All I want for Christmas is... Joy (Matthew 21:1-11)

Our passage today focuses on Jesus as the King, but what is really interesting about this account – which is so significant that it is found in all four of the gospels in the bible – is how it presents Jesus as the long-expected King who arrives in an unexpected way. Surprising still, is how the most unexpected element in this story has to do with a donkey. It really is quite remarkable how everything turns on this donkey that Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem.

We will explore the unexpected nature of Jesus as the King in today’s passage under three headings:

1.       Preparation (verses 1 to 3),

2.       Explanation (verses 4 to 5); and finally,

3.       Expectation (verses 6 to 11)

1. Preparation

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Matthew 21:1-3

Here is the surprising thing about Jesus. He is about to make this big entrance into the city of Jerusalem. He knows there is this massive crowd waiting to receive him. And he goes, “Hang on, what I really need to get at this point is a donkey.”

So he tells two of his friends, essentially how there is going to be this donkey just waiting for them round the corner to pick up. “At once,” Jesus says, “you will find a donkey tied there.” Now of all the strangest things for God to do; compared to all the miraculous things Jesus has already done – calming the storm, healing the two blind men, raising the dead! – You have to admit that this one’s rather strange!

And you can tell that the disciples were also thinking, “Hmm, this is a bit odd,” because Jesus has to say to them in verse 3, “Oh, and in case anyone says to you, ‘Hey! What are you jokers doing stealing my donkey!’ All you have to say is, ‘The Lord needs them’.” That’s all you need to do. Just say to the nice man whose bicycle you are breaking into, “The Lord needs this,” and he’ll go, “Oh! Why didn’t you say so? Please have my keys and don’t forget the bike lights too.”

What’s going on? Well, that’s the reason for point 2: the explanation in verses 4 to 5.

2. Explanation

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Matthew 21:4-5

This is a quotation from the prophet Zechariah Chapter 9 verse 9 explaining the significance of the donkey. “See your king comes to you,” Zechariah says, “gentle and riding on a donkey.” The very next verse says, “I will take away the chariots of Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem.” Do you see the contrast? The King gets rids of the war horses and rides in on a donkey. The donkey is a symbol of peace. This is a peaceful King.

Imagine if two nations are at war and one loses, the conquering nation might ride in with its armies, tanks and helicopters to subdue the enemy nation. It is saying, “I’ve won. You have lost!” It is a show of power. The tanks rolling into the city. The solders marching line by line with their guns. It is saying, “We have defeated you. Now lay down your arms and surrender.”

But Jesus is the King who comes in peace. He is victorious, yes, but he doesn’t ride in on a war-horse. In fact, he intentionally chooses a non-threatening domestic animal – the donkey. How does Zechariah describe this king again? Gentle and riding on a donkey.

That’s the explanation. The donkey symbolised that Jesus was the King who had come in peace.

However, was that the expectation? Did the crowds in Jerusalem understand that Jesus was a gentle king? Look at verses 6 to 9.

3. Expectation

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 21:6-9

“Hosanna!” according to the footnote at the bottom of my bible means “Save!” or “Save now!” Meaning: the huge crowd had gathered to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem because they wanted him to do something for them. They wanted Jesus to save them.

This week in Cambridge and all over the UK, large crowds gathered in an effort to save their pensions. The new shift in government policy meant that they would have to give more, work longer and yet receive less money at the end.

This crowd in Jerusalem wanted Jesus to do more than reverse a government policy. They expected him to bring down the entire government. They wanted him to be the King who would conquer the Romans and kick the foreign occupiers out of Jerusalem.

Notice that this “very large crowd” (verse 8) did two things. Firstly, they “spread their cloaks – or their jackets - on the road.” This was a sign of submission and loyalty. It was saying to Jesus, “These jackets on the ground; that’s us on the floor in total submission. We submit ourselves under your authority.”

Secondly, they praise Jesus. “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Son of David is a royal title not unlike Prince of Wales or the Duke of Edinburgh. In the bible, the Son of David was God’s way of referring to his chosen king. So for the large crowd to shout out in public that Jesus was the Son of David, they were recognizing that Jesus was this King who had been sent from God. Hence the next line in the chorus, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus had come in God’s name empowered with God’s authority.

So again, the crowds did two things: the submitted themselves to Jesus, and they sang praises to Jesus. Two very good things. Two very positive things, in fact, for any Christian to do.

And yet let me remind you of the question I asked just a few moments earlier: Did the crowds understand what kind of king he was? Do we understand what kind of king Jesus is?

You see, we, unlike the crowds, we have the benefit of reading the whole story. We have the preparation and the explanation. Matthew has prepared us and explained to us about the donkey and the reasons for the donkey. And yet when we as Christians sing songs like “Hosanna in the highest” are we singing in a way that is no different from the crowd? I sincerely hope not.

Hosanna means “Save us!” And yet, tell me what did this crowd want Jesus to save them from? A bad government. Oppression. Injustice. Suffering. Poverty. The Roman government. And how did they think Jesus was going to save them? As a conquering king. With God’s awesome power.

The “large crowd” did not understand that Jesus was the gentle king of Zechariah 9. I wonder if they even noticed that Jesus was riding in on a donkey. Some of them might have gone, “Hmm, that’s a big strange.” A bit like seeing David Cameron being driven up to Number 10 Downing Street in Paul’s car, a Renault Clio. No, all they saw was Jesus – Conquering King, coming in God’s power, Defeater of the Roman Empire.

