12/10/2024 - The God that Interrupts - Serge and Armand Papin

C

'est

ce que

Armand alluded à l'heure.

Il

y a un moment où

nous

allons le study de la Bible

et

nous réfléchissons.

Et

comme le story, le story de la

histoire,

le

story de

la histoire, nous parlons de l'interruption.

Il

y a un moment où Dieu

nous

interrompt.

Et

ce qui

est

ce que nous allons développer cette étude avec vous. Il y a un introduction où nous allons parler de la contexte et de la background. Et puis nous allons prendre trois

short

stories

de

la Bible.

Le

roman soldier, Simon of Cyrene, et deux thieves sur le cross.

Et

nous allons conclure.

Je

suis un gars qui aime dormir.

Mais

comme je âge,

j

'ai trouvé ça un peu plus difficile.

Je vais

mettre ça un peu

plus difficile.

J'ai waké quite un peu à la nuit.

Mais

je me souviens quand j'étais un peu plus jeune.

J

'ai eu

goé

à la bed, j

'ai

eu regardé mon pied, j'ai

eu regardé mon pied et j

'ai

eu

regardé mon pied. Et dans deux minutes, j'ai

eu

regardé

mon

pied et j'ai

eu

regardé. J'ai

eu

regardé mon

pied, j

'ai eu regardé mon pied.

I

had a two year old, it was two or three at the time,

and

there was a time in his young life,

just

about every night,

at

around one o'clock or two o'clock in the morning,

we

would hear sometimes footsteps

coming. And

he wouldn't say much.

And

in the darkness, we knew, my wife and I, that someone was staring at us.

And

his problem was always the same.

I

had a bad dream.

Oh,

I am thirsty.

My

tummy's sore.

I've

got stuffy nose.

And

the remedy

was

always the same.

And

I understand that my wife and I would take turns

to

put the baby back, to take the child back to his bedroom.

Or,

let's say, my wife would take a bit more turns than I. But we worked it out that we would have to take

this

two or three year old back

to

his bedroom

and

stay with him until he fell asleep again.

And

because I enjoy my sleep,

when

I would go to work,

I

would complain to my colleagues

and

say, well,

last

night was not a very good night.

And

I don't feel very well today at work. I wish I had more sleep.

And

it happened time and time again. And I kept complaining.

And

I kept complaining about it

to

my colleagues

until

one day

it

dawned on me

that

soon, that actually very soon,

this

two or three year old

will

grow out of it.

That

soon and very soon, he would have worked out

that

if he's thirsty at night, he could just go to the fridge.

If

he's got a bad dream, he will just sleep in and know that it's just a dream.

That

he will not need his father

anymore. And

it dawned on me

that if

I don't open up,

take

him back to his bed,

very

soon,

there

will be no need for him to come to me

when

his

issues become

bigger.

And

at that time, I realized,

instead

of complaining

about

the interruptions,

about

the interruptions

that

were happening,

we

should just embrace

those

interruptions.

You

see, the Bible is full of stories

where

God

interrupts. And

if you look at those stories closely,

and

we'll see, we'll look at a few of those.

Those

interruptions

brought

about changes,

brought

about transformations in people's lives.

So

this morning, what I'm asking you,

is

to have an open mind.

Because

if today, if

today

your routine has changed, and you've come here,

or

for whatever reason,

there

have been interruptions in your life

before, be

open to the fact that maybe God

is

interrupting your life,

because

he's got something more for you.

And

this morning, we'll look

at

three stories.

Three

stories where there were interruptions.

But

we'll

stay

with the story around the cross. And instead of talking about Jesus himself,

we'll

talk about the people who were associated with the cross. And see how they were interrupted. And what it meant to them

to

be interrupted.

And

we'll start with the story

of

the Roman soldier.

We

are going to focus

on

the things happening at the cross. Jesus being crucified.

But

we are looking at some of the stories of some of the people

dealing

with that crucifixion.

And

we'll start first

with

those ones.

The

Roman soldiers

and

the centurion.

Remember, at

that time,

the

Roman Empire was so powerful. The Roman Empire had conquered the whole world.

And

what happened also in Judea,

they

had

a

governor ruling, a Roman governor ruling the country.

It

was not only, you know, when you conquer the country, you got to manage it. You need to control it.

And

for the governor, who at that time was Pontius Pilate,

he

had his army. He had his soldiers

who

were there to control and to maintain order.

And

as you will remember, you know, the Roman soldiers,

they

were

accustomed

to fights and battles.

They

were hardened fighters.

They

knew

how

to fight.

But

during that time, they were also executioners. They were the one

doing

all the crucifixion. Furthermore, you got the centurion. The centurion was the leader of the army. The leader of a group of about 100 people, 100 soldiers. And to become a centurion, you had to show prowess in the combat zone. You had to be strong. You had to be loyal to the cause.

And

there they were.

The

Roman soldiers and the centurion leading out the crucifixion.

And

now, what about the crucifixion itself?

You

see, the crucifixion

was

a capital punishment that

existed

before the Romans. The Persians did that a lot.

