Matthew Clark

The climax of our Christian year is drawing closer. Soon we will be following the final earthly moments of Jesus from his entry into Jerusalem, to his betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and glorious resurrection. It all seems to happen in a very short space of time with the events of Holy Week running at a fast pace over a period of about five days. In reality, the journey was much longer and to follow Jesus in his final days, we should cast our thoughts back to the beginnings of His Journey.

We do not know much about the early life of Jesus, but we do know he was born into a family faithful to God who trusted in His purpose. Both Joseph and Mary received the word of God through angels and were faithful to the path that God had given them. Their faith is unquestioning and inspirational.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Joseph’s ancestral home of the house of David, and from there he and his parents fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod following a message from an Angel. When Herod died, they returned to Nazareth in Galilee where Jesus grew up with his parents. It was a devout household. Every year they would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover, and it was during one of these visits that Jesus went missing and was found in the temple courts. We have a glimpse of Jesus upbringing in Luke 2

⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he was saying to them. ⁵¹ Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.⁵² And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Luke 2:49 -52

From the announcement of Jesus coming birth to reaching adulthood in Nazareth; we see the meticulous care of our Heavenly Father guiding the families around Jesus and protecting him from the rages of Herod. We see the devout care of Mary and Joseph; doubtless encouraging Jesus’ spiritual growth.

Then when Jesus is maybe 30 years old, there is a pivotal moment. The verses in Matthew 3:13-17 really grab our attention. The account is short but packed with a divine heavenly drama played out before us on earth.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. Matthew 3:13

This sentence is deceptively short. The book of Mark records that the journey started in Nazareth and so we can estimate that this journey would have been about 45 kilometres, maybe a bit more. In today’s world, this would be equivalent to a small hop from say KL Wesley to Port Klang. In Jesus day, this was a long and dangerous journey on foot; a very deliberate act of Jesus setting out on His mission.

John is surprised to see Jesus. Remember that John’s vibrant ministry is preparing the way for the Messiah by preaching a baptism of repentance. He is washing away the sins of those turning to God. When John sees Jesus, he tries to deter him from Baptism “But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”” (Matthew 3:14)

John is taken aback. When he sees Jesus, he sees the sinless Son of God. Jesus, innocent of all sin, comes to the Jordan to be baptised and cleansed of sin. Jesus insists on being baptised.

“Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.”(Matthew 3:15)

Whose sin is he carrying? Not His own.

It is proper, it is necessary, to fulfil all righteousness.

Jesus at this point has taken our sin upon himself and presented himself before John and before God as the carrier of our sin. This is the incredible moment at which Jesus rises to His higher purpose from son of Joseph, the carpenter, to Jesus the Son of God, Saviour by the grace of God and His own loving choice for the redemption of our sins.

Parents, do you remember the first time your children did something wonderful without being told? I remember a moment my son, when he was only three years old leaving hospital after an operation; standing on tiptoes to give the ward sister a kiss goodbye. The fearsomely efficient lady was overcome! Watching from three paces, I choked back tears; it was a heart pulling moment.

This is God our Father’s great moment. Up until now, God has been the constant, but unseen, unheard presence, speaking through his angels, and guiding his plans. Now Jesus has stepped forward as Saviour and God opens up, overflowing with joy and excitement

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:16 &17)

God opens His heavens; God sends his Spirit upon Jesus and proclaims His love as a Father. My friends, this is an awesome moment. We have the joy of seeing our Saviour stepping forward; a joy we share and a joy for which we praise God. Joy that for a time will change to deep sorrow.

Jesus has taken up our sin. This is the start of the road to Calvary.

Lent is one of the traditional times of fasting in the Christian calendar.  In days of old in England, Advent was also a time of fasting.  It may seem curious to the uninitiated observer as to why we as Christians would deny ourselves in the interests of spiritual growth particularly with a festival coming.  Surely the coming excitement should include celebration, not a period of sombre reflection?  The truth is that we are not making sacrifices by denial, but by making space.  As we anticipate the great events in our devotional year, we should make space in our lives to contemplate God’s word and inspiration to draw closer to Him.

In Lent, our particular mission is to anticipate the death and the glorious resurrection of Jesus; His selfless and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.   As the writer of Hebrews expresses “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews Ch 10).  It is this extraordinary event for which we are preparing ourselves – the one perfect payment for our sins by the grace of God our Father and the love of Jesus our Lord.  

In that preparation, I would encourage you to draw back from the busy-ness of the world and spare a little extra time for reading and devotion.  In my quiet time I reflected on the words of Psalm 32 and came to understand more about the joys of perfect forgiveness that Jesus brings.  In this Psalm, David expresses His joy of redemption in a hymn of praise to God and gives us a powerful insight into not just the danger of sin, but the effect of sin – and in particular the effect of unrecognised or unconfessed sin.  

