Robert Smith – Page 14 – What Does This Mean?

Holy Week Overview

Encore Post: On Palm Sunday, Jesus deliberately went to his death in Jerusalem. He could have called upon the countless armies of heaven to save Him, but He did not. Knowing full well what was ahead, He went willingly. Down the road used to bring the lambs for the Passover into Jerusalem, the Lamb of God went to the slaughter. Just as King David rode into the city on a donkey 1000 years earlier, Jesus chose a donkey as his mount. When the crowds acclaimed him Messiah, he received their greeting.

On Thursday evening, Jesus gathered with his disciples to celebrate the Passover. They remembered the night when the Angel of Death passed over the doors of the people of Israel, marked by the blood of the lamb. That night when he gave us the Lord’s Supper, Jesus became our Passover, giving us his body to eat with bread and his blood to drink with wine.

Later He would be led to trial before the Sanhedrin, which met in Solomon’s Temple. Here the Lamb of God was condemned to die. On the cross, when He said, “it is finished” God completed the sacrifice for our sin.

What the women found when they arrived at the tomb the next Sunday morning changed everything. The stone was rolled away; the guards had run away, and an Angel greeted them. “He is not here! He is risen!” Once it sunk in, the disciples went from sadness to joy. The day of worship moved for Christians from the Sabbath to the Lord’s Day. The very people who ran away and hid for fear of arrest would face arrest, torture and eventually death themselves to proclaim the good news of salvation because of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.Today we still proclaim the same good news. Now we were redeemed, forgiven, and restored to fellowship with God.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Lazarus, Come Out!

Encore Post: Mary, Martha and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. When Jesus came to Jerusalem, He often stayed with them in their home in Bethany — a little town two miles away. So, when Lazarus fell ill, it was personal, even more so because Jesus knew his friend would die. Jesus had raised some people from the dead. Yet the resurrection of Lazarus would be one of the greatest of all his miracles and would set in motion the events leading to his suffering, death, and resurrection.

So, two weeks before his own resurrection, Jesus went to comfort his friends. He said the words that touch a chord in our hearts even today: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) Still he grieved for his friend. Then, even though Lazarus had been dead for four days, Jesus ordered the tomb opened and called Lazarus back from the grave.

Previously, Jesus raised several people from the dead. The resurrection of Lazarus was different because it was so close to where the priests lived. The Sadducees could ignore stories about Jesus as just fairy tales when they happened in Galilee. When their neighbors actually witnessed Lazarus coming back from the dead, they could not dismiss it.

When Caiaphas the High Priest heard about this miracle, he said: “It is better than one man die than the people.” He was right, even though he did not know why. From this moment on, the priests and the Pharisees planned to kill Jesus and Lazarus. A week later, Jesus would ride into Jerusalem in the middle of lambs destined for sacrifice. With his death, he destroyed death, its angel passing over us forever.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany

Encore Post: The town of Bethany was a bedroom community for priests and Levites, just over the Mount of Olives along the road to Bethlehem. Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were well off. They owned a home and probably a few slaves. The Scripture does not tell us what they did for a living, but they had enough resources to afford expensive perfume and likely were donors to the ministry of Jesus and his disciples. Outside the small circle of the apostles, they were the closest friends of Jesus during his earthly ministry. It seems likely that Jesus and his entourage stayed with them every time they came to the Holy City.

On one trip to Jerusalem, Martha was preparing a banquet for her favorite rabbi. Nothing was too good for him. Mary was helping her sister, but when Jesus began to teach, she sat down like a disciple at his feet, listening to him. Martha was angry that her sister was lounging around while there were many things that needed doing. She complained to Jesus, who told her affectionately that she didn’t need to worry so much. What she was doing was good. Hospitality is a form of the loving service God calls us to do. Some in the early church, in fact, looked at the example of Martha as a model for the work of a deaconess. Listening to God’s word was more important than all the details that she was concerned about.

The week before Palm Sunday, the family was grieving. Lazarus had died and was in the tomb four days by the time Jesus got there. Both Martha and Mary expressed strong faith in the Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. Jesus called Lazarus back from the dead.

To celebrate their brother’s resurrection, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus held a banquet. Once again, Martha was preparing the feast. This time, Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a perfume worth $24,000. Judas made a scene about how it could be sold to feed the poor. The disciples later questioned his motives, since he was the treasurer of the group and a week later, he would betray Jesus for coins worth $3200. Jesus told him to leave well enough alone. Mary had learned from Jesus well — she was preparing him for his burial. Two weeks later, Jesus would serve them — and us. He suffered for their sins and ours, died to pay their debt and ours and rose again that we might all rise on the last day. Now we can serve like Martha, Mary and Lazarus, showing our love for Jesus by caring for others.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Jesus the Good Shepherd

Encore Post: In the Middle East, shepherds often build a common sheep pen for their town. All the shepherds in the village would keep their sheep together in this pen overnight. They would build a wall to keep the sheep from wandering away and to keep wolves and other predators from attacking them. A watchman would guard the gate or door to the pen so that only shepherds could enter. This discouraged thieves.