The prophet Zechariah would have said to them, “See.” You need to open your eyes and see. Daughter of Zion, meaning Jerusalem, see your gentle king. See your humble king. See your king who has come to you in peace.

Notice that Zechariah was referring not just to the crowd, but to all the people of Jerusalem. Their response can be found at the end, in verses 10 to 11.

4. The king has come. The king is coming.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21:10-11

Who does this guy think he is – causing this massive traffic jam on the high street?

When it says that, “the whole city was stirred”, it wasn’t saying that everyone was talking about Jesus in Jerusalem, “Oooo, check this guy out!” Rather it is describing how everyone in the city was shaken by Jesus’ arrival. “Is this outsider gonna cause any trouble?”

The crowds reply, “This Jesus is that prophet we’ve all been hearing about. He comes from the northern town of Nazareth in Galilee.” You need to realize what this sounded like to someone living in Jerusalem. It was like telling a Nobel-prize winning Cambridge professor, “Check out that really smart kid from the primary school in the small village up in Arbury who coloured inside the lines.”

I mean, this was Jerusalem, the city of the kings. Jerusalem: home to the temple of God and the ark of God’s presence. Why are you talking to me about some lowly-educated carpenter’s son from Galilee?

All this is to answer the question: What were their expectations of Jesus? The people living in Jerusalem saw Jesus as nothing more than a trouble-maker. The crowds and fans saw Jesus as a king arriving in power to save them from Rome.

Both expectations were mistaken because both did not see Jesus as he truly was. “See your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey.” The crowds did not want a gentle king. Jerusalem could never accept a humble king. What about us here today at the Chinese Church? Do we see Jesus as he truly is? Like the crowd, it is easy to fool ourselves because on the outside it looks like we’re saying the right thing and acting the right way. Like the crowd we can sing at the top of our lungs, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” and we can bow down in submission. But like the crowds, we need to ask ourselves what are we asking Jesus to do for us? How do we expect Jesus to save us?

I remember a big mega-church back in Singapore which calls its meetings “Celebration services”. I was a young Christian when I first heard that - Celebration service – and thought, “Hmm, that’s a pretty good name for a church meeting”. Not bible study. Not prayer meeting. It was Celebration service. Lively music, amazing band, charismatic song leader and singing! Wow, it really seemed like a celebration! Again, I thought, “Cool!”

But during these celebration services there would a strong emphasis on, well, celebrating. Celebrating life. Celebrating the miracles that God did in our lives. Celebrating the health and the wealth that we receive from God. Which are all good things to ask for and pray for from God, I need to say.

But the question is: How do we expect Jesus to save us? Is it by giving us a better job? A nicer house? Healing our sickness?

Jesus was arriving in Jerusalem to go to the cross. He would be tortured, stripped naked, hung on a cross, bleeding and suffocating to his last breath. And there at the cross, crowds would gather to spit on him. They would curse Jesus to his face, “Save yourself”. Because they could never imagine that a man hanging on a cross could save them – could save them from their sins.

But that’s what Jesus came to do. He came as the king on the cross. He took our rejection of God and he took God’s rejection of us. Sin is us saying to God, “I don’t want you as God”. Sin is us saying to Jesus, “I don’t want you as my King.” That’s sin: it’s rejection. And on the cross, Jesus took our sin and he took God’s punishment for our sin, which is death.

Friends, I think, “celebration service” is a wonderful way of describing our church meetings. But we need to celebrate the cross. “Hosanna” is a good song to sing – but we need to sing it praising Jesus for the cross. And Jesus is the Christ – he is the King – but he ascends to the right hand of God by going to the cross.

Do you see this? Do you see your king, gentle and coming on a donkey. Meaning: do you see Jesus now coming in peace and offering salvation through the cross? Not everyone does, but I hope you do. Because friends, the bible says that one day, every eye will see him. On that last day, Jesus will return riding on a white horse, no longer in peace, but riding in victory and judgement.

Revelation 19:11 says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” One day Jesus will return in justice and in judgement. One day Jesus will return as the conquering King.

But that is not today. Today we are able to sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her King.” Today we can sing, “Hark the herald angels sing ‘Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.’”

We can sing that because Jesus came two thousand years ago to bring us peace. By coming as the king, yes, but as the king who went to the cross. The bible prepares us for this King. The bible explains to us who is this King. And the bible tells us, Expect this King – Christ Jesus – who comes to brings us peace, salvation and joy.

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

The worst of sinners? (1 Timothy 1:15)

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

1 Timothy 1:15

How could the apostle Paul describe himself as the worst of sinners? Was he using exaggeration? Or was Paul being subjective - he just felt as if he was the worst person on the planet?

●     Paul himself recounts his past as “a blasphemer, persecutor and a violent man” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, calling himself “chief of sinners” was not hyperbole nor was it exaggeration. Paul had previously persecuted the church. He even had a hand in the death of Stephen, the first recorded martyr in the book of Acts (Acts 8:1).

●     Yet Paul says, he was “shown mercy because (he) acted in ignorance and unbelief.” Mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. Paul was guilty but God was merciful in withholding judgement and not punishing Paul as he rightly deserved. Yet Paul received something even greater than mercy: he received grace.

