William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Final Exam" (November 12, 1989)

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-	Good morning and welcome to this	2:37
	service of worship here in Duke Chapel	2:39
	on this 26th Sunday after Pentecost and Homecoming.	2:41
	Particularly welcoming all alumni who are	2:46
	back visiting with us for this service.	2:48
	This week begins the week of	2:52
	homelessness awareness.	2:55
	Here at the Duke campus a number of events.	2:58
	We're kicking things off here	3:01
	tomorrow night at 7:30 in Duke Chapel,	3:02
	by having the internationally renowned	3:06
	Christian activist, Jim Wallis and	3:08
	Christian singer, Kim Madima who will	3:11
	lead a service here,	3:15
	Let Justice Roll.	3:17
	Wallis is founder of	3:19
	Sojourners Community in Washington	3:22
	and also Witness for Peace	3:25
	and we hope you'll be here with us.	3:27
	Today at five o'clock our	3:29
	renowned associate chapel organist, Dr. David Arcus,	3:32
	will be giving an organ concert that is open to the public.	3:35
	Each Sunday, all of our offering received in Duke Chapel,	3:42
	goes directly to	3:45
	relief and for mission work at home and abroad	3:48
	and today all of the offering goes	3:51
	to the American Red Cross, to help those victims	3:54
	of the hurricane and the earthquake	3:57
	and we invite you to give generously.	3:59
	Now, let us continue the worship of God.	4:02
	(organ music)	4:07
	♪ Jesus shall reign where'er the sun ♪	4:44
	♪ Doth his successive journeys run ♪	4:52
	♪ His kingdom stretch from shore to shore ♪	5:01
	♪ 'Til moons shall wax and wane no more ♪	5:10
	♪ To Jesus endless prayer be made ♪	5:21
	♪ And endless praises crown his head ♪	5:30
	♪ His name like sweet perfume shall rise ♪	5:39
	♪ With every morning sacrifice ♪	5:48
	♪ People and realms of every tongue ♪	6:00
	♪ Dwell on his love with sweetest song ♪	6:09
	♪ And infant voices shall proclaim ♪	6:18
	♪ Their early blessings on his name ♪	6:27
	♪ Blessings abound where'er he reigns ♪	6:38
	♪ The prisoners leap and lose their chains ♪	6:47
	♪ The weary find eternal rest ♪	6:56
	♪ And all the sons of want are blessed ♪	7:05
	♪ Let every creature rise and bring ♪	8:45
	♪ Honors peculiar to our King ♪	8:54
	♪ Angels descend with songs again ♪	9:02
	♪ And Earth repeat the loud amen ♪	9:11
-	O God whose Blessed Son came into the world	9:28
	that he might make us children of God	9:32
	and heirs of eternal life,	9:34
	grant that having this hope,	9:37
	we may purify ourselves as he is pure	9:40
	that when he comes again with power and great glory	9:44
	we may be made like him	9:47
	in his eternal and glorious kingdom	9:49
	where he lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,	9:52
	one God forever and ever.	9:55
	Amen.	9:58
-	Let us pray.	10:11
	Open our hearts and minds O God	10:14
	by the power of Your Holy Spirit	10:17
	so that as the Word is read and proclaimed	10:20
	we might hear with joy	10:23
	what you say to us this day.	10:25
	Amen.	10:28
	The Old Testament lesson is taken from	10:31
	the Book of Zechariah 7:1-10.	10:32
	In the fourth year of King Darius,	10:37
	the Word of God came to Zechariah	10:39
	in the fourth day of the ninth month which is Chislev.	10:41
	Now, the people of Bethel	10:45
	had sent Sharezer and Regem Melech and their men	10:46
	to entreat the favor of God	10:50
	and to ask the priest of the house of God of hosts	10:52
	and the prophets,	10:54
	should I mourn and fast in the fifth month	10:56
	as I have done for so many years?	10:58
	Then the word of the God of hosts came to me,	11:01
	"Say to all the people of the land and the priests,	11:05
	"when you have fasted and mourned in the fifth month	11:08
	"and in the seventh for these 70 years,	11:10
	"was it for me that you fasted?	11:13
	"and when you eat and drink,	11:15
	"do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?	11:17
	"When Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity	11:20
	"with its cities round about it,	11:23
	"and the south and the lowland were inhabited,	11:25
	"were not these the words	11:28
	"which God proclaimed by former prophets?"	11:29
	And the word of God came to Zechariah, saying,	11:33
	thus says the God of hosts,	11:37
	"Render true judgment,	11:39
	"show kindness and mercy, each to your neighbor.	11:41
	"Do not oppress the widow, the orphan,	11:44
	"the resident alien or the poor,	11:47
	"and let none of you devise evil	11:49
	"against your neighbor in your heart."	11:51
	Thus ends the reading of the first lesson.	11:54
	Thanks be to God.	11:56
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] Please stand	12:02
	for the reading of the psalter.	12:03
	Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion.	12:12
Congregation	Tell all the peoples of God's deeds.	12:16
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] The Lord who avenges blood	12:19
	is mindful of them.	12:21
Congregation	And does not forget	12:23
	the cry of the afflicted.	12:24
-	Be gracious to me, O Lord.	12:27
	See what I suffer from those who hate me.	12:29
Congregation	You are the one who lifts me up	12:33
	from the gates of death	12:35
	so that I may recount all your praises	12:36
	and in the gates of the daughter of Zion,	12:40
	rejoice in your deliverance.	12:42
-	The nations have sunk in the pit which they made.	12:45
Congregation	Their own foot has been caught	12:48
	in the net which they dig.	12:50
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] The Lord is made known.	12:52
	The Lord has executed judgment.	12:54
Congregation	The wicked are snared	12:57
	in the work of their own hands.	12:59
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] The wicked shall depart to Sheol	13:01
	all the nations that forget God.	13:04
Congregation	For the needy shall not always be forgotten	13:07
	nor the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.	13:10
-	Arise, O Lord,	13:13
	let not mortals prevail.	13:15
Congregation	Let the nations be judged before you.	13:18
-	Put them in fear, O Lord.	13:21
Congregation	Let the nations know that they are mortals.	13:23
	(organ music)	13:27
	♪ Glory be to our Creator ♪	13:35
	♪ Praise to our Redeemer Lord ♪	13:42
	♪ Glory be to our Sustainer ♪	13:50
	♪ Ever three and ever one ♪	13:56
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	14:04
	♪ Now and ever more shall be ♪	14:11
-	The New Testament lesson comes from	14:32
	Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians 2:13-17.	14:34
	But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you,	14:41
	brothers and sisters, beloved by the Lord	14:43
	because God chose you from the beginning to be saved	14:46
	through sanctification by the Spirit	14:49
	and belief in the truth.	14:51
	To this, God called you through our gospel	14:53
	so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.	14:56
	So then beloved, stand firm and hold to the traditions	15:00
	which you were taught by us	15:04
	either by word of mouth or by letter.	15:05
	Now may our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father	15:09
	who loved us and gave us eternal comfort	15:12
	and good hope through grace,	15:14
	comfort your hearts and establish them	15:16
	in every good work and word.	15:18
	Finally sisters and brothers, pray for us,	15:20
	that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph	15:23
	as it did among you	15:26
	and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people,	15:27
	for not all have faith,	15:31
	but the Sovereign is faithful	15:33
	and will strengthen you and guard you from evil	15:35
	and we have confidence in the Lord about you	15:38
	that you are doing and will do the things which we command.	15:41
	May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God	15:47
	and to the steadfastness of Christ.	15:49
	Thus ends the reading of the second lesson.	15:52
	Thanks be to God.	15:54
	(organ music)	16:20
	♪ O Lord most holy ♪	17:10
	♪ O Lord most mighty ♪	17:18
	♪ O Loving Father ♪	17:25
	♪ Thee would we be praising ♪	17:32
	♪ Always ♪	17:37
	♪ Help us to know Thee ♪	17:41
	♪ Know Thee and love Thee ♪	17:50
	♪ Father ♪	17:58
	♪ Father ♪	18:01
	♪ Grant us Thy truth and grace ♪	18:05
	♪ Father ♪	18:13
	♪ Father ♪	18:17
	♪ Guide and defend us ♪	18:21
	♪ Rule Thou our willful hearts ♪	18:47
	♪ Keep Thine our wand'ring thoughts ♪	18:56
	♪ In all our sorrows ♪	19:04
	♪ Let us find our rest in Thee ♪	19:10
	♪ And in temptation's hour ♪	19:21
	♪ Save through Thy mighty pow'r ♪	19:29
	♪ Thine aid O send us ♪	19:38
	♪ Hear us in mercy ♪	19:46
	♪ Show us Thy favor ♪	19:55
	♪ So shall we live and sing praise ♪	20:06
	♪ To Thee ♪	20:16
-	Have any of you visiting alumni ever had a dream	21:05
	in which you dream that you were	21:10
	back here at Duke during an exam?	21:13
	It's a fairly typical alumni dream.	21:19
	The dream often involves	21:22
	some problem that you're having with exams.	21:24
	Say, you've studied all night	21:26
	for the exam in Organic Chemistry but	21:31
	you show up at the class on the day of the exam	21:34
	and for some reason Dr. Wilder has locked the door	21:36
	and you pound on the door,	21:38
	you try to get in but you can't get in	21:40
	and then you wake up in this	21:42
	cold sweat and trembling	21:46
	and you find it's only a dream.	21:49
	You're safe and sound in your	21:52
	upwardly mobile home in Scarsdale	21:54
