Message from August 20 2006
This is a re-worked sermon that I first used when I was filling the pulpit at the UMC church in the town where I live. I have re-used three times over now in three other churches. I have re-fined it each time, but I still do not have a title for it.
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When I researched commentaries for our gospel lesson from John 10.22-30, I read that the Feast of Dedication is the same thing as Hanukah and that Solomon’s Colonnade ran along the eastern wall of Herod’s temple in an area that gentiles were allowed to enter. The inner areas of the temple were reserved for the Jews. I thought this was interesting because it shows that Jesus was walking and teaching in an area where Jews and gentiles alike could hear him. Jesus probably was teaching in the temple at least in part because it was wintertime and he wanted to have some shelter from the cold. The Jews in the temple used this occasion as an opportunity to try to “get dirt” on Jesus. They were looking for evidence to take to the Sanhedrin to charge Jesus with breaking Jewish law. This was about two years before they would arrest and eventually crucify Jesus.
In the Psalm, and the readings from John and Revelation for today there is a recurring theme of God as the shepherd and the body of believers as His flock or sheep. The theme of Jesus as the shepherd spoke to me. In the book of John, Jesus refers to himself as the shepherd of his people three times, and there are 24 references throughout the Bible about God being the shepherd of believers. This reminds me of the lesson we studied during Vacation Bible School about shepherds and their flocks. When a thief comes to steal the sheep they do not recognize his voice and would not follow him, but the shepherd knows his sheep by name. They know his voice, so when the Good Shepherd calls to them they follow his voice. A hired man does not care for the sheep as the Good Shepherd does, so when the wolf comes around to attach the sheep, the hired man will run off. The Good Shepherd stands and defends his sheep. He protects his sheep and lays down his life for the sheep. What better way could there be to describe the way that Jesus died for our sins to save us from the power and attacks of the devil.
Verses 9 through 12 of Revelation Chapter 7 remind me of the verses in the gospels that talk of Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday before that first Easter. There are similarities: the people with palm branches singing out praises to Jesus, but there are very important differences. On Palm Sunday some of the people were true believers in Christ as the Son of God and Savior of all and some were just people in celebratory mood as they made their way to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Many of them were Jews looking for a man that would lead them to rise up and throw off the Roman rulers and establish an earthly kingdom. Almost none of them were there to stand up for Jesus on Maundy Thursday or when he was crucified. But the “great multitude that no one can count” are “from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They are standing before the throne of God and singing praises and proclaiming His eternal heavenly kingdom.
If you were a fly on the wall witnessing such an amazing scene you might ask, “Who are these people?” and “How did they get there? The writer of Revelation asks and answers the question for us in verses 13 and 14. These are true believers in God the Father, God the Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit! We should be those people. I am just a man, I cannot see as God sees and do not know what God knows, but I believe that we can and will be part of that Great Multitude. If you are not sure that you are going to be there you need to pray to God today and ask him to forgive you of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart. For all Christians I see a challenge in today’s scriptures. You and I know if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. We know when we have been washed and made clean in the blood of the Lamb, but we also know people: friends, neighbors, relatives that do not know God as we do. They do not know that Jesus died for them. That Jesus died for their sins. They do not know God loves them so much that he gave his one and only son, to die so that they might be washed clean of their sins and reconciled to Him. For the sake of God’s church we need to step out in faith and reach out to them. We need to invite them to come to church with us. We need to share the story of our salvation with them.
The words of Jesus in John 10:25-30 are a prophesy that all believers will see fulfilled at the second coming of the Lamb. The message in Revelation 7:9-17 paints a picture in words of the fulfillment of Jesus promise. I know that I will be there and that I will see your faces there, but we cannot be satisfied with that. While we are here on this earth we need to be sure that we do everything that we can, through Jesus Christ, to reach out to our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We want to see them when we are before the throne of God. We know that it is not easy to speak to non-Christians about God, but we can be assured that when we do, Jesus will be right there with us. In Matthew 28:19 and 20 Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Amen!
