I use the NRSV in this reflection on John 11.1-45. I have tried (as always) to acknowledge my indebtedness to the commentators, most notably: Marsh, Suggit, Ryle.

My text is written in John 11:25-26:

²⁵Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

As always, John’s writing is rich in symbolism – even the name Lazarus means God helps! When Jesus received the message that Lazarus was ill, his reply seemed enigmatic and John expects us – his readers - to exercise our judgement when he gives Jesus’ reply: “This illness does not lead to death ...” i.e. the life of Lazarus was not in danger. But then Lazarus died! So what was Jesus saying? Characteristic in John’s writing is the use of language that has a double meaning and so we can assume that Jesus is saying “... the illness and the coarse it will run will not take Lazarus out of the sphere of life which comes and flows from Jesus Christ.” In other words, it will not result in the real death of Lazarus, because God is going to use it to make manifest the victory the father will gain over death through the death of Jesus, His Son.

The disciples were concerned that they should not return to Judea because it was too dangerous. They thought that Lazarus was not really that ill interpreting what Jesus had said in verse 4 literally – that he was not going to die. Jesus replies by using symbolic language of light and darkness – the light of the day enables one to walk in safety. Marsh explains: “... to be with Jesus is to be in a place where danger can do no ultimate harm.” Jesus then brings the conversation back to Lazarus and says that he has fallen asleep.

The disciples still did not understand. Why should they risk their lives going to Judea if all that was needed was for someone to wake Lazarus up? Marsh explains: “The sleep with which Jesus is about to deal is more than sleep within life, it is the sleep from life, the sleep of death. Only Christ can awaken men from that.” So Jesus shocks them by speaking plainly that Lazarus was in fact dead.

Because Lazaus had died, the family had started with the appropriate measures of preparation and finally burial. The news came that Jesus was near and Martha went out to meet him. When she met him she expressed deep regret. Marsh suggests that she represents those who can only see death in purely human terms: once it has happened there is nothing that can be done about it because it is so final. This was the plain and simple teaching of human experience.  But Martha also shows a sense of openness: she knows Jesus had a special relationship with God the Father so nothing was really completely impossible. She had witnessed some of the miracles and so had ‘... a ray of impossible hope.’ (Marsh) The reply that Jesus gave her ‘... is the whole of the answer to dying man. “Your brother will rise again – death is not the end.” (Marsh) And there is more: specific people individual persons who have died will rise again. To begin with Martha still does not quite get it and thinks Jesus is just referring to a general resurrection. Jesus replies in what many consider to be the greatest saying in the Bible: “’²⁵Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’”

This is wonderful good news: If a believer in Christ suffers physical death, which is the removal from society of the lovers of Christ from this life, this is all that has happened. They have not died the real death because they cannot escape from the life that is life indeed – which is to know God and the Son whom he sent into the world. This is a statement about Jesus himself ‘... as the real life of all whom he sent into the world.’ (Marsh)  Martha, in this encounter, has been prepared for a right understanding of the last and greatest sign – the death and resurrection of Christ himself.

When Mary reached Jesus, she repeated the words her sister had used. And she prostrated herself before him but like her sister, she was not sure what Jesus could or would do in their present situation.

None of this reads like myth or allegory “... but like an actual transcript of something that once happened to real men and women, as the Word-made-flesh moved in the deepest understanding and sympathy among them.” (Marsh) Jesus wept!

Jesus was ‘greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. Jesus was distraught because he had lost a much loved friend and is moved deeply by the distress of the man’s relatives and friends. What we see here is love in its purest form – he wept because he could do nothing else – self-control and putting on a brave face was both impossible and inappropriate. The Jews who had followed Mary state most appropriately – “See how he loved him ...” This is what Jesus and God is all about – the purest love that identifies with our every experience and lives with us and in us and through us. The shortest verse and one of the most beautiful: “Jesus began to weep.”