	and you breathe a sigh of relief.	21:58
	You have your BA degree.	21:59
	You're an alum,	22:02
	no more exams.	22:05
	And don't you students long for the day	22:09
	when exams will no longer be this	22:10
	unpleasant intrusion into good times here at Duke,	22:14
	but will be the stuff of bad dreams	22:18
	after an evening of Mexican food?	22:21
	(congregation chuckling)	22:23
	I don't know what Freudians would make	22:25
	of these alumni nightmares of exams	22:27
	but I believe they're at least testimonial to	22:31
	that residue of bad memories	22:35
	of what it was really like to be a student,	22:38
	to be under faculty assault.	22:42
	Exams are always times to show your stuff,	22:46
	to lay it on the line.	22:50
	Can you pass the test?	22:52
	And I can tell you students, from personal experience,	22:56
	that although these alumni talk about their days	23:00
	at dear old Duke as the best of their lives,	23:03
	they would not want to trade places with you.	23:07
	They would like to be back if	23:12
	they could have your good looks or your dates	23:15
	but they would not want to be back	23:17
	if they had your exams,	23:19
	which in a funny way I think brings us to today's gospel	23:23
	from the 20th chapter of Luke.	23:28
	The scribes and the chief priest	23:34
	tried to lay hands on him at that hour	23:36
	but they feared the people.	23:38
	So they watched him and they sent spies	23:41
	who pretended to be sincere,	23:44
	that they might take hold of what he said	23:46
	so as to deliver him up to the authority	23:48
	in the jurisdiction of the governor.	23:50
	They asked him, "Teacher, we know that	23:53
	"you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality	23:55
	"and truly teach the way of God.	23:59
	"Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not?"	24:02
	But he perceived their craftiness and said,	24:08
	"Show me a coin.	24:11
	"Whose likeness and inscription has it?"	24:13
	And they said, "Caesar's"	24:16
	And he said to them, "Then render to Caesar	24:19
	"the things that are Caesar's,	24:21
	"and to God, the things that are God's."	24:22
	And they were not able in the presence of the people	24:26
	to catch him by what he said,	24:28
	but marveling at his answer, they were silent.	24:31
	There then came to him some Sadducees	24:35
	who say that there is no resurrection	24:37
	and they asked him a question saying,	24:40
	"Teacher, Moses wrote for us, if a man's brother dies	24:41
	"having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife	24:44
	"and raise up children of his brother.	24:47
	"Now, there were seven brothers	24:51
	"and the first took a wife and died without children,	24:53
	"and the second and the third took her	24:56
	"and likewise all seven left no children and died,	24:58
	"afterward the woman also died.	25:03
	"In the resurrection therefore,	25:06
	"whose wife will the woman be,	25:08
	"for the seven had her as wife?"	25:10
	And Jesus said to them,	25:14
	"The people of this age marry and are given in marriage	25:16
	"but those who are counted worthy to attain the resurrection	25:18
	"from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage	25:21
	"for they cannot die anymore	25:25
	"because they are equal to the angels	25:27
	"and are children of God of the resurrection,	25:29
	"but that the dead are raised even Moses showed	25:33
	"in the passage about the bush	25:35
	"when he calls the Lord God of Abraham	25:37
	"and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.	25:39
	"Now, he is not a God of the dead, but of the living,	25:42
	"for all live to him."	25:45
	Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you've spoken well."	25:48
	And they no longer dared ask him any question,	25:53
	but he said to them,	25:58
	"How can they say that the Christ is David's son?	26:00
	"For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,	26:03
	"The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand	26:05
	"til I make enemies a stool for thy feet.	26:08
	"David thus calls him Lord,	26:12
	"so how is he is son?"	26:14
	And in the hearing of all the people	26:16
	he said to his disciples,	26:18
	"Beware of these scribes who like to go about in long robes	26:20
	"and love salutations in the marketplaces	26:24
	"and the best seat in the synagogues,	26:27
	"and the places of honor at the feast,	26:30
	"who devour widows, houses and for a pretense	26:33
	"they make long prayers.	26:37
	"They receive the greater condemnation."	26:39
	He looked up and he saw the rich	26:43
	putting their gifts into the treasury,	26:44
	and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins	26:47
	and he said, "Truly I tell you,	26:51