●     Grace is receiving what we do not deserve. Paul received abundant grace - overflowing grace - in the form of forgiveness, love and faith in Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 1:14)

●     This was true of Paul and this is true of us as well. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. And he seems to begin verse 15 by saying, “You can trust this. You can bet your life on this!”

●     Still, what are we to make of his declaration as the “worst” of sinners. Notice how the same word occurs in the very next verse: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:16)

●     The Greek “protos” literally means “first”, or as some translations have it, “foremost”. The English Standard Version reads, “That in me, as the foremost, (the word 'sinner' doesn’t occur in the original) Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience”.

●     Paul is therefore describing himself as a sinner on display. He is the foremost sinner. He is a sinner in the limelight. Notice that he doesn’t just say, in verse 15, “of whom I was the first” - referring to his past sins; but that Paul says quite emphatically, “of whom I am the first”. It is in the present tense. Meaning: Every single day he lives is given Paul to display the overflowing generosity of God through Jesus Christ, that others might recall his actions in the past, that many might behold his changed life in the present, and that all might marvel at his hope for the future, and know that all this has been poured out on Paul, a sinner purely by the grace of God.

●     Finally, this grace is given Paul for our benefit. He stands merely as “an example” (1 Timothy 1:16) that we might similarly trust in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.

All I want for Christmas is... Compassion (Matthew 20:29-34)

The theme of our Christmas series can be summed up in one word: Expectation. What are we looking forward to? What are we hoping for?

For many, Christmas is a time of great expectation: the holidays, the presents, the shopping. For others it can equally be a time of great disappointment: the loneliness, the cold weather, the credit card bills.

The bible tells us that Jesus came to fulfil all of  God’s promises - every single expectation of God’s goodness, his salvation, even his judgement - laid out in the Old Testament. But he does so in such a way that surprises our greatest expectations and soothes our deepest disappointments. In the coming weeks we will be looking at our expectations of joy and happiness, of faith in God, of truth and of love.

But for today we are dealing with the expectation of God’s mercy. Twice we encounter these words, “Have mercy on us” in verses 30 and 31. It is a cry for help and it is met with a response of compassion. Verse 34: “Jesus had compassion on them.”

Out of all the expectations I mentioned earlier - happiness, faith, truth and love - this one is perhaps the hardest: the expectation of mercy. Especially in a Chinese culture like ours. Not that our culture says that we shouldn’t be merciful or charitable, that’s not what I mean. Rather, some of us feel embarrassed to admit that we need help. We are pai seh. Even when times are desperate we act as if everything is OK. When things go wrong we cover it up and maybe even, get angry.

That describes the crowd we see in verse 29.

The crowd

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.

Matthew 20:29

Jesus is at the most popular stage of his career. As a preacher and teacher of God’s word. As a miracle worker healing the sick and raising the dead. At this point in his ministry, Jesus was well-known and well-liked. And here we see that a large crowd follows Jesus as he and his friends leave the city of Jericho. Their destination was Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and it is no coincidence that this was near the time of the Passover, the biggest festival of the entire Jewish calendar. Everyone was expecting Jesus to do something big. If ever there was a time and a place for Jesus to make his stamp in the history, it was here and it was now.

“Hey, it’s Jesus!” they would have said to one another as they say him walking by. “Let’s follow him to Jerusalem and see what he does next.” As the crowd grew around Jesus so did their expectations of Jesus.

What they did not expect were the two blind men of verse 30.

The cry

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Matthew 20:30-31

This week alone there will be two carol services at Great St Mary’s, two huge Christian parties organised by CICCU and the Christian Graduate Society, not to mention a special Christmas event for language students next Sunday evening with an International choir. God willing, these events will attract hundreds, if not, thousands of students around the city to hear the true message of Christmas - that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.

But imagine that as you were walking up to Great St Mary’s tomorrow night - full of anticipation of an evening of carols, a powerful presentation of the gospel, the warm mince pies and mulled wine served at the end - and as you’re walking there joined by the hundreds of other undergraduates headed toward the same destination, you pass by the local Sainsburys where a homeless man stops you and says, “Big issue, sir?” How would you react? I doubt any of you would have reacted the way this crowd did in verse 30.

“Shaaadddup!”

“The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet”, verse 30 tells us. It is important to understand why. Maybe it was because the beggars were causing a scene. Maybe they were embarrassed. Yet there is something troubling still in their behaviour. You see, the crowd sincerely thought that they were doing Jesus a favour. In their minds, Jesus was someone too important to deal with the riffraff. “Can’t you see we’re on a really important mission of evangelism with Jesus? Stop being a nuisance and be quiet!” If they carried around one of those WWJD (“What would Jesus do?”) bracelets you sometimes see Christians wearing today, well, they thought Jesus would have told these two to sit in the corner and be quiet.

And yet the two blind men didn’t shut up. “They shouted all the louder,” verse 31 tells us. More importantly, do you notice what these two blind men were shouting? They addressed Jesus as “Lord”, and as the “Son of David”. That is they weren’t asking Jesus for money, “Spare any change, mate?” Rather they were addressing Jesus as who he really was - as Lord and as the Son of David.

“Son of David” was a name we find in the bible given to God’s chosen King. For hundreds of years, God promised that one day he would send a king - a King of Kings; and ultimate King - to establish the kingdom of Israel; to establish the kingdom of God. And what these two beggars were saying was that Jesus is that king. Or to use another bible word, Jesus is the Christ.

