Calvary Baltimore Weekly Sermons

A Soul In Crisis - John 19

God purchased humanity with the last drop of His blood, demonstrating the infinite value he places on rebellious dust like us. Jesus experienced complete forsakenness on the cross, crying "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" showing God himself forsaken of God. The eternal Word who spoke light into darkness fell silent in the tomb, only to thunder forth in resurrection! Humanity wants "$3 worth of God"... just enough for comfort, but not enough for transformation. The human heart is desperately wicked and blind to its own madness; people don't recognize their need for salvation. Salvation is entirely by grace through faith, not by works, so no one can boast! Believers are God's "workmanship" or poetry; we are masterpieces being crafted through difficult circumstances. The spear wound in Jesus' side is called "the gate to heaven," pouring forth the birthing fluid from which the church was born. The rolled-away stone answers humanity's greatest question: "What about death?" As Christians, we're called to live boldly and speak freely about our faith, not in fear, but in confidence that God is for us!

B-Side - Mark 12:1-12

Parables are to give an image of what Jesus is talking about. However, he normally uses them not to make his message easier to understand, but to communicate judgment. Unbelievers remain in darkness; those hearing and not understanding are about to be judged. The Sanhedrin understood what Jesus meant here; he wanted them to understand judgment was coming! This parable is the conclusion of Mark 11, and the introduction to chapter 12 (the disputations).  v1... fences around vineyards are to keep animals away, a pit holds the winepress, and a tower is to keep a lookout for threats. The owner has set up his tenants to succeed!  v2... the vineyard should be producing good fruit at some point, so the owner sent to check on progress. Vineyards are a picture of the Garden. v3... Servant after servant is beaten, some killed. v6... The final servant, the son, is killed.  Isaiah 5... similarly shows a beloved son and a vineyard. Also found in the Song of Solomon! Where the woman is waiting for her beloved to return. In a sense, here in Mark we have the Beloved returning to the garden. But Israel ahs rejected their beloved. At the garden tomb, Mary Magdalene is looking for the Lord... she finds her beloved! She leaps and clings to him. In Revelation 10, Jesus says he will return among the lampstands, Menorahs, an image of trees, a garden or vineyard. But Jesus will be rejected and killed. v7... the tenants want to kill the heir so they can have his inheritance. Similar to Joseph's brothers scheming against Joseph. Genesis 37:20... they wanted to kill him. The Sanhedrin are acting like these evil brothers! And they're delusional if they think the owner would hand the vineyard over to them after killing his son. The temple didn't just exist for Israel, but the Sanhedrin want it all for themselves. v8... they killed him. Stewardship is not ownership. On Sunday when we gather, it's as if we're assembling God's vineyard each week. But we're only stewards! Every day is a gift. We're just tenants of the vineyard, not owners! Any power we have is gifted to us by the real authority. How are we stewarding the parts of our life God has given us dominion over? What will the owner to do these evil tenants? The Sanhedrin answer (in Matthew) that the owner will kill the evil tenants! After he quotes Psalm 118, they realize the parable was told against them! 2 Sam 12... Nathan gives David a parable after David had killed Uriah, and like the Sanhedrin in Mark, David agrees the deeds of the parable's antagonist are worthy of death... then Nathan reveals it's about David. The same here happens between Jesus and the Sanhedrin! But unlike David, the Sanhedrin didn't repent. Aramaic was the common language of the day. The word "ben" meant son, and "eben" meant "stone"... so the ben thrown out of the vineyard is the eben that becomes the cornerstone. Jesus is the rock that the church is built on! v11... this is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous; Mark quotes more of Psalm 118 than the others here. Jesus declaresa himself the Lord! v12... The Sanhedrin figured it out, and left. If you oppose the Christ, you will be crushed. But for the rest of this chapter, they will argue with him... though they fear the people. If only they truly feared God more!

The Parable of the Vineyard - Mark 12:1-12

Mark 12:1-12 Irenaeus wrote a book against heresies... He used today's parable to refute bad doctrine, that God's nature changed between the Old and New Testaments. The same Father that sent the prophets in the OT sent the Son in the NT. God doesn't change! Jesus was the plan from the very beginning.  v1... The vineyard owner gave his tenants everything they'd need to be successful. The vineyard in Isaiah 5:1-7 was a picture of Israel... its grapes were no good to eat. Israel should be joyful, a place of blessing, but it was not. The church today should be as well!  Who owns the vineyard here? God, and he's in heaven. The Sanhedrin are the tenants.  v2-5... God sends messenger after messenger but the tenants reject again and again.  v6-8... He sends his beloved Son, and they not only reject him but kill him! The Sanhedrin didn't own the temple; they're only stewards of what belongs to God. But they'd created an identity around the false story that the own the temple. They were foolish and delusional! They hated John, and they hate Jesus even more, for threatening their delusion. They're even willing to kill God himself for it.  The only way to break delusion is to introduce truth. God snaps us out of the delusion that we're "good enough!" We are not. Though others may be fooled, God is not. Sometimes God's truth is uncomfortable!  "Follow your heart" is a lie! Our heart is deceptive above all things. Follow him. Live by the truth! Measure yourself by the standard of the Word! We are to reject the lie, and get our standard from the Word of God. Stop pretending there's not sin where there is. Submit to the true authority of God, not the false authority of the world! v9... What will the vineyard owner do to the evil tenants? Mt21:40... Matthew says it was the Sanhedrin who answered, LOL! When Jesus writes Psalms (the stone that the builder rejected becomes the cornerstone)... The Sanhedrin knew he was talking about them. The gentiles had been grafted into the tree of the family of God, when the Jewish people rejected Jesus. So Jerusalem will fall.  v10... Psalm 118 is quoted... This is the Psalm that was sung as Jesus entered Jerusalem. He reveals that he's the cornerstone! The victory will only be secured when the evil tenants kill him, the beloved Son. Colossians 2:13-14... He's forgiven all our trespasses. All! And a trespass is a willful, planned sin. And it's all forgiven! Cancels the record of it, regarding your eternal destiny. Christ's blood cancelled our debt! All we have to do is believe. And we grow to value the Lord above everything else! ...Colossians 2:15... He put the authorities to shame, killing them, and Jesus becomes the cornerstone! The enemies of Christ think they're winning by defeating us, but they're sealing their fate. We build our life in one foundation: Christ and his word!  Mark 12:12... The Sanhedrin picked up that Jesus was talking about them. They will be judged. If your want to reject him, be prepared to pay the cost for eternity.

B-Side - Mark 11:27-33

Today's text marks the beginning of six conflict stories showing genuine faith vs. false faith. It parallels the triumphal entry: welcoming him as King vs opposing his authority. The spiritual leadership of Israel has missed what the people see clearly. v28... they challenge Jesus' authority. His authority struck people, amazed the crowds. He's not quoting the rabbis; he's speaking as God, with God's authority, as the arbiter of truth. He performed miracles and forgave sins! He himself is authority. v29... the old religious guard didn't like John, so they didn't want to give weight to his words. Instead of genuinely inquiring of Jesus, they attempt to trip him up, showing they don't care about truth, just about finding an excuse to kill him. George Washington held above all else the character of an honest man. To stand with the Lord Jesus is to stand with the truth, and against corruption and lies... and to be hated by the darkness. We are to be a people of the truth and hold our ground! We are to eschew tactics like what the Sanhedrin do here. The Sanhedrin are the elite theological, intellectual, legal experts. They challenge Jesus on the basis that he has not earned the same credentials they have. People who are losing arguments will often make this appeal. If an idea is true, it will stand on its own merit, credentials or not! So be anchored in the truth, the Word of God. Paul was happy that the Bereans checked what he said against Scripture! The clergy here feel they have the authority over Jesus because of their institutional office. They're not questioning what he's said, but his right to say it because they, the governing board, haven't approved him to speak at the temple! v30-32... Jerusalem has become the new Egypt; their hearts are hardened as Pharaoh's heart was hardened during the plagues. The Sanhedrin have become like Pharaoh! They walk in darkness and can't even tell where the light came from. Like Eli the high priest, they have become like blind guides. Jesus rode to Jerusalem in peace... but because they've rejected him, they will be brought low and exposed. We must be open to the teachings of the Lord, walk in the light as he is in the light, completely submit to his Word, and resist resisting him! If it opposes Christ, it has to go.

Opposition to the Truth - Mark 11:27-33

Mark 11:27-33, 1 Peter 3:13-17 v27... He walks into the temple for the third time, and the high priests, the Sanhedrin, interrogated him. v28-30... He answers with a question, brilliantly designed to give them no answer options they were willing to give. Jesus doesn't talk about his theology or his miracles. He talks about baptism. At his baptism, he was revealed to be the Son of God.  Jesus's authority also simply comes from himself. He is God! As God, he even gave Pontius Pilate his authority. v32... They were afraid of the people! They were being like politicians. They desired their approval. But it's only the fear of the Lord that's the beginning of wisdom! Not fear of people. If you want to live, you first have to die to yourself, pick up your cross. v33... They won't answer, so he refuses to answer them.  The Sanhedrin didn't care about truth, only about indicting Jesus. They're just looking for something they can use against him.  It was believed that the time of the prophets was over. But they considered John to be a great prophet, which gave the people hope. This made the Sanhedrin nervous. They were spiritually blind! Don't miss what God is showing you! God can be doing things around us, and we may miss it if we're not attuned to the Spirit of God. So read the Word, pray, seek counsel from fellow believers! The great divide in our country is for political or social; it's spiritual. Christ has been removed from society. This world so badly needs Christ! The Holy Spirit will guide us into the truth.  That's todays text! Today's text covers two topics: - The authority of Christ is attacked - Unbelief Apologetics: defending the faith or sharing the faith with unbelievers.  1 Peter 3:13-17... When you to the work of Christ, don't fear man!  v15: always be prepared to give a reason for your faith with gentleness and respect!  It may be God's will for you to walk through persecution. It's better to suffer for doing good and standing with Christ than to give in to popular opinion.  Share your faith faithfully! Don't be a hypocrite. We are to live the words of Christ in addition to sharing them. The world may hate us, but better to die in Christ! Every Christian should want to see everybody they meet in heaven!  It's not only about heaven and hell. People are miserable following their own hearts. We want the best for them now! v15 again...  In your heart, honor Christ as holy! He is Lord of all. He is the only path!  Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope, with gentleness and respect. Hope looks forward! We can face persecution because we have hope, that one day we'll be received into the Kingdom of heaven! The hopeful are to be prepared to make a defense and give an answer for the reason for our hope. We don't need the perfect answer for every question. Just say why you love the Lord Jesus! We're not personally responsible to save anyone. Only the Lord can save the dead. Yet we are to be ready to be part of that process! You may be the vessel today God uses to usher someone into eternity. What an honor! So share!  And do it with gentleness and respect. Jesus was gentle with the Sanhedrin! As God, he had options, but he chose gentleness and respect. Also, a gentle answer turns away wrath!  Be a faithful witness until the end. Witnessing to non-believers is also about what we do, not just what we say. Don't be a hypocrite! Be a good representative of Christ to them! Be kind, be joyful. Who's going to want what we have if we show a bad example of Christ? Have a peace that surpasses all understanding. Worship him through the pain! People will see the Gospel in your life. Our hope cannot be stomped out! Christianity isn't true because it works; it works because it's true!