	"this poor widow has put in more than all of them,	26:54
	"for they contributed out of their abundance	26:58
	"but she, out of her poverty,	27:00
	"put in all the living that she had."	27:02
	During the last week of his earthly life,	27:09
	Jesus was put to the test,	27:14
	and we read in Luke's 20th chapter about Jesus' exam,	27:17
	it's his final exam,	27:22
	a three-part test consisting of essay questions,	27:27
	put to Jesus by his critics.	27:31
	Tension has been building in Luke's gospel	27:34
	but now Jesus' critics think	27:37
	they've gathered enough strength to put him to the test.	27:39
	Here is a three-part exam bigger for Jesus than the LSATs,	27:42
	for here is an exam not in Religion 101, but in life.	27:48
	If Jesus flunks this one,	27:54
	he's dead.	27:58
	It isn't a matter of being shut out of medical school,	28:00
	it's a matter of life or death.	28:03
	Then the Pharisees took council how to entangle him.	28:08
	And the method of entanglement is exam question number one,	28:13
	a devil of a question if ever there were one,	28:18
	one of these damned if you do,	28:21
	damned if you don't sort of questions.	28:23
	They say, "Teacher,	28:26
	"you're true and you teach the way of God faithfully	28:28
	"and you don't care about human opinions,	28:32
	"tell us then,	28:35
	"is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"	28:38
	And of course, the question is a set up.	28:44
	If Jesus answers no, the Romans will	28:47
	arrest him as a revolutionary,	28:49
	on the other hand if he answers	28:53
	yes, it's okay to pay taxes to Caesar then	28:54
	the religious leaders will say that he has defiled God	28:57
	because to pay taxes means to pay with those	29:01
	idolatrous coins that have Caesar's image stamped upon them,	29:03
	a crime for a faithful Jew.	29:08
	But Jesus, aware of their cunning,	29:12
	asked them a question,	29:16
	"Do you have a coin on you?"	29:20
	And they produced a denarius	29:23
	and he asked them, "Well whose image is on that coin?"	29:26
	and they say, "Well, Caesar's."	29:29
	"Well that settles it," says Jesus,	29:33
	and in one of the greatest non answers in the whole Bible	29:35
	Jesus says, "All right, render to Caesar what's Caesar's,	29:38
	"and to God, what's God's.	29:42
	"Next question."	29:43
	But behind his answer there is an answer.	29:46
	The question is about	29:51
	handling Caesar's idolatrous coins, but if you notice	29:52
	they have one of Caesar's coin on them,	29:57
	Jesus' pockets are empty.	29:59
	Here they are examining Jesus about	30:03
	his stance toward the Roman oppressive overlords	30:06
	who occupy their country	30:09
	while they are already collaborating with the Romans.	30:12
	They carry one of Caesar's coins,	30:17
	silent, but irrefutable proof of their	30:20
	compromised, sorry faith.	30:23
	A fresh team of examiners shows up.	30:27
	This time it's the Sadducees.	30:30
	Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees denied that there is	30:33
	a resurrection of the dead,	30:36
	but Jesus has made the resurrection central to his message,	30:39
	and so we get to exam question number two,	30:45
	and through this exam question the Sadducees	30:49
	hoped to kill two birds, the Pharisees and Jesus,	30:52
	with one stone.	30:56
	Question two, there's a Nazarean rabbi	30:57
	who believes in the resurrection of the dead,	31:01
	now here's a case for you,	31:04
	a man dies and he leaves a widow without any children	31:08
	and in obedience to Levitical law,	31:13
	the man's brother marries the wife	31:14
	but the second husband dies	31:16
	without leaving the widow any children,	31:19
	and this process is repeated	31:21
	through one wedding and one funeral after another,	31:23
	'til you end up with a widow who's been widowed seven times.	31:27
	Now, Jesus, the question,	31:32
	whose wife is she gonna be in the resurrection?	31:34
	Wow, this one wasn't on the study sheet.	31:39
	(congregation laughing)	31:43
	And of course it makes the resurrection seem dumb because	31:45
	it doesn't seem right for her to be just one man's wife	31:49
	since she was wife to them all	31:53
	but on the other hand it doesn't seem right,	31:54
	how can she be the wife of seven different brothers?	31:57
	What's the answer?	32:00
	But Jesus again throws the thing back	32:03
	in the face of his examiners,	32:05
	Dummy, we're talking resurrection here,	32:07
	we're not talking about some old extension of the same old	32:10
	unjust status quo social arrangements	32:14
	with which you are familiar,	32:17
	where women are no more than some man's property.	32:20
	The resurrection is God's reworking	32:24
	of everything you've messed up.	32:26
