Remsen Bible Fellowship Sermons

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Thanks for reading Remsen Bible Fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Thanks for reading Remsen Bible Fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

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Gen 35:16 - 37:1Date: 11.9.25Recap of the Text:Explanation of the Text:* Overview: a conclusion for the brothers. Not the last we’ll hear.I: Twin Tragedies (16-22a)* Rachel’s hard labor (v16-17) leads to her death (v19) and burial (v20).* He erects a pillar - a place of remembrance (cf v14) But moves on (v21).* Grasping for control? (v22a). Possibly, again.II: Listing of the sons, v22b-26* Not by birth order—but Leah’s listed first.* Paddan-aram, inclusively. Benjamin notwithstanding. Point? God brought him back.III: The closing of Isaac’s story, v27-29* 27:1, 4 - at 137 Isaac was preparing for death 43 years earlier; but apparently there was some warning here - Jacob came to his father.* Some will say the concept of life after death is absent in the OT, but “gathered” clearly indicates such an ideaIV: Toledoths of Esau, 1-43* unique set (v1, v9)?, immediate descendants & separation, with v31ff being a later insertion. This includes a longer descent * - remember what Isaac spoke over Esau: 27:38-40* If the land “could not sustain” you might expect the one who never left to stay; but no!* Esau settles “away from the fatness” not the land where Abraham or Isaac had origins!* Compare ch 36:6 to the base list of 12 in 35:23-26* Who is multiplying greatly? Who has chieftains and clan leaders & kings? Esau!Question: will God be faithful to his Word?* Jacob’s family is in the process of falling into disarray - his beloved dies; his son violates his concubine; his father dies (regrets?); all we have is 37:1.* But all is, of course, an understatement. That God brought him back is remarkable - & is a down payment on future fulfillment* Friends, we have a fuller, clearer understanding of God’s promises than Jacob did - and an even better down payment: His presence & the Holy Spirit himself* Eph 1:11-14Brothers & sisters, it can be tempting to doubt God. To doubt his promise of salvation. To doubt his presence in your grief. To doubt his ordering of history. To doubt whether he can forgive your sins. When you doubt consider this: The God who did not spare his own Son but graciously gave him up for us all, will also with him give you everything you need. If you look to him, he will bring you safe to Canaan’s land. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Thanks for reading Remsen Bible Fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors.The Place of Prudence in ProvidenceIf you spend enough time reading the Bible over the course of years, and there’s different ways you can read the Bible. A lot of us, if we do read the Bible, a lot of us, we just leave the Bible on the shelf and let other people read it for us. But even if you’re reading it, it’s very easy to fall into the habit of just, I need a little bit of a nugget to get me through the day, some kind of encouragement, some kind of a pick-me-up.Ideally, what we’re doing when we’re reading the Bible is we are listening to what God has to say. God has revealed himself through the scriptures. And so as we’re reading, we want to understand what the author who is inspired by the Holy Spirit is intending to communicate. If you do that over the course of time, there’s going to be certain places where you feel like there is tension.And one of those tension points is between the principle of grace, of self-giving love, self-sacrificing love on the one hand, and the call on the other hand to wisdom, to prudence, to thinking decisions and actions through very carefully. Now these two things, wisdom, prudence, and self-giving, self-sacrificing love, they aren’t actually intention. They are not opposed to one another because they’re both expressions of God’s own character.And one of my favorite classical doctrines of God in the history of Christianity is the doctrine of God’s simplicity. Not that God is easy to understand, but what that means is that God is not divided. God is one. And so his attributes, his characteristics are not fighting against one another. In the mind and heart of God, his justice and his love aren’t fighting a war. And it’s like, oh, is God’s justice going to win here or is his love? No, both are just ways that we describe how God is all of the time toward us as his creatures.And so the same thing here, wisdom is not opposed to love, but sometimes it can feel that way, especially living this side of the fall. We face circumstances, we face times when it is hard to tell. Do I need to emphasize love here? Do I need to emphasize taking a risk? Or do I need to emphasize walking wisely, considering my steps?The Proverbs say that the wise man looks and he sees the pit that’s coming, but the fool just stumbles right into the pit. Well, how do I know? Am I supposed to emphasize looking for the trap, looking for the pit, or am I supposed to emphasize I’m just going to trust the Lord and do the loving thing? It’s hard to know sometimes.Let’s read our passage this morning. It’s Genesis chapter 30, verses 25 to 43. And if you do have a bulletin, the title is different than what I have in the bulletin. The title of this sermon probably more accurately would be the place of prudence in providence. The place of prudence in providence. Genesis chapter 30 beginning in verse 25 says this:So there’s some weird stuff in here, but we’ll get to that. The first thing we should see in verses 25 to 33 is that prudence is necessary to protect your family. Verse 25 says, as soon as Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob goes to Laban and says, send me away, which means he has fulfilled his seven years of service to Laban.So Joseph is the 11th son of Jacob, his 12th son. Benjamin won’t be born until he is returned to the promised land. So his last son born here in Paddan Aram is the son Joseph, which means that he has 11 sons and at least 12 children born in the space of seven years.You think sometimes when you get later to the story of Joseph and you think of his older brothers, you think, wow, you know, this is a huge family. These guys are 15, 20 years older than him. They’re not. They’re all born together in a pretty tight window. All 11 of them are within seven years of each other.And Jacob sees that he has this burgeoning responsibility with this large family. He needs to take care of them. And God has promised him that the land of promise, the land of Canaan is where God is going to bless him. And so he sees a need, like I need to get back to the land of promise, to the land where God has promised to provide for me in order to take care of this family.And