But

the Romans perfected it.

There

was a procedure to it. Standard practice, how to do things.

You

know what it is, standard procedures.

One

step after the other. They know how to conduct

the

crucifixion. And the crucifixion

was

for

criminals.

They were for rebels. They were for rioters. Because at that time as well, there was members of the resistance, the zealots.

And

they had to be captured and punished. And they were punished on the cross. Crucified on the cross. That's the background. That's the context. And then we get the first interruption.

The

crucifixion was for criminals.

It

was not a criminal.

If

you got your gospel, your Bible, you can open it into Mark chapter 15 verse 14. But I've got it on the screen. Why ask Pilate? What crime has he committed? Jesus

did

not commit anything that needed the crucifixion. But

he

was going to be crucified.

The

routine of the soldiers was interrupted. They did not know how to deal with that.

And

so what they did, Mark chapter 15 verse 16 said, They led Jesus away in the palace and called together

the

whole company of soldiers.

The

centurion, the soldiers, the centurion,

the soldiers, all

of them together

bring

Jesus in the palace.

And

there,

not

knowing what to do, because he's not a criminal, but we need to treat him as a criminal. They started beating him, flogging him, putting a crown of thrones on his head, torturing him, spitting on him.

Despite

all this ill treatment, Jesus remained calm.

The

first interruption.

Then

we've got the second interruption.

The

gospel of Luke adds something else to the whole drama. Luke chapter 23 verse 27 says, A large number of people followed him, including women who mourn and wail. The soldiers and the centurion were not expecting that. Huge amount of people.

Now they

had to be on the high alert. Rioters could come in.

The

rebels could attack. They felt threatened. That was not part of their routine.

They

were interrupted.

And

then a third interruption.

You

know,

the

person being crucified was supposed to bring the cross on their shoulders to the place where they're going to be crucified.

And

there,

Jesus

could not carry. That was not part of the procedure.

He

had to carry his cross.

But

he could not do it. He was so weakened by all the beating and flogging.

And

they now had to find someone, someone in the crowd, someone to carry the cross.

While

all that was happening, the centurion

was

just watching,

was

seeing what was happening.

And

suddenly something happened.

Mark

chapter 15 verse 33 said, At the sixth hour, darkness came

over

the whole land until the ninth hour.

And

verse 37, with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

And

verse 39, when the centurion

who

stood in front of Jesus

heard

his cry

and

saw how he died, he said,

Surely, surely, surely, this

man

was

the son of God. Surely,

this

man was the son of God.

What

a confession coming from a Roman soldier. What a confession coming from a Gentile. While all the high priests and the members of Sanhedrin rejected Jesus.

He, the

Gentile, the first

person

to say that.

Surely, this

man is the son of God.

The

Bible doesn't tell us

more

about this centurion. But one thing is certain.

The

centurion

could

not confront the cross

and

remain

unchanged. I

want to mention that

Jesus

could not carry

his

cross.

So,

I would like to introduce you to the man who did carry the cross.

There's

not many texts who talk about Simon of Cyrene.

Only

three. Three verses. One in Matthew. One in Mark. And one

in

the Gospel of Luke.

But

it's interesting that we know that Simon is from Cyrene. Cyrene is today's Tripoli

in

Libya.

You

know, when you and I,

we

want to go somewhere. Let's say we want to go to Bateman's Bay.

Before

we do so, we check on our Google map

where

we ought to go.

How

long it will take us to get there. We check

what

the temperature is going to be.

And

if it's fine, we will take two pairs of thongs,

three

change of clothes,

and

put it in the car. And off we go.

Simon was

going to Jerusalem

because

it was Passover. And you can imagine

that

he had to go from North Africa

to

Palestine, to Jerusalem, because it was there that the Passover was.

And

you can imagine the preparation

that

Simon had to do. It is a long trip.

And

he would have prepared all this. It's a

trip

of a lifetime.

And

he has prepared himself so well.

And

after such preparation,

he

was finally

there in

Palestine,

ready

for the Passover feast.

And

after such preparation, and as he was walking in the street, he heard some commotion,

not

far from where he was.

And

suddenly he realized

that

there was a crucifixion going. And there was this man, Jesus,

being

taken to the hill of Golgotha.

He

was so tired, he was so tired,

he was so weak. And

as he stood there,

and

that wasn't part of his plan, that wasn't part of the routine. As he watched that, someone tapped him on the shoulder

and

asked him to carry the cross

of

this man.

Can

you imagine,

just

put yourself in the shoes of Simon of Cyrene at the time.

All

this planning,

all

the routine that he had, everything that he's put on paper, what he would do. At this moment,

there

was an interruption

in

all of his plans.

But

let me tell you something,

and

that is very important.

Yes,

there was an interruption to his plan.

Yes,

there was an interruption to everything that he's been dreaming of.

Yes,

there was an interruption to what he was really there for.

Yet

this man

carried the

burden

of

the Savior of mankind.

His

life

will

never be the same again.