When a shepherd was ready to feed his sheep, he would go into the pen and call them by name. A shepherd had an intimate relationship with his sheep. In some cases, they would be as close to them as a pet is to us. So the sheep recognized the voice of the man who cared for them. When he called them by name, they would follow. The shepherd would take them to good, green pastures and nice, quiet waters. He would keep them from wandering off and would treat any wounds, binding them up. He would protect them from wild animals, often doing battle with them, as King David describes what he did as a young shepherd. True shepherds would risk their lives to save their sheep.

Kings often compared themselves to shepherds. They liked to be seen as caring for them and keeping them safe. They expected their subjects to willingly follow everywhere they wanted them to go.

In the Bible, God tells us He is our Shepherd. He will feed them, gather their lambs in his arms and hold them close to his heart. (Isaiah 40:11) Most of all, in Jesus, God is our Good Shepherd. He leads us with his word, guides us and protects us from evil. Like a good shepherd, he laid down his life for the sheep. He died so that we might be saved. On the last day of our life, he will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death safely home to dwell in his house forever. (Psalm 23)

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Ten Lepers Healed, One Praises God

Encore Post: Leprosy was a dreaded skin condition during Biblical times. It was caused by a number of diseases from bad rashes to sicknesses that caused the loss of fingers, toes and other parts of the body. Lepers were made to live away from everyday people and to yell unclean if anyone came close to them. They were not allowed to go to the synagogue or the temple and so were cut off completely from God and the care of family and friends. Often they lived together with other lepers. If a person touched a leper, they were called unclean, too, and couldn’t enter the temple or synagogue.

Sometimes lepers would get well. To recognize that the person was no longer a leper, a person would go to the priests to be declared clean again. One sign of the Messiah’s coming was that he would heal lepers. Jesus showed God’s love for everyone, even lepers, when Jesus healed the disease.

One day, when Jesus was walking down the road, ten lepers shouted to Him from a distance: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. He told them to go and see the priests in Jerusalem. As they went, they were healed. When one of them, a Samaritan, saw that He was well, He went back to Jesus, loudly praising God. The man lay down on his face at Jesus’ feet to worship Jesus and thank Him. Jesus asked where the other nine were. Jesus told the man to get up because his faith made him well.

Even though Jews of Jesus’ time despised Samaritans and treated them poorly, Jesus once again makes the point that God does not discriminate against people because of sickness, race, or religion. All people are his children and he shows mercy to us all. After all, he was about to bear the sins of all the sons and daughters of Adam on the cross. On the last day, people from all nations, races and time, redeemed by his blood, will gather as one to praise him. So, now, we join the former lepers is praying, “Lord, have mercy” and reach out to care for all his children in need.

Blog Post Series

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastot Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: The Widow’s Mite

Encore Post: One day, Jesus sat down to teach in the temple’s Court of the Women where he could watch people putting freewill offerings into the offering box. People of all walks of life day, put money into the treasury from the wealthiest to the poorest of God’s people. One of those people was a poor widow who contributed her last two copper coins.

Since this offering was not required, anyone who gave to the Lord in this way showed love for God. The rich people Jesus saw contributing were giving from their wealth and did not miss the money at all. The widow showed complete trust in God. She literally did not know where her next meal would come from. Yet she gave her last resources so that God could be praised.

In the time of Jesus, widows had a hard life. Very few women had independent means of support. When a widow’s husband died, she was completely at the mercy of her relatives, especially her sons. If they did not care, she would have to scrape by in any way she could. The widow in our story is likely one of the less fortunate ones.

Jesus commented on this woman’s faith and praised her for her trust that God would care for her. He did not condemn the giving of others. Instead, Jesus taught the disciples that the amount someone gives to God is not as important to him as the faith it demonstrates.

Christians are not commanded to give a specific amount of money or even a particular percentage of our income. We give offerings to our church, to other organizations in the Church and to care for those in need. We love God and want to participate in His mission to save the lost. So we share what we have, praying that God would bless them for the good of others.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Jesus Walks on Water

Encore Post: For Jesus and the disciples, it had been a long day. The crowds had turned out to hear Jesus teach, and he did so all day. In the evening, Jesus challenged the disciples to feed the crowds with five loaves and two fishes. They couldn’t, but he did. They gathered up the pieces in twelve baskets. So Jesus needed to get away to pray. They just needed to get away. So Jesus pushed them to get in the boat and do what they knew very well — travel across the lake. He went away to pray alone.

