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When we get too focussed on the Cross, it changes how we relate to others. But Jesus isn't on the cross anymore -
he is living.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase, Right place, wrong time. It’s this
whole idea that you might be where you are supposed to be, but
you’re either too early or too late to make the most of you being there.
Or maybe, you’ve been in the wrong place at the right time - for
example, maybe you late for something that you were meant to be at,
but by being late, and being int he wrong place, it allowed you to make
needed to have a chat. The reality is that neither of these things are
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bad… it’s just not ideal. You just don’t want to be in the wrong place at
In our Bible reading today, we have something similar told to the ladies
who come to visit the tomb. They are told that they are looking for the
right thing, in the wrong place. Well, not exactly. They came to the
tomb looking for the right thing in the right place - that is, they came
the tomb, right where it had been left. Because, really, apart from
Lazarus, there hadn’t been many examples of dead bodies just getting
up and moving.
Jewish tradition valued care of the deceased, and so it was right for the
ladies to come and anoint the body with spices and incense.
And so, it seems really odd to hear the angel tell them that they are in
the wrong place. They were looking for the dead among the dead. They
were in the right place at the right time for what they were intending
to do.
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P - Cross Focused living
I think many Christians are in the same spot as the women were.
They’re doing what they think is the right thing to do, and doing it at
the appropriate time if it was the right thing to do. They’re just missing
What I mean by that is that many Christians put their focus on what
Christ did on the cross as the most important thing. That Christ dying
on the cross is the most powerful and significant thing that Christ did.
When we, as Christians, become too cross focused, and live out our life
and faith in a way that is cross focused, then the way we interact with
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others becomes cross focused as well. That is, we become focused on
the punishment.
We live out our lives in a way that says “we don’t do this” or “We don’t
less effective. Cross focused evangelism tells people that if they don’t
fear. And the only way for cross focused conversions to continue is to
keep establishing that fear. If you back slide, you will be punished. If
you do the things that we say are bad, then we will be very
disappointed in you - we might even throw you out of our club and not
But the angel tells the women to stop looking for the living among the
dead. Because Jesus isn’t dead. He’s not among the dead, he has risen.
You’ll notice that in our church, we don’t use a crucifix - that is, our
cross doesn’t have a body attached to it. This signifies that Jesus is no
And as such, we need to stop looking for the living among the dead -
that is, we need to stop looking to bring people to faith with cross
focused thinking. Fear isn’t going to bring people into faith. And as
hard as it can be for the church to realise that, it is what we need to do.
Throughout history, the Church has held a position of power within the
community, and was able to utilise that fear to bring people to faith,
and keep them there. But these days, the church does not hold that
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In Mark 2, Jesus heals a paralyzed man, having first said to him “Son,
your sins are forgiven.” He doesn’t write out a big list of them, doesn’t
ask him to repent, doesn’t say “Unless you follow me, I will not forgive
as a sinner anointing Jesus’ feet with tears and perfume, Jesus tells the
pharisee a story, and then says to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
She didn’t ask for forgiveness. Jesus didn’t lecture her and scare her
Often, Jesus would forgive their sins and then tell them to go and sin
no more. He wouldn’t say what those sins were, and he didn’t go into
the details of consequences for not leaving their life of sin. There was
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You see, while Jesus was very well aware of where his life was headed,
realised that the cross was not the end game - it was just the necessary
focused lives.
Jesus didn’t tell people what not to do. He didn’t teach through fire
centered living. Most of his teaching was not telling people what not to
Jesus shows his disciples that the way to live is to show love,
forgiveness, and mercy to all people. To show that life is better with
Because I absolutely believe that life is better with Christ than without
it. And if you’re here today and you haven’t invited Christ into your life,
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then I want to invite you to believe in Christ - not because you’re going
and I know that my life is better with Christ in my life, and I know that
Now, some may say to me, But Ben, what about all those lists of sins
that Paul lists in his letters, and I want to say to you that for the most
part it’s just good advice anyway - but unless you base that living in the
love, forgiveness, and mercy that Jesus teaches, then you’re still
focused on the Cross - you’re looking for the living among the dead.
T - Resurrection power
So go out and live a resurrection focused life. Go and live a life filled
with Love, forgiveness and mercy. Go and live a life that is filled with
resurrection power living on the inside. Because life is better when you
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are filled with resurrection power, living a resurrection focused life,
and sharing Christ’s resurrected love, forgiveness and mercy with all
people.
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