Sermon for March 17, 2013
BMZ Church
Series: “TRIUMPH”
Text: John 13:34-35
Title: “Amazing Love”
Introduction: How we doing, BMZ?!? Glad you are with us! Today we get to continue our
worship series called: “TRIUMPH”. Over the next three weeks, we are going to celebrate
EASTER! See how that works? The next two weeks, we are going to attempt to discover just
how important EASTER is to Christians as well as NON-CHRISTIANS.
Then, on Easter Sunday (March 31st), we are going to celebrate Easter with starting a new
series on RELATIONSHIPS … There you go!
Before we go any further, I need to back up to our series: “BOD4GOD” and I don’t want
us to forget that. I hope and pray that we are all setting Godly BOD4GOD Goals and striving for
them. Please note that if you missed any of these messages, you can find them on our website
www.bmzchurch.org. Just go under the “Worship” tab and hit sermons and you’re in!
If you are looking for any help, don’t miss out on the BOD4GOD workouts three nights a
week at the Boscobel Campus and ... YOU CAN NOW REGISTER ON OUR WEBSITE FOR
THE “1ST ANNUAL BOD4GOD 5K RUN-WALK” coming up on MAY 18, 2013!! Get signed
up!!
Also, coming soon: A BMZ BOD4GOD Support Group is going to be starting up in April
…a once-a-week encouragement toward healthy living…eating and activity stuff…watch for it!
Okay, back to “TRIUMPH”!
If you have your Bible with you, turn with me to John 13 … if you don’t; no worries. All
of our Scriptures for today will be up on the screen and much of what we are doing is in your
program. If you don’t own a Bible and would like one, please stop by Java Jct/Blessed Bean and
someone will get you set up with your own Bible. Speaking of which…
If you haven’t already, I invite you to take out your message notes and merge card... On one side you will
see our Scripture for today and on the other you will find a brief outline walking us through our Scripture. You will
see that there are blanks to fill in … I would love to have you take the time to do so. Grab a pen and write down
whatever else you think is important to you and your faith journey. After worship, take this home and refrigerate it.
Please Re-read the Scripture and the notes to keep growing and learning. For those of you watching on-line, you
can hit the button for notes and for MERGE CARD and stick with us. If you are watching/listening later, or
IPODing; you can download the outline off of our website so you too can take notes.
Let’s pray and then we will press on with where we are going today… LET’S PRAY
(turn off marked lights during prayer)!
Back in the 1990s, Sarah and I had a chance to go on a Holy Land Tour with my Dad and
Mom. We began the tour with a couple of days in Rome, Italy. So, all those places you saw on
TV this week waiting for white smoke, Sarah and I got to see and tour some of those. We saw a
number of the sights there in Rome that pertained to the beginnings of Christianity and the
Church. We saw sights that reminded us of Paul’s ministry and Peter’s ministry.
I.
When in Rome
One of the most prominent and well known sights of Rome has to be The Colosseum. I
want to show you a couple of pictures of The Colosseum as we go and I want to give you some
history and background and interesting facts about The Colosseum too (SHOW PICTURES OF
COLOSSEUM AS I TALK ABOUT IT).
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The Colosseum was built in about 8 years between 72-80 CE (Emperor Vespasian). It
was a beautiful structure that had statues in most of the upper archways, was clad in marble, was
almost 160 feet tall and it held about 50,000 people for its events.
The Colosseum had 80 gates for entrance … and 76 of them were numbered! So, it was
kind of like going to an event in a large stadium or arena today. You get there and park your
chariot and tell the kids, “Okay, remember we are parked in ‘Donald Duck 6’ and remember that
we came in GATE 47.”
The FOUR GATES that weren’t numbered? One gate was for the Emperor. One Gate
was for the Gladiators. And two gates were reserved for VIPs… came in a limo!
The floor of the Colosseum was made of WOOD and covered in SAND (Latin ‘arena’
comes from the word ‘sand’). Underneath the wooden floor (SHOW COLOSSEUM INTERIOR
PICTURE) were chambers and hallways that led to trap doors in the floor of the arena so that
animals or gladiators could appear in from anywhere. This is also how the slaves that served
there removed the dead animals and body parts, etc.