Furthermore, by pleading for mercy, the blind men were not so much asking for pity, but were in effect addressing Jesus as a judge. “Lord, have mercy”. It is what you say before a judge in a courtroom as a convicted criminal. And one more thing, they called Jesus, “Lord”, a name that is repeatedly used in the Old Testament to refer to God. Now some of you might say, “That’s a bit much! They didn’t know that Jesus was God.” And I agree with you. The two blind men were speaking better than they knew. But Matthew records their words for us here in the bible, twice, to make us think of who Jesus really was. Who did the crowd expect Jesus to be? How did his closest friends see Jesus?

Remarkably, these two blind man saw clearly what a whole crowd of followers (including Jesus’ own disciples in verse 29) could not see. He was the Christ. He was the Judge. While everyone else was admiring Jesus for his teaching and his amazing miracles, these beggars were humbling themselves before the Son of God. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

And while everyone else was eager to just walk on by and ignore the ramblings of these two nobodies, Jesus stops, he calls them over and Jesus actually asks them how he could be of service to them.

The compassion

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Matthew 20:32-33

I wonder if you have any friends who are blind. I do. I say that to be mindful of what I say next about these verses. The blind men ask to be healed and Jesus miraculously restores their sight. Not partially. Not over the next few months. Instantly and completely - hence the last sentence in verse 34 which reads, “Immediately, they received their sight and followed him.”

I believe this really happened. As I mentioned earlier, I am mindful of how this sounds to friends who have lost their sight, friends who have never been able to see in their entire lives, even of friends who have had serious health problems in the recent past. I remember and occasion many years ago of a sister who walked out of the room when a pastor referred to a miraculous healing from God. She was very angry with the speaker. “How could he say that? This just creates a false expectation in God,” she said. The truth is many Christians suffer from illnesses that are not healed instantly. Many live with their illness to their dying day.

The dilemma we face today is not simply “Can God heal me?” but “Will God heal me?” Meaning: the real question we need to ask this passage is not “Could Jesus heal these two men?” But “Why?” Why did Jesus heal these two blind men? Why does Matthew record this incident for us to read in the bible?

In verse 33, the English NIV has the two blind men saying, “Lord, we want our sight.” But the ESV is perhaps more helpful when reads, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Throughout his three-year ministry, Jesus healed many, many sick people according to the gospel writers (see for instance Matthew 4:23-25 where large crowds come to him from Syria, Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea), and yet what is surprising is how selective the gospel writers are about which event of healing gets recorded in the gospels. In fact, so specific is their selection of this healing of hte blind men that it in all three of the synoptic gospels - here in Matthew 20, in Mark 10 and in Luke 18. The question is why? What is so special about this healing?

The reason is: the bible pointing to something bigger than physical healing. It is pointing us to faith and it teaches us that faith involves two things: it involves (1) seeing ourselves clearly and (2) seeing Jesus clearly. That is the significance of the request in verse 33, “Lord, open our eyes.” They are saying two things. Firstly, they are admitting their helpless condition. They are blind. “Our eyes are closed. We cannot see.” But secondly, they are recognising that only Jesus is able to open their eyes. Three times, they address Jesus as “Lord”. “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”

These two men saw themselves clearly and they saw Jesus clearly. Unlike the crowd. Unlike the rich man (Matthew 19:16-22) who was confident of being accepted because he had a good education from Cambridge and came to church every Sunday to play the keyboard for youth group. Unlike the disciples who were shooing away little kids because they weren’t important enough to hang around Jesus (Matthew 19:13). In effect, the crowd saw Jesus the way we see Santa Claus: someone who brings us nice toys for Christmas if we are good enough and behave when Grandma visits over the holidays.

That was not how the blind men saw themselves or Jesus. These blind men knew they didn’t deserve anything and they couldn’t do anything to help themselves. But they saw Jesus as someone powerful enough and merciful enough to help them out of their helpless estate. When Jesus said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They didn’t say, “I need a new car. I need a new job. I need a holiday.” They said, “I’m blind. Help me.”

And the reason why this story is in the bible three times is to drive home the point - that’s what we are. Helpless. Pitiful. Blind. I wonder, how do you see yourself today? “Well, I’m doing all right. A few problems in the office, but nothing really serious, you know?” Or do you say, “I’m a wreck. I’m here because God’s the only one who can help me and I really need his grace and mercy”? How do you see yourself today?

Or what would it take for us to see ourselves this way? You know, I have yet to meet a rich, healthy, Cambridge graduate at the peak of his career, just back from a business trip to Asia flying first-class on BA, turning up in the church one day in his brand new Aston Martin just to me and say, “I’m hopeless! I am a sinner!” But go through a serious illness. Suffer through a tragedy. Lose a loved one. Sometimes, all it takes is just a tiny toothache and we cry out to God shaking our fists at him saying, “Why is this happening to me?”

What would it take for you to see your need for God today? CS Lewis writes:

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

I wonder if God is speaking to some of you here today who are going through a really difficult time in your life, saying, “These two blind men - this is your condition. The blindness. The helplessness. You need to see that you can’t work your way out of this mess.”

And I wonder if God is saying to you, “This is my Son, Jesus. Call out to him. See him as he truly is. Lord. Christ. The merciful Judge. The compassionate Saviour.”

