Trinity United Reformed Church Wimbledon
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St Luke 9: 49 – 50
John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’
Reflection
What a short, punchy reading today: words of Jesus advocating the virtues of generosity and an open-mind. It’s acceptable for those regarded as ‘other’ to call upon his name. If they can restore health and balance to distressed people then leave them be.
What a rallying cry for inclusivity. There should be no more ‘us’ and ‘them’.
How well I remember the first lunchtime on my first day ever at the Scottish Episcopal Institute (where I undertook some of my training for URC ministry alongside the Scottish College). I’d dared to suggest that denominations might be an affront to Jesus. Surely we were all ‘humble learners in the school of Christ.’(1)
To feel comfortable in diverse worship situations is a sure way to arouse suspicion. “You’re denominationally unstable!”, exclaimed the tutor. Other people have said “You’re like someone with odd socks on. How can you readily take part in Anglican worship*?” (*alongside URC services and, earlier, Quaker meetings).
I’m all for odd socks. I also think it’s better to be ‘out’ than ‘in’ if conformity means betraying one’s core values and hard-earned life experience.
Our faith journeys are not necessarily linear. We learn and change.
And yet…. Many churches, including the URC, exercise great care in selecting and educating ministers, whether lay preachers, community workers or ministers of some other kind. There is a healthy tension between our dissenting tradition (‘all may be led by the Spirit…’ ) and well founded guidelines, rules some find smacking of control freakery.
Without a pastoral heart and selfless desire to serve, worship leaders and healers could do harm as well as good. They may have broken away from another group, never saying their farewells with gratitude. They may carry grudges and discontent. We must exercise great discernment.
One rule of thumb is to ask, is this one, claiming to act in the name of Jesus, able to listen deeply as well as to speak?
Prayer
A wise old bird sat in an oak,
the more he saw the less he spoke.
The more he spoke the less he heard.
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?
Jesus, give us wisdom whenever we minister.
May our discernment also be shrewd and prayerful.
Teach us when to say ‘no’ as well as saying ‘yes’.
(1) Edgar G. Dunstan, section 1.2, Quaker Faith and Practice
Today’s service is led by the Revd Matt Stone
Introduction & Call to Worship
Welcome to our worship for this Sunday! My name is Matt Stone; I’m a URC minister in Rotherham and Doncaster. I’m the chair of GEAR – the Group for Evangelism and Renewal in the URC. As we gather to worship I’m going to share some words from Psalm 36:5-9. I just encourage you to let the words not just be something you hear with your ears but something you meditate on and allow to sink deeply into our hearts.
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Let’s join together to worship God with our first hymn.
Hymn God is Love: Let Heaven Adore Him
Timothy Rees (1922) © 1970 Hope Publishing Company OneLicence # A-734713 Sung by the virtual choir of Christ Church Pelham
God is Love, let heav’n adore him; God is Love, let earth rejoice;
let creation sing before him and exalt him with one voice.
God who laid the earth’s foundation, God who spread the heav’ns above,
God who breathes through all creation: God is Love, eternal Love.
God is Love; and love enfolds us, all the world in one embrace:
with unfailing grasp God hold us, ev’ry child of ev’ry race.
And when human hearts are breaking under sorrow’s iron rod,
then we find that self-same aching deep within the heart of God.
God is Love; and though with blindness sin afflicts all human life,
God’s eternal loving kindness guides us through our earthly strife.
Sin and death and hell shall never o’er us final triumph gain;
God is Love, so Love for ever o’er the universe must reign.
Prayers of Approach and Confession
Loving God,
we join with all of creation to worship and adore you.
We love you because you first loved us,
and we see your love so beautifully,
so powerfully, and so gloriously in Jesus Christ.
Forgive us, Lord, when we have lost sight of your love,
and have not loved as you love.
Open our eyes afresh to your love today,
and fill us anew with your Spirit,
that we may be transformed and live for you alone. Amen
We join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Reading St John 2:1-11
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Hymn How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
Stuart Townend Copyright © 1995 Thankyou Music OneLicence # A-734713. sung by the choir of St James’ Cathedral, Chicago
How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure,
that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss – the Father turns His face away,
as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many folk to glory.
Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders;
ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished.
I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom;
but I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer;
but this I know with all my heart – His wounds have paid my ransom.
Sermon
For about fifteen years, the Boys’ Brigade was a huge part of our family’s life, because my dad was the captain of our church’s BB Company. And one of the things we used to do every year was get together with some of the other local BB companies and go on a camp. We used to cheat, because we used to sleep in church halls rather than tents, but (for the children, at least!) it used to be a really fun week. And one of my favourite memories of BB camps was going on treasure hunts. We used to be let off in teams of five or six with a leader in a big country park and we’d have to find clues, which in turn would lead us to the next clue, and the next clue, and so on, until eventually we found the chocolate treasure. Mr Wootton, the leader who designed the hunts, would plan each of the clues to be as cryptic as possible, at least as cryptic as you can get with 8-11 year olds!
Now why do I tell you this? Because in some ways John’s gospel is planned to be a kind of treasure hunt, with careful and sometimes cryptic clues laid out for us to follow. The word John uses for ‘clue’ is ‘sign’. He’s setting up a series of signposts to take us through the story, and these signposts tell us both who Jesus is and what Jesus is about.
When Jesus called Philip and Nathanael to follow him in John 1:51, Jesus reveals a startling truth: “I am telling you the truth: you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man” In other words, those who follow Jesus will see heaven and earth meet. They will see Jesus doing amazing things, heavenly things, God-like things. The signs or clues are the moments when that happens. They are significant, significant displays of power that point beyond themselves to deeper realities. They are moments when heaven is opened, when the transforming power of God’s love and Kingdom burst into the present world. The Jews believed that happened in the Temple, the place on earth where God lived. But Jesus shows us that he is the new Temple, that he is a person and a place where heaven and earth meet.
Now the first sign, the first clue is the story we’ve heard this morning, and like all of the signs, the story of the wedding at Cana is really a story of transformation. Whenever heaven and earth meet, something is transformed; something of God’s eternal Kingdom breaks through the cracks of our fading earthly world to surprise us, to give us a glimpse of what is ahead, to draw us in to the mystery of God’s plan and future. So what do we learn from it? We’re going to look at three parts of the story:
First of all, the Master of the Banquet (v.9)
Jesus and his mother, Mary, and some of the disciples have been invited to a wedding. 2000 years ago, weddings would have been even bigger affairs than they are now. The whole village, along with family from further afield, would get together and celebrate every day for a week or more. With this in mind, we realise what a huge disaster it was to run out of wine just a couple of days into the wedding! The party looks like it’s already over – and shame would have fallen on the couple, their family, and especially on the Master of the Banquet, who had the job of making sure that everyone had a great time.
The good news is: Jesus steps in to rescue the couple, the family and the master of the banquet from that shame. Now why would Jesus do that? Imagine for a moment that you are standing for political office, or that you’re an entrepreneur launching a new product, or a musician releasing your first major recording. In every case, you would choose your first public presentation with enormous care. Each detail would be carefully controlled so that every single thing you said or did would convey the message of what you are about. Why would Jesus then choose a wedding as his launch? Nobody’s dying. Nobody’s sick. Nobody’s starving. Why would his first miracle – his first sign – use supernatural power to create 800 bottles’ worth of the finest Chateau Cana?
I believe it’s because Jesus is saying that He is the true Master of the Banquet. God’s master plan is to bring joy and healing to a broken and shameful world – in the present, and in the future. That’s what Jesus is about. That is why Jesus has come.
Jesus is also looking ahead to His own wedding, which we can read about it in Revelation 21. We will be united with Jesus forever, and there will be an everlasting celebration. On that day, God, “will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples… he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth” (Isa. 25:6-8).
St Teresa of Avila was reputed to have said that the reality of heaven will be so astonishing, the joy so incredible, the fulfilment so amazing, that even the most miserable life will feel “like one night in a bad hotel.”
Jesus is all about transforming our suffering and shame into joy!