It was in operation for about 400 years as, well, pretty much an “ARENA OF DEATH”.
The Colosseum is where the Gladiators fought. They fought wild animals and each other. The
Gladiators were men who were either slaves in The Roman Empire or were prisoners of war or
criminals. And they would fight in the Colosseum for the entertainment of the Emperor and the
people.
Now, I want to share with you something about the Emperor’s Gate that I think is so
important for us as Christians. I think that this is stunning… Over the Emperor’s Gate … the gate
where the Emperor of the Never-Ending Empire entered into the Colosseum … there hangs this
(PICTURE OF THE CROSS). This was placed over the Emperor’s entrance to the Roman
Colosseum (Arena of Death) by Pope Benedict 14th in the 1700s. He dedicated the Roman
Colosseum to the Christian Martyrs who died in the 400 years that the Colosseum was used.
There were thousands of Christians martyred for their Faith in the early centuries in
Rome… many different persecutions of Christians (Nero before the Colosseum was built, etc.).
Just down the street from the Colosseum was another place of entertainment called, “Nero’s
Circus”. This was also a place where the public would come to be entertained … Ben Hur …
Chariot Races … BUT, also, many Christians were CRUCIFIED in that building! For their faith
in Jesus, they were crucified; including, we believe, the Apostle Peter (upside-down)!
In the Roman Colosseum there hangs a CROSS!
Imagine with me if you would, if we could go back to the first, second, third or fourth
century and we could gather together … Slaves that worked under the Colosseum … relatives of
Christians who were martyred at Nero’s Circus … citizens in that society … some of the
thousands of CHRISTIANS who FEARED for their lives every day because of the Persecution
that went on there. And, once we had them gathered together, we could say to them, “Someday
there will hang in the Emperor’s Entrance to this ‘Arena of Death’ a CROSS … a CROSS that
DOES NOT represent the power of Rome or the Emperor … DOES not represent the power and
anger of DEATH that is associated with crucifixion. Someday a single cross will hang in the
entrance that will represent ONE SINGLE CRUCIFIXION of a JEWISH CARPENTER from
1500 miles away who never traveled more than 100 miles from his home in Nazareth, was only a
public figure for about 3 years, was betrayed by his own people, was EXECUTED by ROMAN
AUTHORITIES BUT, whose message impacted the entire world even LONG AFTER the
Roman Empire fizzled out.
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This one historical figure would be so influential that a SINGLE CROSS would be hung
in the Roman Colosseum that does not represent ROME or Crucifixion in General, BUT ONE
SINGLE CRUCIFIXION to remember his Message, His Crucifixion and His Resurrection.
What if we said to them that SOMEDAY there will be 100s of Millions of people who
place their FAITH in this JEWISH CARPENTER/CRAFTSMAN that Rome Crucified? And that
someday the cross will come to symbolize, not Roman Crucifixions, but ONE SINGLE
CRUCIFIXION and this one single PERSON.
What if we said to them that years from now … EVERY YEAR in the WINTER people
will gather together to hear a story, and in that story will be mentioned Augustus Caesar, but the
story won’t be about him … he will just be a side character in the story of a Jewish Carpenter
being born. And that Jewish Carpenter, not Augustus Caesar, would eventually change the
world!
What if we said that someday, people will come and visit this city of Rome and they
won’t ask to see the places where and of the Emperors are buried? They won’t even ask where
the Emperors once lived. They will come to this city and they will wander through the RUINS of
a Roman Empire and they will ask questions like this: “Where was the Apostle Paul
imprisoned?”
And they ask, “Who is the Apostle Paul?” Well that’s another Jewish man from 1500
miles away who took the message of the crucified Nazarite Carpenter throughout the known
world and invited thousands to follow in His ways. This Paul was so famous in his own lifetime
that the Romans arrested him, brought him to Rome and beheaded him and there is more known
about the Apostle Paul than most of the Roman Emperors put together!
