Don't Be a Goat

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 28th of April, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Our Bible contains a lot of prophecy, where God tells His creation what is going to happen.  Much of this prophecy has already occurred, but some speaks of what is yet to come.  Since all that was foretold to happen did come to pass, we can trust that what is yet to happen will indeed happen.

We today are mostly concerned with the prophecy that deals with what will happen at the end of the age, when Jesus returns, such as what we read of in the Book of Daniel or in the Apostle John’s Book of the Revelation of Jesus, among others.  But our Lord Jesus Himself also spoke of what is to come when He returns to judge the world.

Please listen and follow along to the words Jesus spoke, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in his Gospel account, chapter 25 verses 31 through 46, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

--Matthew 25:31-46 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your great plan for the salvation of mankind did not end when Your Son Jesus died on the cross.  Nor was it completed when He rose from the grave and returned to You in heaven.  Your plan will continue until Jesus returns and sets the world right again.  Thank You, Father, for seeing Your plan through to its completion.  Please help us understand our role in Your plan, what we must do to carry out our part.  Speak to us this morning, Father, speak directly to our hearts, and carve Your message there that we need to understand and follow.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son Jesus.   Amen.


In his little book, Illustrations of Bible Truth, H. A. Ironside pointed out the folly of judging others.  He tells of an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter.  Ironside relates:  "He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners.  When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him.  After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser's desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe.  He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth.  Judging from the man’s appearance, Potter was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person.  The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, 'It's all right, Bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you.  The other man has been up here too and left his valuables for the same reason!'"


This reminds me of the story of a woman whose car broke down in a bad section of town at sunset.  This was before cell phones so she used the original “mobile calling plan” and prayed to God for help.  “Lord, please send someone to help me – I don’t care who.”, she prayed.

Almost immediately a rough-looking biker pulled up behind her car and got off his motorcycle.  The woman was terrified, but the man silently went to work and got her car running again in no time.  He never said a word as she stuttered her thanks, but simply nodded, climbed back on his motorcycle, and rode off.

When we judge others based on their situation, their looks, the color of their skin, we may miss out on a lot.  We may miss out on the help, advice, information, or experience they can offer.  We likely miss out on the opportunity of getting to know that person, and perhaps of seeing a little bit of ourselves in them.  We certainly miss out on the chance of seeing them as Jesus sees them.


Perhaps you’re wondering what these two little stories of judging others based on appearance has to do with our scripture reading.  It’s because I want us to think for a moment about what keeps us from doing the things Jesus expects.  What keeps us from treating others the way we would treat Jesus Himself, given the chance?  How many times have we failed to help someone in their time of great need simply because of the way they looked, how they were dressed, how they talked, how they smelled?

Jesus takes our treatment of other people very personally.  He sees it as us treating Him that way.  Did we give someone food when they were hungry, or drink when they were thirsty, or did we look the other way because we thought they were just a lazy beggar?  Did we help the stranger by the side of the road, or were we too scared to stop?  Do we give of our resources to help those who have so little, or is sharing something we still need to work on?  Does it bother us to visit with the ill or the incarcerated, because maybe we think, “there but for the grace of God go I”?  However it is that we deal with any of these situations, Jesus considers it as us dealing with Him.


God loves us, and He proved it by sacrificing His own Son for us.  And He commands that we love Him and put nothing else ahead of Him.  He also commands that we love our neighbor just as we love ourselves.  Now granted, some people may have trouble loving themselves, but this attitude God wants of us is reflected in what we call the “Golden Rule”.  We should treat other people the way we ourselves want to be treated, and I’ll add “as if we were in the same situation”.

God spoke through Moses to give us a few examples of how to help others in their need.  Listen to what God said as recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 24, verses 19 through 22…

19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing."

--Deuteronomy 24:19-22 (NKJV)

OK, so not many of us have grain fields or olive orchards or vineyards that we can allow people to glean from.  But most of us do have resources we can share with the less fortunate.  Yes, for most of us here, our resources are limited and already stretched rather thin.  Giving up even a little bit more may be out of the question.  But I am reminded of the widow Jesus told the Pharisees about, who gave a great portion of what little she had while they gave little in comparison.  We certainly don’t want to be like that rich young man who confronted Jesus, as told by the Apostle Mark in his Gospel account, chapter 10, verses 17 through 22…

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

--Mark 10:17-22 (NKJV)

We may not be as wealthy as that young man, but we do have resources to draw from.  And I don’t think Jesus is truly asking us to give up everything we have to help the needy, or else we’d end up in the same situation of needing help ourselves.  But He is asking us to give of ourselves, to willingly give what we can.  He is asking us to not put so much value on possessions, rather than on our reward in heaven, on valuing our eternal life.  He is asking us to treat other people just like we would treat Him.

Would we willingly give everything to Jesus?  Then we should be willing to give everything for Him.  Let’s not be sent off with the goats when Jesus returns.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You expect us to understand that You and only You are God, the eternal Creator of all there is.  We are to place nothing else ahead of You.  We are to love You and we are to love others also, even as much as we love ourselves.  We show our love for them by sharing Your love with them.  Thank You, Father, for loving us.  Thank You for giving to us in abundance so that we can give to others in their time of need.  Please forgive us when we hold back, when we judge others based on their looks or situation, when we fail to help when help is needed, when we place more value on things than on showing Your love.  Father, we repent of our selfishness, of our hesitation, of our fear, of our judgmental nature.  Forgive us for not always obeying You.  Please help us see others through the eyes of Jesus.  Help us be Jesus to someone each day.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, You tried to make us understand how important it is for us to love other people as You love them, as You love us.  You gave us example after example, not only in words but also in deeds.  You even warned us that how we treat other people is how You consider us treating You.  Help us do as You would have us do, please Lord.  Give us the courage to disregard and snap judgments we might make that would keep us from acting wholly in Your service.  Help us see You in other people, and let them see You in us.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior.  Amen.

The Body of Jesus

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Easter Sunday morning, the 21st of April, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

On this day long ago, Christ Jesus our Lord rose up and walked from the grave!  Death could not hold Him – He conquered death!  Even our sins could not hold Him back – He carried them to hell and left them there.