The second part of the story I want to focus on is: the water (v.6)
Jesus is going to bring transformation and joy. But how will he do it? Using these great jars of water that the Jews used for ceremonial washing – and that’s significant. The Jewish washing rituals vividly got across the idea that God is holy and perfect, but we are flawed and broken – and so we need to be washed clean if we are to connect with God. We can’t just walk into God’s presence. We need forgiveness, we need a fresh start.
Now most of us don’t like to admit that we are sinners. But deep down we know, don’t we, that something is not quite right. We don’t love others as we should. We put ourselves first. We can be addicted to bad attitudes or unhealthy behaviours.
Adolf Eichmann was one of the Nazi architects of the Holocaust and after the Second World War he fled to South America. But in 1960 he was caught and put on trial in Israel. He was tried, found guilty and executed. But during the trial they brought forward a witness, Yehiel De-Nur, who had seen Eichmann working in a concentration camp. When DeNur came to testify, he saw Eichmann in the glass booth and immediately he broke down in tears, he fell to the floor sobbing and there was pandemonium in the court. Sometime later DeNur was interviewed and asked why he broke down in tears: Was he overwhelmed with hatred or painful memories? DeNur said no – he said he was overcome by the realisation that Eichmann was not some demon but an ordinary human being. “I was afraid about myself… I saw that I am capable to do this… exactly like he.”
The Russian dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn put it like this: “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart — and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains … an un-uprooted small corner of evil.”
The good news is that Jesus has come to help. He wants us to have eternal joy, and so he uses the ceremonial water jars to draw our attention to our need – to what’s stopping us from receiving joy. And then Jesus draws our attention to what he’s going to do about it, and that brings us to my third point:
Jesus’s conversation with Mary: “My hour has not yet come” (v.4)
When Jesus refers to his ‘hour’, he’s talking about his death on the cross. So what does that mean in the context of a wedding? Why does Jesus connect a request for wine with the hour of his death?
The author Timothy Keller suggests that Jesus is looking beyond his mother, beyond the bride and groom, and past the whole wedding scene. He’s seeing the great wedding feast of heaven, but He’s also thinking about what needs to happen first.
Surveys show that many people, including the non-religious, see Jesus as a good teacher or a role model – even if they don’t believe He’s God or see any significance in His death. The problem with that view is that Jesus did not come primarily to be a good role model – and I’m really glad He didn’t, because He’s too good, too perfect. It would be impossible for us to copy Jesus in our own strength. If we tried, we would just end up despairing. Like a high jumper looking at an impossibly high bar, Jesus’ standard is well beyond us.
But in this sign we see that He didn’t come to tell us how to save ourselves, how to achieve His standard… He came to save us Himself. If at a wedding of all places, at the start of his ministry, Jesus was thinking about his own death, then He was probably nearly always thinking about his death. Jesus’s death is the primary reason Jesus came. Jesus’ death didn’t just happen because the Jewish leaders had had enough of Him, and the Romans wanted to keep the peace. John’s Gospel makes it clear that Jesus gave up His life of His own accord, and it was the plan all along. In the very next chapter, Jesus says to Nicodemus, “the Son of Man must be lifted up [on the cross], so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.”
In other words, Jesus came to wash us clean, to bring us forgiveness and to make us right before God so that we can receive the joy and fullness of life God wants us to have.
So to summarise:
blessed to be a blessing, for the sake of your kingdom and glory. Amen
Offertory
Maybe Jesus didn’t set off for the wedding at Cana intending to save the day by the gift of turning water into wine. Maybe he thought he was just there to celebrate but, in response to His mother’s prompt, he saved the day and the embarrassment of the host! Often we give in unexpected ways in unexpected places – the surprise in finding our shoulder is a good place to cry on, the listening ear for pain we’d not anticipated, the gift to a charity that catches our eye. God, of course, planned the miracle at Cana and, of course, encourages us to both plan our giving and to be ready for the unexpected. Now, at this point in worship, we bring our gifts, the planned and the surprising, and give thanks for them and for all that they represent. We thank God for the giving direct to the bank and in the plate, for the gifts of time and talent and love and laughter. Let’s pray.
O God, may Your grace come close to those whose grace is spent.
