Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 18 February 2024
Sin
Scripture References: Romans 1:18-25, Psalms 56:1-13, Genesis 3:1-7
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CloseGod made a very good world. God made us, male and female, to bear his image and tend his garden, by hearing and obeying him. What went wrong? It is the crucial question, as we consider the Gospel, the base for who we are as God’s mob. And it introduces a word we know, a concept we are familiar with, and a truth that is so often misunderstood and misapplied – ‘sin’. To many, ‘sin’ is about ‘breaking rules’. And it is at least this, but sin is more than this. Sin, as we have heard time and time again, is the attitude and action that says, ‘I am God, and God is not’. It is pervasive. It is universal. It is horrible. All sin is the same because of this truth – it is connected with who we are, and who we desire to be, against God. And it is the reason this very good world is so broken.
Scripture References: Romans 1:18-25, Psalms 56:1-13, Genesis 3:1-7
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Jesus is returning to Jerusalem for the second day. Jesus is hungry – he is human. Jesus sees fig tree – but, despite its leaves, it has no fruit. Jesus curses the fig tree. Jesus is God, taking on the divine role of pronouncing judgement. This brief episode is a living example of the judgement brought by the king of God’s people returning to his mob: they have become independent, insiders not aligned with the desire of God for the outsider. They are unfruitful, and they are judged. God’s mob, however, have true fruitfulness when they recognise the authority of the king, and completely and totally depend upon him. Such dependency will change the world, because of the one they depend upon!
Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem. As Matthew prepares us for His entry into Jerusalem, he helps us confront Jesus’ authority, and the way in which it restores the concern of God for the outsider, and confronts the insider. This is the start of the Passover week. Jerusalem is a roiling maelstrom of religious and political fervour. And Matthew organises the narrative of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem around displays of His authority, rooted in recognition of His ‘old power’ – four Old Testament quotations structure the passage. As we come face-to-face with Jesus’ authority, three truths stand out. First, Jesus’ authority is extensive and all-encompassing. Second, Jesus’ authority is for the outsider, and rooted in God’s deep commitment to bring the outsider inside His kingdom. And, third, Jesus authority confronts the insider, and urges them to repentance. Come and meet Jesus, the King, in all His authority, as He enters Jerusalem!
What is greatness? In particular, what is greatness in the kingdom of God? That is the question addressed in the passage from Matthew today. Jesus is approached by two different groups. First, the family of Zebedee: James and John and their mother. Second, two blind men. Jesus asks both groups the same question “What do you want me to do for you?” What they request is quite revealing. And so is Jesus’ response to their requests. The Zebedees request position, status, reward for effort. The blind men request mercy, for their eyes to be open. Which request lines up with Jesus’ teaching previously? Which request do we tend to go to ourselves?
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