We know all this because it is recorded for us in our Bible, but when it actually happened, everyone was astounded, even those who Jesus told what to expect.  Please listen and follow along to the Apostle Luke’s description of the hours leading up to Jesus’ resurrection and the first moments after the discovery of the empty tomb.  This comes from Luke’s Gospel account, chapter 23 verse 50 through chapter 24 verse 12, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

23:50-51 There was a man named Joseph, who was from Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was a good and honest man, and he was eager for God’s kingdom to come. He was also a member of the council, but he did not agree with what they had decided.

52 Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 53 He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used. 54 It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus' body was placed in the tomb. 56 Then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for His burial. But on the Sabbath they rested, as the Law of Moses commands.

24:1 Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices that they had prepared. 2 When they found the stone rolled away from the entrance, 3 they went in. But they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus, 4 and they did not know what to think.

Suddenly two men in shining white clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were afraid and bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? 6 Jesus isn’t here! He has been raised from death. Remember that while He was still in Galilee, He told you, 7 ’The Son of Man will be handed over to sinners who will nail Him to a cross. But three days later He will rise to life.’ “ 8 Then they remembered what Jesus had said.

9-10 Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some other women were the ones who had gone to the tomb. When they returned, they told the eleven apostles and the others what had happened. 11 The apostles thought it was all nonsense, and they would not believe.

12 But Peter ran to the tomb. And when he stooped down and looked in, he saw only the burial clothes. Then he returned, wondering what had happened.

--Luke 23:50-24:12 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, the fact that You raised Your Son Jesus from the dead was just too astonishing for the people to believe, even His closest followers, until they saw the living proof before them.  Thank You, Father, for giving us faith and the testimony in our Bible so that we can believe without having seen.  Speak to us this morning, Father, both to our hearts and our minds, and imprint upon us the message we need to fully comprehend.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son Jesus.   Amen.


There is a story of a Muslim in Africa who became a Christian.  Some of his friends asked him, “Why have you become a Christian?”.  He answered, “Well, it’s like this.  Suppose you were going down the road when suddenly it forked in two directions, and you didn't know which way to go.  But there, at the fork in the road, were two men.  One was dead and the other alive.  Which one would you ask which way to go?"


In this simple statement, the new Christian acknowledged that Jesus rose from the dead and still lives even today.  Pretty much everyone who ever took breath on this earth died or will die.  Our Bible tells us of a few who went to heaven without dying first, but those are special exceptions.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Kings David and Solomon all died and stayed dead.  But Jesus rose from the dead and stayed alive.  There was no question from anyone that He was indeed dead – without life – when His body was laid in that tomb.  Yet He got up, rose from that hole, walked around and talked to folks, and many people saw and heard Him.  Since no one ever refuted this, we can believe it.  And just like the convert in our little story, we can trust in the directions of the Man who still lives.


We all know the events by now.  The Mary’s went to the tomb where they themselves had seen the body of Jesus laid late Friday.  They went early Sunday morning, right at dawn, to anoint the body of their beloved Master, perhaps to pay their final respects, as we call it.  But there was no body to anoint.

According to which Gospel you read, Peter and/or John also went to the grave, to see for themselves whether the women had gone a tad crazy or not.  And they also found the tomb empty – no body.  Over the course of the next few days, the living Jesus appeared to the women, to the disciples, and to a total of around 500 people or more.

Now this wasn’t zombie Jesus, or simply a reanimated body jerking around.  This was Jesus, in the flesh, alive and whole, with the scars from His torture and execution clearly visible.  His body was not in the grave, and once Jesus ascended to heaven again still in His body, His body was no longer on earth.  So where is His body today?


Show of hands…  How many of us have actually seen Jesus in the flesh, His physical presence – anyone?  None of us have, since all this happened nearly 2000 years ago now.  And while some of us may feel that old at times, we’re not old enough to have seen Jesus physically.

But that doesn’t keep us from believing, does it?  We have the testimony of our Bible to go by.  And we have faith, that wonderful gift from God, that allows us to believe even when we have no real proof, no physical evidence.

One other thing we believe is that we are the body of Jesus, His physical presence left on earth to carry out His work.  This is what He commanded while still with us, that we carry on for Him, making disciples, spreading the Good News of redemption and eternal life through Him, teaching others all about Him, doing the work He did.

We are the body of Jesus, or so we say.  But I have to ask, does anyone see the body?  Over 500 people saw the risen body of Jesus, after He had been executed and buried.  How many see it today?  If we are the body, do people see us?  How do they see us?

What good would it have done for Jesus to be raised from the dead if no one had seen Him in the flesh after He walked out of that tomb?  What good is our faith if no one sees it?

I think James, the half-brother of Jesus, quite clearly tells us how to show other people the body of Jesus.  Listen to what he writes in the second chapter of his letter to the early church, verses 14 through 20 and verse 26…

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” — but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

--James 2:14-20, 26 (NLT)

Just as the physical body is dead without breath, faith is dead without good works, without action.  How can we show the body is alive if it doesn’t move?

Family, it isn’t enough that we come and sit in church for a few hours on Sundays.  I’m sorry, but if that’s all we do, then our faith is dead.  We might as well go ahead and bury it.  Some of you may be thinking, “But I work all the time” or “But I’m too frail to do anything more”.  Yes, some of us work a lot, and yes, some of us cannot physically do more.  But we can still spread the Gospel, the Good News, in our dealings with other people.  And most of us can do a lot more.

Jesus did not sit in the synagogue waiting for the people to come see Him, He went out to them, where they were, healing them, feeding them, teaching them, comforting them.  The early church didn’t just cower in their secret meeting places, they went out into the community, taking care of the needs of others, feeding them, teaching them, helping them, even while the church was under fierce persecution.  If the church is the body of Jesus, it needs to get out into the fresh air more, it needs to be seen more.

And not just this church family that calls itself Pilgrim Reformed, but the entire body of Christ on earth.  Of course, I’m not excusing us.  We do a lot here, but we can do more.  Every church family, including us, needs to get back to basics using the example that the early church set.  Only then will the body of Jesus be found by those looking for it.  Only when it is in action can the body of Christ be seen.

