Never Alone Again, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Mark 1:9-15

1:9  In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
1:10  And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.
1:11  And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
1:12  And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
1:13  He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
1:14  Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,
1:15  and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

          The beginning of Lent finds us looking over the solitary, lonely shoulder of Jesus as He comes to John and asks to be baptized.  John, for his part, recognizes the glory of God in Jesus, and though stating that it is Jesus who should be baptizing him, yet for the sake of fulfilling what the Messiah requests, baptizes Jesus with water.  And then almost as if John expected it, for the scriptures indicate no surprise on John's part, there is a voice from heaven and recognition from God Almighty.  The very heavens have opened and the Holy Spirit of God has enwrapped Jesus as He embarks on the very purpose for His being there.  So much is He a part of the will of God that He was "driven" to go into the wilderness, staying there alone for forty days.

          It's a solitary purpose, a lonely purpose, and though the angels come and minister to their Lord, the Son of God, He must go through this confrontation with evil on His own, He must go to the cross, alone; He must die, alone.

          It is all according to God's own timetable, in keeping with His plans for mankind, for His Son.

          John the Baptist has set the stage for Jesus' arrival.  He has drawn a line in the sand between good and evil, brought to their attention the idea that there is a need for repentance, the need to recognize who and what they are, and make a decision between good and evil.  Then, suddenly, John is removed from the scene.  He has made his point among the people, he completed the task God set for him.  And right behind him, into that recognition that there is indeed good and evil among them, comes the Messiah.  Jesus comes with a message and with an answer, with a healing answer.

          But just because He is speaking the truth, just because He has answers and is the Son of God, doesn't mean everybody will listen, doesn't mean everyone will believe.

          Even though Jesus is more sociable than the rough-hewn John the Baptist, even though  He speaks of the love of God rather than the fear of God, even though His message is that, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news," there will be those who will not believe.

          Jesus will gather around Him 12 disciples.  They will travel the dusty roads with Him, they will hear His lessons and parables as He shares them with people.  They will watch and see as He heals people, counsels people, casts out demons.  They will see for themselves the miracles He performs in the name of God. 

          Yet, even in the human personage of the son of Joseph and Mary, as they touch His arm, bump up against Him walking along the dirt roads and the grassy hills, they are unable to realize that they rub shoulders with the God of the universe; incarnate deity walking along with them.

          Who is this person who speaks out of the wisdom of the ages, who teaches from the scriptures as no one has ever taught before, who dares to call the Sadducees and Pharisees and false priests for what they are, hypocritical burdens to God's own mankind?  He angers them so that they want Him gone, dead, away from them.  They would like to reach out and snatch Him away from the crowds, but something, something holds them back.

          While Jesus has said, "The time is fulfilled," yet it is not THE time, just yet.  And so even as they hate Him and plot against Him, Jesus continues on, sharing the love of the Father.  But His relationship with the Father is His own, alone.  So that even when He goes to pray with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prays to the Father, alone.  And the disciples sleep.

          Finally, the moment arrives and the Father allows His capture.  Jesus, alone, is mocked, tried and found guilty of trumped up charges, alone, beaten and brutalized, alone, and the disciple Peter who said he would never disavow Jesus, denies Him.

          Bearing the marks and bloody cuts of the whip, head bleeding from the thorny crown they have pushed into His head, patches of His beard pulled out by the roots, He struggles through the jeering crowds on the cobble stone street, only just bearing up beneath the weight of the cross that will be the instrument of His death.  Finally, seeing He may not make it to the site of his death at Golgotha, a Roman soldier pulls a man from the crowd to help the battered Jesus carry the heavy timbers of the cross.  But then at Golgotha, Jesus is again alone.

          And it is alone, even between the two thieves, that He is crucified, nails driven through Him, a sword thrust into His side, until He gives up His life; "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit," and He breathes His last.  Again, alone.

          It has been speculated, in song and narrative, that "ten thousand angels" would have moved at His command to rescue Him.  In Isaiah 37:36 one angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp.  It would have been nothing, in the blink of an eye, for the angels who loved Him so to destroy all about Him and lift Him lovingly from that cruel cross.  But by His own determination, for you and for me, Jesus went to that cross alone; went to His death alone.

          Then, He was reunited with the Father through resurrection, setting aside time and space and death.  And He was no longer alone.  Upon His resurrection the Father ensured those for whom Jesus died that they would never be alone, but have the Holy Spirit with them always, guiding them in Jesus' name, for that was what the Son asked for in John 17:21, "that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me."

          We have His promise -- and no one keeps promises like Jesus Christ -- His promise that He will never leave us.  Even as described in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me..."

          Never alone, again.  Never alone.  See how He loves us.

          Thank You, Father.  Amen.

Week of Worship

Feb. 27- Mar. 4, 2012

Invocation:  Almighty God, Who created us and Whose we are, help us to number our days and to live them wisely.  Give us Your Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us -- to the end that the world may be a better place because we have passed through it.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Read: Psalm 37:1-11 

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday                Hosea 14:1-9

Tuesday               Micah 6:1-8

Wednesday          Matthew 12:22-37
Thursday              Luke 19:11-27

Friday                   Hebrews 13:1-16

Saturday               Ephesians 2:1-10

Sunday                 Hosea 2:14-20; 2nd Corinthians 3:1-6; Psalm 103:1-13; Mark 2:18-22

Reflection: (silent and written)

Prayers for the church, for others, for yourself.

Hymn: "Forth in Thy Name, O Lord"

Benediction:  My Lord, go with me into this day that I may show faith by my good deeds.  Amen.