Quote from Forum Archives on March 2, 2004, 8:15 am

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EXPERIENCE THE PASSION 1/4
OUTRAGEOUS LOVE
February 29, 2004

Text: Isaiah 53

Pastor Chuck Moore tells this story about himself: “#I am known as a
person who loves a good bargain. I clip coupons. I search the papers
often for discount offers and weekly sales. I love to scan the internet,
looking for the best buy on an airplane ticket, hotel room, or car
rental. That is why my wife, Marilyn, was so surprised when, a few years
back, I did something that was out of character for me. In mid February,
I was traveling to Southern California on business. I was scheduled to
spend several days attending meetings. As I was scanning the internet
planning my trip, I discovered a website for one of the most stunning bed
and breakfast inns on the west coast. Perched on a hillside overlooking
the Pacific Ocean, this quiet out-of-the way inn reflected an environment
of romance that would undoubtedly please my wife. So, with no coupons in
hand and no bargains offered, I did the unthinkable; I purchased an
additional airline ticket and reserved three nights at the inn. As I was
getting ready to leave for my trip, I stood at the door and told Marilyn
goodbye. Then, I reached into my pocket, removed the tickets and shared
the good news. ‘I’ll see you in a few days. You’re flying into the John
Wayne airport next week where I’ll pick you up and take you to a bed and
breakfast inn that you’re going to love.’ She was stunned! I had
abandoned all of the predictable behavior she had come to expect. Her
response? Looking up the stairs she hollered, ‘Chuck, you need to come
down here right away. There’s some man standing by our door impersonating
you!’” (Dr. Chuck Moore, “Pure (Outrageous) Love,” Experience the
Passion, Pastor’s Manual on CD-ROM, Mainstay Ministries, 2003)

Pastor Moore’s humorous interchange with his wife raises an appropriate
question. When is something outrageous in life? When it defies all human
reasoning; when it exceeds the typical boundaries of normal expectation;
when it doesn’t seem to make any sense. When an individual does something
that’s completely unpredictable or that rubs against the norm, we think
that their behavior is outrageous.

Isaiah 53 is a powerful image of the suffering servant, the crucified
Christ. The prophet’s words point us to a Messiah who was accused and
accosted; who was burdened and beaten; who was taunted and tormented.
Yet, what is equally amazing is the response that the Christ expressed.
Hear again verses 7-9 of Isaiah 53: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet
he did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as
a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By
oppression and judgment he was taken away, and who can speak of his
descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the
transgressions of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with
the wicked, and with the rich in his death though he had done no violence
nor was any deceit in his mouth.”

Have you ever been in a situation where you were unfairly accused? Has
anyone ever said anything about you that was untrue? Have you ever found
yourself in a situation in which another person took advantage of you or
used you for their own personal gain? What is the natural and ordinary
human response? We clench our fists. I will admit that my mind is easily
filled with images of retaliation. We look for ways to get even and play
the role of the enforcer.

This is precisely what makes the Passion of Jesus so incredible. Recall
from last week that “passion” means “suffering.” Isaiah reminds us that
during his final hours on earth in which he was publicly embarrassed,
personally humiliated, and brutally beaten, he restrained himself from
responding in any sort of retaliatory way.

In his book The Jesus I Never Knew, author Philip Yancey imagines some of
the exchanges that may have taken place between Jesus and his accusers.
Yancey writes: “Jewish leaders as well as Romans intended the mockery to
parody the crime for which the victim had been condemned. Messiah, huh?
Great, let’s hear a prophecy. Wham! Who hit you, huh? Thunk! C’mon, tell
us, spit it out, Mr. Prophet. For a Messiah, you don’t know much, do you?
You say you’re a king? Hey, Captain, get a load out of this. We have us a
regular kind here, don’t we. Well, then, let’s all kneel down before
hizzoner. What’s this? A king without a crown? Oh, that will never do.
Here, Mr. King, we’ll fix you a crown, we will. Crunch! How’s that? A
little crooked? I’ll fix that. Hey, hold still! My, look how modest we
are. Well, how about a robe then . . . something to cover that bloody
mess on your back. What happened, did your majesty have a little tumble?”
(Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, publisher & page number unknown)

The movie The Passion of the Christ, in a profoundly powerful way, takes
those words of Yancey’s and makes them come alive, just as it makes the
Bible come alive. When one sees this moving drama, the scenes that we
witness are no longer merely pieces of ancient history; the story of the
Christ becomes real. Jesus’ pain is difficult to watch. Yet, as we watch,
we are amazed, that never once did Jesus use his God-given powers to lash
out or get even - not once! He had used his power to heal the sick,
restore sight to the blind, and raise the dead. It would have been
nothing for him to have spoken a word and to have brought the forces of
heaven to bear upon this grave injustice. If he could speak creation into
being, how much would it really have taken to have said a word and
brought evil down? Yet Jesus did nothing to reveal any inclination
towards retaliation. Far from responding in an Arnold Schwarzenegger sort
of a way in which he pulls out his weapons and unleashes his fury, the
Christ absorbed the anger and accepted the abuse. He freely and willingly
suffered the abuse that was showered upon him.