We are the body of Jesus.  Let’s make sure other folks can find Him, too.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You raised Jesus from the dead by the power of Your Holy Spirit.  You knew, though, that more would be needed by Your stubborn, stiff-necked people, so He walked around among them after His resurrection that they might see and believe.  And then You gave us faith, that we might believe without seeing.  Thank You, Father, for such wonderful gifts.  Thank You for empowering Jesus to conquer death.  Thank You for giving us the faith to believe.  Thank You letting us share in Jesus’ victory.  And thank You for letting us be His body, so that others might see Him and believe.  Please forgive us when we hold back and fail to put His body into action.  Forgive us when we hesitate to let others see our Lord.  Please help us be strong and fearless in our service to You and to Jesus.  Help us be Jesus to someone each day.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness for our disobedience…

Lord Jesus, You made sure that many people saw Your nail and spear scarred body after You defeated death and walked from the grave.  And then You left us to carry on Your work after You returned to heaven, still in Your body.  You commanded us to be Your body, to continue doing the work You started, and to let others see You through us, through our work.  Help us do as You commanded.  Give us the strength and courage to make Your body visible to others, to the world.  May anyone seeking Your body find it among us.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior.  Amen.

Still Seeking Jesus

[The following is a manuscript of the meditation delivered Easter Sunday morning, the 21st of April, 2019 during our Sunrise Service at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Hear the words of the Apostle Matthew, in the 28th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 10…

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

--Matthew 28:1-10 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, this morning we can rejoice, for You have resurrected our Lord Jesus!  You raised Him bodily from the grave so that He could defeat death.  And You and Jesus did it all just for us!  Your Son suffered, and You had to stand by and watch, just so we might enjoy everlasting life in paradise with You both… if we only believe in Him and follow His voice.  We believe, Lord Jesus.  We believe that You are the one true Son of God, and we believe that You rose bodily from the grave.  We are here this morning to celebrate that glorious day.  Bless us Lord, and help us to better serve You and to never falter in our belief and faith.  In Your sweet name, Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Late Friday afternoon, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb where he laid the body of Jesus.  They hurried home to prepare some fragrant oils to anoint the body of their Lord.  But the Sabbath began before they could complete this task, so they had to rest as was their law.

Once the Sabbath ended, early Sunday morning, just as the sun began to lighten the sky, the two women returned to the grave to finish what they’d started.  But as they arrived, the ground shook as an angel came from heaven and rolled the heavy boulder out of the tomb’s opening.  The soldiers placed there to guard the tomb also shook, but with fear of what they’d just witnessed.

The angel said to the women, “I know you came seeking Jesus but He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said He would.”  As they rushed back to tell the others, they met Jesus on the way.  They came seeking the body of Jesus, but instead found Him, risen and still alive, still active, still vibrant.


There are two things I wonder this morning.  First, I wonder if anyone went seeking the body of Jesus today, would they find it?  I remember a number of years ago there was this big fuss about finding what were believed to be the bones of Jesus, but they couldn’t really prove it to anyone’s satisfaction.  So there are probably still some people looking for the remains of the Son of Man.

But what does our Bible tell us of the body of Jesus?  What does the Apostle Paul say the body of Christ really is now?  We are the body of Christ Jesus!  We are His church, His body left on earth to carry out His work once He went back home to heaven!

So I’ll ask again…  Would anyone seeking the body of Jesus find it in this world today?  Sure they can find this beautiful building, and many others that have “church” in their name.  And if they come on a Sunday morning they can find us all together worshiping God.  But the world is not likely to come here looking.  The world is out there, looking to see what, if anything, the body of Jesus is doing… out there.  If they’re seeking the body of Jesus, will they find it?


I also wonder how many are still seeking Jesus today.  And I don’t mean just among the non-believers of the world.  I’d like to think there are some out there who are interested in the Christian faith, who may want to learn more about this Jesus, who might want to follow Him if they could just give up whatever it is that holds them back.  These are the folks we need to be reaching out to, because they have a chance of salvation.

But for this morning, I’m more concerned with how many of us who profess to be Christians are still seeking Jesus!  When we exercise the faith God gave us and believe in Jesus as God’s Son and accept Him as our Master and our Savior, then we are granted eternal life through Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s mercy and grace.

Many of us grew up as steadfast believers and never had to make a drastic transition.  But as for the rest, something happened in our life that shook us enough that we had no other choice but to believe and accept Jesus in our life.  So we believe, we’re save, but then what?  We just wait for eternity to roll around?

Family, we still need to be seeking Jesus!  No matter what level of maturity our faith might be at, no matter how assured we are of our eternal life, no matter how close a relationship we have with our Lord, we still need to seek Him out!  We can still grow in our faith, we can still strengthen our personal relationship with the Author of our salvation.  Jesus is still alive and active and vibrant.  We need to seek Him in our daily life.  We, His church, His body, needs to be alive and active and vibrant.

Fear shouldn’t keep us from seeking a closer relationship with Jesus or from doing His work.  The angel told us to not be afraid, for Jesus, who was crucified, has risen, just as He said.  He also said He will be with us to the end of the age as we carry on His work, and He keeps that promise too.

So let’s all still seek Jesus, in our Bible reading and study, in our worship, in our fellowship together, and in our work in the world spreading the Gospel and making disciples.  Seek the Lord and rejoice!  For Jesus lives!  Christ our Lord is risen today!  Alleluia!  Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord Jesus Christ, Savior, Redeemer, Master…  We stand before Your empty grave, we see the stone rolled away, we hear the angel’s words, and we are in awe, too amazed to believe what our eyes and ears tell us.  And then You speak: “Rejoice!”  And all we can think to do is to sing Alleluias and worship you.  You sacrificed all for us, You died for us, You were buried for us.  You bore no sin of Your own so You carried all the sins of the world to the grave and left them there.  You shed every last drop of Your precious blood just so we might be washed clean when we stand in judgment before our Father God.

We praise You, Lord Jesus, and we thank You!  Words alone could never convey just how thankful we are, so we give You our hearts in gratitude.  We give You our lives – take and use them as You will.  In Your glorious name, Lord Jesus, we pray.

And now, Father God, hear us as we pray to You as Your Son Jesus taught us…  Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

My God, My God!

[The following is a manuscript of the meditation delivered Good Friday afternoon, the 19th of April, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The Apostle Luke describes that dark day when man showed just how cruel he can be.  Jesus came to earth to offer mankind the greatest gift of all: salvation from sin and life eternal with God in heaven.  And in return, we taunted Him, we beat Him, we tortured Him, and we nailed Him to a rough cross, there to die a horrible death.