I

had said earlier that there are three verses that talk about Mark of Cyrene.

And

Mark says, There's a certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander

and

Rufus, was passing by on his way from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. And we hear about Rufus

a

bit later,

when

Paul wrote a letter to the church in Rome. He says, Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord.

You

see, Simon of Cyrene

could

not confront the cross

and

remain unchanged.

He

could not confront the cross

and

remain unchanged.

I

can imagine Simon going back

home. His

life was never the same again because he encountered

the

Savior.

Yes,

he was interrupted.

But

what came out after that interruption

was

so much more.

Simon

could not confront the cross

and

remain unchanged.

And

then we come

with

the two thieves on the cross. Mark chapter 15 verse 27 says, They crucify

two

robbers with him.

One

on his right

and

one on his left.

The

Bible did not tell us what were the crimes of those

two

robbers.

They

were not petty robbers.

Because

to be crucified, you had to be vile criminals.

You

have to have committed quite a lot of larcenies and violent things.

We

don't have too many details.

But

they were there to be crucified.

And

as they were led to the crucifixion, something happened as well.

They

were interrupted. You see, they did not expect to see so much people

there

as well.

They

thought they were going to be the center of attraction. No.

There

was someone else here. Someone else was headed to the list. Of people to be crucified on that day. Jesus were there. Jesus became the center of attraction.

They

were interrupted.

Even

when they were going to die.

And

so what did they do? As they were being crucified. Mark chapter 15 verse 32 said, In the same way,

The

robbers crucified with him also heap insults on him. They started insulting him. Arragging him. Arragging him.

Arrassing

him. One of the

thieves. Luke

chapter 23 verse 40.

We

jump from Mark.

We

go to Luke because the gospel of Luke gives us a bit more insight into that story.

And

he says, Don't you fear God?

We

are punished justly.

We

are getting what our deeds deserve. What he's saying? We've committed enough crime to be

crucified.

We are getting what our deeds deserve.

But

then

it

adds.

But

this man

has

done nothing wrong.

This

man has done nothing wrong. Do you know what that implies?

It

implies that that thief on the cross

had

heard of Jesus before.

He

had seen Jesus before.

He

had come

to

know

a

certain amount about Jesus.

He

had a first impression of Jesus. He heard what he's done. He's seen what he's done.

But

he was not committed to him.

That

man has done nothing wrong. And at that moment, seeing the reactions of Jesus, seeing how he reacted to all those insults,

have

he kept calm? Have he kept blessing all the people

that

were insulting him? Something

crept

into him. Verse 42 of Luke chapter 22.

He

says, Jesus,

remember

me

when

you come into your kingdom.

Just

like the centurion,

he

recognized

Jesus

as his Messiah.

Jesus

as his Savior. Remember me when you come

into

your kingdom. The weirdest part of it, he had faith

in

Jesus when Jesus was at his weakest state. When Jesus was dying on the cross.

The

thief

could

not confront the cross.

I

don't know whether you can see the painting,

this

painting very well. This painting

is

called

the

raising of the cross or the elevation of the cross.

It's

a painting by a

very famous

painter,

Rembrandt, in

the 17th century.

And

Rembrandt has painted a lot of biblical paintings.

But

this painting is very special.

And

today, I think today, it's housed in a museum

in

Germany.

But

this painting is very special. If you look at it well,

you

will see

the

soldiers

we

talked about there.

But

there's a man in that picture.

And

if you look very well, you will see

that

the costume

that

he wears is not the costume of the time of Jesus.

It's

a costume of

the

17th century. And in fact, Rembrandt

painted

himself

into

the painting

of

the cross.

And

we may say, why did Rembrandt do that?

You

see, Rembrandt confronted the cross.

And

he couldn't

remain

unchanged.

As

we talk about the final why, we're talking about why, why, why.

Why

is it possible

that

when Rembrandt

got

interrupted in his life,

he

knew

he

could no more be just an observer.

Some

way or the other,

when

we are confronted with the cross,

we

become a participant.

And

for him, it was enough

to

be an observer.

He

needed to participate in it.

We

talk about interruptions. I don't know what your life has been.

There's

been time when we felt that, man, this is hard.

This

is hard to carry.

This

is heavy.

And

sometimes we say,

it

is far too heavy.

But

when God interrupts,

it

allows us to stop

and

pause for a moment.

It

allows us to realize that, yes, those are interruptions

that

allow us

to

review our lives.

But

also be open

to

what else is on offer.

We can

never confront the cross

and

remain unchanged.

And

what I want you to do, this is not the end of the why. It's the beginning of the why.

It's

a beginning

about

asking,

if

God is

stopping

me in

so

many ways, so many things I've planned, so many things I've put in my mind that I would do, yet,

something

is stopping me.

Because we've

got hope

in

something bigger

than

us.

And

that's our

Jesus

on the cross.

I

would like to

sing

a song now.

Because

if you feel

that

you are broken,

if

you feel

there

are things that need to change

in

your life,

now

is the time

when

you're confronted with the cross

and

ask for a change.