Jesus takes full command because He alone can give life. Jesus said: “Take away the stone.” Martha is still unprepared for what is about to happen because she knows of the state the body would have been in: ‘...Martha said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’”

Jesus began his prayer for Lazarus with thanksgiving. He lifted up his eyes and acknowledged that he was not doing anything alone ‘... but that the Father was complicit in it ...’ (Marsh) The word thanksgiving – is the same word used when Jesus fed the 5000 – eucharistein – and is also used with special reference to the death of Jesus in John 6 where the implication is that life comes to those who eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood. Jesus is in effect thanking the Father that on the previous occasion – the feeding of the 5000 - there had been ‘... effective complicity of Father and Son ...’ (Marsh) and a sign had resulted that for those who could see with the eyes of faith were enabled to see more than just food for the body, but also food for the soul.

Prayer is always followed by action – Jesus cried out with a loud voice: “Lazarus come out.”

What happened next was a miracle within a miracle: Lazarus is able to obey the command even though he was a dead man! It seems, on the surface at least, that what Jesus did here was restore Lazarus to the life he had had before – and part of this is true. But this is only possible because Lazarus also has the life of Christ and the joyous thing is that it is this life that we too have. To stress, John teaches us that we have two lives: (i) this earthly life and (ii) the life that Christ gives. These two lives cannot be separated but we must distinguish between them ‘... to avoid presenting Jesus as the miracle worker par excellence ...’ (Marsh) He is much more – He is God Himself.

Suggit makes the most important point – in my view – as we read the Gospel today, and that is that “Lazarus can be seen as a type of Christian disciples, and what happened to him is the experience of every Christian.”

Like Lazarus:

·         Disciples are loved by the Lord – agapetoi - (1 John 4:11);

·         We are called by name (11:43);

·         When we hear Christ’s voice we listen and obey (10:3-5);

·         We are handed over to the care of the Christian community when we have found life in Christ;

·         We share in the Supper with Jesus and the disciples (12:2);

·         We are called to be witnesses to Jesus.

Chapter 11 – our Gospel reading – reflects the experience of every Christian who has been raised to new life – Christ’s life – by faith. Later, Lazarus was threatened to death by the High Priest because being alive was a testimony to Jesus and the crowds came to see him (12:9-11) but no threat of loss of mortal life could have any effect on him.

Suggit believes that John intended both Chapters 9 and 11 to remind readers of the Gospel of their own experience of their lives as Christians. So, like the man’s blindness (that we reflected upon last week) and Lazarus’ death were both for the glory of God (9:3 and 11:4). The light that the blind man had been given lead to new life for him and was in fulfilment of the promise of 8:12 -  ... I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of Christ ... This fulfils the prophecy of Psalm 36:9 – For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light ... Suggit explains: “Jesus is shown not only as the giver of light, but as the light itself and the giver of life.”

The gift of life that Jesus gives is not just physical life, nor a mere continuation of earlier mortal life. Life becomes a symbol representing life in its fullness; life of a new quality, what existentialists would refer to as ‘authentic being’. According to John, this was an historical event – but one that symbolically revealed the real person and work of Jesus as the Son of God. It is the claim of the fourth Gospel that true life can be found only by abiding in Christ, since he is the life.

This authentic life is received by faith when a person in obedience to God’s word becomes a Christian as symbolised in Baptism – we die to the old self and rise anew. So life (in this sense) involves death – dying to the old ways – and most especially the death of Jesus on the Cross that makes all this possible. Suggit continues: “The account of Lazarus, therefore is also the story of Jesus going to face death in order to conquer death.” (CH Dodd, 1954:367)

I close with some final observations. It is interesting to note that being a Christian does not mean that we are freed from illness, suffering and even death. Lazarus is described in verse 3 as ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ Sickness and suffering are part of human experience. It is not a sign that God is displeased with us and when we endure it we grow through it. J C Ryle suggests that these difficult times ‘... draw our affections away from this world and direct them to things above ...’ and they remind us that we are not going to live this mortal life forever. It is also true that Jesus is with us in these dark times. We need to be faithful in our prayers as we come to Jesus with those known and loved by us – and our Lord – with the same words: ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ We need, like Mary and Martha to do everything we can and then we too can come tour Lord with the words: ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ And when Jesus hears our news he feels for us – because he has experienced it all before. His response to the news of the death of Lazarus was that he wept. When he hears of our suffering and that of those we love, He reaches out to us, touches us and blesses us and those whom we bring to him.