A compassionate saviour

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Matthew 20:34

Christmas is the time we remember the birth of Jesus Christ. God became a human being. And the bible tells us that Jesus was fully God and fully man. And by that it doesn’t just mean that he had arms, legs, hair and armpits like us. The reason why Jesus had to become a man was this: and here’s what the book of Hebrews says -

For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:17-18

“Because he himself suffered,” that’s why he can help us. He became like us (“in every way” that bible tells us) in order to identify with our suffering and temptation, in order that he might be merciful and faithful to us as our high priest. Jesus is a God who has suffered. Isn’t that amazing? That’s what Christmas is saying. Jesus took on our humanity. He took on our suffering.

And that’s why it is such a silly thing to want to hide our suffering and pain from Jesus. Or to think that he will not understand. Because he does.

But notice as well that Hebrews as that Jesus made “atonement for the sins of the people”. What does that mean? It is helping to explain about what really happened on the cross. Jesus was paying the price of our sin by taking the punishment for our sins. That price was rejection from God.

You see, these two blind men - how did Jesus help them that day? “Well, he healed them, that’s obvious enough.” What was their condition before? “They were blind, duh!” Yes, yes. But weren’t they also rejected? The crowds saw them as trash. They talked to them like trash.

What happened when Jesus touched their eyes? Verse 34: “Immediately they received their sight and followed him”. They followed Jesus. To Jerusalem. To the passover. To the cross. They were able to see the whole thing. Previously, they were rejected by the crowd. Now, they are accepted by Jesus.

That’s what Jesus does for us at the cross. It changes us. By making us whole - giving us sight, faith, life. But it also changes us so that we now follow him. The cross enables us to see ourselves clearly and to see Jesus clearly. Jesus opened the eyes of these two blind men, so that they could follow him all the way to the cross.

What about you? Do you see? If you don’t, why not be honest about it. Ask God to open your eyes so that you can see clearly who you are and who Jesus is.

If you do see clearly, then follow him. Follow Jesus to the cross.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up

Shining in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy

(“Open the eyes of my heart”, Michael W. Smith)

Brokenness (Philippians 2:5-11)

An old video sermon from last year's Solid Rock music event at the Chinese Church entitled "The humility of Christ and the glory of God".

Reflecting on Christmas

Here is a collection of Christmas-themed sermons and posts from previous years:

• Christmas impossible
• Coming home
• Kingdom of heaven
• The wise guys
• Nobody
• What child is this?

And of course, do join us at the Chinese Church for this year's advent and Christmas series entitled "All I want for Christmas" based on Matthew's gospel chapters 20 to 21.

• All I want for Christmas

Questions on Revelation 22

Here are some interesting questions I recently got from some friends going through Revelation Chapter 22 followed by my thoughts below.

1. River of life

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:1

Question: Why is the sea symbolising opposition gone but there is now a river? And why are both compared to crystal?

1.    There is no more sea in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21:1)

2.    In Revelation 4:6, the sea is “glassy” like crystal;
In Revelation 22:1 the river is “bright” like crystal

3.    The first symbolises movement. Glass was imperfect in the ancient world - shimmering

4.    The second talks about light (literally, the river is a “lamp” like crystal) - there is light coming from this river of life flowing from the throne

5.    The reason for the similarity is to highlight the stark contrast - Opposition and death has been replaced with sustaining life flowing from God.

6.    (It is also worth looking at Genesis 2:10-14 where the four rivers flow out from Eden bringing life and blessing.)

2. The time is near

Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.

Revelation 22:11

Questions: Why is the time near? Why do the vile continue to do vile things?

1.    This is a direct reference and fulfilment to Daniel’s prophecy in Chapter 12

2.    At the end of Daniel’s visions, he is told to seal up the book until the time of the end (see Daniel 12:4 and 9)

3.    “Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10

4.    Notice, the reason for their evil actions is ignorance of God’s will - "none of the wicked shall understand".

5.    In Revelation however, John is told not to seal up the words of the prophecy (verse 10) for the time is near. Daniel 12:10 is being fulfilled

6.    And when Jesus came proclaiming the secrets of the kingdom (Matthew 13:11) he said, “He who has ears, let him hear!”

7.    The fulfilment of this is the gospel. The full plan of God is now revealed through the cross.

8.    Either we will hear and respond to the gospel in repentance and trust

9.    Or we will be hardened by the gospel and continue to do evil

3. The bride

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Revelation 22:17

Question: Who is the bride?

1.    The new Jerusalem in Revelation 21:2
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
(see also Revelation 21:9)

2.    The bride represents the church.

3.    All marriage is a parable of Jesus and his church, according to Ephesians 5:

4.    Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:25,32

5.    Here in Revelation it is not Jesus speaking but us, calling out to Jesus to return. “Come”.

6.    Meaning: one of the signs of a genuine believer in Jesus is the expectation of his return and a deep longing for God’s full presence in his/her life.

The reluctant hero (Judges 6)

A familiar situation

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.

Judges 6:1-6

Again. That is how the chapter begins, with a scenario we have encountered before in the book of Judges. The Israelites fall into sin - again - and God “gave them into the hands” of their enemies. Again. This time, it’s the Midianites, a foreign nation so powerful and oppressive that “it was impossible to count the men and their camels” (verse 5).