For people in ancient times, the sea was a symbol of chaos and evil. They did so for good reason. Not only was the sea a place that could become violent at a moment’s notice, they had no way to know about coming storms as we do today.
The disciples were veterans of the sea, not bothered much by the wind and wave, even when it was rough. That evening, the sea was much trouble. They could not use their sails, which would be blown to pieces. So they labored to row against it all night. They made good progress nevertheless.

Yet they were so exhausted that they did not know Jesus at first. They thought He was a ghost. When He told them who He was, they still weren’t sure. Peter came up with a test. If it was Jesus, Peter could walk on the water too, if Jesus wanted him to. As long as Peter paid attention to the Lord, he did walk on water. Only when he turned to watch wind and wave did Peter fear and begin to sink. What they missed is they did not need to be afraid. They should have known they could trust Jesus. By this event, Jesus taught His disciples to trust Him, even when water and wave threaten to destroy them.

The writer of the must loved hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” sums it up well:

O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Jesus Loves the Little Children

Encore Post: In the ancient world, most children died before their 18th birthday. In fact, childhood death was common until the twentieth century. Every couple could expect to bury at least one child during their lifetime. That is why the childhood prayer was taught to generations of young people: “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. If I should live another day, I pray the Lord to guide my way.”

Children and young people, therefore, were kept at an emotional distance and paid little attention. Besides, children were disruptive, especially when a rabbi was trying to teach. They do not understand abstract thought and so would look for other ways to entertain themselves and get attention. They were expected to behave, to be just like the adults with them. So, they were pushed aside so that adults could get on with “important” business. Keep them out of sight and out of mind.

Jesus made two points by bringing a child before them. First, all people are important to God, no matter how small. He loves them, cares for them. In fact, Jesus came to die for them, too. They are not the future of the church — they are the church.

Second, children trust adults to take care of them, live humbly, and assume their love. In fact, they are better Christians than adults! To be Christians, after all, means to trust God to take care of us, to deny ourselves, knowing we are cared for and dedicate our lives to the service of others. This comes naturally to them. They are not bothered when they cannot understand something adults or God tell them. They accept the truth, rely on it and build on it because they trust their parents, their teachers and God. They may not know something, but they know someone. So, ironically, if we want to grow in faith, we need to become like them and trust the God who made us, loves us, died for us, cares for us and will bring us home one day to be with him forever.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Five Loaves, Two Fishes and the Five Thousand

Encore Post: Jesus had sent his apostles out on a mission to preach in the towns and villages of Galilee. When they returned to him, he decided rest was in order. So they got into a boat, went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to a place in the wilderness. But people saw where they were going and ran ahead of them. When they got out of the boat, a crowd had gathered. So he taught them. The disciples recommended Jesus send them away at evening to get something to eat. But Jesus told them to feed the crowd. Since they had only five small loaves of bread and two fish, they thought it was impossible, but did as he asked. The whole crowd was fed with twelve baskets of bread pieces left over. (Mark 6:33-44)

The people no doubt remembered that, when God freed His people from slavery in Egypt, He led them into the wilderness for forty years. He fed them with bread from Heaven, called Mana, and quails for meat at night. Much later, during a drought, the prophet Elijah stayed with a widow and her son in Zarephath. God made the widow’s flour and oil last until the prophet left.

When Jesus fed over five thousand people in the wilderness, they would remember these things and the other ways that God took care of His people. Later, Jesus would give us the Lord’s Supper, where He gives us His Body and Blood to eat with bread and wine. This sacrament meets our need for forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. When we remember how God provides for us food to eat, we also think of how he also feeds us with his own body to strengthen us. He gives us bread in the wilderness of this life and bread for our long journey until we arrive home.

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Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sunday School: Parables

Encore Post: A parable is a story told about very ordinary things and events, but that has a hidden spiritual meaning. Jesus loved to teach by parable. About 35% of His teaching uses them. Jesus used parables to help us understand God, His people, people in the world, and the things God wants us to do. The stories themselves are very easy to understand. Sometimes the meaning is not so clear. In fact, Jesus once said He told parables so that some people would not understand at all. Thankfully, Jesus almost always tells His disciples what the story means.

Most parables make just one point. All the details in these stories are there to make that one point. So, for example, the three parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son (Prodigal Son) (Luke 15) are about the joy God wants us to feel when He saves someone and not so much about the grace of Jesus who seeks and saves the lost.

Allegories are parables where each character or thing in the story has an independent meaning. These allow for many interpretations. When Jesus wants us to draw more than one point from a parable, He tells us when He explains the story. He tells us what each item in the story stands for. This he does with the Parable of the Four Soils (The Parable of the Sower) (Luke 8:4-15).

Strictly speaking, simple metaphors are not parables, but proverbs or illustrations. Parables are stories. So sayings such as the City on a Hill, the Light of the World and simply metaphors. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether Jesus is telling a parable or simply speaking about something that actually happened. The Good Samaritan is one of these stories. (Luke 10:25-37)

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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