Not once did He ask for mercy.  Not once did He call out to His Father God to send an army of angels to rescue Him.  Not once did He cry out to His tormentors begging to be spared.  Not once did He condemn any man for the terrible actions of that day.  But there were two instances where the human side of Jesus showed through.

Listen to Luke’s Gospel account from chapter 23, verses 13 through 56, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible...

13 Then Pilate called together the leading priests and other religious leaders, along with the people, 14 and he announced his verdict. “You brought this Man to me, accusing Him of leading a revolt. I have examined Him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find Him innocent. 15 Herod came to the same conclusion and sent Him back to us. Nothing this Man has done calls for the death penalty. 16 So I will have Him flogged, and then I will release Him.”  17 Now it was necessary for him to release one prisoner to them during the Passover celebration.

18 Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill Him, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) 20 Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

22 For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has He committed? I have found no reason to sentence Him to death. So I will have Him flogged, and then I will release Him.”

23 But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. 25 As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.

26 As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. 28 But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ 30 People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’ 31 For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with Him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed Him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified — one on His right and one on His left.

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for His clothes by casting lots.

35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let Him save Himself if He is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers mocked Him, too, by offering Him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to Him, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 A sign was fastened above Him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals hanging beside Him scoffed, “So You’re the Messiah, are You? Prove it by saving Yourself — and us, too, while You’re at it!”

40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this Man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”

43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

44 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust My spirit into Your hands!” And with those words He breathed His last.

47 When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this Man was righteous.” 48 And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. 49 But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, 51 but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. 54 This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin.

55 As His body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where His body was placed. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint His body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

--Luke 23:13-56 (NLT)

Let us pray… Father God, we’ve come together this afternoon to remember the darkest day in all of Your creation – the day we tortured and executed Your Son, nailing Him to a cruel cross.  Jesus came to offer us salvation, but the world refused Him.  We drove nails into the hands He stretched out to save us.  We cursed Him, spat on Him, beat Him, killed Him.  But You knew all this had to happen.  You knew that only the blood of the one true Spotless Lamb could wash us clean and atone for our sin.  Thank You, Father, for Your great love and mercy.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your sacrifice.  Imprint this day on our hearts so that we might understand just how important this is to us and to others, how critical it is for our eternal life.  This we pray in the name of the Lamb, Your Son Jesus.  Amen.


You know, I almost feel sorry for Pilate.  He thought he was in charge, but really he was just a pawn, a tool in God’s master plan.  He tried to let Jesus go, after roughing Him up a bit, but the religious leaders of the Jews would have none of that.

And actually, Jesus wouldn’t have allowed it anyway, because He knew what had to be done.  Jesus was fully God, the true Son of God.  He knew everything that would happen, all that He would endure.  He was in on the plan from the very start.  But Jesus was also fully man, completely human, capable of suffering just like the rest of us.  And I think this passage clearly shows the human side, as well as the divine.

Jesus as God is quite evident: when He warned the people of what is to come, when He asked God to forgive them, when He promised the one criminal who believed a place in paradise.  But the human side of Jesus can also be seen.  After the beatings, He was too weak to carry His cross all the way to the place called the Skull, stumbling under the burden, so the Roman soldiers grabbed a man and forced him to carry it.

In the Apostle John’s account of this day, Jesus gasps, “I thirst”, prompting the soldiers to offer Him sour wine, as Luke noted.  “I thirst” is Jesus’ human expression of His physical suffering.  In shock from blood loss and all He has gone through to this point, He now suffers physical thirst.

But it also alludes to a spiritual thirst, a thirst for love, especially for the love of His Father who He feels may have abandoned Him there on the cross.  That feeling of abandonment can be more easily seen in the accounts of the Apostles Matthew and Mark.  Luke records Jesus saying “Father, I entrust My spirit into Your hands!”, as His final statement.  But just before that, Matthew and Mark share that Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Could there ever be a more human expression of anguish and pain?  How many of us have cried in our torment, “O God, where are You?  Why have You left me to face this alone?”

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Forsaken, abandoned, left to one’s own defenses.  Alone, unloved, unwanted.  Jesus actually quotes King David here, in Psalm 22 verse 1…

1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?

--Psalm 22:1 (NKJV)

Jesus, the man, the Son of Man, felt like God, His own Father, had turned His back on Him.  He felt alone, all alone.  And He was!  This marked the one and only instance when Jesus was separated from God and His Holy Spirit!  For you see, this is when Jesus was no longer righteous in God’s sight.  Jesus was no longer sinless.  Just as Adam and Eve and all mankind since could no longer be in the presence of God Almighty because of our sin, neither could Jesus!  Jesus was no longer sinless because He had taken all our sin upon Himself!

So yes, He felt abandoned because He could no longer be in God’s presence.  Of course, we know that all this changes shortly, for Jesus takes our sins to the grave and leaves them there, returning to life sinless again.  But for this brief span, Jesus was all alone, hanging there on the cross.


My God, my God…  Jesus wants us to remember this day.  He wants us to see Him as a man, hurting physically because of His mistreatment, but hurting even more, spiritually, because of His separation from God.  And He wants us to remember that all that – all the hurting and suffering and pain and even the separation – all of that ended when He was raised from the dead and given new life!

We need to remember this because some day, some sweet, beautiful day, all our suffering and pain will cease.  Our lifelong separation from God will come to an end and we will be reunited with Him for all eternity.  But only if we believe in His Son Jesus, and accept Him not only as our personal Savior and Friend but also as our true Lord and Master, whose word and command we strive to obey.

We who believe can look forward to that day, but for too many, the separation will never end.  Too many will continue to shout “My God, my God” and plaintively cry out “Lord, Lord” as eternity rolls, and Jesus will simply respond, “I never knew you.”  Let’s do our best to help others not be in that crowd.  In the blessed name of Him who died so that we might live, the name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord Jesus, we cannot even imagine what You went through that last day of Your mortal life, that fateful Friday so long ago.  None of Your life here came easy.  Like the prophet Isaiah foretold, the very people You came to save hated and despised You.  They plotted Your death and betrayed You.  They even denied You.  Forgive us, Lord, because sometimes we still don’t know what we are doing.

