For A Friend

This blog post is Part 2 of a series entitled "Unto The Nations" by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN. 

Message Date: November 5, 2023

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Is there someone for whom I would not lay down my life?

Think about this question today as I talk. You know... There is nothing as certain as death. There too is nothing as uncertain as the time of death.

“Everyone is going to die one day; just give them time.”
- English novelist Neil Gaiman

“Death, taxes, sex and childbirth. There never really is a convenient time for any of them!”
- Margaret Mitchell, Author, Gone With the Wind

And the tech genius behind all of Apple, Inc. said this before he passed:

“If you live each day like it is your last, one day you will be correct.” - Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Inc.

Death. 

I’ve thought of death often over the last few weeks. I’ve done so for very many different reasons, some of which I will share today... The passing at the young age of our dear friend Gage Scragg whose life we celebrated 2 weeks ago today. My wife’s cousin, Eugene LaFever, who died suddenly this past week of a heart attack. Our close friends, Mike and Kim Blackwood who live in SC, had a teenager in their church end his life at the young age of 16 this week.

The wise Solomon wrote about the reality of death when he said: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Death truly is a part of each of our lives. Though it was never intended to be this way for us as humans in this life. Death now is a very real part of life and it is a reality of which none of us can avoid nor escape. There is not a person here who has not been impacted by death in some way or the other.

Consider this question about death: What would it take for me to die for another?

Of course, without hesitation I would gladly lay down my life in an attempt to protect the life of Amy, Bailey and Brynnan. I would not give it a second thought if, giving my life, would ensure the life of my parents, my brothers, my in-laws and their family, Stephen and Cristin, Gavin and Hudsyn. I too can say I would nobly do the same for each of you.

But what about another whom I barely know? Would I give my life for one whom I have never met; a person from another country I’ve never even met? Of course... I can say here and today and in this very moment that I would surely lay down my life for the life of another, but until I am in that moment, I am not sure as to how I would respond, what I would do, and how far I would go to defend the life of someone else.

I do know this:

To die for another would require of me a deep belief in something greater than myself for which to die.

In the first century, to be a “believer” meant much more than just being someone who “believes in” the Christ. To be a “believer” meant one acted on such beliefs… even unto death. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 11 men laid down their lives for the life of one man… because they believed...They believed in something – someone – greater than anything or anyone else. This belief so inspired them, they were willing to endure unimaginable circumstances and brutality and pain to the point of death. Every last one of them willingly, and I presume, without hesitation, took up their cross and walked the road of martyrdom. What would it take for me to die for another?

A more important question, or three, very well might be:

Do I love Jesus enough to die for another?
Do I love Jesus enough to die for another I do not know?
Do I love Jesus enough to die for another who hates me?

Jesus actually had a lot to say about this very concept. He spoke often of the call we each have on our lives to go unto the nations... even unto death. Consider the words Jesus spoke in John 15:9-25.

Notice the wording Jesus uses in verse 9: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

We often focus on the “love each other” part of this passage. But do you notice the 4 words previous to this powerful and very popular known statement in the Church: “My command is this…” John 15:12a. Jesus is saying, “This isn’t an option for the follower of mine. This is an expectation – your willingness to give your life away for another.” Then, Jesus states this:

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:18-19

Notice the sequence of content in this command from Jesus. He doesn’t say, “The world is going to hate you, but my command is that you die for them anyway.” No! Before He even reveals the truth that you and I will be hated for what we believe, Jesus makes it clear that we are to die for others.

Why is this so very important? It’s simple… think about it: As I shared earlier, I would, without any reservation nor hesitation, gladly lay down my life for Amy, for the girls, and for you. I can say whole heartedly, “I would die for you.” I presume you would do the same. (… You would die for me, right?!) But what about Ismail Haniyeh? You ask, “Who is this?” Ismail is the Executive Director of Hamas. Hama is an Islamist militant movement and one of the Palestinian territories’ two major political parties. It governs more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but the group is best known for its armed resistance to Israel. Ismail orchestrated a barbaric attack on the people of Israel on October 7 launching a massive surprise assault on southern Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and soldiers and taking dozens more as hostages, beheading babies, and raping girls from ages 2 – 83. In one village, 93% of everyone who lived in the village was killed. Ismail has made numerous public statements over his disdain and hatred toward both Israel and the United States, and specifically followers of Jesus Christ. What about Ismail Haniyeh? Would you die for him?

To really help me think through this question this week, I’ve tried to imagine, though almost impossible to fully do so...What if Ismail Haniyeh had killed my wife, Amy? Would I still die for him? What if Ismail Haniyeh had raped my daughter, Bailey? Could I still die for him? What if Ismail Haniyeh had cut off the head of my daughter, Brynnan? Should I still be willing to die for him?

When Jesus warned in John 15 that the world would hate those who follow Him, Jesus knew of Ismail Haniyeh and the hate he would hold for the West.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:9-12

If I keep His commands, Jesus says I will remain in His love. Okay then... so what is His command? Look at verse 12:

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12

Of course at this moment, these men were unaware at the full weight of such words from the Christ. They did not know that to keep such a command will soon require of them to walk the road of martyrdom upon which our Savior is about to embark.

How did Jesus love me? Jesus loved me unto death. This is the same love I have been commanded to take unto the nations... A love requiring of me the willingness to die... even for my very enemies. You see… To go unto the nations requires of me a willingness to die for those who will reject me. To go unto the nations requires of me a love for those who will hate me.

But too... what if dying for another was about so very much more than one’s breath ending? What if going unto the nations began here; right here in this community; right here @ DF! And what if the “going” was about much more than a willingness for you and for me to die for one we do not know?

Look again at the words of Jesus:

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:11-14

I have read this passage so very many times this week. But it wasn’t until this week that I realized one word that has been there ever since the Christ spoke this command, but I have never, ever noticed it? Any idea to what word I am referring? It's the word: “Friends.” Does this word seem odd or out of place to you? At first glance, it does to me. Jesus has been talking about going unto the world – unto the nation – to preach the gospel. He is speaking of a world that is hostile; of a world that will hate you and me even as we choose to love them. He is speaking of death and of a world that will hate us without reason... Yet, in the midst of this challenge, of this command, Jesus uses this word “friend.” And He does so in the context of one laying down their life for... a “friend.” Why this shift right in the midst of the command for you and me as His followers to go unto the nations; why this call to such intimacy in referencing a “friend?” Well, as we often do, let’s go to the Greek to help us decipher the true meaning of these words. Look again at the words of Jesus:

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:11-14

Lay down /Greek/ tithemi = To arrange ahead of; appoint before

Yes there are times when this may mean that I am to take the extreme step of giving up my life for a friend as I “arrange my death ahead of one” in an attempt to protect a another. But I believe the true meaning of these words “lay down” are in reference to my choice to willingly appoint others before myself; to arrange you ahead of me. How do I do this? I do so in countless ways.

I lay down my life for you as I:

• Invest my life in your life.
• Pray for you when I say that I will.
• Choose to silence gossip about you when it is shared with me.
• Genuinely place your needs, comfort, health, peace, joy, and love ahead of my own.
  

In doing this, I go unto the nations as I daily lay down my life for you, my friend.

You see... in so very many ways...We are friends at DF! We are family at DF! We are framily at DF! In my 3 ½ years as Pastor here at DF, I’ve seen y’all do this time and again... How y’all rallied this past week, and still do, around the Scragg family during their time of unthinkable grief... that is framily! How y’all were so loving to Pastor Stephen and myself and the girls last week for Pastor Appreciation... that is framily! Thank you for all of the cards, emails, calls, and texts. Thank you!

I have begun to hear whispers as to assumptions of what happened to me last week while in my office. Last Wednesday morning, I was sitting in my office when I started feeling weird. I then did something I almost never do – I lied down on the sofa in my office. The rest of the day was somewhat of a blur. But it entailed a horrific day for the Ministry Team and particularly Amy and the girls as 911 was called, the medics came, and I spent the next three days in the hospital trying to figure out what caused the stroke and/or the seizure we believe my body experienced that day. I cannot remember everything about that afternoon, but I do remember hearing people talking to me but not being able to respond. How scary!  I can also say that I recall a voice that sounded like Stephen Fisher’s as they were rolling me into the ambulance screaming, “Can I have your truck!” I'm kidding! I do not know exactly what it feels like to pass from this life to the eternal life. Though, I did think last Wednesday afternoon that I was in fact dying. In those horrific moments, I told Amy, “Goodbye!” I told her to tell the girls, “I love you and will always be here with you.” 

Obviously, I did not die last Wednesday. And I am so very thankful for God’s hand of grace to sustain me and the girls during this difficult and confusing and very mentally cloudy week through which we have just walked. I do remember lying there as I thought I was leaving this life thinking: I wish I could see the Worship Center completed. And... I sure had hoped to one day experience true revival in Donelson. And... I knew I should have gone one last time to Cinco Tuesday night for dinner! Seriously... lying in the hospital for several days, you think... a lot.

Amy told me that I apologized to her several times while there for things I have done wrong through the years to her. I spent some time while there thinking about many things... in particular, thinking about my sins. Have you participated in such an exercise as of late? 

Have I ever paused to intently focus on the reality that it was my sins, and it only took one of my sins, to justify the reason for which the Christ came to earth? My sins are what put into motion the reason for which Jesus left heaven.

And by leaving, our Savior took the first step in teaching me the attributes of one fully surrendered to go unto the nations. The day the Christ died was too the same day He put an end to death - spiritual death. For in His death, all nations are now offered the opportunity to receive Him as Savior and to live for Him as Lord.

…who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. Galatians 1:4

It has been 33 years since Jesus left heaven and came to earth. Imagine the greeting when Jesus walks into the heavenly Jerusalem? The King has returned! And in doing so, He has brought with Him the ransom note for all of the nations. He has freed all – every tongue, every tribe, every person… every nation. This is how Jesus was able to say:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

No one has done what Jesus did. No one could do what Jesus did. Jesus left 33 years previous entering the world as a baby. He has returned home with scars on His back, nail holes on His wrists and feet, thorn piercings on His brow, a scar on His side, and He holds in His very hands the hands of all of humanity.

