Unity Lutheran Church + Chicago
follow us
  • Welcome
  • Who Are We
    • Eternal Flame Saints
    • History of Unity
    • Affiliated with
    • Welcome & Vision Statement
    • Constitution & Bylaws
  • Our Faith in Action
    • Concerts at Unity
    • Green Space
    • Social Justice
  • Space Sharing
    • Flyer for Space Sharing
    • Calendar
    • Picture of our Rooms
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
    • Offerings & Gifts >
      • Unity Special Funds
  • Community Resources

Why Did Jesus Die? Sermon for Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday, 3/29/15

3/30/2015

0 Comments

 
Reading for Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
March 29, 2015
     
  • Mark 14:1-15:47



Why Did Jesus Die? by Pastor Fred Kinsey
The passion narrative is not so much a doctrine to be dissected, as it is a drama to be experienced.  So I don’t want to add more drama with a full blown sermon today, but only to comment, and compliment, the power of the Passion.


 

So let me just ask one question, of the Passion, this morning.  Why?  Why did Jesus have to die?  Church History and the Doctrine of the Church can tell us that Jesus died as a divine transaction calculated to fix what is wrong with us (the Son was sent by the God-head as a Sacrifice for our sins).  But in the text of Mark’s Passion, the death of Jesus is much more complex, broad, and full of tensions. 

 

One reason Jesus died, in the Passion According to Mark, was because of the betrayal, the denial, and the falling away of his closest supporters, his 12 Disciples.  Judas, perhaps angry at the non-violent approach of this unique Messiah, hands him over to the authorities, in a tawdry human transaction, for 30 pieces of silver.  Peter, always eager to please Jesus, fails his own promise, even as Jesus is on trial, denying that he knows him, three times.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, his closest disciples can’t even stay awake with Jesus, in his most agonizing moments.  And there is a mysterious, almost comical un-named follower, who is so afraid when soldiers grab him, that as he struggles to get away, his cloak is ripped off and he runs away naked, perhaps a reflection of how Jesus and the 12 Disciples all feel, as the end crashes in on them.

 

But Jesus also died because he spoke truth to power, and, both religious and secular authorities saw him and his movement as a threat.  Both the High Priest and Pilate, colluded in some way, in the darkness of night, to condemn Jesus, and have him publically executed. 

 

But there is still another reason.  Jesus died because of his own Self-Giving Love.  Mark makes it clear that Jesus chose, and understood, that he was voluntarily giving up his life for a purpose.  It was not taken from him, but he is the one who gives it.  He predicts three times that he will die and rise again, to his disciples; at the Last Supper he lifts up the bread as a symbol of his body, and the wine as a symbol of his blood, commanding us to remember his Passion; and even the silence of Jesus at his trial actually speaks loudly of his intention and knowledge of what he is doing.

 

But there is still at least one more reason Jesus died.  Jesus died because of the inscrutable and unknowable will of God.  As Jesus wrestles in the Garden of Gethsemane, with accepting the final steps on his journey, we see the Son giving his will and his life, over to the will and purpose of his Abba, the one he has called father throughout his ministry.  Just as Jesus said in the three Passion predictions mid-way on his journey to the cross, that it must happen, the will of Jesus and the Father are lined up, together.  Though, until we experience it, we can’t fully understand all the reasons why.  

 

Why did Jesus die?  Mark’s Passion is a rich and rewarding journey, not a doctrine to be dissected, but the Passion is a drama to be experienced and explored, again and again, by those of us who dare to conform our lives, to the courageous, winsome, and faithful life of Jesus.  A life that never broke with his calling from God, and one, who endured everything we do: as when we are betrayed or we betray others, when others deny they know us, or we them, when friends fall away from each other; and when we, like Jesus, endure pressures and threats from the rich and powerful, who tax our lives, with little care for us. 

 

Let us walk this final week, this Holy Week, with the one who is our model of faithfulness and Self-Giving Love – until on the 3rd day, we are raised again, together.  

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly