I really wish I could show it to you in video format to give you the full visual effect.  So I’ll have to ruin the “surprise” and tell you what happens visually at the end.  I had a sheet hung on a pole that represented the veil of the temple.  And when we talk about how the ripping of the veil represents God’s ripping the barrier between himself and us, I ripped the sheet from top to bottom and stepped through it.

Hope your Holy Week and Easter have been meaningful.  Christ is Risen – He is Risen Indeed!

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“Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?”

Sermon for Easter Sunday (year A)

March 23, 2008

Matthew 28:1-10, Ephesians 2:13-20

Introduction – the question

As I listened to the accounts of Holy Week in the Gospels this past week, I practiced “spiritual listening” – that is, I prayed that God would open my ears to hear something, and then I would listen for something to attract my attention.  When I do that, God never fails to catch my attention, and this time was no different.  I first heard this question last Sunday night as we worshipped at the Community Palm Sunday service.

It’s a simple question.  It comes in John’s account of that Thursday evening before the crucifixion (13:1-17).  Jesus is talking about what it means to be “great,” and he decides to give them an example of what “greatness” really is.  He goes among them, and one-by-one, he performs one of the most menial tasks  a person could perform in the ancient near east.  Countering their resistance, quietly going about his work while they watched in stunned silence, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet.  Then he turns to them and asks, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” (13:12)

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”

It sounds so simple, but like nearly all of Jesus’ questions, it has two layers.  In that shocking moment, it would have been dead wrong if one of the disciples had piped up and said, “Sure, Jesus, I know what you just did – you washed our feet” (sounds like something I might have said if I was there).  That disciple would have missed the point.

In essence, Jesus is saying, “I have just done something very important, and I don’t want you to miss it.  Don’t let the shock of the moment overcome your senses so that you miss the real meaning of this event.  If the Christ, through whom all things were made, who will sit in power at the right hand of God – if this person is not too high to perform a low task, then neither should you be.”

It’s a powerful lesson in servanthood.  And it’s also a powerful image of what Jesus HAS done for us – gave up all his powers of divinity, and stooped down to muddle among mortals for a time.  But if you focus on the towel, on the meaning of feet and dirt, if you focus on the worthiness of the people whose feet are being washed – then you’re missing the point.  Don’t miss the point, Jesus says.  ”Do you understand what I have done for you?”

It was a question asked in a particular place and at a particular time, but I think for our purposes we can translate it this morning.  Do we understand what Jesus has done for us?

The events we’ve remembered this week are shocking, moving us to rage and tears to see what happens to Jesus.  He’s mistreated, given a mock trial, beaten, shamed, whipped within an inch of his life, then nailed to a stake in the ground and hung to die in front of God and everyone.  Yes, the events are moving.

And the resurrection is thrilling.  Earthquakes, angels, bright flashes of light.  The evildoers faint in terror, and Jesus walks out of the tomb.  It’s sensational, even newsworthy!

But in the shock and the thrill, do we understand what God is doing for us?

God shows us.  In the midst of all the goings on in that final week and on Easter Sunday, God shows us exactly what he’s doing for us.  But in order to see it – in order to see past the spectacular events of that Good Friday and Easter Sunday – we have to understand what we NEEDED to have done for us.  And to do that, we have to go back in the story a bit.

Our Great Enemies (Genesis chs. 2-3)

We’ve had two enemies since the first few days of creation.  When God first created us, we were perfect and without blame.  The first man and the first woman lived together in harmony with each other, in harmony with God’s creation, and in harmony with God himself.  Only one warning was given – “do not eat of this tree, or you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

We can get into all kinds of semantics surrounding the story.  We can talk about the fruit, and what it would actually do if Adam and Eve ingested it.  We can talk about what Satan meant when he said, “You will be like God himself.”  We can assign meaning to the name of the tree: “the knowledge of good and evil.”  We can analyze the way the command was worded, or whether Adam and Eve were capable of keeping it.

But if we do that, we’re distracted – we’re missing the point.  Beyond the fruit and what it did, there was a simple fact:  God made one command, and ONLY one command, that he asked the two humans to obey.  If only WE had only one rule to follow – life would be simple!  But what they did proved what is in our human nature – even with ONE rule to obey, they couldn’t do it.  Breaking that simple rule was a sign of the first enemy that had already entered the world: SIN.

