The Shepherd’s Voice

Readings for March 29^th
Jer 31:31-34
Ps 51:1-12
Heb 5:5-10
Jn 12:20-33

The Shepherd’s Voice – Sermon Audio

This past week I have received some distressing emails. My wife has family, which live in Moorhead, Minnesota, and areas around Fargo, North Dakota. Some of you may have seen it on the news. The Red River that flows through the Red River Valley, one of America’s primary agricultural breadbaskets has reached a flood stage of 41 feet.

In contrast to many U.S. rivers the Red River flows north from southeast North Dakota. This means that it gets colder as it goes north and ice backs up so stoppage in this river is normal. However, this year, they have had a fair amount of snow in Canada, and the states through which this river flows so the water is high. In fact some say this is a 150/170 year flood event. The dikes were built for about a 41 foot flood stage, but they fear 43 feet this year.

On Thursday in Waterford, an area where some of Sharon’s relatives live they were told the hour has come. In the morning they were told it would be a voluntary evacuation, but then at noon they were given a mandatory evacuation warning to immediately leave their homes and the area. Death could be eminent if they were to stay and the waters breached the dikes.

Jesus told his disciples and the crowd that had gathered the hour has come, His death may be eminent. Jesus said the Son of man will be glorified. Remember the context here.

Prior to this Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, many Jews had seen this as a sign of Jesus’ power and the chief priests were so afraid that Jesus was gaining great power that they concocted a plan to kill Lazarus. (Jn 12:9-11) Six days before the Passover feast Mary and Martha had dinner for Jesus and Lazarus where Martha served and Mary anointed Jesus feet with costly perfume.

Last week we read that Jews seek signs and Greeks seek wisdom. Here we have the Jews who had seen the signs and wonders and were now enthralled with Jesus and were ready to make him king. The Greeks in this case wanted to see Jesus for themselves so they could also admire Jesus.

Jesus on the other hand has something else in mind. In fact our text v27 Jesus says, “My soul is troubled.” Jesus was agitated. Jesus was already grieving for the situation.

Jesus was not grieving because he was going to die, he was grieving for those around him who didn’t understand what it meant when he said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus was grieving for those of us who don’t get it. Jesus talked about a seed dying.

Farmers in the Red River Valley would have known exactly what Jesus was talking about. They plant wheat. They know that unless a single grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it can’t bear more wheat. Seeds must be planted; they must die before they grow new grain.

Jesus told the crowd that the hour has come for him to die. He wasn’t sad about this. He wasn’t troubled by this idea. He said those who love their life in this world will lose it in the long run. Those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

This is a troubling statement for some of us. Some people like comfort, and who doesn’t. Some people like a beautiful sanctuary, like we have here, and who doesn’t. Some people like nice cars, nice clothes, good food, and who doesn’t. These things are not wrong in themselves, but Jesus says he cannot be fruitful unless he dies to this world so he can be reborn.

Then Jesus switches gears. He starts talking about following and serving. This was one of the messages in our Lenten service, the one we have taken on the road. Jesus had people who were drawn to him. Remember Levi, hears Jesus say “Follow me” and he does. A tax collector, a sinner, follows Jesus. The prosecutor objects. He says, “How dare he?”

In today’s text, v26 Jesus says, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” How dare he say that.
The time had come. Jesus wasn’t giving people a voluntary evacuation plan for their souls; he was giving them a mandatory requirement of the Spirit.

Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me.” Do you see any wiggle room here? If you are here this morning, you are here for a reason. Maybe you are here this morning because you want to serve the church. Maybe you are here this morning because you want to serve Christ. If so, Jesus says you must follow him. In our over-stressed, time sensitive world this can be hard.

A man had been driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He decided to stop at the next city he came to, and park somewhere where it was quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. As luck would have it, the quiet place he chose happened to be on one of the city’s major jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back for a snooze when there came a knock on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place. “Yes?” he said. “Excuse me, sir,” the jogger, said, “do you have the time?” The man looked at the car clock and answered, “8:15.” The jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again, and was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window and another jogger.
“Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?” asked the jogger. “8:25!” the man replied. The jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid that, he got out a pen and paper and put a sign on his window saying, “I do not know the time!” Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window. “Sir, sir?” said a jogger, seeking to be helpful’ “it’s 8:45!”

It is time, Jesus said, for the Son of man to be glorified. The hour has come. If you’re trying to settle back for a short nap, a rest, Jesus said the hour has come. It was that moment when the last sand falls through the hourglass. No time left for the development of new disciples. No time left for miracles to convince the people. No time left for debates with the religious leaders. No time left, the hour has come, the passion must begin.

The hour had indeed come. The time was late. A voice from heaven sounded like thunder. Jesus said it was time for the judgment of this world. “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”

Are you being drawn to Jesus? Is it out of a requirement, an obligation to a parent, a child, or a mate? Jesus said, “Whoever serves me must follow me.” Another way of saying it is whoever follows me must serve me.

Service to God and love for neighbor must come from the heart. If it doesn’t it won’t last. If you are truly being drawn to Jesus as the cross is being lifted up, God is speaking to your heart.

Walter Wangerin in his book, The Manger Is Empty, “tells a story, he calls ‘Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine’. It’s about how he tried to stop his son Matthew from stealing comic books. He tried various uses of the law over several years and continued to fail. Finally, he resorted to something he rarely used: a spanking, harsh punishment. He did it deliberately, almost ritualistically, and he was so upset when he finished that he left the room and wept. After pulling himself back together, he went in to Matthew and hugged him. Perhaps you’ve struggled with discipline yourself with your children in the past. I certainly have.

“A number of years later, Matthew and his mother were sitting around doing some reminiscing, and Matthew happened to bring up the time when he kept stealing comic books.
He said mom, ‘You know why I finally stopped?’
Mom said, ‘Sure,’ she said, ‘Because Dad finally spanked you.’
‘No!’ replied Matthew, ‘No, because Dad cried.’”
It wasn’t the law that made the difference it was the Gospel of love, the gospel of the heart.

It’s not the law of Christ, it’s the love of Christ that works on our hearts. It’s not the law of this world, it’s the love in this world that makes a difference in our relationships.

God through the prophet Jeremiah told us it (Jeremiah 31:33) “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” We have God’s law written on our hearts, yet God sent Jesus to fulfill the law.
If the law were enough to provide salvation we’d have no need for Christ, we could all work our way into the kingdom.
Matthew said it wasn’t the spanking that kept him from stealing it was his father’s tears.

The hour has come. Jesus was agitated, troubled because he had no more time. Our Lenten journey is drawing to a close as well; the final passion will soon begin.

Jesus said the judgment is coming; the light will be with you only a little while longer. That may be the case for some of us here this morning. Illness, car accident, in the wrong place at the wrong time, we don’t know the day nor the hour of Jesus return nor of our death.

Is our Father crying for us today? When we steal time, when we’re not honest in our intentions, when we lie, when we don’t love our neighbor as Jesus loved us I think our Father cries.

Our hymn after the sermon today is Take My Life, That I May Be. The first verse goes like this:
Take my life, that I may be consecrated Lord to thee:
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

I pray God consecrates our hearts this week so our lives flow forth in ceaseless praise, Amen.

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