What if we told those early Roman people/slaves, etc. that someday people will come to
this city to visit a building that is so incredible that it far exceeds the beauty and magnificence of
anything built by the Roman Emperors … it’s called the BASILICA OF ST. PETER!
If you think the Roman Colosseum is incredible, the Basilica of St. Peter holds 60,000
people and it was built in honor of a Jewish FISHERMAN who followed the CRUCIFIED
CARPENTER (SHOW PICTURES of EXTERIOR and INTERIOR of ST. PETERS
BASILICA). And Peter was a leader in what was called “The Church”. And even though he
never went to Rome until the END of his LIFE, never wrote a book, never was a political
influence or raised up an army … He is honored in ROME by the JEWISH CARPENTER’S
FOLLOWERS by spending over 100 years building a cathedral in his (a Jewish fisherman’s)
honor! And more people will visit where HE was buried than all of the Emperors put together!
Oh, and you’ll never believe where St. Peter’s Basilica was built! It was built over top of
NERO’S CIRCUS where hundreds of Christians were put to death in systematic ways … This
Cathedral will be built to the Glory of a Savior in Memory of his #1 Follower … the Apostle
Peter!
What if you were to say to those slaves and family members that millions of people will
wear CROSSES around their NECKS and they will not represent the hundreds of crucifixions
that the Romans implemented, but they will represent ONE CRUCIFIXION … the Crucifixion
of that Jewish Carpenter in the 1st Century in Jerusalem … the one they called JESUS!!!!!!
Do you think they would have believed you?? NO! They would have said that you don’t
understand … “Rome is forever! The Roman Empire is forever! A single Jewish Carpenter??
You’re telling me that a single crucifixion changed the world … seriously?? From Galilee?
Crucified in Judea?? What good has come from there? They are under Roman Rule and that
won’t end!”
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BUT, if you visit Rome today, you will find a CROSS that represents ONE
CRUCIFIXION hanging in the Emperor’s Entrance to the Roman Colosseum!
II.
History Class
Now, as we think about Christianity, another problem that we have today in finding out
what happened through Jesus is that we have HISTORY CLASSES. Now, most of us heard
some lecture either in high school or college or both that approached the subject of the RISE and
SPREAD of Christianity and tried to EXPLAIN IT.
And so we listened to our teachers/professors try to explain how it was that a peasant /
carpenter in THREE YEARS of public ministry in a very small area of the world so solidified a
following of people, that even after he was labeled a TRAITOR by his own people and
CRUCIFIED by the Roman Empire that his message and following OUTLASTED the Roman
Empire.
But, no matter what you read about the rise of Christianity or watch on the History
Channel or hear from teachers and professors; none of the explanations really EXPLAIN HOW it
could possibly be…
How do you explain the FACT that a CROSS hangs in the Emperor’s Gate of the Roman
Colosseum?!? Again, that cross represents, not many crucifixions, but ONE SINGULAR
CRUCIFIXION?!?
How is it that in three years, Jesus shared a message that was not earth shattering, but so
SIMPLE and BLAND, except in one area (we will talk about that in a few minutes) … a
message that never got out of about a 50 mile radius in his lifetime because he traveled by foot
and didn’t go far?!? HOW is it that the message of this person who was labeled by his own
people a “TRAITOR” and “IMPOSTER” and was victim of a Roman Crucifixion (if you were
crucified like that you were considered to be the worst of the worst kind of criminal) lasted
beyond his own lifetime?!? And how is it that it spread around the world???
Then we throw this in that should have made it even harder for the message of a Jewish
Carpenter with three years of ministry to last…
III.
The Jewish Wars, The Temple and Context
About 30 years after Jesus was crucified, something else happened in Israel that gets very
little attention in our history books and when we are taught history. In 66AD the “Jewish Wars”
began around Israel. And for about 4 years there continued this war between the Jews (who had
had it with Roman taxation) and the Romans around the country. After years of rebellion, there
were Jewish leaders who came together and attacked a number of cities held by Rome and drove
the Romans out.