And when they ate that fruit, Adam and Eve found out the terrible consequences of sin.  We can talk about how they hid themselves, how they felt naked and needed clothes.  We can talk about the curse of work and childbirth, about the significance of the angel standing at the entrance of the Garden of Eden and blocking the way back in.

But if we focus on these things – guess what? – we’re missing the point.  The point is that SIN had come into the world.  Where there had been nothing between humans and God – they could see God face to face – suddenly now there was a separation, a veil.  Humans chose to sin, but God chose to put up the wall of separation, because we see later what will happen if a sinful human being comes into the presence of a holy God – no one can survive.  That separation was for our own sake, not for our punishment.

Sin separated us from God, and because of our sin, the second great enemy was introduced into the world.  When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, as far as we know today, they were meant to enjoy an eternity of intimate, face-to-face friendship with God.  But once they sinned, DEATH came into the world.  Now the man and the woman would no longer live forever.

Once again, we could talk about the meaning of death – was it a punishment, or merely a side-effect of their separation from the eternal God?  Was it just a physical death God was talking about?  But if we do this we’re… missing the point.

The point is, Sin had kept us from BEING with God, and now Death had kept us from STAYING with God.  Where before there had been no barrier, no separation in time or spirit – now there was a separation between God and his creatures.  They could no longer enjoy face-to-face friendship with God – SIN had ensured they’d have to settle with a distant acquaintance.  And even if they could see God face-to-face, death ensured that that encounter with God would last only a millisecond – certainly not for eternity.

So our great enemies, sin and death, worked hand-in-hand.  Sin demanded some kind of justification – some kind of balance.  You can call it payment, if you will.  All of us have a balance due.  And none of us can pay it, so our only choice is to pay with our very lives.

It’s easy for us to miss the point, especially those of us who have grown up in the church and have always been taught that we don’t have to be afraid of sin or death.  They are powerful enemies!  And we have to understand what they do to us in order to truly understand what Jesus did.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”  Do we?

The Signs of Good Friday and Easter

God shows us, if we look closely.  God shows us, in those events of that week leading up to Easter, exactly what he’s about to do for us.  But if we get caught up in the events and the details themselves, we can miss the point.

We see it in three signs.  I want to prepare you for what I’m about to say because it’s probably going to be surprising.  It might even sound blasphemous, but I think Jesus’ question forces us to think about it.  The events surrounding the cross and the events of Easter Sunday morning are NOT the main things going on.  They make for a GREAT story, to be sure!  But they’re really nothing compared to the spiritual reality that has come about.  They’re only signs for us human beings who can’t see the real action taking place.

Think about it: Did God REALLY have to go through the spectacle of the cross in order to forgive sins?  I imagine there might have been another way.  But it doesn’t matter.  Whatever way he chose to do it is not important.  Beyond a man hanging on a tree, something else is happening.  As Jesus hangs there on the cross, in some unknown, miraculous, and unseen way, the sins of every living human being are being wiped out.  Sin is being handed his wages and sent home.  That’s a cosmic event, much grander in scale and much more vital than the simple act of one man dying, on a tiny speck of dirt in the middle of a vast universe.

The cross is only a symbol – a POWERFUL symbol, but only a symbol.  In very real terms, we see a mysterious reality that we can’t fathom – God himself comes down and allows himself to be crucified, in order that we might not have to suffer that separation from God.  It’s incomprehensible.  It’s moving beyond words.  But it’s only a reflection of the spiritual reality taking place.

So on the cross, we see that one enemy has been taken care of.  Now, through the sacrifice that Jesus has made, we can BE with God.  So why the resurrection?  Couldn’t the cross just be the end of the matter?

No, because there’s one enemy left to take care of.

Think about it: Did God REALLY have to go through the spectacle at the tomb in order to defeat death?  I’m sure it was spectacular to see the angel sitting on the stone, to see the bright flash of light and hear the earth shake as the tomb was opened.  But God didn’t HAVE to do it that way.  Jesus proves later that he’s able to materialize at will, so he could simply have chosen to reappear outside the tomb.  But beyond these sensational events, another reality is taking place: Jesus is the firstborn among all those whom God will raise.  Death used to be an enemy, a barrier, an undefeatable foe.  Now death has lost its sting, it’s been defeated, and it’s only a hiccup in eternity.  That’s a cosmic event, much grander in scale and much more vital than a flash of light and a rock rolling out of the way.

And yet, so much is wrapped up in that symbol.  We see in very real terms what God has done for us – we see the tomb – once the sealed and final resting place – now sitting wide open.  Turns out it had only been a hotel room for a two-night stay!  And this is what God has done for us.  He’s turned death into something we no longer have to be afraid of – death is no longer our greatest enemy!