We also need to realise – difficult though this can be – that Jesus knows what is best for us. He delayed for two days and it seemed to make no sense – but in the end it was to mean the richest and greatest blessings for all.  True, the ways of Jesus can seem mysterious, and this is revealed also in the seeming nonsense of him returning to Bethany when he knew a hostile reception awaited him. But he knew what was needed and what was best. Life and be troubling and even perplexing to us; often we struggle to see the point and perhaps cannot see the point or purpose; the path that we are forced to take removes all choice from us. God’s grace and love in Christ can be all we need. Paul writing to the Corinthians speaks of never being tested beyond our ability to endure because the Holy Spirit enables us  to find the way through and out of the difficulty.

Notice also how God blesses kindness. Those Jewish friends who came to comfort the family of Lazarus were privileged to witness the greatest demonstration of the power and the love of God in seeing Lazarus rising from the grave. This must surely have resulted in their coming to faith and finding true life for themselves. J C Ryle puts it well where he writes: “... one secret of being miserable is to live only for ourselves; one secret of being happy, is to try to make others happy, and do a little good in the world ...” At our major Founder’s Day service yesterday, Professor Ralph Waller put it this way: “Everything you do for yourself will be forgotten; that which you do for others will be remembered.”

Prayer always involves action. Jesus ordered: “Remove the stone ...” He could have moved it miraculously, but he wants us to realise our responsibility. Jesus expects us to do whatever we can and ‘... in the trying, Christ will meet us and grant us His blessing ...’ (Ryle) All this because the love of God is most manifest in the life, death and Resurrection of the man of history – Jesus of Nazareth who is alive and lives with us in the power of the Holy Spirit. John puts it this way:

²⁵Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

Amen.

John 9:1-41 (NRSV)

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

¹As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ³Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes,⁷saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means ‘Sent’). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ ⁹Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ ¹⁰But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ ¹¹He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ ¹²They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.¹⁴Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ ¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. ¹⁷So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ ²⁰His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ ²⁵He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ ²⁶They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ ²⁷He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ ²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ ³⁰The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³²Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ ³⁴They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ³⁶He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ ³⁷Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ ³⁸He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. ³⁹Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ ⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ ⁴¹Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

I will be using John Marsh’s commentary from the Pelican Series to help me think through this lovely (but long) passage

At the time of this event, people explained tragedies, like a person being born blind, as being the result of either the person themselves having committed some pre-natal sin or his parents having sinned in some way; and the child was made to face the consequences of their sin – echoing the passage in Exodus where one reads of the consequences of sins being borne by following generations. Jesus explained that none of these explanations would do; and what made this suffering tolerable was when God acted to make it so ‘... what God makes of it when He works on it ...’ This is a difficult issue as still today there is so much innocent suffering. No explanation of past events will do; it is only when God has done his work, then some purpose might be discernible in it.

There is a sense that we suffer because of the sins of others. Indeed drinking mothers often make their children suffer if they consume alcohol during pregnancy and their child is born underweight or underdeveloped – as an example of the sins of a parent. Reckless drivers can cause innocent people to suffer through unnecessary accidents. Selfish first world residents insisting on producing excess carbon emissions into the atmosphere can make innocents suffer through increased natural disasters – tragedies that we seem to be experiencing more and more. These are but a few (probably not even the best) examples. I think Jesus is saying here that the origins are in a sense academic; the fact of the matter is that the suffering is there; it is real and unmistakeable – but God can do something to bring blessing and fulfilment even in the midst of the suffering – echoing the worlds of Paul in Romans 8 – where he writes that ‘... in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’

I offer caution here: when a person is in the midst of a serious trial it is of little use to quote this passage from Romans (as many good-meaning folk were wont to do when I was so ill 13 years ago) as people often need help with the present affliction rather than some pious platitude; but it does not alter the fact that it is true! And we will see in this passage how God does in fact bring the richest blessing to the man born blind.

The coming of the night (in verse 4) is probably a reference to the death Jesus was to face; but the joy of our faith is that the darkness is always overcome with the light  - for Jesus is “... the light of the world ...” We know he is and that he is filled with love, for if he were not the saviour of the world, this statement would be outrageously arrogant! (and to some in his day this is how it must have come across to them).