	It's a whole new God-created ball game	32:29
	to which your old rules just don't apply.	32:32
	And now Jesus questions them,	32:37
	what do you think of the Christ?	32:41
	Who do you think is the Messiah?	32:44
	He has asked them a question,	32:50
	The question,	32:53
	who is Messiah?	32:55
	Who could save you?	32:59
	"No one was able to answer him a word," says Luke.	33:03
	They no longer dared ask him any question.	33:08
	In case you're keeping score, the score is	33:13
	Jesus, three, authorities, zero,	33:15
	but then fed up with this Mickey Mouse version	33:19
	of the religious SAT, Jesus now just blows his top	33:21
	and he lets them have it.	33:26
	Dean and judicial board be damned,	33:27
	he tells these professors exactly what he thinks of them	33:29
	and their Mickey Mouse quizzes.	33:33
	I'm sorry, those of you who thought that	33:36
	Jesus was a nice guy,	33:39
	Mr. Meek and Mild.	33:41
	Jesus just tears into them, ad hominem,	33:43
	calling them in Matthew every dirty name he can think of,	33:47
	hypocrites, child of hell, blind guides,	33:51
	extortioners, whitewashed tomb, brood of vipers.	33:53
	In Luke he attacks the long robes that they're wearing,	33:57
	their Harvard PhD hoods,	34:00
	where they sit in the chapel,	34:02
	they way they pray.	34:03
	I mean, he's mad.	34:05
	It was the maddest, meanest anybody had ever seen Jesus.	34:06
	Why was Jesus so mad?	34:11
	You've had professors who were creeps.	34:15
	You've been through unfair exams and	34:18
	maybe you've socked it to the old codger	34:21
	on the course evaluation form after the test but	34:23
	here's Jesus burning down the professor's office.	34:26
	Why is he so white, hot, burning, angry, mad?	34:30
	I don't know.	34:37
	Except perhaps that maybe Jesus has just had enough	34:41
	of these insidious pussyfoot exams,	34:46
	because he knows what they're after in their questions.	34:50
	Here are people who are the professors of religion,	34:55
	the guardians of wisdom,	34:59
	and Jesus calls them thieves,	35:02
	living off of poor widows.	35:07
	You see, the episode as a whole,	35:11
	he came to us offering us life,	35:14
	but we gave him questions.	35:19
	On another time they asked Jesus,	35:24
	"Jesus, who do you think sinned first,	35:27
	"this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"	35:29
	On yet another occasion they said,	35:34
	"Jesus, did you hear about the earthquake out West,	35:37
	"you know, when the Tower of Siloam fell	35:39
	"and killed those people,	35:41
	"what do you think was their sin that they deserve this?"	35:43
	Jesus got mad with their exam that time too,	35:49
	angry, I think, at the way we wealthy, well heeled,	35:55
	comfortable ones just sit back and smugly, dispassionately,	35:58
	discuss somebody else's tragedy.	36:04
	The way we take somebody else's pain	36:09
	and turn it into a subject	36:11
	for a late night dormitory bull session.	36:12
	He got mad.	36:16
	And now, here is Jesus at the last week of his life	36:19
	and he is met again with idle, speculative, cool questions.	36:24
	Do you advise paying taxes to Caesar or not?	36:31
	Even though the coins in our pocket prove	36:36
	that we've already bedded down with Caesar.	36:38
	Whose wife will this woman be in the resurrection?	36:42
	She spent her whole life as the property of this man	36:45
	or that man, surely in the resurrection	36:47
	she's got to be somebody's property.	36:49
	Oh, we would rather just talk.	36:53
	We would rather talk religion than do it.	36:55
	And Jesus replies by asking them one question,	37:01
	"What do you think of the Christ?"	37:06
	What do you think?	37:12
	Academic, sophisticated, skeptical, university	37:16
	graduated questioning people, please take note.	37:20
	Jesus knows how our questions	37:25
	can often deter us from The question,	37:28
	what do you think of the Christ?	37:35
	On a day much earlier, he gave his disciples a midterm.	37:42
	"Who do people say I am?" he ask.	37:47
	Oh well, gee there's some people who say that	37:50
	maybe you're John the Baptist, come back from the dead and	37:53
	2% of those questioned said Elijah.	37:57
	Those with incomes of over 50,000 a year	38:00
	said maybe you're Elisha or one of the other prophets.	38:02
	And then Jesus asked them, "But who do you say I am?"	38:08
	This is the only exam that really means anything	38:15
	when it comes down to it	38:17
	as it always does.	38:20
	According to Jesus it's not so much what do you think,	38:23
	but, where will you commit?	38:27
	Where are you gonna put your money down	38:31
	and trust me more than you trust your questions,	38:34
	and follow me down my narrow way,	38:39
	that many talk about but few travel.	38:43
