westminster Bible Companion: John, (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006)].
Application
Suffering for a purpose for which one holds a passion or life mission is one way to view the crucifixion of Jesus in John’s gospel. God has Jesus on this mission to be “lifted up.” There is a candid admission of forces of darkness, wicked political and religious leaders who serve as obstacles. John’s characters are not as predictable as in the Synoptic gospels, hence the questioning Nicodemus in John 3 proves to be a follower.
I have used the sermon title, “It is Finished” to preach this text. This allows the preacher to identify any mission which needs proactive planning and action to take place, despite opposition and even mean spirited lying and back stabbing thrust upon the church leadership. Does a congregation have to face up to eventual scaling back and possibly closure in the near future? There has been discussion as to whether many struggling mainline churches are dying or changing? Possibly, a planned-out death would be a better way of “lifting up” a church’s tradition and ministry, rather than enduring or suffering painful years of slow death.
“It is finished,” can apply to any chapter of the life of a person or congregation which has entailed some pain, but has resulted in some purpose or meanings (similar to the Hebrews text). On this Good Friday, here is an opportunity to affirm God’s sovereign power despite the appearance of any evil or dark forces that have seemed to win the day.
Alternative Application
Do we really believe in a transcendent God? In the Book of Hebrews, even seasoned believers are tempted to consider that local deities and other sources of fulfillment in life besides that of traditional Judeo Christianity are viable options for a lifestyle. Is the world of atheism, secularism and immediate gratification winning the day in the absence of any recent demonstration of “transcendent” or “super natural power?” Have some scientific theories squashed the possibility of a God such as in John 1:1-14?