Don’t you love the detail John gives us of what Jesus did then ... he spat on the ground, made mud and smeared it on the eyes of the blind man. Marsh makes the connection with Genesis 2 and suggests that Jesus is here re-creating the whole person - not just restoring his sight. God had made Adam from the dust of the earth, when it had been softened and moistened by rain and mist (Genesis 21:5-7). St Paul makes the important statement that when we are in Christ – we become a ‘... new creation ...’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus is the living water – but sometimes man has to do something – and in this case it is to wash in the pool of Siloam. March continues to suggests that this is a reference to the washing of baptism. The word siloam means sent. Jesus was sent – so it was natural that those who became his followers would also be sent to be baptised and through this baptism to a new identification with Jesus. The man went and washed and came back seeing, not just physically, but also into the world of Jesus.

By God’s grace we have been enabled to see into the world of Jesus. My problem is that too often I stop looking and become blinded by the vision of the world. I am reminded to look again and again into the world of our Lord.

The authorities saw the need to seek confirmation from the healed man’s parents: Had he in fact been blind since birth?

They doubted that Jesus was an agent of God because he had healed on the Sabbath – and this was clearly a contravention of their sacred Law. So, there must be some error in the reports. But all the interview with the parents did was confirm the facts of the case as it had been reported to them. The parents also refused to accept any responsibility stating: “He is of age; ask him.” They were behaving out of fear, because they knew that the authorities had decreed that anyone who confessed the Lordship of Jesus, would be put out of the synagogue.

So often we think we know clearly what is right. It makes one wonder: If Jesus were to return today and make statements that are contrary to what seems clear cut to us, would we recognise him?

The religious authorities established that Jesus was a sinner because the Sabbath had been broken – the latter been just plain fact. But the other plain fact was that the blind man from birth could also now see – he had been healed – so to him Jesus remained a prophet or man of God. Don’t you just love the clarity of his response in verse 25:

^“25He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ “

This for me is the greatest of all evidence – our experience. It was the source of truth when Peter went to the house of Cornelius thinking it impossible for Gentiles to be saved – and they so obviously had the Holy Spirit that all doubt was removed. What made me change my theological position was the holiness of peoples’ lives – those with whom I thought I disagreed were much holier than I was, and those who agreed with me at the time.

The authorities get the man to repeat his whole experience again and he gets impatient asking them “... do you want to become his disciples?” The authorities are indignant and in turn accuse the man of being a disciples of Jesus:

²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’

The choice: either the old Moses through whom came the Law, or the new Moses through whom we have grace and truth. The religious authorities were like we can so often be – too nervous to move forward because it is into the unknown, and so retreat into what is known and comfortable, sadly even if it is wrong!

But the healed man’s experience is too compelling for him to be able to respond in any other way. If someone could give sight to one born blind, there can only be one explanation – the healer was from God.  The authorities saw this as an inexcusable effrontery – so they excommunicated him. Marsh continues: “What the parents had feared, the son endured.” But in being expelled, he received more, much more; unity with Christ which is better by far.

This begs a question - for me at least: Do we stick so fast to what we know, that we sometimes deny ourselves real and meaningful union with Christ as he offers to take us closer into His presence?

On hearing of the excommunication, Jesus found the man and questioned him: “Do you believe in the son of Son of Man?” and so, in the process, reveals himself to the man. The healed man responds as explained in verse 38: ³⁸He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him.

Excommunication was the severest punishment – just short of capital punishment at the time because it meant being ostracised by respectable society. But Jesus, the most respectable of any person ever – seeks him out.

The healed man has been given the most wonderful of all gifts: not only the ability to see, but also the ability to see with the eyes of faith. Jesus comment in verse 37: You have seen him ... confirms this. The man has had his humanity re-created so that he can see beyond the signs and symbols ‘... to the richness inherent in them ...’ (Marsh) and he confesses: “Lord, I believe ...” and worshipped Jesus.