	A university is not a hospitable environment	38:49
	for Christian believing.	38:52
	It's not so much because of what they do in the dorms	38:55
	on Saturday night after football games but	38:57
	it's more so what they do	39:00
	in the classrooms on Monday morning.	39:01
	The way we teach you	39:04
	to step back,	39:07
	to question,	39:08
	to be cautious to commit,	39:11
	to examine, to study, to observe,	39:13
	to reflect dispassionately,	39:15
	and such activity is just the very life of academia	39:20
	but it is the very death of discipleship	39:23
	and Jesus doesn't really give a hoot	39:27
	that we agree with him or that we understand him	39:30
	or that we admire him.	39:32
	He wants us to follow him,	39:34
	to say someday, to heck with all of our questions,	39:38
	to throw caution to the winds and get loose and commit	39:42
	because you see, this conversation, this exam takes place	39:49
	as he is on his way to put his money down	39:53
	in the most expensive game a person ever plays, death,	39:59
	which is, of course, the game that	40:06
	you and I are playing too except that	40:08
	Jesus knows where his week is going to end	40:10
	and we don't.	40:13
	With our cool questions,	40:16
	our dispassionate questions,	40:19
	as if we could permanently postpone life, death, issues	40:22
	until we're back for our 50th reunion	40:27
	which may be, I think, why Luke	40:33
	chose to end this story of Jesus' final exam	40:35
	putting in that little story of Jesus	40:40
	and the poor widow in the temple.	40:43
	Jesus looked at the people passing the plate in the chapel.	40:48
	And he noted how the rich,	40:52
	we made a big show of putting in our big wad of bills	40:55
	but there was this poor widow and all she had	40:58
	were these two little coins and she put both of them,	41:01
	all of it, in the plate,	41:05
	and Jesus said, "Surprise, she gave more than all the rest	41:08
	"because she gave not 10% off the top of her affluence,	41:14
	"but in her poverty she gave everything she had."	41:20
	So, just in case we thought that maybe Jesus	41:29
	was some professor who ask nothing more of you	41:33
	than an open mind and three hours of week in class,	41:36
	he tells you what he's really after.	41:42
	Everything.	41:45
	Every red cent of it,	41:47
	the whole ball of wax you call your life.	41:50
	So, what think you of the Christ?	41:56
	What think you?	42:01
	Isn't that typical of Jesus?	42:03
	Here you come asking him	42:06
	a perfectly straight forward academic question,	42:07
	only to have him turn around	42:11
	and ask you an even tougher question.	42:12
	Whose exam is this?	42:18
	(organ music)	42:26
	♪ At the name of Jesus ♪	43:05
	♪ Every knee shall bow ♪	43:08
	♪ Every tongue confess him ♪	43:13
	♪ King of glory now ♪	43:17
	♪ 'Tis the Father's pleasure ♪	43:22
	♪ We should call him Lord ♪	43:26
	♪ Who from the beginning was the mighty Word ♪	43:31
	♪ Humbled for a season ♪	43:42
	♪ To receive a name ♪	43:46
	♪ From the lips of sinners ♪	43:51
	♪ Unto whom he came ♪	43:55
	♪ Faithfully he bore it ♪	44:00
	♪ Spotless to the last ♪	44:04
	♪ Brought it back victorious ♪	44:09
	♪ When from death he passed ♪	44:13
	♪ Bore it up triumphant ♪	44:20
	♪ With its human light ♪	44:25
	♪ Through all ranks of creatures ♪	44:29
	♪ To the central height ♪	44:34
	♪ To the throne of Godhead ♪	44:38
	♪ To the Father's breast ♪	44:43
	♪ Filled it with the glory of that perfect rest ♪	44:47
	♪ In your hearts enthrone him ♪	44:59
	♪ There let him subdue ♪	45:03
	♪ All that is not holy ♪	45:08
	♪ All that is not true ♪	45:12
	♪ Crown him as your Captain ♪	45:17
	♪ In temptations' hour ♪	45:21
	♪ Let his will enfold you in its light and power ♪	45:25
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] The Lord be with you.	45:40
Congregation	And also with you.	45:42
-	Let us pray.	45:43
	O God, whose mercy is ever faithful and ever sure	45:57
	who art our refuge and our strength in time of trouble,	46:02
	visit us we beseech Thee,	46:06
	for Thy world is in need.	46:09
	Hear now these prayers for our sisters and brothers	46:12
	throughout the world,	46:16
	that they may be restored to fullness of life.	46:18
	We pray for people everywhere who seek to know the truth	46:22
	and who dare to weave it	46:27
	into the fabric of their daily lives,	46:28
	for all who earnestly seek peace	46:32
	and who live lives that embody it,	46:34
	especially those who work for reconciliation	46:37
	between East and West,	46:40
	for all who stand up in any way to expose injustice,	46:43
	prejudice and inhumanity,	46:47
	even at the price of their own security,	46:50
	for all who suffer with those who are stricken	46:54