The Veil Is Torn

Do we really understand what God has done for us?  Do we really understand what Jesus did?

I said there were three signs, didn’t I?  The other sign is one we miss so easily in the telling of the passion story.  It’s a sign that is given only one sentence of mention in three of the Gospels, and John doesn’t even mention it.  But to me, at least, it is the most powerful symbol of what God has done for us on the cross and the empty tomb.

The Temple in Jerusalem was a beautiful structure, one of the most beautiful of its day.  Herod had reconstructed it after the original had been torn down, and in his typical style, Herod did it bigger and better than any other.

The very architecture of the temple shows us the division between God and man.  There are successive layers – concentric circles – and as you move closer and closer to the center, the restrictions get tighter and tighter.  There’s an outer court, that’s for everyone.  But as you come through one wall, only Jews are allowed.  Then as you come through another wall, only Jewish men are allowed.  Then you come into the Holy place, where only the priests are allowed.

And finally, in the center of it all, is the Holy of Holiest.  This is the place they believed God’s presence dwelt.  Inside this small area was the ark of the covenant and several other very holy items from Israel’s past.  It was separated from the rest of the temple by an enormous curtain made of one piece of woven linen – 33 feet wide by 33 feet high.  It was thickly woven of beautiful, rich materials and gold might have been woven into it.  It may have been up to an inch thick.

So holy was this place, and so full of the presence of the Holy God, that the Jews believed if anyone entered that place they would die immediately.  Only one man was allowed to go into the Most Holy place – the High Priest that year – and only on one day of the year – Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  And that High Priest had to prepare for weeks to be ready for that day, and could commit no sin or defile himself in any way.  And even then, legend tells us that the other priests tied a rope to his ankle, and put bells around the hem of his garment so that the other priests could hear him inside through the thick curtain.  If the bells stopped, they would pull on the rope to check and see if the high priest had been struck dead for some reason.

The idea was plain to see.  In very visible terms, the people could see the separation of God from his people.  God was too holy, and humans too sinful, for them to come in contact.  Mankind’s sinfulness and his mortality could not cross into the holiest place.

So the thick curtain in the temple separated God and human beings forever.  And the people knew about this curtain, even though few of them had ever seen it – because only priests could enter the actual building of the temple.  But it was there, a silent testimony of the protective barrier that God had placed between himself and his people.

But at the moment Jesus died, we see a curious thing take place.  When Jesus dies, three of the Gospel writers simply mention in passing that “the veil in the temple was split from top to bottom” (Mat. 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45).  No mention of the reaction of the priests, no details of how it happened.  But that thick curtain, which no human hands could tear – was ripped in two from its top, 30 feet in the air, to the bottom.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”  If you want to see a perfect picture, look no further.  Because when the temple veil was torn in two, the barrier that separated God and human beings was torn in two as well.  And suddenly, we can have access to the almighty God.

• Once, we had to count on a priest to act on our behalf – now we can act on our OWN behalf.
• Once, only one man could come into the presence of the holy God.  Now, because Jesus took care of our sins, ALL of us can come into the presence of the Holy God.
• Once, going through that curtain meant certain death.  Now, going through that curtain means eternal life.

Do You Understand What You Have to Do?

God has removed the barrier, torn it in two – and now the way stands open.  And here Jesus asks again, “Do you understand what I have done for you?”  Jesus has opened the way.  The signs of Good Friday and Easter show us that now we can come to God unhindered, with no fear.  Not only can we BE with God, but we can STAY with God.

But that’s not quite the end of the story.  You see, we could get caught up in the signs.  We could be moved by the crucifixion, excited by the resurrection.  We can know the story of those events backwards and forwards.  We can understand the theology of the cross, the theology of the empty tomb.  We can come to church every Sunday to worship the risen Christ.

But if we focus on these things, we miss the point.  We miss the greater spiritual reality of what Jesus did for us… and what WE must do.

Because we still have to step through that curtain.  God has made the initiative, has broken down all barriers.  All we have to do is come to him.  That’s all he asks.  But it’s so easy to get sidetracked!  So easy to be afraid of what we’ll be asked to do.  But the simple reality is – God has torn the veil in two.  Will we walk through?

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”  Do you understand what you must do – and have you done it?

Christ is Risen… He is Risen Indeed!

©2010 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.