Behold the Son, Behold the Shame!

Well, thank you. Thank you for your warm welcome. It's lovely to be in fellowship with our brothers

and sisters in Jesus Christ here in this congregation and to renew that fellowship. I

thank the Lord for so many blessings received through my life, not least as a child growing up

in this congregation and through in Laxdale in the Sunday school there. We lift up our hearts

to the Lord in worship to praise his glorious name and we worship God with the words of Psalm 149

from the Scottish Psalter. Let's sing together Psalm 149 from the Scottish Psalter at the beginning

and the verses 1 to 4. The tune is Montrose as we sing, praise ye the Lord, unto him sing a new song

and his praise in sweet songs do ye raise. Let's rise and sing praise to our great God.

is he the Lord, unto him sing a new song and his praise in thee, that sent me all his praise.

in sweet songs do ye raise. Let Israel in peace make your joy, and to him praises sing. Let all that thy

the words of a body to sing the gospel is known for your greatest song forounding

and theesiom

be do ye raise. Let them and do his great hymp 57

With them with timbrel and with harb, His songs His praise advance.

For God doth pleasure take in those that His own people meet,

and He with His salvation the meek will beauty.

We draw near to our God in prayer. Let us pray.

It is sweet indeed, gracious Lord, to come to make melody in heart and in mind before the Lord.

We ask that we would be reminded constantly of the grace and the goodness that we have received from our faithful God, our Maker.

We ask that our worship will be characterized by the privilege of Christian joy.

Let Israel in His Maker joy, and to Him praises sing.

As we look around this world of war and of confusion and of tragedy,

as we see around us wickedness seeming to be out of control in so many places,

Lord, where is there to be found any source of comfort, any source of joy,

apart from eternal truth and eternal holiness, eternal beauty,

that which comes from beholding the face of God.

may we be still in the Lord's presence in this hour of worship tonight,

and may our hearts be prepared and made ready

for a Lord's day of blessings and of rest and of good things.

As we turn in these days around communion to the Gospel of John to read together,

and as we hear again the familiar story of our Saviour's obedience and humility and love,

give us ears to hear.

Give us understanding.

Increase our love for your holy child, Jesus.

Help us in our minds and our imaginations to see Him

and to adore Him,

to love Him,

and to rejoice with thanksgiving in all your works.

We come with the church through ages past

to worship God,

and we join our prayers and our praises

with the church that is in heaven around the throne.

Paul could pray,

leading the church in its prayer,

bowing the knee to the Father,

in whom the whole family,

in heaven

and on earth,

finds its name,

its identity,

and its source.

We pray to our Father,

but we do not yet see His glory fully.

But the church in glory

is bathed in light.

Our praises

and their praises

coming together

in Jesus

to the glory of the Father.

How wonderful.

Lord, bless the work of this congregation,

in this community,

and in its influence throughout the island

and further afield.

We thank you, Lord,

for missionary partnerships

that have been rich and rewarding

through decades.

and we ask that tonight,

as a church,

in our commitment to Jesus,

we would be concerned

for the care of the church

and of the saints,

but also for the welfare

of those who are not yet part of the church,

and for children

and young people

who have yet to

show covenant obedience

by an adult

and a maturing faith.

How we long

for the church of today

to be used of God

as a means

to sow the seed

for the church of tomorrow

and the latter days.

Take pleasure

in your people,

gracious Lord.

Take pleasure

in your own people

and with your salvation

make beautiful your people.

make mature

and fruitful

your people

so that your people's praises

will not be merely in form,

but with the whole heart,

with the whole mind,

leaning towards the Lord

and declaring his praises.

May we declare

our Savior Jesus

when we lift the cup of salvation

when we break

and share with one another

the bread that speaks

of his body

tomorrow.

May we proclaim

the Lord's death

until he comes.

And may the meek

be beautified

by the Spirit's work.

And may we eat

and drink

with each other

and with our Lord

as friends

and as the people

who know peace with God.

We pray that you would remember

this nation.

Even the king

is frail

and made of dust.

Send healing

and blessing

upon him

and his family.

and remember

those who govern

in Edinburgh

and in the

assemblies

and parliaments

of the United Kingdom

in the various

nations

and in the UK.

But most of all

we pray

for that kingdom

that is coming

and for that kingdom

that is growing

and for that kingdom

that will never,

never end.

the kingdom

of our Lord

and Saviour

Jesus Christ.

May the light

of his face

be turned

towards

his praying people

today

in this land

and in every land.