The Midianite strategy was to attack the Israelite nation’s food source, coordinating their strikes with the harvest season to destroy every trace of vegetation or plant life in the land. Even the livestock was not spared, “they... did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys”.

Driven to starvation (“Midian so impoverished the Israelites” - verse 6), the people of God turn back to the LORD calling for his divine help. God answers but in a very unexpected way.

When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”

Judges 6:7-10

Imagine your mum reminding you to take an umbrella with you before leaving the house. “Forecast says there’s going to be heavy rain today. Don’t forget.” “Yes, ma,” you say, “I know. I’m a big boy now.” But you do forget to take your umbrella so after school you call your Ma on the phone, “Please pick me up, it’s raining!” “OK,” she says. She turns up in the car and gives you a lift home.

Next day. “Remember your umbrella!” goes Ma. “I know, I know!” you say. But you forget. So you call Ma and she drives over and picks you up again. This goes on every day for a whole week. You call. She answers. She drives you home.

Except one day you make the usual call home and Ma doesn’t say, “Sure, I’ll be right over.” Instead, she begins to nag. “I told you to pack your umbrella but you never listen do you? You always ignore what I’m saying to you!” Then she puts down the phone. No word on picking you up. No solution on how you’re going to get home in the pouring rain. She just cuts you off mid-conversation.

That’s essentially what God does by sending the prophet to Israel.

I saved you from slavery in Egypt. I gave you this land. I told you not to chase after other false gods. But you have not listened to me. That’s what God says.

That is all that God says. No word of help. Just the rebuke of an angry and annoyed parent. But of course, God does send help. He raises up a judge named Gideon.

You are the one

The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”

“But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”

The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

Judges 6:11-14

Gideon’s name in Hebrew means “hacker”. Today, a hacker is a term for a computing super-geek who breaks into a complex computer system bypassing all its layers of security and protection. Every Hollywood spy movie must have the hacker - the skinny, socially-inept teenager who hacks into a high-security government facility server, accessing blueprints, unlocking doors and controlling CCTV cameras, all from a laptop in his bedroom while guzzling copious amounts of Diet Coke.

Gideon had a strong, impressive name, something close to “Terminator”. The angel of God even calls him a “mighty warrior”. Verse 12: “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” God tells Gideon, “Go… and save Israel out of Midian’s hand”!

It’s like Morpheus confronting Neo saying, “You’re the One!” but Neo’s thinking “I am no one”. He works in a cubicle. He’s just trying to get through the day without his boss firing him from his mediocre middle-management job. But one day the mysterious Morpheus appears in an overcoat, black sunglasses and leather pants too tight for a man his age, saying, “You are going to save the world”?

When we first meet Gideon in verse 11, he was “threshing wheat in a winepress”. It is saying that Gideon was afraid. He was hiding. A winepress is a space dug into rock for crushing grapes. Gideon was hiding out in this winepress – out of view of the Midianites – in order to thresh wheat: a process of separating the kernels from the stalk by beating the heads of wheat and letting the winds blow away the chaff. A winepress was not an ideal place to do this but Gideon didn’t want to attract any attention from the Midianite armies. Threshing wheat in a winepress is akin to barbequing steaks in your bathroom to hide the smoke.

Gideon wasn’t brave. Gideon wasn’t strong. But the first thing Gideon questioned was not his own strength or confidence, but God’s presence with Israel. “If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders our fathers told us about?”

Gideon had been brought up in the knowledge of God. He knew about the rescue from Egypt. He even knew enough to recognise that Israel’s current problem with the Midianites was actually God’s judgement on them. But Gideon had never seen God’s “wonders” first-hand. Furthermore, it’s ironic that Gideon talks about the previous generation who taught him about these wonders – “our fathers”. As we will soon find out, Gideon’s own dad had abandoned God. In fact, the whole village was worshipping a foreign god set up in his own back yard. Gideon was alone in his faith, the very faith his fathers had taught him, the very faith his fathers had left behind.

But God speaks to Gideon directly. God gives Gideon a personal assurance of his presence. “The LORD is with you” (verse 12). “Am I not sending you?” (verse 14).

This is God’s personal, unmistakeable, powerful promise of his presence with Gideon. As the following verses will demonstrate, God continues to assure Gideon of his presence, in spite of this young man’s doubts and brazenness.

I will be here

“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.” Gideon replied, “If now I have found favour in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.”

Judges 6:15-18

“Give me a sign,” says Gideon, “that it is really you.” It is a bold request to ask of God, not least because God had already given him his word of promise. “I will be with you,” God says yet again in verse 16.

Still, we must not ignore the massive task God has put ahead of our hero. “How can I save Israel?” he says. God wants Gideon to face an army so vast, the Midianite forces, that verse 5 describes them as “impossible to count”. I mean, what if God turned up one day while you were doing your laundry and said to you, “Go and attack France! Gather up the students of your college, call your supervisors, porters and cleaning ladies. Assemble them and march down to Dover.” You would say, “My college is the least impressive and poorest of all the colleges in Cambridge – Queens’ - and I only managed to scrape through last year with a third class in my Tripos!”

God answers Gideon, “I will be with you.” One plus God is the majority.

Even so, Gideon is unsure. So he asks God for a sign – a sign of God’s favour; a sign of God’s presence. “Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you,” he says.

Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.