Let our gifts give love when hearts are tired or sore and hope is bruised or bent. Through these gifts may Your will be done, and all know that Your grace is here to stay embracing those who walk Your way. Amen.
Hymn Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine
Fanny Crosby, Public Domain sung by members of the Northern Baptist Association
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect communion, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest I in my Saviour am happy and bless’d,
watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.
Blessing
May Jesus fill your life with His transforming presence,
bringing you grace and mercy, love and joy,
each and every day.
And may the blessing of God,
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with each and every one of us,
today and always. Amen.
St Luke 9: 46 – 48
An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’
Reflection
The URC Children’s and Youth Work theme for 2025 is “All Are Welcome”, so it was inevitable when I saw this reading in the Daily Devotions that I’d opt to write the reflection. I visited a church whilst on holiday some years ago and, when I casually mentioned my role in the URC, I was told “We don’t have any children and we’re not interested in having any children here”. I wonder whether that church is still open. If this reading is to be believed, we should remember that children are not only the Church of the future but are already the Church of today. And to extend Jesus’ meaning still further, to make children and those on the margins unwelcome in Jesus’ name is perhaps to make Jesus himself unwelcome. Scary thought!
Because it’s not always easy to recognise where we are truly welcome and where people may instead be left feeling like second-class citizens in God’s kingdom. We sometimes carry on oblivious, thinking ourselves to be open but actually vying to get our own voices heard and neglecting to see those around us who are equally valued by God. It’s a challenge to stop, look around us, and see who needs that welcome, that opportunity to have their voice heard, to teach and to learn together as an equal part of God’s family. The thing is, we might have to change the way we do things. Change? Never! But yes, we might have to change – to listen more patiently, to use more approachable vocabulary and more lively songs, even to play and be creative alongside, to be intentional about being intergenerational. But how exciting to know that, in so doing, we are welcoming Jesus in our midst.
Prayer
Jesus, are you sure I’m not the greatest?
I do the flowers, I’m on the coffee rota.
I’ve been coming here for years, even have my own pew.
I’ve put plenty in the offertory..
I do my best.
Forgive me, Lord.
My best is not good enough when I don’t welcome all;
When I put them down or undervalue them;
When I fail to seek you in each individual, no matter who they are,
Renew me, O God, and help me change. Amen
St Luke 9: 43 – 45
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, ‘Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.’ But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Reflection
I feel sorry for the disciples. There’d been healings, crowds and the odd miracle; now the long promised Messiah was here let’s get on with the revolution! Instead of joining in with it, Jesus doused their zeal. Glory, it seems, is not found at the palace but on the Cross. Power is seen not in armies or strength but in weakness and vulnerability. The popular leader will be betrayed and not ascend to the throne. No wonder the disciples couldn’t understand and go on to argue about who was the greatest amongst them. They’d just not understood.
There again in our world our leaders don’t understand it any better. We’ve had a resignation from an archbishop whose apology for past failures seems mealy mouthed. His Catholic counterpart endured far harsher safeguarding criticism but remained in office. We’ve seen other bishops scramble to say how they haven’t done anything wrong. Any sense of ministry as service, as a call to protect the vulnerable, speak the truth, or share the pain seems to be alien. Instead we see Church leaders act as politicians adept at handling power, dealing with pesky complaints, joking about their privileges, and generally seeking to avoid pain.
The leadership Jesus offers is different. Clearly there are good days with healings, adoring crowds, and the occasional miracle but there’s the hard work too. All his (and our) ministry is undertaken in the shadow of the Cross. It’s too easy for us to see the Cross as a sign of victory – first it’s a place of pain, disgrace, torture, and vulnerable weakness. Our redemption comes through that vulnerable weakness. More – the world’s healing is found there too. What, I wonder, would leadership look and feel like if those of us called to lead modelled this type of weakness? What I wonder would it look like if our leaders shared our pain? What, I wonder, would glory look like if it was seen in the dirt?
Prayer
God of weakness and tragedy,
God whose glory is found in the dirt of human life,
whose power is seen in vulnerability,
teach us to lead with integrity,
to reject power for its own sake,
and to seek only Your Kingdom
where the last are first, the hungry filled
and the rich sent empty away. Amen
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Join us for our Sunday worship at 11:00, led by the Revd Dr Jacob Bali (minister). The theme of the service will be the Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-12).