Keep us

and use us

and bless us

and grant to us

that for which

Jesus prayed

in the upper room.

Keep us united

and keep us

loving

our Lord

and one another

and keep us

as lovers

of your truth.

Remember those

who are suffering

and sick

who are known

to us

and who are

in our prayers.

Remember those

who join us

over the internet

and make

your servants

hear

ministering the word

in this town

and from this pulpit

fruitful

joyful

faithful

and thankful

that they have

seen the Lord

working mighty

things

to his glory.

Remember

your servants

here

and all

whom they love

and remember

us all

pardoning sin

for Jesus'

sake.

Amen.

I'm going to sing

a further psalm

from the Scottish Psalter

Psalm 73

Psalm 73

at verse 23

in the psalm

the tune is

Weatherby

if you're using

the books

Psalm 73

at verse 23

is on page

316

the psalmist

here is

disturbed

but the wicked

are

apparently

getting on

with life

without God

they do

their own

thing

it doesn't

seem to matter

and often

God's people

and even

God's king

can be

in the gutter

and bewildered

by providence

but to draw

near to God

and to worship

God

is to make

all things

clear

so we sing

from verse 23

to 26

to Weatherby

nevertheless

continually

O Lord

I am

with thee

let us stand

and sing

thou dost

behold

by thy

right

heart

and still

thou hold

us

near

now

with

thy

hands

still

while

I live

wilt

be

conduct

and

guide

and

took

thy

glory

afterward

receive

me

to

abide

O

Mah

Abayin

the

heavens

high

that

live

O

Lord

alone

and

in

the

air

will

my

desire

besides

me

there

is

come

my

flesh

and

heart

my

flesh

and

heart

thou

faint

and

fail

but

God

doth

fail

forever

for

of

my

heart

God

is

less

than

and

portion

forever

forever

we're turning to the

scriptures to the New Testament and to the gospel of John to chapter 19

in john 19 last evening if you were with us we read the opening verses of john 19 and we take

up the reading in the middle of verse 16 this evening to give you the setting the lord jesus

was with his disciples in the upper room on the thursday evening of the last week of his life

he broke bread with them he washed their feet judas left to betray him and wonderful teaching

was given in that upper room and he prayed for them as perhaps no man has ever prayed

in the history of the world and then they went out into the night and chapter 18 records his arrest

in the garden of gethsemane and the beginnings of his trial and now in chapter 19 the cross

draws near john 19 verse 16 so they took jesus

John 19:16

and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull which in aramaic is called

golgotha there they crucified him and within two others one on either side and jesus between them

pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross it read jesus of nazareth the king of the jews

many of the jews read this inscription for the place where jesus for the place where jesus was crucified was

near the city and it was written in aramaic in latin and in greek so the chief priests of the jews said to pilate

do not write the king of the jews but rather this man said i am king of the jews

pilate pilate answered what i have written i have written when the soldiers had crucified jesus

they took his garments and divided them into four parts one part for each soldier also his tunic

but the tunic was seamless woven in one piece from top to bottom so they said to one another let us not

tear it but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be this was to fulfill the scripture which says they divided

my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots so the soldiers did these things

but standing by the cross of jesus where his mother and his mother's sister mary the wife of clopas

and mary magdalene when jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby he said to his mother

woman behold your son then he said to the disciple behold your mother and from that hour

the disciple took her to his own house to his own home this is the holy and inspired word of god

may he bless to us the word and may it come alive for us before we study these verses together

we're going to sing again a psalm of the cross psalm 22 from sing psalms in sing psalms psalm 22 at verse 16

page 26 in the blue book psalm 22 at verse 16 the psalmist is persecuted and suffering

a pack of dogs encloses me their circle round me is complete i am beset by evil men and they have pierced

my hands and feet prophesying beyond whatever the psalmist experienced the horrors of the cross

the tunis maro will stand and sing verses 16 onwards

a pack of dogs encloses me their circle round me is complete

i am beset by evil men and they have pierced my hands and feet i count the number of my

my hands and feet i am beset by evil men and they have pierced my hands and feet i am beset by

the people they have pierced my hands and feet i am beset by the people they have pierced

they throw the dice to get my coat among themselves my clothes they share

and probably cover the dividing line of jade caman it will happenir

O Lord, save me from power of evil dogs, my precious life from cruel storm.

From menace of the lion's mouth, and from their fury setting me,

from peril of wild oxen's arms, he heard my guide and rescued me.

Brothers and sisters in Jesus, the story of the cross is a holy story,

and these chapters around the cross are holy ground.