	and who plead the cause of the orphan,	46:57
	the prisoner, the oppressed,	47:00
	especially those students who volunteer	47:03
	their time and effort, to educate our own community	47:05
	about hunger and homelessness.	47:08
	We commend to you, Savior God,	47:12
	those who stand in special need of prayer this day,	47:15
	for all who endure the trial of sickness and disease,	47:19
	especially those patients in Duke Hospital,	47:24
	for all who bear the burdens of homelessness,	47:27
	hunger or unemployment,	47:30
	for all who are paralyzed in the face of decisions	47:33
	or responsibilities that consume them,	47:36
	for all who are burdened,	47:40
	not by too little, but by too much,	47:42
	wielding power that renders them indifferent	47:45
	to the needs and rights of others.	47:47
	We dare to pray, Eternal God, even for ourselves,	47:52
	aware that we have done so little with so much.	47:56
	Give us keener self understanding,	48:00
	lest we think of ourselves more highly or more lowly	48:03
	than we ought.	48:07
	Give us a sense of what is most vital	48:09
	and most valuable in our lives,	48:12
	lest we squander our years and waste precious energies.	48:15
	Give us grace to count our less obvious blessings,	48:20
	our failures which teach us so much more than our successes,	48:25
	our shortage of money which points to	48:30
	our only truly renewable resources, those of the Spirit,	48:32
	our lack of health, even the knowledge of death,	48:37
	which reminds us of the temporal nature	48:41
	of our earthly existence	48:43
	with the promise of resurrection which awaits us.	48:45
	O, Ever Living God, give us a clear and compelling vision	48:49
	of the call to be disciples of Christ	48:54
	that we may rise above apathy and see beyond our confusion	48:58
	to follow the way of the cross.	49:02
	This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior.	49:05
	Amen.	49:10
	Ascribe to the Lord the honor due His name.	49:13
	Bring offerings and come into His courts.	49:17
	This morning's offering will be given to	49:21
	the American Red Cross	49:22
	for use in hurricane and disaster relief efforts.	49:24
	(somber organ music)	49:30
	♪ Alleluia ♪	52:35
	♪ Alleluia ♪
	♪ Alleluia ♪	52:51
	♪ Alleluia ♪
	♪ Alleluia ♪	53:02
	♪ Alleluia ♪
	♪ Alleluia ♪	53:07
	♪ Alleluia ♪
	♪ Alleluia ♪	53:10
	♪ Alleluia ♪
	♪ O praise ye the Lord ♪	53:20
	♪ Praise God in His temple ♪	53:25
	♪ Praise ye the Lord ♪	53:30
	♪ In the firmament of His power ♪	53:34
	♪ O praise Him for His might ♪	53:39
	♪ And the greatness of His wonders ♪	53:44
	♪ O praise Him ♪	53:49
	♪ Praise Him ♪	53:52
	♪ According to His majesty ♪	53:54
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	53:59
	♪ Praise the Lord with the sound of the trumpet ♪	54:00
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	54:05
	♪ Praise the Lord with the lute and the harp ♪	54:06
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	54:11
	♪ With the timbrel ♪	54:12
	♪ The timbrel and the dance ♪	54:14
	♪ O praise Him with the organ ♪	54:18
	♪ And instruments of strings ♪	54:22
	♪ Praise Him ♪	54:33
	♪ Praise Him upon the loud cymbals ♪	54:35
	♪ Praise Him ♪	54:48
	♪ Praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals ♪	54:50
	♪ Let everything that hath breath ♪	54:57
	♪ Everything that hath breath ♪	55:01
	♪ Praise ♪	55:06
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	55:08
	♪ Praise ♪	55:10
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	55:12
	♪ O praise ye the Lord ♪	55:17
	♪ Praise God in His temple ♪	55:22
	♪ O praise ye the Lord ♪	55:28
	♪ In the firmament of His power ♪	55:33
	♪ O praise Him for His might ♪	55:38
	♪ And the greatness of His wonders ♪	55:44
	♪ O praise Him ♪	55:49
	♪ O praise Him ♪	55:51
	♪ According to His majesty ♪	55:54
	♪ Praise the Lord, ♪	56:00
	♪ Praise the Lord with the sound of the trumpet ♪	56:01
	♪ Praise the Lord ♪	56:06
	♪ Praise the Lord with the lute and the harp ♪	56:07
	♪ Praise the Lord with the timbrel ♪	56:11
	♪ The timbrel and the dance ♪	56:15
	♪ Alleluia ♪	56:19
	♪ Alleluia ♪	56:24
	♪ Alleluia ♪	56:28
	♪ Alleluia ♪	56:32
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	57:10
	♪ Praise God all creatures here below ♪	57:16
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:21
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:24
	♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪	57:28
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	57:34
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:40
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:43
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:46
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:49
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:52
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] Our kind and gracious God,	58:05
	that we are alive,	58:08
	that the seasons unfold in their glorious array,	58:09
	that rest can restore our weary selves to newness of life,	58:13
	Thy name be praised.	58:17
	We thank Thee for friends old and new,	58:19
	for the generosity of men and women	58:22
	who give of themselves to aid others in distress,	58:25
	and for the courage to carry on in the darkest hour.	58:28
	Most of all, we thank Thee for Thyself,	58:32
	ground and source of every good	58:34
	and for the bounty of Thy love.	58:37
	With all Thy people in every corner of creation	58:39
	we count it joy to praise Thy name.	58:43
	This we pray in the name of the one who taught us.	58:46
Everyone	Our Father who art in heaven	58:49
	hallowed be Thy name.	58:52
	Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done	58:54
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	58:57
	Give us this day our daily bread	58:59
	and forgive us our trespasses	59:02
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	59:04
	and lead us not into temptation	59:07
	but deliver us from evil,	59:09
	for Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.	59:11
	Amen.	59:15
-	[Rev. Feree-Clark] And now, go forth in peace	59:19
	and be of good courage.	59:21
	Hold fast that which is good,	59:22
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit	59:24
	and my the blessings of God,	59:27
	Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit be with you all	59:30
	now and forever more.	59:33
	Amen.	59:35
	♪ God be in my head ♪	59:40
	♪ And in my understanding ♪	59:47
	♪ God be in mine eyes ♪	59:58
	♪ And in my looking ♪	1:00:04
	♪ God be in my mouth ♪	1:00:16
	♪ And in my speaking ♪	1:00:22
	♪ God be in my heart ♪	1:00:35
	♪ And in my thinking ♪	1:00:44
	♪ God be at mine end ♪	1:00:54
	♪ And in my departing ♪	1:01:05
	♪ You servants of God ♪	1:01:57
	♪ Your Master proclaim ♪	1:02:01
	♪ And publish abroad His wonderful name ♪	1:02:05
	♪ The name all-victorious of Jesus extol ♪	1:02:13
	♪ His kingdom is glorious and rules over all ♪	1:02:21
	♪ God ruleth on high ♪	1:02:30
	♪ Almighty to save ♪	1:02:34
	♪ And still He is nigh ♪	1:02:38
	♪ His presence we have ♪	1:02:42
	♪ The great congregation ♪	1:02:45
	♪ His triumph shall sing ♪	1:02:49
	♪ Ascribing salvation to Jesus our King ♪	1:02:53
	♪ Salvation to God ♪	1:03:03
	♪ Who sits on the throne ♪	1:03:07
	♪ Let all cry aloud ♪	1:03:10
	♪ And honor the Son ♪	1:03:14
	♪ The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim ♪	1:03:18
	♪ Fall down on their faces and worship the Lamb ♪	1:03:26
	♪ Then let us adore ♪	1:03:36
	♪ And give Him his right ♪	1:03:40
	♪ All glory and power ♪	1:03:44
	♪ All wisdom and might ♪	1:03:48
	♪ All honor and blessing with angels above ♪	1:03:52
	♪ And thanks never ceasing ♪	1:04:00
	♪ And infinite love ♪	1:04:03
	(orchestral music)	1:05:39
	(applauding)	1:08:45

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Final Exam" (November 12, 1989)

Description:

Sermon start time: 21:05. Sermon end time: 42:22.
The preacher analogizes the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ ill-intentioned questions with an exam to test Jesus. Only, Jesus asked them a question back “what do you think of the Christ?” The preacher argues that Jesus did not come to answer questions but to bring life. The preacher implicitly disapproves that higher education teaches students to question everything intellectually, failing to engage Jesus as a living God. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Jesus knows how our questions can often deter us from The question, ‘What do you think of the Christ?’”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4fb4x191

Date:

November 12, 1989

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Luke

Chapter and Verse:

Luke 20:19-40

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0156
ref8698_8lq
uachapelsermaud
duke:321450
dcrmv001152
ark:/87924/r4fb4x191
75a39021-f148-484c-b32e-555c78daeedd

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

See below

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Final Exam" (November 12, 1989)

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1. William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Final Exam" (November 12, 1989)

Duke University Archives

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William H. Willimon - "Jesus' Final Exam" (November 12, 1989)

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Duke University Archives

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