Eventually, Vespasian and the 10th Legion came and started a WAR with the Jews (The
Jewish Wars) and drove the Jews out of Galilee and inside the walls of Jerusalem (Readers
Digest version). The entire war culminated around the City of Jerusalem. The Jews inside the
walls versus the 10th Legion (now under Vespasian’s son, Titus) and a number of other Roman
legions was the last gasp effort for the Jews (Besides the zealots at Masada).
Around the City of Jerusalem, the Romans crucified hundreds of Jews to try to scare the
Jews into submission. After long battles, the Romans took Jerusalem and they were so angry
about the war that they eventually kicked the Jews out of Jerusalem. Then, they TORE DOWN
THE TEMPLE … because the Temple seemed to be the CENTER of all that the JEWISH
PEOPLE believed. So, they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem!
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On August 6, 70AD, the LAST TEMPLE SACRIFICE WAS MADE. When Titus took
Jerusalem and tore down the Temple; that was THE END OF ANCIENT JUDAISM. If you read
the history of the Jews, you will find that once the Jews left Jerusalem in 70AD, they began a
different form of Judaism. The Judaism that we read about in the Old Testament ENDED on
August 6, 70AD.
Why is that so important?!? It’s important because the CONTEXT of everything that the
Jesus taught was the Old Testament. The context of Jesus’ ministry and the basis of Christianity
were based on what the Old Testament taught about God … sacrifices for sins … the lamb is the
ultimate sacrifice and Jesus was the “LAMB OF GOD”. Jesus taught in the context of Moses’
Law and the significance of the Temple and the prophecies of the Old Testament were
prophecies about Jesus. BUT, when the Temple was torn down in 70AD (and it is yet to be rebuilt), and Temple Sacrifices ceased; that took away the context of what Jesus taught about
according to the SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM of GOD!!
When the TEMPLE was destroyed, it’s as if the entire CONTEXT of all that Jesus taught
and did … DISAPPEARED!!
How do you explain how the message of Jesus lasted?!? “What is Christianity based
upon?” It’s based upon Jesus as the Son of God! “Which God?” The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob … the God of the Jewish people and the Temple and the God of Sacrifices and the wages
of sin is death! “Oh, you mean the God of the Temple in Jerusalem that the Romans tore down
almost 2,000 years ago and that has never been rebuilt?!?” YEP! That’s the same God!
Well, that brings a lot of credibility, doesn’t it?!? Yet, there is a CROSS that represents
MY SAVIOR that hangs in the Emperor’s Gate to the Roman Colosseum. That cross that
represents Jesus death on a cross is UNDENIABLE! To hear our human explanations as to how
that happens, just doesn’t make sense.
Remember there were many leaders who claimed to be the Messiah. Teachers and
military leaders raised up armies of people and every time that the Leader was Executed; the
followers disappeared!
But, not with the Carpenter! Something was different about JESUS!
IV.
Why Did It Last?
Today, when we see a cross around someone’s neck or on a building, we think of Jesus
and that ONE CRUCIFIXION, right?!? WHY?!?
Here’s WHY: 2 Things:
1. At the CORE of Jesus’ MESSAGE was a BRAND NEW KIND of LOVE!
2. At the CORE of Jesus’ STORY/LIFE was a RESURRECTION!
It was this COMBINATION of the Message of LOVE that Jesus taught and exampled
coupled with the RESURRECTION that is so REAL that caused people to go out and let the
world know about Jesus in spite of the TEMPLE DESTRUCTION and the City of Jerusalem
evacuation!
And now, there is a CROSS representing Jesus hanging in the Emperor’s Entryway into
the Roman Colosseum.
With all of that in mind, let’s look at some verses that you and I have heard so many
times before. We’ve heard these so many times, that I’m not sure we can ever hear them the way
the Disciples heard them the 1st time! The reason I say that is because what I’m going to read
here in John 13 is actually an ingrained part of American Culture.