Perhaps we could briefly pray.

May we receive, gracious Lord, the truth of your word in a fresh way,

in a way that brings certainty and conviction and Christian joy to each one of us.

May we see Jesus, show us Jesus in his beauty and in his service and humility.

To the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The word behold is a really beautiful word in the English language.

It's a word that invites us to stop, to look, to consider.

I know it sounds a little bit old-fashioned.

Behold.

But sometimes Bible translations are conservative in their use of language,

even their use of the English language.

And I think that was probably true even centuries ago, 400 years ago,

when Bible translations were being made.

Sometimes they were a little bit clunky and a little bit archaic when they were brand new.

Because they were trying to get a hold of the truth written in Hebrew, written in Greek,

that was itself reverent and presenting things to us

that are not always common or ordinary or everyday.

You cannot talk about Jesus and his cross without stopping,

pausing, thinking, looking.

And my problem and maybe your problem is that we're often so busy

that we just don't stop to think, to meditate, to look.

And our world and our culture is in such a hurry.

It doesn't want to look at the cross.

It finds God and the Bible an embarrassment.

You can talk about spirituality.

You can talk about culture.

You can talk about belief.

But if it becomes too focused on the story of the Scripture,

we want to look the other way.

That is sad.

What do we have that invites us to look and to behold in John's Gospel

and in the account of the cross in John?

It's an eyewitness account.

I don't doubt that John was an old man when he wrote this Gospel.

And that probably at least three decades and maybe more had passed

from the events he was talking about

and coming to write them down.

John was an old man when he died.

But he talks about the cross

in the way someone speaks about an event that is absolutely life-changing.

A day he is never going to forget.

And it's as if he's back there seeing things,

hearing things.

The sights and the smells of that day must have been appalling.

There were others that he loved there.

The family of Jesus was there.

The enemies were there.

But this reads as a first-hand account

from a man who has had a lifetime to think about what he saw.

Last night, if you were here,

we were invited looking at the way Pilate treated Jesus

to behold the man,

to behold the king.

What do we think of the prisoner

who's getting this unjust trial?

Tonight,

behold the son

Mary's son

suffering and dying.

Behold the son,

God's son

suffering and dying.

And to behold

the shame

of it all.

The shame

that John remembers

years

afterwards.

In chapter 18

and at verse 15,

you hear the language

of the eyewitness.

Simon Peter followed Jesus

and so did another disciple.

Since that disciple

was known to the high priest,

he entered with Jesus

into the court of the high priest.

And he was able to get Peter in as well.

Who is this anonymous disciple

who's being referred to in chapter 18?

Surely it's John himself.

He knows so much about what happened.

And Peter wasn't there for the whole time.

Peter went out and wept bitterly,

having denied his Lord three times

in the courtyard of the high priest.

But the disciple

who got him in

is the disciple

who doesn't like

to talk about himself

too much in this gospel.

He always finds a way

to say the disciple.

The disciple who Jesus loved.

He's talking about himself

in chapter 18

in all likelihood.

And here in chapter 19

from verse 16 onwards,

again on the way to the cross,

you have an eyewitness account.

He is the disciple

whom Jesus loved,

who from that hour,

the hour of the death of Jesus,

would take Mary

and be responsible for her

until she died.

Jesus was handing over

the care of his beloved mother

to his most well-beloved follower.

Woman,

behold your son.

Son,

behold

your mother.

Two things to notice this evening.

First of all,

the son

is put to shame.

The son

is put to shame.

In this eyewitness account,

what does John want you

to see?

In verse 5,

Pilate says,

behold the man.

And that word,

behold,

is a little bit like

ringing a bell.

Many key words

run through

the gospel of John.

Many

symbolical

incidents

keep being repeated.

There are contrasts

between, say,

light and darkness

in this gospel.

And so,

when you come across

certain words,

you look for connections.

connections.

And this word,

behold,

on the lips of Pilate

in verse 5,

is a very important word

in the first chapter

of this gospel.

it's John the Baptist,

the one witnessing

on the side

of the truth

and preparing

the way

for the Messiah

who sees Jesus

and in chapter 1

declares

in verse 29

and verse 36

of chapter 1,

behold

the Lamb

of God

who takes away

the sins

of the world.

in chapter 12,

we have a quotation

on Palm Sunday

on the day

that Jesus

enters his city

as a meek

and lowly king

to great acclamation

from the crowds

and they seem

to want to make

a king of him

and they seem

to love him.