But You knew, Lord.  Every step of the way, You knew what was coming.  You knew how the events of every single day would play out, including Your last day lived as a mortal man.  You knew exactly how God’s plan must be accomplished, and that it was not quite finished before You left.  So You instructed us on what to do until You return to wrap up the job.  Help us, please Lord, to be faithful to the task You left us.  Help us to be strong when the weight of our responsibility bears greatly on our shoulders.  Help us do as You commanded even when we are afraid to stand up, to speak up, to show the world how much You mean to us.  Forgive us when we hesitate to witness to You.  Forgive us when we turn away from the needs of those around us, oblivious to their plight.  Forgive us when we fail to love sacrificially, unconditionally, as You love us.  Help us be worthy of Your great sacrifice.  In Your precious name, Lord Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

What Price Betrayal?

[The following is a manuscript of the meditation delivered Maundy Thursday evening, the 18th of April, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Tonight also included the observance of our Lord's Supper with Holy Communion.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

The time is shortly before Jesus is betrayed and handed over first to the Jewish religious leadership and then to the Romans.  I’m going back slightly before the last meal our Lord enjoyed with His followers, perhaps just earlier that afternoon, to what some might think of as the beginning of the end.  I want to look at an act of love, and an act of betrayal.

Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 26, verses 1 through 16, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by deception and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

--Matthew 26:1-16 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, tonight we step back in time to a night so long ago that may have lost some of its meaning for many.  Speak to us, Father, speak into our hearts, that we might relive that night and understand its impact.  Speak to us that we might know the truth of our ways.  Convict us of our sin and forgive us for our continuing disobedience.  This we pray in the name of Your Son Jesus.  Amen


Tonight is Maundy Thursday.  The word, “Maundy”, comes from the Latin word meaning command or commandment.  On the night of His last supper with His disciples, Jesus gave us a commandment to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.

In just a few minutes we will share the elements of His body and blood.  We will renew the covenant God made with us, sealed by the precious blood of Jesus.  But as I mentioned, I want to go back just a step before that supper, to look at one beautiful moment absolutely spoiled by one dark blemish.


The Jewish religious leadership wanted Jesus and His New Way stopped, no matter the cost.  They plotted against Him, but couldn’t figure out how to be rid of what they saw as a threat without alienating the people and risking an uprising.  They would soon get their answer, in the person of a traitor.  But first, a moment of compassion, an overt showing of love.

When Jesus stayed overnight in the Bethany home of Simon the leper, a woman came in carrying a fancy jar of expensive, fragrant oil.  Other Gospel scripture leads us to believe this was likely Mary Magdalene, but Matthew does not name her.  She took this very expensive, sweet-smelling oil and poured it on Jesus’ head, anointing Him.

The disciples who witnessed this act of love were angered by it.  Matthew tells us they were mad because they felt such an extravagance to be a waste of money, money that could have been given to the poor.  I wonder if maybe they weren’t a little jealous that they didn’t think of it themselves.

At any rate, they voiced their disdain of the act in Jesus’ hearing, as if questioning why He would allow such a waste.  Our Lord’s reply was gracious, yet sufficient to put His followers in their place.  “She did Me a great kindness”, He told them.  “You will have plenty of opportunity to help the poor, because there will always be poor folk needing help.  But I won’t be among you much longer.”

Judas was what we would consider the “treasurer” of the followers of Jesus, and other scripture notes that he often embezzled from the group purse.  Maybe he felt like he missed an opportunity to pocket a little extra cash, and that this was the last time that would happen.  I can only guess at his motive, but he went running off to the chief priests and offered up his services, for a price.  He struck a deal to deliver Jesus to them in a remote place, out of sight of the people, for the grand sum of thirty pieces of silver.

One estimation I found is that thirty pieces of silver would be equivalent to about $600 today.  $600 to betray the Lord.  Would it be worth the price to any of us?  How much would it take for us to turn Jesus in?  How much would we be willing to accept knowing that He would end up nailed to a cross?  What treasure would be necessary for us to betray our Lord?

How many of us right now are thinking in our heads, “I would never betray Jesus, no matter how much is offered!”?  I wonder, though, if we understand how little it takes for us to do just that.  First we have to understand what it means to betray Jesus.  He no longer walks among us so we can’t have Him arrested again, or beaten, or physically nailed to a cross.  But what did He tell us to do before He went home to God in heaven?  I can think of four very important tasks He left us, but there are others.

We are to worship God and only God, giving of ourselves, our time, our resources into His service.  When we allow something, some event or pastime or person, to keep us from worship, we are betraying Jesus.

We are to repent of our sins, turn completely from them and sin no more, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.  When we refuse to give up that one sin that gives us so much pleasure but that we know is unrighteous in God’s eyes, that we know is an act of disobedience to Him, then we are betraying Jesus.

Jesus told us to tend His sheep, to feed His lambs, to love one another as we love ourselves.  When we ignore the plight of others, turning our backs on them, we are betraying Jesus.

Jesus commanded us to go into the world, spreading the Gospel, the Good News of salvation, making disciples, and teaching them all about Jesus.  When we are too timid to speak up, when we worry about what others will think of us, when we are afraid to show our faith, we are betraying Jesus.

Each of us, in some way, shape, form, or fashion, has betrayed Jesus at one time or another.  Each of us has driven a nail into His beautiful hands, the hands that healed the multitudes, the hands that reached out to save us.  Sadly, many of us still do.  We still drive nails in His hands.  We still betray Him, and often the price of our betrayal is so very small.

And Jesus suffers.  Jesus suffered on the cross as a sacrifice to God to take away our sin and guilt, not so we could continue sinning!  He suffered betray and denial from Judas and Peter, and from us, too.

But there is coming a day when we will stand before Jesus and He will show us our thirty pieces of silver.  Our Lord will let us know whether we gave Him food when He was hungry, or drink when He was thirsty.  He will pronounce whether or not we took Him in when He was a stranger to us, clothed Him when He was naked, visited Him when He was sick, came to Him when He was in prison.  For He will look at what we do, or don’t do, to any of our brothers and sisters upon this earth, as if we had done, or not done, to Him.

