The Terrible Joy of Holy Week

Jon Burnham preached this sermon from John 18:1-11
at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas on Maundy Thursday
March 20, 2008

During his gospel music phase Bob Dylan wrote a song called "In the Garden." Here is the chorus: "When they came for him in the garden did they know? When they came for him in the garden did they know? Did they know he was the Son of God? Did they know he was the Lord? Did they hear when he said to Peter, "Peter, put up your sword?" Peter's sword was to him a symbol of security. Our cultural symbols of security are the brand of car we drive. We find consolation in driving a late model car. We like to be identified with a particular brand of automobile. We are Lexus people. Or Honda people. Or good old Ford folks. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword back in its sheath. Jesus tells us to lay down our false sense of security. Cultural symbols of security do not hold much sway when you are standing with Jesus in the garden and the soldiers and the guards have come to take him hostage.

This garden was well known to Judas because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers and police and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. The scene is set for a violent confrontation. Jesus knew why they were there. He knew their plan. Jesus was aware of the betrayal of Judas. So Jesus, being the fearless leader he was, came forward and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go." Jesus, the Good Shepherd, protects his sheep, the disciples. Then Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?"

Alexander the Great once approached a great walled city with only a handful of soldiers and demanded the inhabitants surrender to him. But the people inside the city just laughed at him and his pathetic army.

So Alexander had his men line up in single file and begin to march towards a nearby cliff. Alexander guided his soldiers directly to its edge, and one by one they stepped over it and fell to their deaths on the rocks below, as the people in the city watched in horror. At a certain point Alexander halted the march and ordered the rest of the men back to his side. They responded without any sign of fear, relief, or panic. This is the kind of dedication Christ showed. When faced with the cross, Jesus did not run away. He faced his fears and pushed forward to do his Father's will. Jesus showed courage and determination. He did not turn away from his destiny even in the face of death.

The shaken residents of the city surrendered to Alexander the Great at once, realizing that defeat was inevitable from the hands of a leader who commanded such loyalty. [Tom Finley. The World Is Not Enough. (Ventura, Ca.: Regal Books, 1986)]. Jesus showed that degree of commitment to God. Jesus was sold out to God. When we see his commitment and loyalty to God, we are inspired to surrender our lives to Christ.

Don't get wrong here. To surrender does not mean to become passive. Surrender is one of the most courageous actions a person can take. When I think of a person who has surrendered their life to Christ I think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In Memphis he made his famous speech, "I have seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I have seen the promised land." Was Martin Luther King, Jr. passive? No. He was active in his resistance of evil systems in the world.  How did he put it? "We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart ... A third way is open in our quest for freedom, namely, nonviolent resistance, that combines toughmindedness and tenderheartedness and avoids the complacency and do-noghingness of the softminded and the violence and bitterness of the hardhearted... God has two outstretched arms. One is strong enough to surround us with justice, and one is gentle enough to embrace us with grace." (Martin Luther King, Jr. "A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart," in Strength to Love. New York: Harper and Row, 1963, 2, 6.)

King was effective in his action because he had surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. He lived in the Spirit and not in the flesh, although yes, he struggled in the flesh even as we all do. To surrender does not mean to quit everything. It means to give up control to a higher power that we call God, Christ, the Holy Spirit. To surrender is to relinquish control of our lives and place our destiny in the hands of Jesus Christ.

In the summer in the Smoky Mountains a drama called Unto These Hills is presented for the tourists by the Cherokee Historical Association. It depicts an episode in the 1830s when the white man secured, through deception, the lands of the Cherokees. Tsali, an Indian leader, in anger killed a white soldier, and then fled to the hills with thousands of his people who feared massacre.

General Scott sent word to Tsali that if he and his kin surrendered, he would have to face trial, but the government would grant his people permission to live in the Great Smokies. If he refused, the soldiers would hunt down all Indians one by one. Tsali and his sons came down from the hills, surrendered themselves, were sentenced and put to death by the military tribunal, but the Indian reservation was given to his people.

What a fool Tsali was. He was safe in the hills. He had a chance to live, for he knew the woods better than the white soldiers. Why didn't he stay in the hills instead of returning to his certain death? He returned because he loved his people so much! He had a commitment to them that would not let him do anything else. He was a fool for his people's sake because he loved them, yet he was full of the joy that comes from surrendering ones life to a higher cause. ("What Kind of Fool Am I?" by C. Thomas Hilton, THE CLERGY JOURNAL, February 1995, p. 21.)

This is what our Lord did when he put down his life for us by willingly submitting to death on the cross. Jesus showed us the way to surrender. Tonight we feel the terrible joy of Holy Week. Tonight we feel the terrible fear of surrender. On this Maundy Thursday we remember Jesus' last supper with his disciples. Even as he ate the bread and drank the wine on this night, Jesus knew his moment of surrender was drawing nigh. Jesus is about to walk right into the terror of the crucifixion. We must take the first step toward Jesus. We must follow Jesus into the terror of the cross. The joy of resurrection lays beyond the grave. With God's help, we will walk with Jesus during this Holy Week.  May God grant us the grace to get up off our knees where we have been bowing down to the false gods of more and better and faster and me. May God give us the wisdom to bow our knee to Christ alone. May God give us the courage to surrender.

Tonight we experience the terrible joy of Holy Week. We feel terrible because Jesus was taken from the garden and delivered up to his death on the cross. Yet we have the joy that comes from knowing that on the third day God will raise him from the dead. Lord, give us the grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. May God give us the grace to surrender our lives to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.