Five days later,

they will be saying,

kill him,

away with him,

crucify him,

release Barabbas

to us,

but on Sunday

before the cross,

they're treating him

like the Messiah

and he's riding

on a donkey,

on a colt,

the foal of a donkey

and in John 12

John 12:15

verse 15 and 16

there is an echo

of the prophecy

of Zechariah,

behold your king

is coming,

sitting on a donkey's colt,

but the comment

of the writer

in John 12

is that at the time

they failed

to see Jesus

as the fulfillment

of all the promises

about the coming king.

At the time

they did not understand

but we're told

chapter 12 verse 16

when Jesus was glorified

then they remembered

that these things

had been written

about him.

And what had the prophet said?

Your king

is coming to you

but he's coming

meekly

and in peace

and not to wage war.

He's coming to die.

It was after

he was glorified

that the scriptures

about him

made sense.

But before

they could see him

in his glory

and understand him

he had to taste

shame.

And the beholds

start to come

thick and fast

in our reading

tonight.

For in John 19

we have

behold

in verse

14

it was about

the sixth hour

so

nobody wore a watch

in those days

but sixth hour

is halfway through

the day

twelve hours

in the day.

So somewhere

in the middle

of the day

Jesus is on the cross.

The other gospels

probably would move

that up a bit earlier

more towards

the morning

than towards

the midday

but these are not

supposed to be

specific time markers.

It was about

bright

full

sunlight

midday

when they put him

on the cross.

Behold

your

king

on a cross.

some king

on a cross.

And then

you have

behold

in verse 26

and in verse 27

and we're supposed

to remember

the behold

in chapter 1

I think.

Look

the Lamb of God

taking away

the sin of the world.

Look

the king

on a cross

taking away

the sin of the world.

And in verse 26

verse 27

woman

behold

your son.

your son

is dying.

So from now on

John will be

your son.

John

behold

your mother.

I'm dying.

From now on

Mary will be

your care.

The son

tasting death

tasting pain

tasting rejection

being the Lamb

of God

what does

the writer

want you to see?

Shame.

Judgment.

The wrath

of God

on this man.