Let’s stop betraying Jesus, denying Him by our actions or inaction.  Let’s quit driving nails in His hands and start doing what He tells us to do.  Worship God, be obedient, love others and see to their needs, share the Gospel without fear.  Most of all, truly accept Jesus as Lord and Master, as if He holds your very life in His hands.  Because Jesus does indeed hold our eternal life in those beautiful, nail-scarred hands.


The Apostle Paul tells us we must be right with God before coming to our Lord’s table, otherwise we share the guilt of His execution, of His death.  Now is the time to do so.  If you are feeling the guilt of denial or betrayal, if you are weighed down by the knowledge of your disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness.  If you’d like to come down to the foot of Jesus’ cross to pray, here at His table, then please do so.

Get right with God.  Stay true to Jesus.  The real price of betrayal is far too high.

In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, on this night we reflect back on a time when mankind saddened You yet again.  For on that night long ago we betrayed Your Son, Your only Son, whom You sent to offer us salvation.  Instead of receiving Him, we rejected Him.  Forgive us, Father, for we did not know what we were doing.

But now, Father, we do know.  Thank You for preserving Your word for us in our Holy Bible so that we might know the error of our ways and not have to pay the ultimate price of our eternal lives.  Help us understand the message of the wicked vinedressers so that we do not continue to reject and betray Your Son.

Lord Jesus, You gave so much of Yourself on our behalf.  You took our punishment, You bore our stripes, You died so we could avoid the final and permanent death just by believing in You and accepting You as Lord.  But even greater suffering You bear comes from our betrayal, our denial, our rejection of You, then so long ago, and yet still today.

Forgive us, Lord, our times of doubt and confusion.  Forgive us when we refuse to believe, when we reject Your authority.  Forgive us when we could stand up for You against the doubters and disbelievers, but we are just too timid, too afraid, to do so.  Help us, please Jesus, to not be so concerned with what others may think about us.  Give us the strength of our convictions, the fullness of our faith, so that we will no longer deny or betray You.

This we pray in Your sweet name, Lord Jesus, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

When God Visits

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Palm Sunday morning, the 14th of April, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of this and our other services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Today is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus knew full well where this path would lead, but His disciples had not yet caught on to the truth, even though He tried so many times to explain it to them.  They went ahead of Him, shouting and singing as they walked along.  They wanted everyone in Jerusalem to know that Jesus was coming.  They didn’t want anyone to miss His visit.

Please listen and follow along to how the Apostle Luke described this triumphant entry, as recorded in his Gospel account, chapter 19 verses 28 through 44, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

28 After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of His disciples. 29 As He came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, He sent two disciples ahead. 30 “Go into that village over there,” He told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for Him to ride on.

36 As He rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of Him. 37 When He reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of His followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

41 But as He came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, He began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

--Luke 19:28-44 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, Your plan for the salvation of mankind required that Your own Son give of Himself to save us, to offer Himself up as the ultimate blood sacrifice for the atonement of our sins.  He went willingly, meekly, humbly to the cross, just as a lamb to the slaughter.  In this, You and Jesus showed Your great love for us.  Thank You, Father, for such love and mercy, a love we do not deserve, a love we can never repay.  Speak to us this morning, Father.  Speak to our hearts and write upon them the message we need to understand and remember.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son Jesus.   Amen.


There is an old mariner's chart, drawn in 1525, on display in the British Museum in London.  This particular chart outlines the North American coastline and adjacent waters.  The cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored.  Over those regions he wrote: "Here be giants", "Here be fiery scorpions", and "Here be dragons".  Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800s.  Scratching out the fearful inscriptions, he wrote these words across the map: "HERE IS GOD".


That early cartographer was simply following human nature when labeling those unexplored regions.  We tend to fear the unknown - we want to stay away from it, steer clear of it.

Perhaps that's why so many people try to avoid Jesus, because they don't know Him.  But we do know - we know Him, and we know God's plan for our salvation.  For us, there is nothing to fear.  For us, the only thing to avoid is Satan.


The disciples certainly wanted the people of Jerusalem to know Jesus, or at least to know that He had come to them.  In our scripture reading, Luke tells us they were so overwhelmed by the moment that they began to shout and sing as they walked along.  Like good cheerleaders, they were supporting Jesus and encouraging all the people of the city to come out and support Him, too.

And the crowds responded, with the throng of His followers growing almost with each step.  They joined in on the shouts and singing, waving flowers and palm branches jubilantly in the air.  As Jesus neared, they laid those flowers and palm branches and even their own garments on the roadway so that the little burro Jesus rode would not kick up the dust and get Jesus dirty.

This vast multitude was making such a fuss now, that the Pharisees couldn’t stand it any longer.  “Tell Your followers to stop this racket!”, they demanded of Jesus.  “Tell them to stop calling You a king!  The Romans might hear them!”  I’m implying that last bit, because this was always a concern for the people, that their occupiers not be given any extra reason to come down hard on them.

Jesus’ reply was beautiful, wasn’t it?  Even if the crowd is silenced, the very stones along the roadside would burst out into cheers!  The Lord is to be praised, even if the rocks have to take up the song.


I think we’re all pretty familiar with this little story up to this point.  But now comes a brief passage we may have missed.

As Jerusalem came into view, Jesus began to weep.  He wasn’t crying because He knew that this is where He would suffer and die from this mortal life.  No, He was filled with sorrow to the point of tears because this city was holy to God.  This was the city of God’s chosen people, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This was the city that refused to know Jesus as their Messiah, sent from God to free them from the tyranny of sin and death.

Jesus wept because they did not understand the way to peace, they did not believe before it was too late.  They did not recognize it when God came to visit.

The Apostle John also spoke of the people’s failure to understand that God came to visit.  Listen to what John wrote of Jesus at the beginning of his Gospel account, chapter 1 verses 10 through 13…

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

--John 1:10-13 (NKJV)

Jesus was in the world, but the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, to God’s chosen people, but they would not receive Him.  The world missed God’s visit.  Well, Family, Jesus is still in the world and the world still refuses to know Him, to receive Him, to accept Him as God!  The world still misses out!  Ah, but those of us who do receive Him, who believe in His name, who are reborn of God and His Holy Spirit, we are accepted by God as His children.