It raises the question, “Why?” What was it that caused the Christ to take
it? What was it that enabled Jesus to resist any temptation to respond in
any sort of get-even way? Was Jesus some sort of mild-mannered meek
weakling who didn’t have the courage to stand up for himself? Just a
helpless victim caught up like a pawn between Jewish authorities and
Roman rule? Or, is there something else going on?

For centuries, volumes have been filled with intellectually sounding
statements that are saturated with multi-syllabic words that have
attempted to explain the Passion of Jesus in a way that provides some
level of human understanding. Yet, no matter how we endeavor to explain
the Passion of Christ, the reason for the events of Isaiah 53 and the
final hours of Jesus’ life comes down to one simple word: love! The
simple witness of John still stands as the most powerful explanation
behind the Passion of Jesus. He did what he did and allowed to be done
what was done because of love. Who is not familiar with John 3:16? “For
God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

How else can we describe a love like that if not outrageous? It defies
human explanation. It is irrational and perhaps even ludicrous. It rubs
against the standards of normalcy. It moves beyond the boundaries of what
we expect from a man. Christ experienced the hurtful and hateful events
of the Passion because of a love that is deeply pure and profoundly
personal. As John Stott has put it: “In the crucifixion of Jesus, divine
love triumphed over divine wrath by divine, self-sacrifice.”

For those who have children, think of our response to threats to our own
children. How would we act if a culprit would kidnap, abuse, or hurt my
child in any way? All of us would like to say that our Christian spirit
would kick into overdrive, and we would respond with grace and
forgiveness. Quite frankly, most, if not all, of us would seek to protect
the child and to strike back at the culprit. This is what makes the
Passion so incredibly amazing. John reminds us that God willfully gave up
His son out of love for the world that He had created.

Yet - and here is the point - if we are to fully experience the Passion
of Jesus, then the love that was expressed for us must become more than a
touching scene that moves our sentiments and tugs at our emotions. I’m
not discounting sentiments and emotions or implying that they are
unimportant. But in order to fully experience the Biblical truth of the
suffering of Jesus, it must become deeply personal. Any number of
experiences in life can be touching, but if an experience is to be
redeeming, it must engage our lives at a level that changes us. I can
witness a beautiful sunset or the birth of a baby, but for those
experiences to become a redemptive part of my life, they must change or
transform me.

So, how does one experience the personal and pure love of God? How does
one move from witnessing the Passion - whether in the Book or from a
movie - to experiencing the Passion? I believe it begins by realizing
that we are loveable to God. More precisely, God has made us loveable to
Him. We are the all-consuming passion of our Creator! We matter to Him.
Why was God willing to come to this planet? Why was he willing, in the
form of Jesus, to allow himself to be hung out there in such a publicly
vulnerable way? He considers us worth loving.

I will address the topic of forgiveness, next week, so there will be more
to come concerning this. So for now, suffice it to say that no matter who
you are, where have come from, or what you have done, God considers you
worth loving - worth His Passion. If you have seen it, recall the scenes
in the film The Passion of the Christ. Or think of the many Biblical
accounts you have heard. Which of the individuals in the Passion drama
would we be tempted to consider not worth loving? Which character is
worth writing off? Judas, who betrayed Jesus? The soldiers, who abused
Jesus? The crowds, who taunted Jesus? Or, Barabbas, who got off free?
>From my limited human vantage point, I can see plenty who were not worth
loving. Yet, Jesus considered every one of them worth dying for.
Outrageous. Outrageous love. That’s how God responded to them. It is how
He responds to you and to me.

Jesus did not have to be born into the world of men, but he was. He did
not have to endure the hardships and deprivations of a mere mortal, but
he did. He did not have to endure the humiliation and the beatings, but
he did. He could have called his legions of angels to not merely rescue
him but to wreak revenge upon all who threatened him, but he did not.
Recall the image of the nails pounded into hands and feet. He did not
have to endure the agony of the cross, but he did. “He was oppressed and
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the
slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not
open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and who can
speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgressions of my people he was stricken.” Outrageous.
Outrageous love.

Our closing hymn is #523, “O, How He Loves you and Me.” As we sing this
hymn, I invite you to come to him. If you need to take that step to
accept Jesus Christ as your Savior - to be born again - in order to
experience his outrageous love - you come. If you need to pray at the
altar in order to experience his outrageous love - you come. If you need
to speak to him where you are at in order to experience his outrageous
love - you do that, too. Just know that Jesus loves you with his
outrageous love. (adapted from Dr. Chuck Moore, “Pure (Outrageous) Love,”
Experience the Passion, Pastor’s Manual on CD-ROM, Mainstay Ministries,
2003)

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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