I think

the way

I've been

conditioned

to think

and the way

the church

in the West

has presented

the cross

from the time

of the Reformation

onwards

the way

we've tended

to talk

about the cross

think about it

disciple

our children

preach about it

we have tended

to focus

quite rightly

on how

the cross

answers the

problem

of guilt

before God

and removes

the reality

of sin

before God

sin is a

real problem

there is a

real debt

and the cross

deals with it

and solves it

and the Reformation

was about

recovering a

biblical idea

of how the

death of Jesus

saves people

by dealing

with our

sin

one sacrifice

dealing with

guilt

justifying

sinners

in a

righteous

way

but there's

an aspect

of the work

of Jesus

on the cross

that the

early church

seemed to

understand

that the

church in

the first

few centuries

seemed to

understand

that I

don't think

we've been

so good at

holding on

to

in the

last few

centuries

certainly

in Europe

and in

the West

and that

is not so

much dealing

with

objective

guilt

but dealing

with the

consequences

of guilt

on our

minds

and on

our hearts

what we

could call

shame

shame

and guilt

are obviously

related

they're obviously

connected

and guilt

should make

you feel

ashamed

if you really

are guilty

naturally

you would

expect to

feel shame

but what I

want to say

to you

is that in

the world

that Jesus

lived in

in that

ancient

world

people cared

as much

about

shame

loss of

dignity

loss of

glory

loss of

name

loss of

face

they cared

as much

about it

as they

cared about

issues of

truth

I'm not

going to

play down

issues of

truth

sin

is sin

guilt

is guilt

and we

should care

about these

facts

but while

we care

about these

facts

we should

also care

about

what these

facts

mean

for how

people

feel

and how

they relate

to other

people

and how

they relate

to God

because in

the ancient

world their

culture was

much more

a culture

of shame

and honour

so if I

swear

that's a

sin

if I

swear

in front

of my

grandmother

or my

mother

or a

four year

old

child

that's

still a

sin

but it's

also a

shame

it's a

disgrace

it's a

dishonour

and

the

Bible

wants you

to look

at the

cross

and see

that Jesus

carries

guilt

and he

pays for

it

and he

answers for

it

but he

also

experiences

rejection

and dishonour

and disgrace

and mocking

and shame

and that's

part of the

good news

of the

gospel

because we

live in a

world where

people

sometimes

rightly

feel shame

and sometimes

wrongly

are drowning

in shame

when objective

truth says

you are a

child of God

you have peace

with God

you have

been forgiven

Jesus has

died for

your sins

he has

paid for

your sins

and still

whether it's

the culture

you grew up

in

the home

you grew up

in

the way

you're wired

yourself

or people

around you

or the

work of

Satan

you believe

you are

worthless

you believe

you are

unloved

you believe

you are

rubbish

you are

ashamed

now the

cross

deals with

both

sin

guilt

and

shame

Hebrews 12

begins

let us run

with perseverance

the race

marked out

for us

fixing our

eyes on

Jesus

the pioneer

and

perfecter

of faith

for the

joy set

before him

he endured

the cross

scorning

its

shame

and

sat down

at the

right hand

of the

throne

of God

thank

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

that

God's

Son

was put

to shame

for your

salvation

and

his

disgrace

is

the

answer

to

any

shame

that is

crushing

you

today

that's

the first

thing

the Son

is put

to shame

the second

thing that

we have

here

is an

invitation

through the

gospel

to nail

your

shame

to the

tree

to nail

it

to his

cross

to his

tree

why do I

labor this

point about

shame

well

as the

soldiers

gamble over

his clothes

it

dawns

on us

that

Jesus

who was

forced to

carry

his

cross

probably

just the

beam across

his shoulders

to the

place of

execution

he was

stripped

naked

before he

was nailed

to the

cross

to be

in pain

and to

be mocked

and to

be facing

death in

the next

few hours

or minutes

is bad

don't you

think to

face all

that

absolutely

naked

is even

worse

in terms

of shame

there's

something that

Don Carson

says in

his writings

about the

cross and

on John's

gospel that

is worth

quoting

Carson

says in

the ancient

world this

most terrible

of punishments

is always

associated

with shame

and

horror

it is

predicted of

course in

prophecy in

the Old

Testament in

scriptures like

Psalm 22

which we

sang from

a few

minutes ago

a thousand

years before

Jesus was

placed on

the cross

in fulfillment

David had

tasted shame

and David

understood

that God

and God

alone can

lift shame

from the

shoulders of

his people

but how

how would

God lift

shame

from his

people

how would

he do

it

if people

are oppressing

us by

trying to

give us

inappropriate

shame

maybe

legalism

sometimes

tries to

do that

rules that

don't come

with any

good sense

and they

don't come

with the

word of

God behind

them

expectations

that are

beyond

human

ability

Jesus

met people

like that

the Pharisees

of old

were experts

at spreading

illegitimate

shame

are you

washing your

hands the

right way

when your

disciples feed

themselves in

the fields

with the

heads of

the corn

are they

breaking the

Sabbath

it's

nonsense

of course

but I'm

sure if

you are

accused

of

breaking

some

man-made

taboo

even if

you know

with your

head

that's

ridiculous

it's very

hard not

to feel

shame

we are

experts

we humans

at ignoring

real sin

and things

that stink

before God

and making

a great

fuss about

things that

don't matter

well we

need to

repent

of that

and nail

it to

his cross

and we

need to

care about

real holiness

and God's

glory

and God's

name

and the

great name

of God

being lifted

up high

where it is

not known

or where it's

lying in the

gutter

and not

just care

about my

name

or your

name

or the

things that

seem

more important

in my

