Title: Resurrecting Church (2) / Matthew 16:24-28
Contents Today is the last day of Lent and at the same time Palm Sunday, and the next week is a week of suffering to think about the sufferings of our Lord. Palm Sunday and Passion Week are always intertwined, and in the Christian faith there is a tendency to confuse suffering first or glory first. However, in the Christian faith, suffering and glory, glory and suffering are inseparable from each other and have a deep functional relationship. Everyone ends Sunday and first Hosanna Son of David! And when we think of the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross during the Passion Week, we are reminded of the climax of the glory of Jesus' earthly life. Therefore, Christianity is a religion in which suffering and glory exist at the same time.
1. The church that can see the cross is revived.
First, we should look not only at the glorious Lord who entered Jerusalem on this Palm Sunday, but also the suffering Lord who bore the cross hidden behind that glory. In Matthew 21, when Jesus rode on a donkey and entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, there was a commotion in Jerusalem, and everyone with palm branches in their hands and hands went ahead and behind them, even taking off their cloaks, saddling the donkey’s back, and spreading it out on the road. You can see the scene where they shouted, "Hosanna, Son of David!"
At this time, the Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem gathered together with some curiosity. They wanted to see Lazarus from the dead and come back to life, and they wanted to see Jesus who raised Lazarus from the dead. They had certain expectations of Jesus. They all went with excited emotions, hoping that Jesus would be able to solve Jewish political problems, people's livelihood problems, social problems, economic problems, etc. They expected Jesus to be such a Messiah. So in the end they tried to make Jesus King of the Jews. But when Jesus refused the Jews' request, they changed their minds and, after just a few days, released Barabbas and shouted that Jesus should be killed.
Where in the world could there be such an unfair society? Any society kills the sinner and saves the righteous, but only the Jews clamored to release the sinner and kill the righteous. Because of this sin, Jews suffered genocide wherever they went for 2000 years.
Then why did the Jewish crowd make this mistake against the Lord? This is because there is no other cause, but only the glorious side of Jesus who rode on a donkey and entered Jerusalem, and did not see the cross that was hidden behind the glory. During the Holy Week, we must remember the sufferings of the Lord overshadowed by glory, and the cross of Jesus covered with palm branches.
Most of the people who followed Jesus at the time of Jesus only saw the glorious side of Jesus and followed Him, and did not see the suffering and the cross behind that glory. Neither those who took bread with their hands, those who were healed, nor those who experienced miracles, could see these two things.
Let's look at the attitude of the mother of two sons of three generations in Matthew 20:20-22. The woman came to Jesus with her two sons and demanded that in the Lord's kingdom, one son be placed at the right hand of the Lord to be the right-winger, and the other son to be placed at the left-hand side, the seat of the throne. At this time, the Lord was silent and asked, "Can you drink the cup I drink?" Even the Jewish crowd who were mobilized on Palm Sunday saw only the glorious side of Jesus and cheered, “Hosanna, Son of David,” and did not see the cross hidden behind the glory.
Consider the case of Zacchaeus, the tax collector of Jericho, in Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, so when he heard about Jesus, he went to Jesus, but he was short and could not see Jesus. Because Jesus was covered by the disciples so he could not see, and he was covered by the crowds so he could not see.
The reality of Jesus' crucifixion on Palm Sunday was also obscured by the palm tree and overshadowed by the cheers of the crowd. That's right. The reality of Christianity today is sometimes overshadowed by gold, overshadowed by buildings, overshadowed by knowledge. So there are times when you can't see the reality. People believe in Jesus and only think that they will get rich, get a career, heal the sick, and prosper, but do not see the reality.
At the dawn of Easter Sunday, the women prepared perfume and went to the tomb of Jesus (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1) What did they see three days ago? They had seen Jesus dead, and they had seen Jesus buried, and they were thinking of Jesus, who by now was rotting in the tomb. So they prepared balm on their feet to keep them from decomposing.
Faith is not just seeing reality, but seeing what is behind reality is true faith. Today, on the glorious Palm Sunday of the Lord, let us also have the faith to see even the cross of suffering hidden behind the glory. The church that can see the cross right away will be revived.
2. The church that preaches the cross will be revived.
If we look at 1 Corinthians 1:23 and Galatians 6:14, we can see what kind of religion Paul preached about Christianity. “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). . “I will only boast in the cross of Christ” (Galatians 6:14).
Paul preached only the cross, but never his knowledge, power, wonders, miracles, circumcision, law, or religious superiority. How many miracles and wonders were performed at the time of Jesus? The Lord gave the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk. He cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, and cast out demons. He fed 5,000 people with two fish and five barley loaves, made Peter walk on water, and calmed the storm. However, Paul did not preach the same signs of Jesus, but only the sufferings of Jesus and the cross that was hung on a tree.
Of course, Paul also performed many signs and wonders while evangelizing. He healed a crippled man in Lystra (Acts 14:8), a fortune-teller possessed by a demon in Philippi (Acts 16:16), and at the height of Paul’s power, he was ill just by touching his handkerchief and apron. He was healed and the demons left (Acts 19:12). However, they did not preach such wonders, signs, signs, or powers, but only the suffering Lord who died on the cross to atone for our sins.
Let's look to the suffering Lord this week of suffering. And let's preach the suffering Lord. As this week passes, I hope that all of us sing the worship hymn we sang today, meditate on Matthew 26:27 in the Bible, and sing hymn 136 on Good Friday at noon.
"Were you there then?
When the Lord hangs on the cross
Oh! At that time, I tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there back then"
3. The church that bears the cross will be revived
In today's Bible text, Matthew 10:38 and Matthew 16:24, he said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." When we follow the Lord, we must take up our cross and follow Him. Why should we take up our cross and follow the Lord? If we follow the Lord without the cross, it will be comfortable and not difficult, but why do we have to take up our cross and follow the Lord?
If you follow the Lord with your bare body without taking up the cross, there is no joy. No power is generated. no thanks. If you follow the Lord without taking up the cross, you will not have power. The cross is said to be the power of God, but how can those who follow the Lord have power without the cross? (1 Corinthians 1:18)
Someone said that the burden of the cross that the saints bear and the power of God are always in direct proportion. The heavier the burden of the cross carried on the back, the more a person's body posture will lean forward. Then, when the burden becomes too heavy, they kneel before the Lord. The Lord gives strength to those who kneel before Him. Therefore, in Matthew 10:38 and Matthew 16:24, the Lord said to take up the cross, and in 1 Corinthians 1:18, the cross is the power of God.
So the preacher Spurgeon said, "The two wings of a bird are cumbersome to a bird, but without a bird's wings it cannot fly. A ship's mast is also a cumbersome tool for a ship, but without a ship's mast, it cannot sail. Therefore, the cross is very painful, but without the cross, there is no power of God.”
Therefore, those who follow the Lord without the cross do not see happiness, but those who follow the Lord with the cross appear happy. The same is true of the family and the same is true of the church. A family that bears each other's cross is a happy church. Let us also take up our share of the cross and follow the Lord in this Holy Week. It will soon become a grain of wheat.
A church that always thinks of the cross and preaches the cross is revived. The church that does not look only at the glory but sees the cross behind the glory is revived. I pray for God's great grace, comfort, strength, and power to those who believe in the fact that the church that bears the cross will be revived with power.