Jesus says, “It is finished. I have overcome. I am the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. And I am the way, the truth, and the life. "I am love.”

I imagine heaven erupts in laughter. The angels sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”The heavens rejoice. The Savior is home.

And then… Jesus does… the unthinkable.  Just as He once did…Jesus leaves all of heaven… and…Jesus returns to earth. For the second time, He leaves it all again... all of heaven’s beauty, the majesty, the streets of gold, the magnificence. He leaves it all. Now, yes, He must come back. The cross would have been nothing, would have meant nothing, had Jesus’ body lay forever in the tomb.  All that Jesus had done would have meant nothing had He not returned, conquered sin and death, pointed His finger at Satan and reminded him: “I was right you son of a gun! You lose. And not only am I coming back… you’re going to pay for all of this for eternity. And by the way Satan… the fire’s going to be really, really hot on your back!”

Matthew 28:1-10

How about that for a Sunday morning? I am sure those ladies never forgot that Sunday morning! We know that after this, Jesus continued to appear to His followers. Look at:

Mark 16:9-15

Scripture tells us that Jesus appeared many times proving that He rose from the dead. Look at what Jesus said to His disciples one last time before His ascension into heaven. He tells them why He has returned:

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
Luke 24:45-48

Do you see what Jesus tells them? I have returned so that you will be my witnesses and go “…unto all nations!”

Jesus came back to conquer sin once and forever. He arose from the grave. He spit in the face of death. He crushed the serpent’s head. He left the tomb as it was before He died… empty. He then stayed and appeared and reappeared to offer proof of who He is, to offer hope of the heaven that awaits, and to instill confidence in His followers for what a life of allegiance to Him would soon demand.

This is why His final words before His ascension are so compelling to us as His followers. As One now with complete authority of His Father, Jesus said these words to His disciples then; to all disciples; to you as His disciple today:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20

How inspiring, and equally, how costly are these words? These men, upon hearing these words, did exactly this… they chose to “go” unto the nations. Peter would be later crucified upside down. Andrew, Peter’s brother, was beaten. He then, rather than nailed to a cross, was tied to a cross so that it would take him longer to die. Andrew hung on his cross for two days. While hanging there, he preached “Jesus saves” to those who passed by. James, the son of Zebedee, was later arrested for preaching unto the nations. Before being beheaded, he witnessed to his accuser. The accuser, so moved by these words, surrendered his life to Jesus and requested to be executed along with James. The two were beheaded. John was boiled alive. He survived and was exiled to the island of Patmos where it is believed he later died. Philip was scourged in Egypt and later crucified. Bartholomew was skinned while alive and then beheaded. Thomas was speared to death. Matthew was stabbed to death. James, son of Alphaeus, at the age of 94, was beaten and stoned to death. Thaddaeus was crucified at Edessa. Simon the Canaanite was crucified in England.

What a year of bible teaching this has been for us at Donelson First. We have studied so very much as to the Orthodoxy of truth and of Christ and His ways. We have too answered over 80 questions in our May I Ask A Question? series discussing a multitude of topics and issues and dilemmas over abortion, life, eternity, salvation, marriage, anger, gender, church management, parenting, and so very, very much more. We have taken quite the deep dive into the biblical theology and now, both individually and corporately as the Church, we are each faced with a question.

This is the very question upon which I concluded our first message in this series two weeks ago. Did you take the time this week to consider this prayer; to meditate on this prayer; to recite this prayer:

Father, How am I to go unto the nations?

We are going to spend the next few weeks discussing exactly this.

I shared in this very room two weeks ago tonight to family and friends who attended the Celebration of Life service for Gage Scragg that the Sunday after the death of his brother, 10-year-old Gus Scragg asked if I would come to the house and just sit with him. I did. It was 11pm, and he needed companionship. We sat and talked about school, his favorite subject, his worst, and about his brother, Gage. I too shared that he then began to sing Johnny Cash (and June Carter Cash). He knew every lyric to every song – every song! We laughed a lot. And we cried too. We held hands and we prayed for his parents and his brothers. It was such a sweet and special time that I know I will cherish. I know that this was a really special time for Gus. I too know that it was a necessary time for Gus. He really needed this time. It was important to him as he needed encouragement, comfort, love and confidence that all is okay, that he is not alone, and that he could, in time, move forward with his life.

This is why Jesus came back. This is why Jesus stayed as long as He did. This is why these men could then go to the nations knowing full well it would cost them everything.

Acts 1:3-9

Jesus came back so that His followers would move forward courageously to go unto the nations. Jesus came back so that, as His follower, I too will move forward courageously to go unto the nations.

I end this morning by bringing you back to this one question with which we began today:

Is there someone for whom I would not lay down my life?

For Jesus, He came, and He died for all. And He is asking us to do the same, to lay down our lives for a friend and to go unto the nations.

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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.