John carries this concept a little further in his 1st letter to the early church, chapter 3 verses 1 through 3, adding that it is a result of God’s great love.  John writes…

1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

--1 John 3:1-3 (NKJV)

What a blessing it is to be considered a child of God!  But again, the world misses out.  Just as the world doesn’t know Jesus, it doesn’t know us!  The world can’t understand us!  It can’t comprehend how we could be willing to ignore all the pleasures it offers.  Or how we can believe in what we can’t see or feel.  It doesn’t grasp how we could give so little consideration to all the things that it thinks so valuable.  Just to follow this man called Jesus.

The world doesn’t know that God came to visit.  But we do.  We know that God came to us as a little baby, and He gave Himself up for us as the sinless, spotless Lamb.  And we know that His name is Jesus.

Jesus wept because God’s people did not recognize it when He came to visit.  We need to make sure we don’t miss it, that we realize He still visits us today.  And we need to help the world know Him and understand.

So let’s all be good cheerleaders for Jesus!  Let’s not leave it up to the rocks and stones to shout and sing praises to the King.  Praise the Lord with everything you say and in everything you do!  Let’s try our best to make sure no one misses God’s visit.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, You came to us in the flesh, as Your own Son, bearing the name Jesus.  And even though Jesus tried so hard to tell people the truth, the world refused to listen.  The world rejected You.  Your own people missed it when You visited.  Thank You, Father, for favoring us with Your love and mercy.  Thank You for giving us the faith to believe.  Thank You for opening our eyes and our hearts so we did not miss it when You came to us.  Please forgive us when we hold back and fail to announce Your presence to the world.  Forgive us when we don’t sing Your praises when in the company of those who don’t believe.  Please help us be strong and fearless in our service to You.  Help us help the world not miss You again.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to turn from our sin, seeking Your forgiveness for our disobedience…

Lord Jesus, You wept over the holy city because its people – God’s people – did not recognize that God was with them.  You felt such great sorrow, because they missed out on the opportunity to spend eternity in paradise.  Lord, we who believe in You and follow You did not miss it when You came to visit us.  You came to each of us, and we recognized You as Lord.  Help us stay strong and true to You until Your glorious return.  And help us spread the truth and educate others, announcing Your return visit, so that they not miss out again.  Help us to ever be true and faithful to You and our Father God.

This we pray in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Lord, our Master, our Savior.  Amen.

Suffering Loss

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered during the joint Lenten service held at Paul's Chapel Church on Sunday evening, the 7th of April, 2019.  Participating in the joint services are Emanuel Reformed, Paul's Chapel, and Pilgrim Reformed Churches.]

Show of hands…  Who among us has not lost something or someone near and dear in our life?  With each passing year it seems I lose more and more, loved ones and things.  Some folks have lost everything they owned, due to a fire or a flood or a disaster of their own making.  I’m willing to bet that everyone of us has suffered the loss of a loved one’s passing.  Suffering loss is something we’re all far too familiar with, but few of us have seen times as trying as did the Apostle Paul.

Please listen and follow along to what Paul wrote in his letter to his beloved Philippians, to the church in Philippi that aided him while he was in prison.  I’ll start in chapter 3 from the second part of verse 4 and go through verse 14, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

4b  Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin — a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

--Philippians 3:4b-14 (NLT)

Let us pray… Father God, You never promised us that this life would be easy.  In fact, Your word, saved in our Holy Bible, tells us that we must endure all manner of trials and tribulations.  We will be tested, we will be hurt, we will suffer.  But we can take strength from Your Son Jesus.  He will help us through these times.  For this life is short when compared to eternity with You.  Any suffering we face now will be forgotten when we experience the wonders of heaven.  All things of this life will rot and decay, but what You hold in store for us will be our treasure forever.  Help us, please Father, to stay focused on this simple fact: only Jesus matters.

Speak to us now, Father, directly to our hearts, that we might better understand the message Your Son Jesus has for us, that we might better discern Your will for our lives.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


In The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, we read of a miserable looking woman who recognized preacher and evangelist F.B. Meyer on the train and proceeded to share her burden with him.  For years she had cared for a crippled daughter who brought great joy to her life.  She made tea for her each morning, then left for work, knowing that in the evening the daughter would be there when she arrived home.

But the daughter had died, and the grieving mother was alone and miserable.  Home was not "home" anymore.  Meyer gave her wise counsel.  "When you get home and put the key in the door," he said, "say aloud, 'Jesus, I know You are here!' and be ready to greet Him directly when you open the door.  And as you light the fire tell Him what has happened during the day; if anybody has been kind, tell Him; if anybody has been unkind, tell Him, just as you would have told your daughter.  At night stretch out your hand in the darkness and say, 'Jesus, I know You are here!'"

Some months later, Meyer was back in that neighborhood and met the woman again, but he did not recognize her.  Her face radiated joy instead of announcing misery.  "I did as you told me," she said, "and it has made all the difference in my life, and now I feel I know Him."


The transformation that Jesus can make in a life is absolutely astonishing, and almost unbelievable if not witnessed.  This woman was miserable after she lost her daughter.  Alone and miserable.  I know that feeling – I can definitely relate.  Maybe some of you can, too.

Many of us have suffered unbearable loss, leaving us only misery and sorrow.  But once we finally get to know Jesus as a personal friend, accept Him into our lives, He can replace all that misery with happiness, all that sorrow with joy!  Jesus can make all the difference in our lives, if we just let Him!


In our scripture reading, Paul talks about one of the differences Jesus made in his life.  This difference is a matter of perspective, in how Paul’s perception of value was changed once he came to know Jesus.

Paul said he had everything any good Jew could want.  He was a Pharisee, a member of the religious hierarchy that help sway over the people.  He upheld the Law of Moses, with so much zeal that he eagerly persecuted the new church of Jesus.  He obeyed the law without fault.

But all of that changed when Christ came to him and imparted insight and knowledge into the truth, when he came to know Jesus as his only means of salvation, as his sure source of strength.  All of that before was rubbish, worthless, of no consequence whatsoever.  The only thing that matters is knowing Christ Jesus.

Not only did Paul count all he left behind as loss, as garbage, but he gave up everything else from that point on in his service to Jesus. Nothing else mattered, nothing but the heavenly prize that awaited him at the end of this earthly race.