Judges 6:19

Gideon rushes to the kitchen and pulls out whatever he can find. Turns out he’s not a bad cook. He even bakes his own bread (without yeast, of course, from what he could recall from those stories he learned as a kid in Sunday School about the Exodus). The star dish is the goat stew he whips up. Yummy! Jamie Oliver would be proud.

He is trying his best to impress God. Yet, it in his mind, this really is just a fancy meal. When he addresses the angel as, “Lord,” in verse 15, the NIV footnotes makes clear, that this is akin to saying, “Sir”. He is being courteous. Polite. As far as Gideon is concerned, this is just another man – distinguished and important he may be – but just another man. This “offering” Gideon painstakingly serves up is, in his mind, nothing more than dinner.

So what this visitor tells Gideon to do next must have surprised him. “Pour out the broth,” he says. Empty out the contents of the pot full of yummy delicious stew!

The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”

But the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Judges 6:20-24

Gideon realises that he was dealing with an angel sent from God and he freaks out. Gideon essentially thinks he is going to die but God reassures him one more time, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

Notice that God reassures Gideon time and time again about his presence. When he first meets him threshing wheat in the winepress, “The LORD is with you” (verse 12). When Gideon questions his own ability, “I will be with you” (verse 16). Even when Gideon runs off to the kitchen to re-enact his favourite episode from Masterchef, “I will wait until you return.”

And here, even after the angel has left, when Gideon thinks he is about to die, God voice comes down from heaven to calm his nerves. “Peace! Do not be afraid.” In answer to our prayers for blessing, comfort, confidence or love, God’s greatest promise to us is that of himself. “I will be with you,” he says to young Gideon.

Gideon responds with thankfulness and worship. He “built an altar … and called it The LORD is Peace,” as a reminder that God had met him there, accepted his offering and given Gideon the promise of his presence and peace.

However, things weren’t going to stay peaceful for long.

Spring cleaning

That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
Judges 6:25-27

Baal was the local pagan god of the Canaanites. Asherah was the female counterpart to Baal, symbolising fertility and blessing. The heart of the problem was not the Midianite forces which oppressed Israel and destroyed their food supplies. The issue was idolatry. Israel had turned away from God to worship idols. This is what verse 1 was referring to when we read, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD”.

Notice as well that God tells Gideon to tear down “your father’s altar”. These idols had been set up prominently in Gideon’s dad’s own backyard! This same dad who taught Gideon all about what God did in the Exodus, rescuing Israel and bringing them to the Promise Land.

Gideon’s dad is like a Christian who still calls himself a believer – he still goes to church every Sunday - but keeps a giant statue of Buddha in his back garden next to the lavish koi pond where he parks his Mercedes every day. God tells Gideon, “Take your dad’s prized Mercedes and pull down that idol, destroying it completely. Then take apart your dad’s Mercedes and built a cross in that same place – out of Mercedes parts!”

“Build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God … using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering,” God says to Gideon, giving him instructions to “recycle” the idol into parts for a “proper altar” to God. Gideon obeyed God, but did this at night, “because he was afraid of his and the men of his town.”

It looks like he had reason to be afraid.

In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar! They asked each other, “Who did this?” When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

The men of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” So that day they called Gideon “Jerub-Baal,” saying, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he broke down Baal’s altar.

Judges 6:28-32

The townspeople turn up at Joash’s front door, armed with pitchforks and torches ready to lynch Gideon for his sacrilegious act of vandalism. “He must die, because he has broken down Ball’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

But Joash defends his son. That’s simply amazing! He speaks to this “hostile crowd” and begins to mock the very pagan gods he had been worshipping up till now. “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning!” If Baal really were a god, he would defend himself and not allow his own altar to be torn down by a puny kid.

All this from a former Baal worshipper - possibly even, a Baal priest - since the altar was in Joash’s own backyard. Furthermore, Gideon had trashed the Merc – I mean, the bull – in order to build another altar – a proper altar to God. Joash should have been hopping mad at his son. You would have expected Joash to be leading the mob, not confronting them. But it’s obvious, isn’t it, that Joash now recognises how foolish it is to try to defend an idol, how much more foolish then, to worship one? “Let Baal contend with him,” that’s what they said of Gideon from that day onwards, giving him the new name, “Jerub-Baal”. Meaning: Let Baal deal with this kid. As if, he could.

Earlier on, Gideon was protesting before God that he was the “least” in his family. Yet what we see here is God using the youngest and most insignificant member of this family to turn the head of that household back in repentance towards God. Because of Gideon’s faithfulness, his own dad finds renewed faith and trust in the LORD.

And what we see next is God using Gideon to bring the whole people of God back to himself.

Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

Judges 6:33-35

It’s the scene of a great battle! The enemy nations have banded together to attack Israel. But God empowers Gideon by his Spirit. He blows a trumpet summoning all his clan to follow him. Remember, these are the very same people who were out to kill him just a few verses before. But not they follow Gideon into battle. Not just them, but also the clans of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali.

So, not just the tiny college that is Queens’ College – but Trinity, John’s and King’s team up behind you, gathering at the ferries ready to cross over to Calais. You have numbers. You have the Spirit of God. Everyone’s ready for battle.

But instead of marching on, Gideon stops. He stops to check with God, one more time, just to be sure. “Aiya! Tim Kai Leh?” his soldiers must have been thinking of their brave general.