Healing miracles were not something foreign to the Jews; this was however, the first time that sight had been given, not just restored and as Marsh explains, it was even more profound because it “... enabled the man who had only just begun to see to look at the human Jesus and see the heavenly Son of Man ...” So, “... sight had been given insight ... The healed man had done what cannot be done by a person without divine aid; recognise the incarnate Word in the flesh that he assumed.”

Could it be that as a result he might have been grateful for his original blindness? If he had not been blind he might have been like the majority; unable to see the truth of Jesus. This is a difficult question for me to address because, as you know, I have to face quite a few health difficulties: deafness and a tumour on the pancreas (and just yesterday I had yet another unpleasant procedure and further biopsies and tests.). But I do know that I am very different as a result of these experiences - and I do believe for the better – but I would never wish any of these experiences on anyone else. But perhaps Marsh is correct when he states: “... in the end all will come to praise him for the exceeding wisdom of his ways ...”

Jesus used signs and in this case ‘seeing’ as a reference to ‘believing’ and blindness to ‘not believing’ both ‘... fully voluntary and responsible acts of the human person ...’ Not being able to believe is an affliction just like a physical affliction – like being blind. It is possible that this is not blameworthy – just like being physically unwell or afflicted – nobody’s fault – not the man nor his parents. But the Pharisees did have the Law – and so for them there was no excuse.

Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV)

Results of Justification

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. ⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. ¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

These sermon notes were written with the aid of the scholarship primarily of William Barclay, but also the works of J A T Robinson and Eugene Maly. I trust it helps others as they prepare for worship next Sunday.

My text is written in Romans 5:1-2:

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 

Through Jesus our status changes from one who was at enmity with God, to one who has peace with God. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are placed in a right relationship with God – because we have been declared right with God by our faith – a gift that God graciously gives us. But Paul goes on and states that more than mere status has changed, also our state is transformed and so the saved sinner cannot go on sinning, we need to become what we have been declared to be. Barclay puts it this way: Christ’s death changes our status; Christ’s risen life changes our state. Jesus is not a dead person from history, he is alive and is there to help us, guide and direct us, to fill us with his strength to enable us to overcome temptation, “... to clothe our lives with something of his radiance if we live forever in his presence. J A T Robinson explains: ‘... the prodigal has been allowed to enter a new status, when henceforth, everything is different. ... Now everything can be enjoyed as a son!’ He who changed our status with God can also change our state.” (Barclay) God does not love because we are good. Maly explains ‘... rather, we are good because God loves us ...’ and this is expressed most clearly in verse 8. This says something really important about God: He is not an offended deity, appeased by a self-sacrificing Christ; he is a Father who takes the initiative because he is filled with love for us.

This is really good news to reflect on during this season of Lent: Jesus enables us to quit sinning and become good people; our sanctification is where the saving process goes on and never ends, “... until we see him face to face and are like him.” (Barclay)

Our salvation is a process which includes the original coming of Christ. His death and resurrection are all proof of God’s love – it happened because God loves us and to show how much God loves us.

But it is important to stress that it is not a matter of a vengeful God and a loving Jesus. Jesus did not change God from being angry and vengeful to being gracious. The whole thing springs from the love of God. Jesus did not change God’s character; he revealed God’s character and show what God’s character has always been; as Barclay concludes: “He came to prove unanswerably to men that God is love.”

Barclay describes this passage as one of Paul’s most lyrical in which ‘... he almost sings the intimate joy of his confidence in God ...’ Trusting faith, the accepting of God at his word ‘... has done what the labour to produce the works of the law could not do; it has given a man peace with God.’ Before Jesus came and until a person accepts as true that which Jesus says about God ‘... no person could ever be intimate with God.’ In effect, Paul is saying that outside of Jesus, God is ‘unfindable’.

Others, including Jews at the time had an image of God that was fierce and frightening. Barclay continues: “It is only when we realise that God is the God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that there comes into life that intimacy with God, that new relationship which Paul calls justification.”