We all know how much loss Paul suffered if we’ve read through the Apostle Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles.  The list is long and varied.  Shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments – his personal sufferings would have been great.  And let’s not forget the “thorn in his side” he asked relief of.  All this he suffered willingly for Jesus.  He also gave up any chance of wealth, instead barely getting by through the generosity of others, such as the church in Philippi, or from what he could earn making tents.  Paul was willing to sacrifice “things”, even himself, because he knew a far greater reward awaited him.

Not everyone understands this.  Do you remember the “rich young ruler’s” conversation with Jesus?  Listen to how the Apostle Mark recounts this for us, in chapter 10 of his Gospel account, verses 17 through 22…

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

--Mark 10:17-22 (NKJV)

The young man had good intentions, seeking the key to eternal life.  He just wasn’t willing to give up his possessions to gain that which he sought.  He was not willing to suffer loss for his own sake, let alone for Jesus.  He was just too rich, and would not lay aside his wealth in order to take up the cross.

But there’s one phrase in there I hope you caught.  “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him…”  Jesus loved this young man standing before Him.  As God, Jesus knew how the young man would respond, how he would turn away, but He loved him anyway.  He loved him so much that He wanted him to have eternal life, He wanted him to give up everything, take up his own cross and follow the path of service to Christ.

Now this is going to be somewhat a bold and controversial statement, running counter to what some might tell you, but I think that Jesus wants us to suffer some measure of loss!  Maybe not as much as Paul, and certainly not as much as He Himself suffered for us, but still, we need to be able and willing to take up our cross for Him.

For you see, family, everything in this life on earth is temporary, transient, of absolutely no value in the life to come.  And that includes the mortal bodies of our loved ones.  Everything in this life is passing away.  Jesus wants us to be willing to give up anything this life offers so that we can be free to follow Him.

If there is anything we are not willing to part with, then our attention will be split, our affections will be divided, and we’ll be engaging in idolatry.  Whatever we give ourselves and our time to becomes our god, our idol of worship.  Jesus says give it all up and follow Me.

And it may seem harsh, but that includes our loved ones who have gone home.  In his Gospel account, chapter 8 verses 18 through 22, the Apostle Matthew gives us clear examples, provided by Jesus, of the cost of discipleship, the true cost of following Jesus…

18 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

--Matthew 8:18-22 (NKJV)

In the first part, Jesus is painting a bit of a word picture to describe what it will be like to follow Him:  homeless, destitute, with nothing to call His own, dependent on the goodness and generosity of others.  Of course, He was speaking of His own mortal life there, but by implication He was saying that a disciple should expect nothing more.

And then in the second part, it may sound like Jesus is being cruel, not allowing the man to bury his deceased father.  But I think what Jesus is trying to say is that we need to be able to let our departed loved ones go.  If they were believers especially, because they are now in a far better place than we.  We just need to let go of our grief, give it up, it serves no purpose.  As long as we hold onto to our grief, it keeps us from giving our full attention to Jesus and following Him.


I could tell you all kinds of nice and sweet things about how wonderful your life will be if you just have enough faith.  I could tell you that your belief in Jesus will allow Him to protect you from any harm, that God will send His angels just to watch over you and guard you.  I could tell you all sorts of things that have a Biblical basis.  Or I can tell you what Jesus said, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, chapter 16 verse 33…

33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

--John 16:33 (NKJV)

Jesus doesn’t say we might have tribulation.  He says we will have tribulation, trials, suffering, loss.  And family, I would be so bold as to say we should suffer loss, or be willing to.  For we can only suffer loss when we lose something, when we give something up.  And in this case, I mean giving it up for Jesus.

We need to put down the stuff that means something to us, stuff that the world says is valuable, so that we can pick up our cross and follow Jesus, even if it means having nothing we can call our own.  Let’s lay it all down at the foot of our Lord’s cross, pick up our own cross, and follow Him.


We don’t know when our time on this earth will be finished and done.  But tonight, in this place, we still have time to make a sacrifice, to give up the treasures of this world, to suffer loss.  We still have time to give of ourselves to others in service to our Lord.  We can honor the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf by making a sacrifice of our own.

If you would like to recommit yourself to Jesus, now is the best time to do so – now, because tomorrow might not come.  If you want to make a sacrifice for Jesus, now, during Lent, is a very appropriate time.  If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, now, while we still draw breath, is the time to let Him into your heart.

I ask my brother Pastors gathered here tonight to join me down front as we sing our closing hymn.  If you want to accept Jesus as your Master and Savior, if you want to rededicate your life to Him, if you want to offer yourself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, if you just want us to pray with you, then please come down and join us at the foot of our Lord’s cross.  No sacrifice is too great.  In the glorious name of the one true Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, when You sent Your Son to earth to offer us salvation, You could have made it easy on Him.  Instead, as He lived a mortal life, He had to suffer, just as we suffer.  He could have made it easy on His followers.  Instead, they had to suffer just as He did.  As long as we walk this earth, we will suffer loss.  But Jesus promised that all this suffering will one day be forgotten.  One glorious day, all trials and tribulations, all pain and suffering will come to an end and we will live forever in paradise if we would only accept Jesus as Lord.  Thank You, Father, for Your loving mercy.  Forgive us when we grow weary, when life beats on us so much that our faith wavers and our spirits sink.  Please help us in our daily walk to see this through until Jesus returns.  Please hear us now, Lord God, as we come to you in the silence, repenting of our sin, seeking Your forgiveness, praying straight from our hearts…

Lord Jesus, throughout Your walk on earth, You set the example for how we should live our lives.  Even by Your mortal suffering, You showed that we too will suffer.  But You also promised that our suffering will end and we can spend eternity with You in paradise if we only accept You as our Master now, while we still draw breath.  Thank You, Lord, for suffering on our behalf.  Thank You for taking our punishment.  Thank You for taking all our sins and carrying them to the grave.  Forgive us, Jesus, when only want salvation without making You our true Lord, without obeying You and living the way You showed us.  Forgive us when ignore the needs of others, when we judge based on looks, when we fail to treat others with the same love You showed.  Help us, please Lord, to be better servants.  Help us to love sacrificially, unconditionally, and not just during Lent but every day of the year.

This we pray in Your righteous name, Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.