Mountain Moments
The Hills of Eastern Mount Moriah

by Pastor M.J. Fitch
April 9, 2012, Easter
Text:  John 19:38-42, 20:1-18

For a video of the seremon click here

Back in the 1970's, when I was in high school, I was able to take two classes that would be unheard of today's schools. I was able to take a class - at my church - on the Old Testament and the New Testament. Amazingly, I was able to get a ½ credit for each of the classes when I passed the course!

For me, the benefit of taking the class far outweighed the one credit I received towards my graduation from high school. Not only was I blessed to have a good education on the content of the Bible --- I was also blessed to have two very caring and dedicated teachers who blessed my life immensely.

My New Testament teacher was a woman by the name of Lozetta Jones. Lozetta was a woman on fire with the Spirit of God. Everything about her made you believe that she walked and talked with God every day of her life. Not only did she know her Bible through and through, she lived what she believed. I was fascinated by her faith and her personality. Nothing ever seemed to rattle her. She was always positive and hopeful, always looking to God to provide whatever she needed. She would always tell the class that we could depend on God --- that God would always be there for us, no matter what, and God would provide whatever we needed. When we would worry about our final exam and whether or not we could remember everything, Lozetta would remind us that the Holy Spirit was at work within us and that the Holy Spirit would bring to mind everything that we had been taught.

Several years after our Bible Study course, Lozetta's husband Gordon died. I wondered how Lozetta would react -- would her joyful, Spirit-filled attitude change? Of course not, for she believed with all her heart in the God of resurrection --- she was an Easter believer that truly knew hope and comfort in the good news of Christ rising from the dead.

I think what also made Lozetta so strong in her faith is that she knew God to be Jehovah-Jireh. Jehovah-Jireh is a Hebrew name for God which means: "The Lord will provide". Lozetta believed with all her heart that, no matter what, the Lord will provide. He will always be there for you --- he will give you comfort in the time of sorrow, guidance in the time of indecision and even life in the midst of death.

Today, this Easter Sunday, the good news we celebrate is that we have a God who provides for us --- who gives again and again --- because of his great love for us. Indeed, God provided a Savior for us, and because of Easter, God even provided eternal life for us. We have reason to rejoice today --- and much as Lozetta Jones believed -- we have reason to rejoice each and every day -- because our God takes care of us --- provides for us all the time.

Now you may think that this good news only occurs in the New Testament when we begin to hear the news of Jesus --- but such is not the case. The God of the New Testament is definitely the God of the Old Testament. Again and again, throughout the ages, God has been reaching out to us in love. And this is never more clearly seen than on Mount Moriah --- one of the most important hills in the Bible.

We first hear about Mount Moriah in Genesis 22 when Abraham went up the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac. You remember God had asked Abraham to take his son -- his only son Isaac -- and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. This seemed to be such an incredible thing for God to ask of Abraham. He loved Isaac so much and had been waiting for so long for him. But God wanted to see the strength of Abraham's faith, so he asked him to sacrifice his own son.

In Genesis 22, beginning at verse 3, we read that Abraham saddled up his donkey and went with Isaac to Mount Moriah. He chopped the wood needed for the fire of the sacrifice and then in verse 6, Abraham placed that wood on the shoulders of Isaac and the two of them walked the final assent up to the top of Mount Moriah. In verse 7, Isaac asks Abraham, "Where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" You see, Isaac didn't know that he was to be the sacrifice. But how did Abraham respond? Look at verse 8 - Abraham says, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." Abraham believed without a doubt --- much like Lozetta Jones did. God will provide --- we don't have to worry.

Abraham went on to build an altar and even laid Isaac on the altar --- but just as Abraham raised his knife to kill his son, God called to him from heaven and told him not to touch Isaac. Abraham looked up, and there he saw a ram that God had provided for the sacrifice. Abraham caught the ram and sacrificed it to the glory of God and then, notice in verse 14, he named the place Jehovah-Jireh --- or in English, "The Lord will provide". Thus on Mount Moriah, one always remembers how God provided a lamb to be sacrificed on the altar in the place of Isaac.