Through Jesus we have an introduction to the grace in which we now stand. Barclay explains that he word translated as introduction is the same one used when introducing one into the presence of royalty – it is also used of a worshipper as they approach God. So, Jesus ushers us into the presence of the King of Kings and when we go in we find grace, not condemnation; not judgement, nor vengeance ‘... but sheer, underserved, unearned, unmerited and the incredible kindness of God ...’ In later Greek thought, the same word was used to refer to describe to describe a harbour or haven for ships. As long as we rely on our own efforts, we are tossed about by the winds and tempests of life; but now Jesus welcomes us into a haven of safety – the haven of God’s grace. We no longer rely on what we can do for ourselves, but on what God has done for us.

Writing this again now, reminds me of the joy I experienced when I first came to understand this ... and I rejoice once more in the beauty of God’s grace and His love for us.

But all this does not alter the fact that this life can be hard. Our lives are often filled with pressures: sorrow, persecution even, want, need, loneliness (to name a few). But united with Christ, and relying on his grace all this can lead to fortitude (what the NRSV translates as endurance) – hupomone – but Barclay says it is endurance – and more ‘... the spirit that can overcome the world.’

We do not passively endure, but actively overcome and conquer the trials and tribulations of love. Barclay explains using the example of Beethoven, who when he was told he was going deaf responded: “I will take life by the throat.” This is hupomone! He continues: ‘Sorrow colours life ... but you can choose the colour.’ This too is hupomone. This is fortitude, and this produces character.

In the experience of the Holy Spirit, people have a foretaste – a first instalment as it were – of the glory of God that shall be. This experience makes us long for the fulfilment of what adoption into the family of God really means. The final completion of this experience will come with the resurrection of our bodies. We are not disembodied spirits as the Greeks thought, we are both bodies and spirits, and this is how our salvation will be completed; only we will be given new bodies, ones that will not be subject to decay. Our new bodies will be spiritual, but they will still be bodies. I love the way Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians: just as a seed is planted and grows into a flower, so our earthly bodies will be ‘planted’ and a new body will emerge, one with the earthly body – just different and eternal.

So, our human situation is not hopeless: Paul was an optimist. He saw sin, the state of the world and the human condition realistically, but he also knew of God’s grace and it is this that filled him with hope – ‘... life was an eager anticipation of a liberation, a renovation and a re-creation wrought by the glory and power of God ...’

There is eager expectation – this life ought to be (in Barclay’s words) ‘... a throbbing, vivid expectation ...’ like a person leaning forward looking to the horizon in expectation.

But the reality is that life can also be a struggle. Thank you for sharing your thoughts of your struggle with worry; you know that, by nature I worry as well! Within we also battle sin and without we live in a world of death and decay.

But: we don’t only live in the world, we also live in Christ. We do not only see the world, we also look beyond the world to God. We do not only see the consequences of human sin, we also see the power of God’s mercy and grace and love. Because of this, the keynote of the Christian life is always hope and never despair – ‘... the Christian waits not for death, but for life ...’

Verses 9-11 provide the wonderful explanation of the consequences of our justification by faith. In verse 9 it is explained that we are justified by his blood – this is a reference to his passion and death. Justification is the starting point. But it is more than us being declared right with God; verse 10 speaks of how this makes it possible for us to be reconciled with God – this means that our relationship with God is restored.

Reconciliation is never the movement of a person back to God, ‘... it is rather God’s action of drawing the person back to himself ...’ this is why the verb is always passive and why we ‘receive’ reconciliation. All this because we have been offered the free, gracious gift of faith. Maly continues: ‘By faith we are what we are not.’

Jesus spoke of entry in through a narrow gate – it is both necessary and impossible. But what is impossible for us humans is possible with God and so He does all this for us in and through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so we have peace, that which passes all understanding, keeping our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The key words of Paul in this letter are: peace, glory, endurance, hope, love, the Spirit, salvation, reconciliation and life. J A T Robinson claims that all these words ‘... are given their full orchestration and reach their crescendo in Chapter 8.

Philosophers challenge us by saying that there is a difference between what is and what can be. I think this is a wonderful challenge, especially in this time of Lent. But the Gospel makes this so much more possible. We all know the frustration of trying to change and failing over and over again. The good news is that God gives us His Spirit, to enable us to become what we want to be (and what God wants us to be because he loves us so much). J A T Robinson explains in the simple statement: ‘... The Christian life is based on the pattern – become what you are ...’ The apostle put it this way:

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 

Amen.