Junior Church will meet as usual, and all children will be most welcome to join. They leave the church for their own activities after the second hymn.
The Chinese Group will also meet for their worship in the Old Hall following the second hymn.
Following the Service there is an opportunity for everyone to meet friends and newcomers when coffee and tea will be available in the Old Hall.
St Luke 9: 28 – 36
Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
Reflection
One question among many that this passage asks of us, is, are we trying to remain? The disciples wanted to remain on the mountaintop. It was a place of wonder, of safety, and of joy, but Jesus made them come down off the mountain. His glory was hidden again, though its memory was in their hearts. The event and the occasion was good, but they all had to move on.
Do we try to hang on to past glories? Are we more comfortable remaining where we are, when what we should consider doing is moving on to a new place?
God reveals himself to us, just as he revealed himself to his disciples and we may be blessed with wondrous moments, but they are just that – moments. Not timeless, but fleeting. They inspire and excite,
but they are also meant to encourage us to move on.
Samuel Greg wrote these words in a hymn:
Stay, Master, stay upon this heavenly hill;
A little longer, let us linger still;
No, saith the Lord, the hour is past, we go;
Our home, our life, our duties lie below.
While here we kneel upon the mount of prayer,
The plough lies waiting in the furrow there.
Here we sought God that we might know his will;
There we must do it, serve him, seek him still.
The retired American Presbyterian pastor, Joseph Harvard III, describes it like this,
God gives us mountaintop experiences that are transformative. They change the way we see the world and ourselves. Business as usual is no longer possible after you have seen the vision of God’s good future revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
This teaches us a truth that while it is good to be on the mount, we must remember that we cannot remain there, that we have a duty to do, and that this duty is to carry out God’s work in the world. But we should remember that we do not do this work alone. For we are empowered and accompanied by the very same God whose glory is revealed to us in Jesus Christ.
Prayer
We pray using words of a hymn written by Joseph Robinson,
How good, Lord, to be here!
Your glory fills the night;
Your face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.
How good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But since you bid us leave the mount
Come with us to the plain.
Amen.
St Luke 9: 18 – 27
Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’
He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’
Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.’
Reflection
With the exception of the adherents of Messianic Judaism, most orthodox Jews today continue to await a human messiah who will usher in a messianic kingdom. Many Reformed Jews pray for a Messianic age of peace and prosperity accomplished by human good works.
Our reading today focuses on the truth of who Jesus claimed to be. Our Christian faith is based upon Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and the idea that the natural order can be overthrown by the miraculous.
There were some Jews who believed in the resurrection but this was assumed to be at the end of time when God would intervene on behalf of all his people – not in the middle of time. We also know that the many Messianic movements of the time – save the Christian movement – died out completely with the eclipse of the leader. The Church was different – even James, the brother of Jesus became leader of the church in Jerusalem with no thought of replacing Jesus. James was not hailed as the Messiah, nor as a replacement for Jesus because the tomb was empty!
Whilst in John’s Gospel in the “I am” sayings does Jesus specifically claim that he is God, the earlier Synoptic Gospels give many examples, in our Lord’s critique of the scribes’ allegation against him, of blasphemy – “only God can forgive sins”. Jesus claimed that “The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins.” (Mark 2.10; Matthew 18.20; Luke 12.10.) Jesus claimed lordship over the demons, sickness, the Sabbath, world judgement. He prophesied accurately. However in order to fulfil his ministry, in the prophecies in Daniel 7 and Psalm 110, and to die on the Cross, Jesus hid his true identity.
C.S. Lewis’ in “Mere Christianity” suggests just three options for Jesus’ claims – liar, lunatic, or God. This impels us to make the decision to follow the path of our Lord or not.
Prayer
“For I tell you this;
one loving blind desire for God alone is more valuable in itself,
more pleasing to God and to the saints,
more beneficial to your own growth,
and more helpful to your friends,
both living and dead,
than anything else you could do.”
(Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing)