Hope in Darkness

Welcome to St Paul's.

My name's Steve, lead pastor here,

and I want to particularly add that welcome of ashes this morning

! on this special day for Christians right around the world.

!

He was popular at the end of the 19th century,

basically through to the mid-20th century.

A number of his works have been put into movies,

starring Tom Cruise and others.

But he started life, quite interesting, you see this in his work.

He started life hopeful about life,

but ended life quite despondent about life.

He, in fact, started life sympathetic to God

and ended life as a despondent atheist.

And you see this in his writing.

So in his short history of the world, he wrote this.

Can we doubt that presently our race

will more than realise our boldest imaginations,

that it will achieve unity and peace,

and that our children will live in a world

and lovely than any palace or garden that we know,

going on from strength to strength

in an ever-widening circle of achievement.

He wrote those words in 1937.

1937.

Nine years later,

in almost his final piece of writing,

and after the carnage of World War II,

he wrote this.

The cold-blooded massacres of the defenceless,

the return of deliberate and organised torture,

mental torment,

and a fear to a world from which such things

had seemed well-nine banished,

has come near to breaking my spirit altogether.

Homo sapiens,

as has been pleased to call himself,

is played out.

What Wells picks up there,

and what we would pick up,

having, for those of us,

just read the history of the 20th century,

and the carnage of the 20th century,

it's hard to avoid the conclusion

that there is fundamentally something wrong

with this world.

And you just turn on the news,

even this morning,

and you will see multitudes,

options,

varieties of what is fundamentally wrong

with this world.

And every culture,

and every society,

and every time,

every religion,

and philosophy of life,

must give account

to its people

what is fundamentally wrong

with this world,

and therefore,

how do you resolve it.

And Good Friday

is Christianity's account

of what is fundamentally wrong

with this world,

and how to fix it.

And in these verses here

that Merle just read out for us,

this fundamentally wrong

with the world

is, if you like,

represented with the image

of darkness.

Darkness.

In verses 52, 53,

Jesus, as the soldiers come

with the religious elite,

draws attention to the fact

that they are acting

under the cloak of darkness

rather than in the daylight.

You had options.

You saw me in the temple courts

in the daylight.

And then he adds this

in verse 53.

This is your hour

when darkness reigns.

Now, Jesus was saying

in that moment,

hey guys,

you know,

it's late at night,

we need a little bit more,

you know,

turn the lights up,

we need a bit more light here.

He's saying here

that the physical darkness,

by the physical darkness

in which all these events

took place,

are pointing to something

that is so much deeper.

A deeper darkness.

A deeper spiritual darkness.

And it's a darkness,

a spiritual darkness

that controls

every human heart,

mind,

and soul.

And what he's saying is,

this is the hour

where that darkness

is clearly on display,

but it's also the hour

where Jesus will

decisively solve

that deep darkness.

And so,

controlled by

this spiritual blindness,

they come to arrest Jesus

and condemn Jesus.

But this is the hour

when the reign

of these

dark spiritual powers

will end.

And so,

that's the text,

get it open,

we've got four points

that we're going to

quickly move through

in this text

to unpack

what that looks like.

the first of it

being

the mocking

of darkness.

Now,

what we notice is

you read through

not just this section

but really

into the next section

as well

as Jesus is crucified

right after the crucifixion.

He's mocked

quite a lot.

He's mocked

for claiming

to be a king,

he's mocked

for claiming

to be God,

he's mocked

to be a saviour,

and notice as well

that

everyone

is involved

in the mocking.

It's the Romans,

it's the Jews,

it's the elites,

it's the crowds,

it's the commoner,

everyone

gets involved

in the mocking.

You can't pin

the death of Jesus

on the Jews.

Everyone's involved.

And you can't pin it

on the Jews

with any shred

of historical credibility.

Everyone's in on it.

And here

in verse

right at the end

of the passage

we see that

the soldiers

are mocking Jesus

for claiming

to be a prophet.

Verse 64,

they blindfolded him

and demanded,

prophesy,

who hit you?

And they said

many other

insulting things

to him.

The irony

of their mocking

is that

as they

attack

him

and mock

his prophetic

powers,

they're actually

proving

his prophetic

powers.

Several chapters

earlier

in Luke

18,

we have

he recorded

the words

of Jesus

as he's

on his way

to Jerusalem

telling his

disciples

what will

happen to

him.

Everything

that is

written

by the

prophets

about

the

son

of

man

will

be

fulfilled.

He'll be

delivered over

to the

Gentiles

and they

will mock

him

and insult

him

and spit

on him

and they

will flog

him

and kill

him.

That's the

irony of their

mocking.

But the

question is

why are

they mocking

him?

That's the

issue.

Why are

they mocking

him?

Is it just

like a

mob thing?

Opportunistic?

It's because

Jesus didn't

display what

they would

expect of

a prophet.

He didn't

display the

power that

they would

expect of

a prophet.

In their

world God

did not

work through

weakness and

vulnerability.

Prophets were

powerful figures.

In fact even

in the Old

Testament the

last time a

bunch of

soldiers turned

up in order

to arrest one

of God's

prophets,

fire came

down from

heaven.

Three times.

Jesus,

where's your

power?

Where's your

power?

power?

They looked

at his

suffering,

they looked

at his

weakness,

his

vulnerability

and they

mocked him

because he

didn't fit

into their

categories.

They were

blinded to

who he

really was.

blinded to

us.

And part

of this

deep

spiritual

blindness,

this deep

darkness of

spiritual

blindness,

humanity

looks out

into our

world of

suffering and

of injustice

and evil

and we

conclude

there clearly

cannot be a

God.

God.

You can't

have a

God and

suffering

or at

the very

least you

can't have a

good God

and suffering

because none

of those

categories

fit

ours.

They don't

fit our

category the

way the

world works

because we

think if

there is a

God,

he would

exhort his

power,

boom,

and wipe

out all

evil.

And so

when we

experience a

dark world,

when the

dark clouds

come around

our life,

we mock

too,

don't we?

Don't we

join in the

mocking?

Clearly

God doesn't

exist,

otherwise he

would stop

this.

Or clearly

God is not

a good

God.

God is

wrong.

But what

if our

categories are

wrong?

What if our

categories are

all wrong?

I remember

one day,

actually it's

happened a few

occasions,

but one

particular day,

taking off in

an aeroplane.

And this

day was a

stormy day.

It was one

of those

really wet

stormy,

where the

clouds were

dark,

and it

felt like

the sun

doesn't exist.

It was like

turn the

lights off,

back on

again.

And it

was the

middle of

the day,

and as we

took off,

it was

dark,

and as we

went into

the clouds,

the cabin of

the aircraft

just got

darker and

darker.

It was

eerie.

And we

bumped our

way through

the clouds,

and then

gradually the

darkness

within the

cabin,

you could

see just

lifting a

little bit,

and then

there was

this,

you know,

a moment

of a

sunlight just

sort of

beamed through

the window,

and then

within moments

after that,

pop,

pop,

pop,

bang,

and we

were up

through the

clouds,

and you

look out

the window,

and the

sun's shining,

and the

skies are blue,

and the

only clouds,

the clouds

that were

down there,

that blocked

my vision

of the

sun,

momentarily.

The sun

was there

the whole

time.

The light

was there

the whole

time,

but the

clouds meant

I couldn't

see it.

No matter

how deep

the darkness

is,

it doesn't

impact the

existence of

the sun

one bit.

Not one bit.

No matter

how bad

things get

in life,

it doesn't

nullify the

loving,

saving purposes

of God.

And when

we mock,

when we

question,

our

categories

are wrong.

It is a

spiritual

darkness

that caused

us not

to see

God

or to

trust

God

in the

darkness.

And this

is the

problem

that we

all have.

And it's

the kiss

of Judas

that actually

points to

the depths

of this

problem.

The kiss

of Judas

is very,

very

significant.

It's the

kiss of

darkness.

Verse 47,

the man

who was

called

Judas,

one of the

twelve,

was leading

them.

That is,

the soldiers

and religious

elite.

And he

approached

Jesus to

kiss him.

But Jesus

asked him,

Judas,

are you

betraying the

son of

man with

a kiss?

Now,

in Jesus'

time and

culture,

disciples

were never

permitted to

greet their

teacher

first.

Because in

greeting the

teacher, it

implies equality

with the

teacher.

And so

a disciple

in this

moment would

greet the

other disciples

first and

then they

would greet

the teacher

to show

deference.

And so

Judas'

kiss here

in the

darkness

was not

simply a

signal to

the mob

that this

is Jesus.

This is the

one you're

looking for.

I'll point

him out to

you.

But it

is in

fact an

act of

rejection.

It's an

act of

independence.

He was

saying to

Jesus in

this moment,

you are no

longer my

rabbi,

I am

your equal.

And I

don't need

you.

His kiss

was the

rejection

of a

personal

relationship.

A

personal

intimate

relationship.

He had

spent three

years with

Jesus.

It was

not the

kiss of

rejection of

an enemy.

It is

shocking

what he

did in

this moment

and what

it meant

for Jesus

in this

moment.

You know,

someone walks

into here,

I don't

know you,

never met

you,

and they

come up to

me straight

out of the

service and

says,

Steve,

I'm never

coming back.

Don't like a

thing you did,

never coming

back.

And I go,

oh,

wow,

that hurt

for a

while.

One of

you,

it's

different

though,

that if

one of

you who's

been here

and with

me for

the last

17 years

says,

Steve,

I'm done

with this

and I'm

done with

you,

I'm out

of here,

I'm never

coming back.

And it's

all because

of you.

That will

take a

while for

me to

get over

it,

if ever,

maybe.

You know,

I'll get

there but

it'll hurt

deeper.

If Nat

comes up

to me

after the

service

and says

the same

thing,

oh boy,

that's crushing.

That's an

entirely different

category altogether.

And so

this kiss

was a kiss

of rejection

and independence.

And it's

a vivid

picture

in this

kiss,

it's a

vivid

picture

of what

the Bible

calls

sin.

And it

is the

source

of the

deep

spiritual

darkness

of humanity.

It is

sin

is living

as if

God

does not

exist.

It is

rejection

of him

over my

life and

in relation

with my

life.

You see,

what the

Bible says,

Christian faith

in terms

of our

worldview

is God

created

humanity

to enjoy

a relationship

with him

and to

have that

relationship

with God

at the

center of

our lives.

And sin

so much

therefore is

not so much

in the Bible

the rejection

or the

breaking

of a

bunch

of

rules.

That's

not

fundamentally

what sin

is.

At the

deepest

level,

sin

is breaking

God's

heart.

That's

what sin

is.

It is a

trampling

all over

God's

heart

and all

sin,

every act

of sin

is a

betrayal

of the

intimacy

with God

for which

we were

created.

It is

the kiss

of Judas

every time

we do

it.

You see,

because the

God of

Christianity

is not a

force.

He's not a

power.

He is

deeply

relational.

He's a

deeply

personal

God.

Isaiah

49,

15,

God has

the

audacity

to take

the

image

of the

intimacy

of a

new

mother

with a

newborn

child

and says

that the

kind of

overwhelming

love that

that mother

has for

that child

is nothing

compared to

his love

for humanity.

And so

the kiss

of Judas

is a

betrayal

of

relationship

with God.

See,

Christianity

does not

divide the

world between

the bad

people who

break the

rules and

the good

people who

keep the

rules or

most of

the rules.

That's not

how the

world's

divided.

And we

get a

glimpse of

this in

Luke 22.

Jesus is

eating with

his disciples

just before

the Garden

of

Gethsemane

celebrating

the Passover

meal.

And what

he says to

them towards

the end of

that meal,

he says,

one of you

is going to

betray me.

And then it

says this in

verse 23,

there be a

question among

themselves which

of them it

might be who

would do

this.

Jesus.

In other

words, they're

sitting around

the table with

Jesus, all

the core

crew, and

Jesus says,

one of you is

going to betray

me, and

they go,

well, who?

Which one?

See the

point?

It's not

obvious that

Jesus is talking

about Judas

at all.

They don't

go in that

moment, you

know, looking

at Jesus, then

everyone looks

to Judas.

What's obvious

he's talking

about Judas,

isn't he,

guys?

Remember when

we went out

two by two

preaching?

Judas didn't

have so many

converts, did

he?

And when we

were healing

sick, I

mean, who

ever got

healed by

Judas?

Judas isn't

tithing as

much.

He's not

as good.

as humble

as the

rest of

us are.

It was

not obvious

to them

that Judas

was the

one who

was going

to betray.

He was

no different

from the

rest.

He was

no different

to you

and me.

Judas,

like the

others,

were using

God rather

than centering

his life

on God.

And even

on the

walk to

the Garden

of Gethsemane,

the debate

was not

who amongst

us would

possibly

fail

Jesus.

The debate

was who

amongst us

is the

greatest.

Such was

their pride.

God.

You see,

in this

moment,

the favour

of the

religious

elite

and that

30 pieces

of silver

were more

important to

Judas.

You see,

our spiritual

blindness is

we are blind

to the

reality

that we

are trampling

all over

God's

heart

as we

choose to

live

ourselves.

unable to

trust God

when things

are hard

and we

trample

all over

his heart

when things

are good

and we

ignore him.

We

practise the

kiss of

Judas all

the time.

And Jesus

came into

the darkness,

suffered in

the darkness

to rescue

us from

this deep

spiritual

darkness

that lives

lives

independent

of God.

So let's

now look

back at

the beginning

of this

text and

the suffering

of Jesus,

the suffering

of darkness.

Verse 39,

Jesus went

out as

usual to

the Mount

of Olives

and his

disciples

followed him

and on

reaching the

place he

said to

them,

pray that

you will

not fall

into

temptation

and he

withdrew

about a

stone's

throw

beyond

them,

knelt

down and

prayed,

Father,

if you're

willing,

take this

cup from

me,

but yet

not my

will,

but yours

be done.

An angel

from heaven

appeared to

him and

strengthened

him and

being in

anguish,

he prayed

more earnestly

and his

sweat was

like drops

of blood

falling to

the ground.

This is the

only place

in the

Bible where

this word

anguish

is used.

Other

other

gospels

say that

he was

appalled

and

profoundly

troubled.

His

affliction

was so

great,

is the

image,

his affliction

was so

great that

he was

sinking under

the weight

of it and

an angel

needed to

come and

steady

him.

He was

in such

agony,

there was

blood in

his sweat.

Now

that's

actually

possible.

It's a

rare

medical

condition

where

capillary

blood

vessels

which

surround

sweat

glands

actually

rupture

and it's

usually

triggered

by

extreme

physical

or

emotional

shock,

stress.

Now

Jesus

isn't

under,

he hasn't

run a

marathon

and if

he had

he'd be

doing it

with the

disciples

and they'd

all be

going but

only Jesus

is here.

He's

under

extreme

emotional

shock.

He's

staggering

and the

angel needs

to come

and steady

him.

What

caused

it?

It's

there in

verse

42.

Father,

if you

are

willing,

take

this

cup

from

me.

Yet

not

my

will,

but

yours

be

done.

His

anguish

is

connected

to the

cup.

And

for the

first

time,

he began

to

experience,

get a

glimpse

of the

cup

and he

prays

that that

cup

would be

taken

away

because

the

anguish

of it

was so

great.

The

cup in

Old Testament

language

means the

cup of

God's

judgment.

It's

God

pouring out

his

judgment

against

sin in

the Old

Testament.

And

this

is the

critical

moment

in

Jesus'

life.

When

he

first

gets a

whiff,

a glimpse

of

exactly

what

the

cup

means

for

him.

What

it will

mean

for

him

to

obey

the

Father

in

this

moment.

You

see,

he was

determined

to bear

God's

judgment

for

sin.

He

knew

that

was

his

mission.

When

he

said

his

face

towards

Jerusalem

earlier

in

Luke's

gospel,

he

told

them,

I'm

going

to

go

there,

I'm

going

to

suffer

and

I'm

going

to

die

and

I'm

going

to

do

it

for

the

sin

of

the

world.

And

he

did

it

with

such

amazing

resolve

that

those

who

were

around

him

were

just

Jesus

you

can't

do

that

and

he

says

do

not

get

in

my

way

that

is

my

mission.

Even

his

demeanour

after

his

arrest

right

through

to

his

crucifixion

is

resolute

calmness.

He's

not

in

anguish

because

of

fear

of

death.

He's

not

even

in

anguish

because

of

the

weight

of

human

sin.

He's

not

in

anguish

because

of

the

suffering.

There

is

something

else

he

saw

in

the

cup

he

got

a

glimpse

of

that

caused

him

to

stagger

and

it's

the

first

time

he

saw

it.

You

see

the

consequence

of

humanity

turning

its

back

on

God

ultimately

is

for

God

to

turn

his

back

on

humanity

for

eternity.

And

Jesus

got a

glimpse

that

his

hell

was

going

to be

deeper

than

anyone

else's.

He

got a

glimpse

for the

first

time

of

what

carrying

the

weight

of

human

sin

would

mean

for

him.

The

father

turning

his

face

away.

You

see

the

best

relationship

in the

history

of

humanity

is

like

a

drop

of

sweat

in

all

the

oceans

of

the

world

compared

to

the

love

of

Jesus

and

the

father.

If

you

think

the

kiss

of

Judas

was

big

in

rejection

Jesus

got a

glimpse

here

of

something

more

profound.

His

relationship

with his

father has

been a

perfect

relationship

of mutual

love and

commitment

and service

and his

anguish

was that

he got a

glimpse of

here in

the cup

his

anguish

was the

horror

of

one

who

had

lived

wholly

for the

father

for all

of

eternity

getting

a

glimpse

of a

crack

of a

breach

of

alienation

from

God

on the

cross.

Even

momentarily

even for

three days

in a

tomb

was

enough

and the

horror he

gets at

that

glimpse

is the

horror

that we

hear him

cry out

on the

cross

the cry

of

dereliction

my

God

my

God

why

have

you

affected

me

there is

no greater

horror

than

separation

from

God

you

see the

garden

of

Gethsemane

had

always

been a

refuge

for

Jesus

and his

disciples

he

came to

talk to

his

father

knowing

the

darkness

of his

betrayal

arrest

and rejection

on this

particular

night

he knew

his execution

was just

moments

away

and he

had

always

come

here

to

talk

to

his

father

and

he

did

it

on

this

night

and

instead

of

experiencing

heaven

being

opened

up

to

him

he

got

hell

instead

he

got

hell

he

got a

glimpse

of the

horror

of

separation

from

God

and

yet

as

one

who is

completely

obedient

to his

father

he

said

not

my

will

but

yours

be

done

he

the

dark

clouds

are

closing

in

and

yet

he

still

sees

the

brightness

of

the

love

of

the

father

he

trusts

in

his

plan

despite

knowing

what

it

will

cost

him

you

see

in

the

very

first

pages

of

the

Bible

God

creates

humanity

and

makes

them in

his

image

and

he

puts

them

in

this

perfect

paradise

called

the

garden

of

Eden

and

Adam

and

Eve

his

first

people

were

told

there

in

the

garden

it's

all

yours

enjoy

it

but

there's

one

thing

that

you

must

do

there's

one

thing

that

you

must

obey

me

on

and

you

must

not

take

of

the

tree

of

the

knowledge