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This is so boring and “I’ve heard that before” because when our country was founded, the
leaders valued the words of Jesus so much that they made it a part of who we are as a country …
what Jesus said seems very common-place to us. We’ve struggled with it, but it is still a part of
our core as a country…
As a Church we have struggled with it throughout history, but we come back to it again
and again, because this is the stuff that sets Jesus apart from every other teacher. I argue that it is
this one central teaching of Jesus coupled with the Resurrection that launched the Christian
Movement out of the 1st Century and out of Galilee and Jerusalem!
Jesus got with his closest followers and he said this: John 13:34 = 34 So now I am giving
you a new commandment (I know fellas that you have 10 Commandments by Moses and
hundreds of traditional Jewish commandments to live by, but I’m giving you a “NEW” one.
“New” translated means “different” “strange” “unheard of”, etc. A “new commandment” I give
you…): Love each other (Repeat). Just as I have loved you (Not the way the world loves. Not
that conditional love that you’ve given and received so many times. Not the love that you read
about in Greek and Roman literature. Not the love that you’ve been experiencing that requires so
much of you … a different kind of love), you should love each other. 1
Do you understand what Jesus just did here?? In that moment and in the statements that
he followed it up with, Jesus did something that it probably took the Disciples weeks or months
to try to grasp. What Jesus did in that moment was to say this: Every single person who is ever
born HAS VALUE! Every Man, Woman and Child has VALUE! It doesn’t matter anymore who
is Rich and Poor or Slave or Free or Male or Female … Every person has value! He changed
how the world defined “LOVE”. He changed it from looking at people with some sort of
qualifier in order to have VALUE!
Jesus simply said, “I want you to love each other AS I HAVE LOVED YOU!” Think
about how Jesus had to LOVE the DISCIPLES!! They failed! They were looked down upon by
their society (Fishermen, Laborers and a Tax Collector) … and Jesus showed them
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE! The DISCIPLES FAILED … OFTEN!! Jesus loved them…
Next part … John 13:35 … we forget this way too often, but when the Local Church
comes around this statement and lives it out, the church is strong and the culture around that
church changes and the society and the neighborhood gets a lot better when we remember this
part: 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 2
When we forget that part, we start measuring ourselves against each other and try to
decide if we are better Christians than other people because we know more or memorize more or
attend more; we get way off center of who God wants us to be as FOLLOWERS of JESUS! It’s
not your attendance or knowledge or times you take communion or how many times you pray or
give or whatever … It’s simply our UNCONDITIONAL LOVE for ONE ANOTHER!
The thing that Made CHRISTIANS Different in the 1st Century was that they had this
consistent, strange, weird, “never seen that before”, fanatical, bazaar LOVE FOR EACH
OTHER! People would walk into their meetings and they would see SLAVES and FREE and
RICH and POOR and CHILDREN sitting in the same room and learning together! It wasn’t a
FORCED EQUALITY; it just kind of came natural. Christian meetings were places where
everyone was given value automatically.
Jesus went on to tell people, “I want you to love your ENEMIES, because your enemies
have VALUE to my Father.”
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2
Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 13:34). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 13:35). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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V.
A Change in Culture
Paul would come along later and write, “Men, you are to LOVE YOUR WIVES!” Today,
in AMERICA, we say, “Well, why wouldn’t they?” But in the Middle Eastern cultures that Paul
was writing to, women were not much above a SLAVE. They were PROPERTY in their culture.
They were, at times, bought and sold like cattle. THEY DIDN’T COUNT! Peter and Paul, as
they continued to follow Jesus and figure out what his teachings meant discovered that they had
to start teaching this commandment in ways that would BUCK the CULTURE. “Men, love your
wives like Christ loved the Church … Be willing to give your LIFE for her!” “Men and women
… submit to EACH OTHER” In that moment, WOMEN were elevated to a whole new status …
a place they had NEVER been BEFORE!!
How many did Jesus serve food to? 5,000 MEN! Who wasn’t counted? WOMEN AND
CHILDREN!
Jesus changed their viewpoint on humanity when He said, “Let the children come to me
for to such belongs the Kingdom of God.” That’s not what they believed back then. Children
were kind of a necessary evil … hope they grow up soon! When Jesus said that, the people kind
of gasped … “But, Jesus, they’re just CHILDREN! We’ve seen in your miracles how powerful
and special and important you are! Why waste your time with them?”
In 2013 in the U.S. we think that’s sort of silly to even take time to address the idea of
LOVING our WIVES and CHILDREN … that’s what we do. BUT, don’t you get kind of upset
when you hear how women and children are treated in other areas of the world?? We can’t
believe that people would treat women that way or neglect children like that, right?!? Please
understand … that is NORMAL FOR THEM … to treat women as property and servants and
disregard children and their needs … that is the NORM! AND THAT WAS THE NORM IN
JESUS TIME!!
In the U.S. the NORM is to LOVE and attempt to treat others with a sense of VALUE
and WORTH. Guess what?!? That would not be our NORM if Jesus had not said, “A NEW
COMMAND I GIVE YOU … LOVE EACH OTHER … LIKE I HAVE LOVED YOU!” This is
Jesus’ DNA that has filtered through our country and culture…
Then Paul went one step further as he studied and learned and grew closer to JESUS …
in his letter to the Church in Colossae, Paul wrote … Colossians 4:1 = Masters, be just and fair
to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven. 3 “You have the same
MASTER! One day you will give an account to your Heavenly Father about how you treated
them. Masters, you do not own them … they too are owned by their Heavenly Master just like
YOU ARE!” That ROCKED their WORLD!
And you and I understand that we don’t need to have slaves and shouldn’t … but in the
1st Century that was a radical new teaching. Paul was teaching something that was TOTALLY
AGAINST what they understood to be true and acceptable! What is NORMAL to US was a
head-turning TEACHING in the 1st Century!!
What Jesus taught in those TWO VERSES John13:34-35 gave VALUE to people who
did NOT HAVE VALUE and gave RIGHTS to people who had NO RIGHTS!
Do you know why this is important to us? Because in many ways we think that our
country is not really all that Christian anymore. And, we are probably right. Approximately 70%
of all Americans are skipping any type of Christian worship this weekend/week. They don’t need
it!
3
Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Col 4:1). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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We live in a world that doesn’t think that we need to VALUE PEOPLE. We live in a
world that says, “DO UNTO OTHERS WHATEVER YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH!”
Do you know what I think would change that?? If we did what Jesus told us to do …
Love Each Other … Like Christ Loves us … Love Each other … we could change the world!
Quickly, let’s make sure we have a quick understanding of love the way Jesus loved.
Jesus had great MERCY for people who DID NOT KNOW BETTER… and said things like he
said to the woman caught in adultery, “Where are your accusers? If they don’t condemn you,
then, neither do I. Go and do whatever you want…” NO! He said, “Go and SIN NO MORE!”
That was LOVE! “Because I love you, I’m telling you … don’t live life like that anymore!”
For those who KNEW BETTER … for those people who claimed to KNOW GOD and
didn’t want to LEARN ANYMORE because they were KNOW-IT-ALLS … those people who
had CRITICAL HEARTS and made sure everyone around them knew they were BETTER; well,
Jesus loved them in a completely different way! For those who DIDN’T WANT to KNOW
JESUS, Jesus loved them enough to tell them that they were BLIND and NOT CONNECTED to
GOD! Jesus loved them enough to shake the dust off of his sandals and LEAVE…
LOVE ONE ANOTHER … LIKE I HAVE LOVED YOU, YOU MUST LOVE ONE
ANOTHER … That will change the WORLD!
Next Week:
Why Christianity is not really a religion … there’s proof.
Let’s Pray!
“Truth without Grace is Fundamentalism (Brutality). Grace without Truth is Sentimentalism (Hypocrisy).”
Next Steps:
Read Matthew 26-28 this week
Pray about who to invite to worship using an ‘Invest and Invite’ Card
Start a Bible Reading Program off of www.bmzchurch.org
Give My Life to Jesus Christ for the First Time
Special thanks to Andy Stanley, Nelson Searcy, R.A. Pegram, Mike Slaughter and Perry Noble for outlines and ideas for this worship series.