On June 14, 1981, the Twin Cities was hit by an F-3 Tornado. Wind speeds reached up to 160 miles an hour, and it traveled a total of 15 miles in the Twin Cities metro region. About 83 people were hurt, and tragically, one person was killed. Depending on where you live in the Twin Cities, this famous Tornado has a different name. If you lived on the Minneapolis side, you probably know it as “The Lake Harriet Tornado.” If you lived in St. Paul, or in this part of town, what is it called? “The Har Mar Tornado,” right? Fortunately, we haven’t been hit with a storm of that size since, although this snow storm isn’t too far off!
Perhaps some of us have lived through a tornado, or even that one! If you haven’t, almost all of us have lived through severe storms, though. You know, the ones where the sky grows dark and cloudy. The ones where the wind begins to howl and the sirens go off. The ones where the rain comes down like holy buckets, and the electric lines shiver and shake. When these things happen, we know that we’re stuck in a bad place—a very bad place!
Lent begins with an observance of Ash Wednesday and with it, we begin a sermon series called Places of the Passion. Using Matthew’s gospel, like we have so far this year, we will walk with Jesus to places of His passion. These are places like the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, Pilate’s Judgment Hall and the hill of Golgotha. These are the places that Jesus finds Himself at as He journeys to the cross and empty tomb to save us! Today, we walk with Jesus to the city of Jerusalem.
Our text starts, “When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples .…” St. Matthew records five teaching blocks of Jesus, and he patterns his gospel after the Pentateuch—the first five books in the Old Testament. Five times in his gospel, Matthew writes, “When Jesus had finished all these sayings …” (Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). Matthew 26:1 is the fifth and final time Matthew writes, “When Jesus had finished all these sayings …”
And so, what’s the point? Matthew is finishing his gospel. He’s wrapping things up. It’s all going to come to an end. And it will end with a massive storm. The sky is growing dark and cloudy. The wind is beginning to howl. Soon the rain will be coming down like holy buckets. How so?
Matthew continues: “He [Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.’ (Matthew 26:1–2) This will be Jesus’ last Passover in Jerusalem. He is about to be crucified, dead and buried. The leaders want Jesus gone, and are ready to pull the trigger. Jesus is stuck in a bad place—a very bad place with a storm ready to hit!
We all know what it feels like to be stuck in a vulnerable, exposed place when a storm hits, don’t we? Are you raising kids/teenagers? Did you not make the cut? Did you lose the love of your life? Are finances tight? What about your health? Is old age getting the best of you, or is youth not delivering the invincibility we think it has? Has a doctor said, “There isn’t too much we can do?”
Most of life’s storms come and go, don’t they? They rage, thunder, drop the water, move on, and then sun comes out, and if you’re lucky, there is a rainbow. However, there is another kind of storm that comes, but it never goes. Do you know which one I’m talking about? It hammers and hounds. It brings with it hell and high water. Thunder roars. Lightning zig zags across the sky. What storm am I talking about? It’s the storm called sin. Sin comes and it never goes. What does sin look like?
Matthew tells us: “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.’” (Matthew 26:3–5)
Joseph Caiaphas is the high priest. He held the office from 18–36 AD, far longer than anyone else in this era, which shows his skill and political shrewdness. Caiaphas knows that a public arrest of Jesus will be very risky; he isn’t dumb. There would certainly be an uproar among the people because they believed Jesus was a mighty prophet; they like Him! Caiaphas has a problem, though. He can’t/shouldn’t kill Jesus during the Passover feast, but he also can’t wait until after Passover because then Jesus would probably leave Jerusalem and go back to Galilee—and escape again! It is a now or never type of scenario; but it is also a lose-lose. He just has to rip the band aid off and get rid of Jesus, consequences be darned.
But why are the chief priest and elders plotting to kill Jesus? Why do they want Him gone? Well, they were losing their place! They had the most important places in the synagogue and in the marketplace. They wore long tassels, and were noticed. They gave a tenth of their possessions, and a tenth of everything, spices included. They fasted twice a week. They prayed long prayers (and were good at them). They could take their esteemed place in the community and thank God that they were not like other people, especially those tax collectors and sinners. The chief priests and elders had a place of power and respect—until Jesus came and changed everything.
Jesus’ ministry attracted crowds. His words touched hearts. His hands opened eyes. His presence brought about a life that was full of grace and truth. Then what happened? The chief priests and elders began to lose their place. That’s why they gathered to plot and prepare for Christ’s death.
Do you see what sin is? Sin is holding on to my place. Sin is not allowing Christ first place. And sin is making sure others stay in their place! We’re not that much different from the chief priests and elders. Eventually sin brings with it tornadic winds and life-threatening lightning that destroys everything!
What is Christ’s response to our sin? Does he condemn us? Does he lock us up and throw away the key? Do you remember what Jesus says in Matthew 26:2? “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” Jesus walks to a place called Golgotha—the Place of the Skull.
At Golgotha, Jesus walks into the storm. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 Paul writes, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” What does that look like? Jesus willingly places himself in the middle of the storm—the tornado of all tornados! And what does He say there? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He promises, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” He cries out, “I thirst.” He proclaims, “It is finished!”
Are you stuck in a bad place? Jesus was stuck in a bad place. Are you hurting? Jesus hurt. Are you bleeding? Jesus bled. Do you feel like you’re gasping for air? Jesus gasped for air. Are you crying? Jesus cried. Is your heart breaking? Jesus’ heart was absolutely broken.
What’s it all mean? It means we are not alone in the storm. We are never alone in our storm! To the father haunted by his angry outbursts, Jesus speaks. To the husband and wife who barely talk to each other, Jesus speaks. To all of us exposed to the constant storm of sin, Jesus speaks. And what does he say? “I love you! I forgive you! I gladly gave it all up for you!”
What should we do when we’re stuck in a bad place—a massive, life-threatening Category Five kind-of-storm? What do we do when it looks as though everything is going to be wiped off the map?
Should we panic? Pout? Pretend? Freak out? Do we have our nineteenth nervous breakdown? Do we do something we’ll regret for the rest of our life? No. No. And No.
God knows how to get his people safely through the storm. Isn’t that the message of Passover? God did whatever it took to get Israel safely through their unpredictable, ferocious and hellish storm called Egypt. There was the Pharaoh with his whips, high quotas, long hours, and callous disregard for human life. There was the Red Sea which looked like a disastrous dead end. And then there were the horses and chariots of the ancient world’s best army pursing them.
And what happened? The Israelites walked through the Red Sea on dry ground! God knows how to get his people safely through the storm. And isn’t that the message of Christ’s Passover meal as well? With his true body and blood, Jesus takes us from a stormy place to another place. He takes us to a place of peace in his presence; to a place to lay our burdens down; to a place to receive forgiveness and be made new. Jesus has reserved your place—a place at his table—just for you! The storm will pass! Amen.