Mr. March

A Series on Lent
Jesus comforts his disciples
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 14:1-11 

[Lent is a 40-day season of personal reflection through prayer, fasting and giving in order to prepare your heart to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. We will be following Jesus through the Gospel of John as he enters Jerusalem for Passover, and the ensuing events that led up to his trial, crucifixion and resurrection.]

 

Tom Izzo is the Hall of Fame head coach of the Michigan State University men’s basketball team.

This year marks the twenty-fifth consecutive year that he has led his team to the NCAA tournament known as March Madness. It’s more than any other coach in history. Because of his record, he’s been given the nickname of Mr. March.

 

At the end of February, the team was riding high scoring over 80 points per game. But during the Big Ten Tournament, they lost to the second to the bottom seeded team. Their confidence was shaken. How will Coach Izzo prepare his team to face the challenges of March Madness?

 

The disciples were riding high as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and later was given a king’s reception into the city of Jerusalem. They were celebrating the Passover together in the upper room when Jesus dropped a bombshell... one of the disciples would betray him. Not only that, but Peter would deny him.

 

The disciples were shocked. Their confidence was shaken. Just when everything appeared to be victorious, their world was turned upside down. How will Jesus prepare his disciples to face the challenges of the next few hours? Like Coach Izzo, Jesus will point to himself.

 

¹ “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.    NLT

 

⁶ Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.  NLT

 

The disciples can trust Jesus because he’s the conduit to the Father. Not only is he the conduit, but he and the Father are one.

 

^9b ...Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! ^10b …The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.     NLT

 

Jesus also promises that he is preparing a place for them in his Father’s home.

 

³ When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  NLT

 

The disciples lived with Jesus twenty-four seven for three years. They trusted him through the good times and the bad. Now Jesus asked them to trust him again. In the same way, Jesus asks us to trust him again.

 

These verses, these promises spoken to the disciples, are spoken to us too. Jesus loves you. He’s faithful. He’s always with you. That’s way better than Mr. March.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Tom Izzo is Mr. March

Revelation 20:1-15

 

If you don’t know it by now, I’m a huge Michigan State sports fan. Not surprisingly, I believe that Tom Izzo is one of the best college basketball coaches active today. What is his secret to success? Accountability.

 

At the beginning of every school year he has all of his players write down their goals – individual, team, academic and off court. He then collects those goals and during the year if he sees that a player isn’t working towards his goals, Izzo will pull him aside and talk to him about it.

 

Consider Revelation 20. God keeps us all accountable. First, the angel bound Satan for a thousand years. Then after being released for a little while, Satan is thrown into the lake of fire. Finally, anyone whose name isn’t found in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire.

 

Some of the images in this chapter could come right out of a Stephen King novel. But let’s think about this, not in a literal sense, but as a piece of the big picture of the Bible. If we don’t get bogged down in the details of it, what can we learn about our Heavenly Father? I would suggest these three things.

 

First, He is just; and He is true to His character. His yes is yes and His no is no. What this means is that He must judge evil. He must judge the unrighteous. He must judge us. He must keep us accountable. I don’t particular care for this lesson, but it’s there, and it’s true. However, there is Good News to go with this.

 

Because He is just, our sins have to be paid for. He did this by using the sacrificial system as a metaphor to show the Israelites in a tangible way the need for a sacrifice; the need for atonement; the need for redemption. The only way to pay for our sins was with a pure lamb, a spotless lamb – His son Jesus.

 

Therefore, the second lesson from this chapter is that God loves us so much that he sacrificed His one and only son so that we might know Him; so that we might not be thrown into the lake of fire; so that we might spend eternity with Him.

 

The final lesson is that God wins! He wins over Satan; over evil; over death. He wins in the end! Why is that important for us? Consider what John wrote in his first letter: “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world”. Ultimately, there is victory for us. Jesus will return.

 

Tom Izzo is known as Mr. March because of his record during March Madness. He knows how to win when it counts. He builds his team on accountability to help them be better; to help them win when it counts. God does the same thing for us. He keeps us accountable and paid the price for our sins. Because He wins, we win too.

 

So, who’s keeping you accountable?