03-06-22 “You can tell a lot about a person by the way they die”

Scripture    Mark 10:32-34
They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."
 

(a) My mom died 10 years ago this past Tues. (b) Gretchen, Gideon, Gemma and I went to the Union cemetery in Oak Harbor to place flowers on her grave and have prayer together. (c) I could barely get through the prayer and broke down when I was there alone after they left.
          Funny things about my mom and death while she was alive – she always said, “No one will ever come to visit me” Little did she know some of her family would live this close. (d) She had her tombstone made several years before she died and a few times a year she said she would go by the cemetery to make sure the end date had not yet been filled in.

          My mom lived her last few years needing oxygen but continued to live well even as she was dying. (e) She still went golfing with me, cared for others driving them to doctor visits, being at all family and most church events. Calling to have me join her for coffee. For 2 weeks she was getting quite ill but we never knew it. (f) Finally, right after church I got a call and got her to the hospital. She never went back to her apartment. She spent that week dying making sure that we were all going to be ok and called all her friends to say good bye. (g) Her only reason for not wanting to die was so she could still be here for us when we needed her. She loved her 3 sons and their family’s more than anything on earth and made that abundantly clear. (h) But she also showed us during that week that life is really short and that we ought to do all we can to show love and compassion to all people – that hatred, anger and bitterness shorten the life while living it and shorten it because of how it affects your body. I learned a lot about my mom by how she died.

          While I was alone at the cemetery I thought about my brother (i) Rick who died just over a year ago and my tears for the loss of my mom mingled with the tears for the loss of my brother. The way my brother Rick died allowed me to learn more about him. (j) I joked about him not fulfilling my dream (50 year revival of Music Man) and he didn’t complain or say I was being selfish – (k) he was upset he would not be able to do it because he wanted to do it so badly – I never realized – it was his dream too.
          (L) We only had one “last day” with him but it was a good day. He taught me the exact same things my mom did as he was dying. (m) He had lived with such care and compassion for other people, he continued to show that as he was dying. He didn’t want to bother anyone with his needs even as he was about to die. (n) Whether it was a family member or the person bringing in medical equipment – he showed everyone that he was glad they were there. He taught us to never speak words of anger and frustration because once they are released they can’t come back. (o) BTW I hope my brother gave his heart to Jesus in his last moments but he lived and died showing these things better than many of us do who claim to be redeemed by our savior. (p) My mom lived most of her life without a commitment to Christ but still had these amazing god-given qualities built into her.
 
          I would like to share the story of one more person I am very close to and the way he died and the things I learned about him by the way he died. He died just over 2000 years ago. He was a carpenter by trade growing up in a little town in Northern Israel near the sea of Galilee. When he was about 30 he became an itinerate preacher, going from town to town preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. His name is Jesus!
 
Mark 10:32-34
They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."
 
The rich man was told to go sell everything and give to the poor, then come follow me. He went away sad because he had great wealth.
It wasn’t about the fact that he was rich – it was that his riches were a block to him following Jesus. It wasn’t legalistic about selling and giving to the poor – it was about following Jesus. We each have things – job, family, recreation, money, drugs, anger, bitterness that serve a block from us following Jesus. Jesus says to each of us – get rid of that thing that keeps you from following me – then COME FOLLOW ME! If you are not following Jesus – you are going the wrong way. He is the only one with the GPS that will get you to heaven – the God Positioning System.
 
It is interesting, as I have been reading about the cross and Jesus’ death, several authors have commented that Jesus death was different, because he died on purpose. At first that seems powerful, my mother and brother did not die on purpose – they both wanted to stay here longer.
One author wrote, “Jesus died…on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering. You can tell a lot about a person by the way he dies. And the way Jesus marched to his death leaves no doubt; he had come to earth for this moment.” – Max Lucado
 

          In fact, notice how our text shows his purpose as he is facing death within the week - They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way. Jesus is rarely out front. He is always leading the way but he is usually “with” the crowd. This is the only text I know of that mentions Jesus “leading the way” which suggests marching forward with the purpose that Lucado mentions. Then I thought, I don’t think that tells us a lot about Jesus – many people have died with purpose. Japanese kamikaze pilots died with purpose. The 911 terrorists flew into buildings that killed them – they died on purpose. 35 year old, (q) Scott Beigel, a Geography teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was murdered after letting students take shelter in his classroom & got in the way of the shooter as he tried to enter the class. Beigel died on purpose to save others. (r) Victoria Soto, 27, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., ushered her students into a closet, and in so doing placed her body between them and the assailant and saving their lives she died for a purpose. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they die. But Jesus dying for a purpose is not necessarily as unique as these authors make it seem.
          However, the last few words I read earlier from Lucado could be so easily missed and when I read it a second time it hit me like a ton of bricks helping me know who Jesus is by the way he died.  At the end of the quote I shared, it read, “he (Jesus) had come to earth for this moment.

          Besides the effect for us, Jesus death was different from anyone else’s death – even those who died with a purpose and/or on purpose. You see, every human dies because they were born. Sounds obvious right? Think about it – we had no choice to be born – we had nothing to do with it. We have no choice about dying (possible choice of when and how but not “if”) – one out of every one person born eventually dies. Jesus was also born and therefore, like all humans, was going to die. The difference? Jesus is truly the only person ever born for the sole purpose of dying. He was not born to teach and to heal and to show miracles. Those are simply products of his journey toward death. From the moment of Holy Spirit conception in Mary, Jesus was born to die? (s) Why? So that we might live. If Jesus was born and taught and healed and did miracles but did not die – we would then still die in our sins. Jesus was born to die – that tells us a lot about who Jesus is – he is God. And, he is love. (t) 1 John 4:9-12 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
          Since Jesus was born to die as a way to show God’s love to us. Then we are not only born but reborn to live and therefore show God’s love to the world by loving one another.
 
COMMUNION
Are you hurting and broken within?  Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin?
Jesus is calling
Have you come to the end of yourself, Do you thirst for a drink from the well?
Jesus is calling
O come to the altar, The Father's arms are open wide
Forgiveness was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ
Leave behind your regrets and mistakes. Come today, there's no reason to wait
Jesus is calling  -  Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy
From the ashes, a new life is born Jesus is calling