kitchen

and probably

in yours

there is

a smoke

detector

nowadays

these things

are

very clever

they're often

wired into

the mains

or they're

linked to

other smoke

detectors

and carbon

monoxide detectors

in the

house

and they

make a racket

if they go

off

so if you

burn your

breakfast

burn your

toast

the whole

street knows

about it

and you

probably have

been like me

many a time

standing on a

kitchen chair

waving a

copy of a

magazine or

something

furiously

trying to get

fresh air

at one of

these detectors

that has taken

a dislike

to the way

you made

the breakfast

these machines

are giving

a warning

and often

it's a

piercing

warning

and God

gave us

shame

to help

us

to hear

the warning

so that

when the

warning of

shame

goes off

like an

alarm

it says

to us

am I

dishonoring

God

what can I

do about

it

am I

drifting

into sin

what can I

do about

it

am I

heading

away

from joy

and glory

and salvation

and towards

the jaws

of death

and hell

am I

pleasing

God

or pleasing

Satan

and sometimes

the alarm

is blaring

and there

is no

fire

because our

heart

and mind

has gone

wrong

and we're

feeling shame

when we

shouldn't

I

could never

sit at the

Lord's

table

because

well

whatever

comes next

in the

sentence

is rubbish

if you

have been

forgiven

your sins

because of

Christ

and his

cross

if you

have confessed

your sins

then the

blood of

Jesus

Christ

God's

son

cleanses

us

from all

sin

and if the

devil

has caused

the alarm

to start

sounding

of shame

we check

is this

alarm

right

or is it

a false

alarm

but in

either

case

we flee

to the

cross

of Jesus

and if

fear

or guilt

or shame

is illegitimate

we speak

to Jesus

about it

and we

say I

feel so

weak

I feel

so useless

I feel

such shame

help me

to nail

it to

your tree

and if

we discover

that the

alarm is

quite right

to be going

off

and that

we are

a terrible

woman

a terrible

man

a wicked

woman

a wicked

man

then the

gospel is

for us

and the

gospel

is the

gospel of

John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1

behold the

Lamb of

God

who takes

away the

sins of

the world

and the

gospel is

the gospel

where the

grain of

wheat falls

into the

ground

and it

dies

and that

way there's

fruit

and you

are the

fruit

he dies

so that

you will

be fruitful

not held

by guilt

not held

by shame

but because

of Christ

going forward

in the life

of faith

going forward

in Christian

growth

going forward

to live

for the

glory of

God

for most

of our

lives

we probably

have not

lived

in a

shame

kind of

culture

shame

on our

culture

like

India

or Japan

or much

of East

Asia

is a

shame

kind of

culture

you

you know

even Christians

in in

Southeast Asia

will often

really struggle

to be honest

with each

other

about a

problem

they'll

struggle

to speak

honestly

and say

that's

a root

of bitterness

that's

caused

offence

we need

to discuss

this

sort it

out

weep

over it

and then

make up

and love

one another

and move

forward

in Asia

very often

Christians

they don't

do that

because

their culture

says

you can't

be embarrassed

and you can't

embarrass

anybody else

so we'll

just ignore

it

and avoid

each other

for the rest

of our lives

that is not

the gospel

way

the gospel

way

is to go

to the cross

with guilt

and

to go

to the cross

with shame

legitimate

or illegitimate

shame

it needs

to be nailed

to the tree

for he

tasted

shame

and death

to take

that bitter

taste

away

from his

people

he does

not want

you

burdened

by shame

paralyzed

by the

past

if you

are

part of

this modern

world

of technology

and social

media

then

it is

doubly

hard

for us

today

to avoid

the idea

that everybody

else has a

wonderful life

and a rosy

life

and they're

all doing

wonderful things

and we

may feel

that that's

not

us

and it's

very easy

in this

modern age

to believe

a lie

or to

spread a

lie

or to

tell a

lie

using

things like

Instagram

or Facebook

the cross

says

if these

things are

a problem

if these

things are

holding you

back

spiritually

from maturity

and peace

and love

and unity

with your

family

or with your

brothers and

sisters in the

Christian family

there's a

cross

take your

use of

time

and nail it

to the tree

take your

use of

social media

and nail it

to the tree

take your

use of

gossip

rumor

nail it

to the

tree

I heard a

testimony

about a

year ago

from a

lady

who came

forward

having lived

with shame

over a

serious

thing

from years

before

a thing

she regretted

and a thing

she was

forgiven for

but a thing

that was

many decades

in her

past

and yet

it had

held her

back for

such a

long time

and it

was the

gospel

Jesus

and his

cross

that enabled

her

to just

tell her

story

and by

taking a

little step

of faith

and commitment

and getting

a little

more involved

in the

life of

the local

church

now serving

so well

being a

blessing to

others

being an

encourager to

others

because what

happened to

that shame

that Satan

was really

happy for

her to live

under for

for 30

years

well it's

gone

Jesus

took it

Pilate put

a notice

above the

head of

the Lord

Jesus

in Aramaic

the language

of the

common

people

in Latin

the language

of the

authorities

of the

Roman Empire

and in

Greek

the common

language spoken

all around

the world

this is the

king of

the Jews

why did

he write

it

well

Pilate

had been

ashamed

and embarrassed

by Caiaphas

and his

chums

and he

I think

was trying

to annoy

the Jews

and mock

Jesus

and mock

those who

had Jesus

crucified

there's the

claim

there's your

king

no I won't

change the

notice

it's part

of shaming

shaming

everyone

but you

know what

he was

the king

he is

the king

and because

the king

died on

that cross

shame

is

gone

we have

a young

lad

in our

congregation

who was

just converted

about

last

summer

from

atheism

nobody

in his

family

is a

Christian

somebody

in his