Dying to Save Life
One of the seeming greatest contradictions in the Christian faith is that by dying for God we actually find life. How does that work? Jesus said, “If you seek to save your life you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake you will find it”. If you lose something, how can that be the very way you find it? Yet, the interesting thing is that this is exactly what we have seen in the stories of Exodus and our own lives, and if we can see clearly it is what we see in Jesus’ story.
On the opposite side, Jesus goes on to ask them, “what good would it be to you if you gained the whole world, but lost your soul?” If you lose who you are. If you lose your capacity to enjoy, to connect, to settle, to really live - all of this stuff you gain in exchange is less and practically worthless to you.
We saw this at play. From day one of the Exodus story, Pharoah reacted with fear, and that led only to his narrow mind, death, anger, a hard heart, and eventually his own destruction. He was so conscious of saving his life, that he lost it. Then he so rejected God that he wasn’t willing to see God. He was holding onto his power and identity so much that it would lead to him losing it. And it goes on. He continually hardened his heart in the 10 plagues, so that even though he and his people were obviously hurting, they refused to humble themselves so that everyone could be saved.
In contrast, we see people giving up their life and it is saved. Moses' mother gave up her son’s life in a basket in the Nile. By giving Moses up, she saves him. Of course, this is her hope all along, but that doesn’t change the fact that by giving up his life and trusting God she saves him. Moses himself has to give up his own strange pride and desires to follow and be God’s servant. The midwives, Israel, Moses, and even those that follow Israel out of Egypt had to continually put themselves into the danger of death, but instead, in God, it led to the opposite. So they knew fruitful multiplication, freedom, and evil was overthrown. Even the sacrificial death of a lamb, and the blood on their door, as we will hear on Thursday will protect them from the death they otherwise deserve. In faithfulness to God, they move towards death, and yet in God, it always leads to their life.
That leads us to Jesus today, who literally knows that he is going to die and how he will die, yet he walks into it anyways. In Matthew, Jesus has already told his disciples three times that he is going to die, and how. I find this moment of triumphant entry so interesting for this reason. Jesus would have known going into Jerusalem would lead to his death. Those shouting out praise would have had no idea what Jesus was about to be triumphant over - many of those shouting would have likely become the ones who would turn against Jesus later. The disciples would have been elated, knowing this is what is meant to be, but having no idea why. It is both an ironic moment, but it is also that is truer than the crowd knows. As Jesus enters into Jerusalem to die, this is the beginning of Jesus defeating fear, suffering, sin, and even death. The greatest enemies humanity and the world has ever known are about to be overcome. Even if these people, who are shouting out Jesus’ praise, must themselves be overcome because of the evil in their hearts, somehow, their spirits cannot help but celebrate. Somehow, they know the hope that our defeat and death in God can mean for a great life.
Throughout Jesus’ story today, we keep seeing people protecting their own lives. Judas sells out his friend for 30 pieces of silver, even if he didn’t know this would lead to Jesus’ death, he still makes his life more important that his friends. If Judas really looked, he should have known this would result. Remember Jesus warns them and the disciples have already said people are after Jesus and want to kill him. Judas does eventually repent. He throws the 30 pieces of silver at the religious leaders’ feet. Then he is so stricken by guilt that he kills himself. This is horrendous and I have had numerous conversations with many of you about this. Is it possible that God saves Judas because he was an instrument of God’s salvation? Yes. Is it likely? I don’t think so. Judas is so wrapped up in himself. Even in guilt, Judas doesn’t trust God enough to forgive him or set him free. He takes control himself to end what he sees as a haunted life. This isn’t really him losing his life for God’s sake, he’s doing it for himself. I have little doubt that if he repented to God, he would have been forgiven and set free, in life, but that would have been a different form of losing his life for God.
Then there is Peter. Peter is so convinced that he would die for Jesus. He literally says it. When Jesus is first arrested in the garden of Gethsemane Peter wants to fight too. In John’s gospel, we hear that he cuts off a servant’s ear, which Jesus then heals. But when Jesus doesn’t want them to have an outright fight, what does Peter do? He with the rest of the disciples runs away. Peter does follow Jesus at a distance, but when he is asked again and again if he is a follower of Jesus, if he is one of them, if he knows Jesus, 3 times Peter rejects Jesus. He rejects even knowing him. He curses them for the idea. It's obvious, Peter is trying to protect his life. He doesn’t want to be dragged into Jesus’ trial. He doesn’t want to experience any of the abandonment or ridicule or isolation that Jesus is and will experience. Yet, by protecting his life, Peter is pulling away from Jesus. He is giving up the life and joy he has found in Jesus. He has forgotten the hope that is greater than all this that he faces. Thankfully, for him and for us, Peter turns back to Jesus and finds redemption and will later serve and save others in the face of death numerous times.
Then there are Pharisees and religious leaders who are jealous of Jesus. They are scared to lose their own position and religious authority, so in that fear, they give up their own authority as God's followers or law keepers when they forgo justice, saying “we have no law to execute a man”, yet they pursue it anyways. When Jesus quotes scripture to them, they reject the scripture they hold up, and God, when they call it blaspheme. They reject what is good when they choose a murderer over Jesus, an innocent and good teacher (at least to them). They reject their king and nation that they are trying to protect, when they say, “we have no king but Caesar”. I could go on, but this is all to show us how we can so easily abandon what is good and important to us when we are trying to save our lives.
The more we realize this the scarier it becomes. It is so easy to give up what we actually want and what is good for us. Yet, we do it. In the name of work, self-preservation, bounty, pride, even family, and practically anything else, we can give up our life for something less. Yet, only Jesus gives up everything and even his life to acquire something so much more.
At every turn, Jesus refuses to give up anything good to save his life. He could have avoided overturning the tables and correcting the temple’s practices. He could have avoided making Judas his follower. He could have avoided celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem. He could have avoided the garden of Gethsemane, where he knew Judas would find him. He could have fought back in the garden. He could have lied or fought in the trials. He could have cried out to the angels for protection, he could have rained down their punishment, and Jesus could have saved his life, so many times and in so many ways. Who here, wouldn’t have taken one of these options? Sadly, I think I would have, but each time that choice would be giving up something good, a part of his life, a part of a full relationship with God.
They don’t realize it at this moment in the story and I don’t think we fully understand it yet either, but what Jesus is doing through giving up his life is saving life all together, including ours, including his persecutors, including his own. His fully devoted, fully innocent, fully connected life with God - holding on to all of it, through and through to the very worst of humanity’s pits and hurt and death, means that he is restoring the worst, redeeming it, reconciling it and us with God. There is now no danger, no fear, no loss, no death that can overcome our connection with God and his love for us. Even though it seems inconceivable at this moment or when we relate it to our own life, Jesus’ loss, pain, and death given faithfully to God actually means his greater life. It means his resurrection, his ascension, and his life in God eternally. It also means our resurrection, our ascension, as heaven comes down to us and it means the Holy Spirit’s life living in us. Jesus willingly steps into death for God’s sake so that all life would be saved, so he invites us to follow him into death so that we might also know his life.
Today, I challenge myself and you. How can you give up your life for God, so that you might find greater life in him? What is your cross to bear as you follow him? I challenge you now, not just because it is better for me, or this church, or for God, but because it is better for you. I have begun to realize how full a life can be when it is given up to God. I want you to know life fully. AMEN