Mount Moriah would not be forgotten after Abraham however. It was the spot where David built an altar. And finally, in the year 950 BC, King Solomon, built the Temple. Right at that same spot where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, Solomon placed the Holy of Holies --- a place where the priests would go to talk with God.

Now it might help if we got an idea of where Mount Moriah is. You'll remember that all throughout Lent we have been talking about Mountain Moments - and we've seen that there are a lot of mountains in Israel. In the southern and eastern part of Israel are these Judean Hills. The central ranges of mountains in the Judean Hills are called the Jerusalem Mountains. Here you will see a view of the Mount of Olives, which we studied last week - and then all the valleys that surround the central area of mountains called Mount Moriah. You will see the Dome of the Rock - where for Jewish and Christians - it is traditionally seen as the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac - and where Solomon built the Temple for God. Here's just another map showing you the valleys and hills with Mount Moriah being in the very center.

This map gives you another idea of the mountains and where the Temple stood. Number 1 is the Mount of Olives and Number 3 is Mount Zion - and Number 2 is Mount Moriah. Here in this corner you will see Antonia's Fortress where Jesus would have been tried by Pontius Pilate - condemned to death and flogged and beaten. And there, Jesus would have been given a wooden cross - to place on his shoulders - much like Isaac was given that wood to carry - and then he would have left the city gates and began the ascent up to the top of Mount Moriah, at an elevation of about 2500 ft.

Following the pathway outside of the gates, you come upon an area that became known as the place of stoning. Stoning was the method of execution for thieves, robbers, blasphemers, murderers and adulterers. This stoning was always done along the main road where people gathered. Nowadays, we hide public executions from the public --- hiding the awful scene behind closed doors. But back in the days of the Bible, executions were for public viewing.

This place of stoning was done at a cliff known as Skull Hill. It was so named for the natural rock formation that resembled a skull. Today right below Skull Hill - interestingly enough - is a bus station. At first, that seems really out of place - and yet, in some way it really seems right, because this was a major roadway in the day of Jesus. People would pass through this area frequently.

Which is why in Roman times, during the time of King Herod, this place continued to be used as a place of death --- a place of crucifixions. Up and down the main road, rows and rows of crosses would be placed where criminals and slaves would be crucified. And those of the Roman Empire who did the crucifixions had a tradition that they would humiliate the criminals by cursing them and spitting on them --- making them suffer humiliation as well as physical pain.

It was to this same area --- alongside the road on Mount Moriah --- outside the city walls -- Jesus came and was crucified. This place of crucifixion is called Golgotha (in Greek) and Calvary (in Latin) --- or the place of the Skull in English.

Here God's only Son --- the Son whom He loved -- was given as a sacrifice. God did not spare His own Son -- but gave Him up for us all. Just as God provided a lamb for Abraham --- God provided a sacrifice in Jesus. On that cross, Jesus died in our place. Jesus paid the price for our sins. He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God.

Once again --- God had provided --- there on Mount Moriah --- God provided a Savior for us. Jesus went to the very lowest place --- a long the side of a road --- a place of humiliation and death. Jesus went to the very lowest place so that we might go the highest place in heaven with God.

But the story doesn't end there. The story doesn't end in death. God continued to provide for us on Mount Moriah. In our text that we read today from the Gospel of John, we hear these words: "Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid."

On this slide you will see a picture of the garden tomb -- the place where many believe Jesus was buried, in the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea. This tomb is a Jewish 1st century tomb that fits the description of the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea.

But this is not the good news. The good news is not that Jesus was buried in this tomb. No --- the good news is that Jesus rose from the dead and now that tomb is empty! He is not there any more!

As Billy Graham shares, you can visit tombs all over the world and see where the great leaders are buried. You can go to the Great Pyramid built thousands of years ago. Today, Pharaoh is still there, never rising from the grave.

You can go to the Taj Mahal in India, the most beautiful tomb in all the world, but all that remains of the Mongol emperor and his wife are moldy bones. They died and never rose again.

We can go to Mount Vernon and see the grave of the father of our country, George Washington. We can feel moved and touched, standing at the grave because of our memories of such a great man --- but George Washington still lies buried in a tomb and has never risen from the grave.

We can also go Russia and see the body of Lenin. They say that he was embalmed with a fluid that would never let his body decay, and they say that he looks as though he were breathing. But Lenin is sill in the grave and he had never been raised from the grave.

We can go to India and see Mahatma Gandhi's burial place. He was one of the greatest men that ever lived, a leader to the masses of India. When Gandhi was shot . . . he died and has never risen from the grave.

Every tomb, every burial place, every cemetery, whether it be as massive as the pyramid or as simple as your family plot, speaks of death. But this garden tomb is different --- it speaks of life. Because the body is not there. Jesus is alive and because of his resurrection we too can have eternal life. God has provided our salvation on Mount Moriah --- God has provided our eternity on Mount Moriah.

But the story doesn't end there either. Fifty days after Easter, God continued to provide again on Mount Moriah. This time, inside the city walls, in an upper room God provided us with the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

On Mount Moriah, God provided a lamb to be used for a sacrifice, instead of using Isaac for the burnt offering. On Mount Moriah, Jesus became that substitute for our sins -- the sacrificial lamb. On Mount Moriah, Jesus came back to life and left an empty tomb. What a place --- a sacred site. A place where I wish I could have had the time to sit and worship in.

But God doesn't want us to worship a place --- God doesn't want us to worship an empty tomb. You see on the door to the Garden Tomb we see these words, "He is not here - for He is risen!" We worship a Risen Savior. And he is alive and is with us always -- wherever we are.

Which means that maybe -- just maybe we need to find a Mount Moriah in our own lives. Instead of longing to go to the real Mount Moriah in Jerusalem to worship at the Garden Tomb --- maybe we need to find Mount Moriah in our hearts. Right when we feel discouraged or frustrated --- right when we think nothing will ever turn out right --- maybe that's when we need to find Mount Moriah in our hearts. Maybe that's when our attitude needs to change -- to remind ourselves that God truly will provide and that we have nothing to fear.

Maybe that was the gift my Bible Study teacher had --- the gift of keeping Mount Moriah alive and well within her heart. She continually remembered that God provided on Mount Moriah --- and she believed that God would provide for her in Dallas, Texas, in Thailand or in Timbuktu. Because of the resurrection, she would have power to overcome whatever adversities came her way. Death and despair and evil will never have the final word in our lives --- because we serve a risen Savior who has defeated death and evil. We can trust God to provide for us and get us out of the tombs that bind us. We don't have to give up --- God will provide. We don't have to look elsewhere for help --- God will provide. We don't have to be lost --- God will provide a way. We don't have to face this world of darkness -- God has provided us the Light of the World. Good Friday never has the last word, because God has provided for us the promise of Easter.

That is the good news that we need to take with us from Easter. "The Lord will provide" --- as he did on Mount Moriah --- so too he will do for us --- wherever we are and whenever we need him.

INVITATION

We serve a risen Savior; he's in the world today. And because he

lives, we can face tomorrow. God will provide the peace and strength and guidance we need. We don't have to be afraid any more --- we have a God who provides for us --- because he lives, we can face tomorrow.

Jesus wants to come and walk with you and live within your heart. Won't you ask him to come into your heart today? He is waiting to enter your heart, why don't you ask him to come in today --- come and make your confession of faith in him. Come and make First Christian Church, your church home. Come and rededicate your faith in him. Come, as you are and we will welcome you and rejoice with you in your decision. Won't you come now as we stand and sing?