Just checking

Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Judges 6:36-39

The story of Gideon and his fleece has become proverbial of our pursuit to know God’s will for our lives. Countless pastors and missionaries have shared their personal “fleece” stories about God confirming a difficult decision ahead of them by miraculous means. There have also been countless preachers who say Gideon is behaving irresponsibly by testing God yet again instead of trusting in his word.

The amazing thing to note is not simply Gideon’s boldness in testing God again and again, but rather God’s patience and graciousness in responding to this young boy’s doubts, again and again.

In the first test, Gideon asks God to make the fleece wet and the ground dry, laying the fleece on the threshing floor. He wakes up the next morning to find the fleece wet with dew - so wet that he is able to squeeze out a bowl of water.

Someone in my bible study group suggested that maybe Gideon wasn’t too bright - that it wouldn’t have been too difficult for God to just pour a glass of water on the fleece to make it wet. That’s why Gideon asked for the reverse to happen instead; for the ground to be wet but the fleece to stay dry (I’ll leave you to decide for yourself if that idea has any merit, haha!). The second test was much trickier. The wool fleece would naturally absorb any moisture from its surroundings. Yet that night, God did as Gideon asked, “Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered in dew” (verse 39).

Notice how Gideon addresses God so very cautiously with his second request. “Do not be angry with me.” Gideon knows he is asking for a lot. In fact, the word he uses is “test” - “Allow me one more test with the fleece,” Gideon says in verse 39 - something which God explicitly forbade in the Law of Moses (see Deuteronomy 6:16, “Do not test the LORD your God”, as well as Hebrews 3:7). When Israel tested God, God punished them with death.

But God, in turn, was also asking much of Gideon. Gideon was chosen to lead the nation into battle. Gideon was chosen to save Israel out of the hands of the powerful Midianite forces. Gideon was chosen to turn his people back to God.

And what we have seen throughout this chapter is God being gracious and patient with Gideon, time and time again. No rebuke. Not even a word of warning. Just constant reassurances and reminders of God’s peace. And God’s presence.

“I will be with you.”

Knowing God’s will

Should we test God the way Gideon did? From this passage alone, I think we can neither commend Gideon’s behaviour in testing God, nor can we even condemn his actions in seeking God’s will.

In the Chinese Church, the two biggest issues people struggle with most, again and again, are marriage and work. “God, is this person the one?” “God, is this job the one?” And you get all kinds of prayer requests in this regard - For God to open one door and close all others; For God to do a miracle and point them in the right direction.

Yet sometimes I wonder if God is giving us the same answer he gave Gideon when he was in doubt of God’s will. I wonder if God’s answer to you in your deepest moments of uncertainty, in that crisis of faith, or in that difficult situation that seems so precarious is simply this:

“I will be with you.”

In response to our prayers for blessing, comfort and knowledge, God’s greatest answer is to give us himself. He does that supremely through his Son, Jesus Christ. That is the what Christmas, which we will be celebrating in just a few weeks, is all about, isn’t it? That in Jesus, God came to be with us. That in Jesus, God became like one of us.

The bible tells us that Jesus shared in our humanity; he was like us in every way. He was human. He got tired. He was tempted. He felt pain and deep anguish. Yet he never sinned. All throughout his earthly life, Jesus walked with his heavenly Father in perfect obedience and love.

And just before going to his death on the cross, the bible tells us of how Jesus was in a garden praying to God. There in the garden called Gethsemane, he sought the will of his Father.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Luke 22:42-44

Jesus did not want to go to the cross. The cross meant death - not just physical death; spiritual death. Death that meant separation from God. Jesus who had existed in eternal love and fellowship with his heavenly Father was about to bear the full weight of punishment for the sins of the world. At the cross, he would cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

So great was his anguish that drops of blood trickled down his brow. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.” Jesus did not want to go to the cross. He prayed that he might not have to go to the cross. And as an angel descended from heaven to strengthen him, he prayed all the more earnestly pleading with his heavenly Father.

Yet Jesus also prayed that his Father’s will be done. And on the cross, Jesus the Son of God obeyed his heavenly Father. Willingly. At the cross, God’s will was seen and done. Next time you want to know God’s will for your life? Look to the cross. Look to Jesus. That’s God’s will for your life and mine. It’s Jesus.

Peter puts it like this:

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

1 Peter 3:18

In Jesus, God was with us. In Jesus, God was like us. And in Jesus, God is for us. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins to bring us to God.

He walked where I walked

He stood where I stand

He felt what I feel

He understands.

He knows my frailty

Shared my humanity

Tempted in every way

Yet without sin

God with us!

So close to us

God with us

Emmanuel

(“God with us”, Don Moen)

The last stand (Revelation 7)

Audio recording of the sermon preached on 6 November 2011 at the Chinese Church on Revelation Chapter 7. An outline of the talk was posted here.



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All I want for Christmas

Our upcoming Christmas sermon series at the Chinese Church
based on the gospel of Matthew.

www.rockfellowship.org.uk/alliwantforchristmas/

[Title idea unashamedly plagiarised from the Crossing Church :) Check them out!]

All I want for Christmas is... Compassion (Matthew 20:29-34)

All I want for Christmas is... Joy (Matthew 21:1-11)

All I want for Christmas is... Faith (Matthew 21:12-22)

All I want for Christmas is... Love (Matthew 21:33-46)

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