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When I researched commentaries for our gospel lesson from John 10.22-30, I read that the Feast of Dedication is the same thing as Hanukah and that Solomon’s Colonnade ran along the eastern wall of Herod’s temple in an area that gentiles were allowed to enter. The inner areas of the temple were reserved for the Jews. I thought this was interesting because it shows that Jesus was walking and teaching in an area where Jews and gentiles alike could hear him. Jesus probably was teaching in the temple at least in part because it was wintertime and he wanted to have some shelter from the cold. The Jews in the temple used this occasion as an opportunity to try to “get dirt” on Jesus. They were looking for evidence to take to the Sanhedrin to charge Jesus with breaking Jewish law. This was about two years before they would arrest and eventually crucify Jesus.
In the Psalm, and the readings from John and Revelation for today there is a recurring theme of God as the shepherd and the body of believers as His flock or sheep. The theme of Jesus as the shepherd spoke to me. In the book of John, Jesus refers to himself as the shepherd of his people three times, and there are 24 references throughout the Bible about God being the shepherd of believers. This reminds me of the lesson we studied during Vacation Bible School about shepherds and their flocks. When a thief comes to steal the sheep they do not recognize his voice and would not follow him, but the shepherd knows his sheep by name. They know his voice, so when the Good Shepherd calls to them they follow his voice. A hired man does not care for the sheep as the Good Shepherd does, so when the wolf comes around to attach the sheep, the hired man will run off. The Good Shepherd stands and defends his sheep. He protects his sheep and lays down his life for the sheep. What better way could there be to describe the way that Jesus died for our sins to save us from the power and attacks of the devil.
Verses 9 through 12 of Revelation Chapter 7 remind me of the verses in the gospels that talk of Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday before that first Easter. There are similarities: the people with palm branches singing out praises to Jesus, but there are very important differences. On Palm Sunday some of the people were true believers in Christ as the Son of God and Savior of all and some were just people in celebratory mood as they made their way to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Many of them were Jews looking for a man that would lead them to rise up and throw off the Roman rulers and establish an earthly kingdom. Almost none of them were there to stand up for Jesus on Maundy Thursday or when he was crucified. But the “great multitude that no one can count” are “from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They are standing before the throne of God and singing praises and proclaiming His eternal heavenly kingdom.
If you were a fly on the wall witnessing such an amazing scene you might ask, “Who are these people?” and “How did they get there? The writer of Revelation asks and answers the question for us in verses 13 and 14. These are true believers in God the Father, God the Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit! We should be those people. I am just a man, I cannot see as God sees and do not know what God knows, but I believe that we can and will be part of that Great Multitude. If you are not sure that you are going to be there you need to pray to God today and ask him to forgive you of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart. For all Christians I see a challenge in today’s scriptures. You and I know if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. We know when we have been washed and made clean in the blood of the Lamb, but we also know people: friends, neighbors, relatives that do not know God as we do. They do not know that Jesus died for them. That Jesus died for their sins. They do not know God loves them so much that he gave his one and only son, to die so that they might be washed clean of their sins and reconciled to Him. For the sake of God’s church we need to step out in faith and reach out to them. We need to invite them to come to church with us. We need to share the story of our salvation with them.
The words of Jesus in John 10:25-30 are a prophesy that all believers will see fulfilled at the second coming of the Lamb. The message in Revelation 7:9-17 paints a picture in words of the fulfillment of Jesus promise. I know that I will be there and that I will see your faces there, but we cannot be satisfied with that. While we are here on this earth we need to be sure that we do everything that we can, through Jesus Christ, to reach out to our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We want to see them when we are before the throne of God. We know that it is not easy to speak to non-Christians about God, but we can be assured that when we do, Jesus will be right there with us. In Matthew 28:19 and 20 Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Amen!
posted by Robert C. Howell at
5:56 AM
