The Bridge Master Video
December 27, 2009
LifeSong Church
Before I begin, I want to warn you that this sermon isn’t the kind that I usually do. Not very much of it is actually my own words, rather words that have captivated my heart in a way that I couldn’t retell. God is so good and I hope that this video and book captivate you too. For now, here is the ever-popular, bridge master’s story:
I had watched this video quite a few times before this year. It seems to constantly be one of those annoying forwards people are always doing through email-most of them I delete without even reading but this one captivated my heart each time I received it. Each time I watched it, I was filled with the love for me that God possessed, shown through his sacrifice. At school, I borrowed a book from a friend, God Came Near by Max Lucado. Lucado pointed out that even though there are quite a few parallels in the crucifixion and the bridge master video like God having to sacrifice His son in order to save humanity and some hesitation near the end, there was a very important, often looked over difference.
Lucado alludes to Acts 22:22-23, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which God did among you through him as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and fore-knowledge; and you with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” There is one key phrase in this passage that the bridge master video neglects to show. GOD’S SET PURPOSE AND FORE-KNOWLEDGE! You see, the bridge master didn’t see it coming; he had no idea that his son was going to go down into that hole and that he would be faced with such a difficult choice. If he had known, he like many of us probably would have quit his job in order to ensure not having to make this choice. GOD KNEW-He knew from before Mary rode to Bethlehem on the donkey that His son was going to die on the cross. He knew the pain and the suffering that His son would have to endure and yet when weighing the cost with His children spending eternity with Him, we won. Lucado puts it in a way that I just could not captivate,
“Jesus’ death was not the result of a panicking, cosmological engineer. The cross wasn’t a tragic surprise. Calvary was not an automatic response to a world plummeting towards destruction. It wasn’t a patch-job or a stop-gap measure. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril. No, it was part of a plan. It was a calculated choice. It was the Lords’ will to crush him. The cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. The moment of forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment that the man with the mallet placed the spike against the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled. What does that mean? It means Jesus planned his own sacrifice. It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved. It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast. It means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman. It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem. And it also means he didn’t have to do it-but he did. It was no accident ---would that it had been. Even the cruelest of criminals is spared the agony of having his death sentence read o him before his life even begins. But Jesus was born crucified. … The ropes used to tie his hands and the soldiers used to lead him to the cross were unnecessary. They were incidental. Had they not been there, had there been no trial, no Pilate and no crowd, the very same crucifixion would have occurred. Had Jesus been forced to nail himself to the cross, he would have done it. For it was not the soldiers who killed him, nor the screams of the mob: It was his devotion to us. So call it what you wish: an act of grace, a plan of redemption a martyr’s sacrifice. But whatever you call it, don’t call it an accident. It was anything but that. “
I have read this expert from the book so many times since I have originally read it and yet each time it still captivates me. Do you realize how much God truly loves us? This is the season in which messages of his love are everywhere, but do you realize how much he loves us. He would have nailed himself to the cross! I can’t think of anyone or even group of people that I would pierce long dull pieces of iron through my body to save. We often see the cross as the end of the story but in all of reality, the rest of the story was written around the cross-it being present before the rest. Isn’t that radical to think about?! Like the bridge master, God knew the kind of people that he was killing his son to save. He knew he was being murdered for the lonely, angry, selfish, hurting and addicted. He was dying for the lowest of lows on the face of the earth and yet HE STILL CHOSE TO DIE! God’s love is amazing people…as if I sat at my computer for like half an hour just trying to put to words how amazing and I couldn’t come close. It is as if every good thing put together in a blender, mixed up and then multiplied about a bazillion. That just may grasp it.
One other characteristic that Lucado didn’t mention, but that bothers me is that every single person on that train goes on living their lives without even hearing of the sacrifice that saved their lives. They didn’t even know that they were in danger and about died. They never heard of the boy who died to save them and the tremendous father who made a tough decision just for them. Some of the passengers remained asleep while the entire video played out. WE, as the church need to make sure that this is one sad difference between the bridge master’s story and that of our Savior’s. For real, we have just come out of the Christmas season, one of the easiest seasons of the year to talk about our God and his sacrifice and yet how many of us filled conversations with Santa, where to get the toys on kids’ Christmas lists, Christmas lights and the annoying family that one must endure through family dinner? How many of us volunteered to say grace (I know I personally neglected the chore)? How many of us carried on a pleasant conversation with the people in the never ending line at the check-out, well how many, expect Mearl? How many of us invited someone to church with us through the holidays? How many of us told children the actual Christmas story and not just the one about visions of sugar plums?
Who are the sleeping passengers in our lives? Who are completely unaware of the price that was paid so that they can go on living their lives? Who are those ignorant of God’s set for-knowledge? My mission for each of you is to add to your new year resolutions part 2009, add waking up one of the passengers to your list. Tell someone of God’s unexplainable love-share the bridge master parable with him or her. Enlighten them to the fact that Jesus planted the tree that would be carved into the cross.
As we close in prayer, let God speak to each of you, He KNOWS the passengers that are sleeping in your life. He KNOWS the people that He has put in your life so you can wake them up. He knows the people that you have been sitting by all through life without ever bothering to show them the truth. Let God guide you to each one of these people. I pray that we don’t let God’s sacrifice go as unheard as that bridge master’s that day.
