[12]And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. [13]He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
[14]Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, [15]and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
(New Revised Standard Version)
There are horseshoe nails, upholstery nails, and concrete nails. There are box, common, siding, sinkers, drywall, casing, duplex, shingle, shake, underlayment, paneling, and joist hanger nails. There are fluted nails and spikes. There are Pole barn, patio and masonry nails. There are 5 kinds of roofing nails. Nails come galvanized, bright, coated and about half a dozen other ways.
Nails are the pieces hardware, the fasteners that hold the world together. And there is power in a single nail. There is power in the nails that hold a book shelf together. A book shelf is a doorway to knowledge. Books contain the answers and questions that lead to deeper answers. Books contain adventures both told and waiting to be told. You can open a book and find yourself back at the begining of time or far in the unknown future. You can find yourself philosophizing with the likes of Hegel, Schliermacher, Hume and Descartes or with Dr. Suess and Sam I am.
Or you can open a Bible and find just how much God loves you and the history of God's relationship with humankind. In the New Testament you can find how the Son of God, a carpenter by trade, used nails to prove that love. There is power in nails.
Nails are wonderful things. They can be used as coat hooks or back scratchers. They can be used as a hole punch or a leather punch. They can be used as a tool in art. A single nail started a revolution. History tells us that Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of the Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Those ninety-five questions and statements of faith were the fuel behind what became known as the Protestant Reformation.
So, why all this about nails? The passage from Mark doesn't mention nails. It talks about Jesus' baptism and the Holy Spirit.
Mark says that immediately after hearing God's pronouncement and affirmation, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days and nights. And what was the temptation? To take a short cut. To turn away from His purpose. To short circuit the process. Jesus was tempted to turn away from the humiliation he would face at the hands of the religious leaders. Jesus was tempted to turn away from the heartbreak of being betrayed and deserted by his own disciples. Jesus was tempted turn away from the weight and the burden of our sin. Jesus was tempted to turn away from cruelty of the cross and the pain of those nails.
B. I've been to the Holy Land, on three separate occasions now and I hope to go several more times. There is no pilgrimage that can compare. It is absolutely awe inspiring to walk where Jesus walked; to see the places mentioned in the Bible
One of my favorite places is the Temptation Restaurant in Jericho. I love that name. It's named that, not because the food is so delicious, but because of the location. As you step out of the doors of that restaurant you can look first at the ancient ruins of the city of Jericho. The Tel is right there in front of the Restaurant. On one side is the lush green of modern Jericho surrounded by orange, date and almond orchards. You can see fields of other crops as well. But on the other side and just beyond all that lush greenery of this oasis, you look out upon what is known as the Judean wilderness.
It is lonely and desolate. There is no greenery. No water. Just rocks and barrenness. I can't imagine anyone living there or staying there for any extended period of time. But Jesus did. For 40 days he wandered the Judean Wilderness or stayed holed up in a cave or a depression wrestling with the temptation to turn away from the cross and the nails that awaited him.
Let there be no mistake, Jesus didn't want to be there. Jesus willingly went into the Judean wilderness to prepare himself; BUT he would have preferred to be almost anywhere else. It was a struggle. It was a profound spiritual struggle that determined the course of salvation for all of humanity. Jesus faced the cruelty of the cross and the pain of those nails and he didn't turn away.
B. I'm so glad he didn't. I'm so glad he took up the cross. I can't tell you the sense of awe I feel that He did that for me. Had Jesus turned away, I never would have known God's forgiveness. I never would have known God's grace. I never would have known God's unconditional love for me. I can't help but remember his struggle and his pain whenever I think of the temptations, or whenever I look at a nail. It was for me. He loves me that much and he loves you that much. Through those nails our sins have been forgiven.
The sacrifice of Christ on the cross permeates every aspect of our Lenten observance just as our sacrifices both in serving God through the ministries of this Church and through our giving to the new building permeates everything we do here at St. Johns. Just as the sacrifice of Christ brought the reward of salvation and eternal life, so too our sacrifices will bring great rewards. A new building, a deeper sense of faithfulness and changed lives.
B. When I was describing the different kinds of nails earlier, there was one kind I left out. And that was the finish nail. The reason the temptations in the wilderness were such a struggle for Jesus, was that sin and death knew that if they let Jesus go to the cross, they would be finished. And they were. No longer do they control us. When Jesus spoke those words from the cross: "It is finished," sin and death were defeated.
Not only that but because Jesus was tempted and did not give in, temptation was finished as well. For now, we can call upon Jesus and ask for his help and his strength when we are tempted. There is power in a nail. The nails of the cross are finish nails.
There's God, bigger than life, the author of all life, the Creator of all that is, reaching out in love to humanity. Adam could be any one of us. Michelangleo captured the central message of all Scripture. God reaches out to us again and again and again. God loves us and God wants us brought close to God's heart.
The nails of the cross were cruel and painful but they remind us just how much God loves us and just how far God will go to prove that love. The outstretched hands of Jesus, the open, inviting hands of the Son of God, still bear the scars of those nails. He was tempted to turn away but didn't. He was tempted to avoid the pain but didn't. Instead, those nails, God's finish nails became a key, a key to unlock our hearts from the prison of sin. They became the key to forgiveness and eternal life.
There is power in a single nail. And there is unlimited power, the power of God's love, mercy, grace and forgiveness in the nails of our salvation. The challenge for us is grasp the nails and to share the Good News of God's love and our forgiveness.