David begins Psalm 32 by explaining the prize of redemption that we approach in Lenten meditation. 

¹ Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
² Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Psalm 32:1-2

He speaks of two blessings:  The blessing of salvation, of being able to join God in His Kingdom and also the simpler earthly blessing of transgressions being forgiven; changing our lives for the better.  In verse 3 David explains the effect of the weight of sin on the living soul:

³ When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer. 

Psalm 32:3-4

While we have the divine gift of Jesus conquering death for us, we also have a part to play in the cycle of forgiveness.  Too often we fail to recognise where we have sinned, not least because we are reticent to look deep into our hearts.  David’s observation here is very practical.  He speaks of the effects of keeping silent, as we are tempted to do, telling us that when we stay silent, it is going to hurt – “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long”.  This is such an important message to us.  So many people suffer both physically and mentally under the weight of guilt.  It affected David deeply – “For day and night   your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped   as in the heat of summer.”

Our Lenten challenge is to re-examine our own responsibility for whatever may be sapping our spiritual strength.  We speak of a close equivalent, depression, nowadays as a ‘chemical imbalance’.  I have great respect for the advances that have been made in mental health care and treatment.  However, the trending issue is to blame the world around us for our pain.  

The cause of mental, physical and spiritual anguish may well be closer to home than we care to think.  The Christian response is to look for the sin and guilt that separate us from the love of God and His redemption.  We do this by self-discovery, removing the burden of guilt that is so damaging to the fulfilling life that God intends for us.  David says

“⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin”.

Psalm 32:5

Uncovering our inner faults is the Christian devotional way forward.  It is not an easy path to take, but it is a road to blessing.  For sin to be forgiven, the fault first needs to be discovered in faithful humility and then presented to God.  Our Heavenly Father welcomes this; we can confess with confidence as there is joy in heaven when a sinner repents.  Jesus came to find sinners; they were a priority to Him.  Examination, discovery, confession and regeneration lead to blessing.  David rejoices in the change that a deep cleaning of the heart brings and concludes his Psalm:

“¹⁰ Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in Him.
¹¹ Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 32:10-11

David was a remarkable king, spiritual leader and example; not because he was a perfect man, but because he was an imperfect man with a yearning to be in the presence of God. He laid his imperfections before God in faith and in the knowledge that he would be restored.  This aspect of Lent sounds like a tough journey, and I would not pretend that it is easy.  However, as we bring our inner thoughts to God in humility and repentance, we can do so confidently with the prospect of Joy.  

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

God’s gift is beyond price and beyond our human imagination.  In loving response, we lay our lives before Him to prepare to receive our risen Lord and Saviour.  The blessing of allowing God full access to our hearts, by examination and confession, is one to grasp with joy.

Happy New Year!

One of the joys of living in Malaysia is the blessing of experiencing a variety of different new year celebrations. So far, we have had the western celebration of January 1^st with its new year resolutions, and now we move on to the Chinese New Year celebration with the colourful traditions and the regular greeting of “Gong Xi Fa Cai” is very common.

This phrase translates (roughly) as “wishing you enlarge your wealth”. We may also wish each other prosperity, good health and happiness. This year we have health and wealth very much in mind as the terrible strain of Covid-19 affects us economically, physically and mentally. It is an uncertain world and a challenging one. So how should we react as Christians? One avenue is to review our understanding of ‘wealth’ when we as a Christian community wish our friends and family abundance in the future.

It is a blessing to us all to hear the prayer and praise of a wealthy man, King David, as he converses joyfully and prayerfully with God in Psalm 19. David sings praise before the Lord for His laws, statutes, precepts, commands and decrees. David describes these lovingly as ‘perfect’, ‘trustworthy’, ‘right’, radiant’ and ‘firm’.

Our human perspective is to view laws as something of a burden. Indeed, when we create our own laws or customs to supersede God’s loving designs for us, we do create burdens. David on the other hand describes the effect of God’s laws in glowing and appreciative terms:

• They refresh the soul
• They make wise the simple
• They give joy to the heart
• They give light to the eyes
• All of them are righteous.

God’s word and His law are POSITIVE. They are rather like the control and warning systems on an aircraft which can sense unseen danger, show the right course, make minor corrections or give alarms at major faults, keeping us alive and well.

David gives God’s revelation and guidance the highest priority and describes them as

They are more precious than gold,than much pure gold;

they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:10

Indeed, they are more precious than gold and immersion in God’s word is the best investment you can make this year. The greatest blessing that we can show our friends and family is God’s word that guides us safely and happily through life. May we follow David, absorb God’s personal guidance for us and write His laws in our hearts in the coming year.

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”

Gong Xi Fa Cai!