it’s kind of a side note here, but I think I mentioned in an earlier sermon, one of the things you notice with Jacob is that he is at his best when he is taking proactive steps. When Jacob is sitting back and letting other people make decisions for him, his mom telling him what to do, his wives telling him what to do and kind of pulling him around all over the place. If he’s letting other people make decisions for him, things go poorly. But when he takes initiative, things tend to go much better. Things tend to be moving in the right direction.Jacob recognizes here at this point, after seven, this is 14 total years of service, right? He had served seven years for Rachel before Laban snuck Leah in and he married Leah. And then after a week, he gave him Rachel for seven more years of service. He’s been serving Laban for 14 years, seven years with a family. And now he wants to move back to the land. And so he goes and he tells Laban, hey, send me away. Give me my wives and my children. I’ve served you for this long. And now you know, you know that I’ve served you honestly. You know the service that I’ve given to you.But here’s what Laban says to him. Laban does not want to lose Jacob’s service. He doesn’t want to lose his work. He says, if I have found favor in your sight. So he’s trying to curry some favor with him. Like, hey, listen, listen to me for a minute. I’ve learned by divination, and that’s not entirely clear in the text what that means, but maybe he’s used some kind of witchcraft, or he’s gone to someone who gave him an omen, or maybe the Lord just appeared to him in a dream, and it’s not super clear in the text how this happens.But he has learned somehow that his blessing, the prosperity of his flocks, has come through the presence of Jacob. And we know from a few verses later that this is accurate. Jacob shares that assessment that the blessing of Laban, Laban didn’t have very much when Jacob showed up. But after 14 years of Jacob serving him, Laban is now a wealthy and prosperous man.And Laban says, hey, here’s the deal. You’re really valuable. Name your wage. I’ll give it to you. Name what you want. And it’s yours. This is a great place to be in as a worker, right? You tell your boss, I want to leave. And he says, I’ll pay anything to keep you. You tell me the wage and I will give it to you.And so then Jacob, Jacob is shrewd. You can tell as he starts into his reply to Laban’s offer here, name your wage and I’ll give it to you. Jacob’s setting it up to drive a pretty hard bargain. He says, you yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me. You had little before I came and it is increased abundantly. And the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned.So as he’s replying, he’s setting it up to like, I am going to make a big ask here. And you need to remember, you basically wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for me. You’d still be dealing with shepherds who wouldn’t even roll the stone away for your daughter when she showed up with the sheep. That’s who Laban had working for him before. Now he has Jacob and he’s become wealthy and prosperous. And Jacob says, remember that before I set this up.Now, how am I gonna provide for my own household? I’ve made you rich. I’ve made you prosperous, Laban. But now what am I gonna do for me? And Laban comes back very quickly with, what shall I give you? What can I give you to make up for this? What can I give you to sweeten this deal, to make you want to stay?And Jacob, this is where I see his prudence and his shrewdness come in here. He says, you shall not give me anything. Jacob knows who he’s dealing with in Laban. Laban’s not a trustworthy man, obviously. Laban’s proved that multiple times, and he’s going to show that again. And Jacob does not want to take a gift from someone he knows is not trustworthy.Why is that? Like, if that person’s not trustworthy, but they’re giving you a gift, what’s it matter? It’s a gift, right? But what Jacob understands, what they understood in the ancient Near East, and what we as modern Americans tend to deny, but we still know, is that gifts come with obligations. Gifts come with obligations. There is always a string attached. That string may not be negative, but it exists with literally every gift that is given.Advertisers know this. So you get those little flyers in the mail. We’ll give you this free gift if you listen to our presentation and you’re gonna feel obligated because they gave you that gift to listen to the presentation, the sales pitch. Like they’re not dumb when they say, I’m gonna give you this $40 thing to try to sell you something that costs $3,000, right? They know that that gift gives you a sense of obligation to that person, to that company.This is true even in families where there is genuine love. But if you give a gift to someone and you don’t at least get a thank you, do you not feel wronged? If you give a gift and that person then turns around and relationally stabs you in the back, they start talking poorly about you after you’ve just done something kind for them, do you not feel wronged? Because you have been wronged. That gift came with an expectation of a reciprocal relationship.This is true even in salvation. Some people would throw up salvation as a counter to this. Well, God gives us his grace freely without any expectation in return, but that’s not true. His grace is completely freely given without condition in us. We don’t do anything to earn or deserve God’s favor. But if we have received salvation from him, there is a reciprocal piece of this.The apostle Paul says in Romans 12 verses one and two, after he’s spent 11 chapters of the book of Romans unfolding the freeness of God’s grace, the extravagance of God’s grace towards those who by nature are his enemies. Like we don’t do anything to earn or deserve salvation through Jesus. But he says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind and in view of God’s mercies, the reasonable, the acceptable sacrifice in return is to offer yourself as a living sacrifice. This is your reasonable act of service. The reasonable response to the gift of salvation is to give your whole self to God.And so then the rest of the book of Romans is Paul explaining how you then live as a Christian in light of having received the gift of salvation. So even salvation is a gift and the string that is attached is glorious. It means living as God’s child. But if you refuse to live as if you are God’s child, then it’s perfectly fine to question whether you actually receive the gift of salvation to start with.All gifts have expectations attached to them. And Jacob here prudently knows, I don’t want ambiguous expectations of relationship attached to my interaction with Laban. Everything needs to be clear cut. Everything needs to be written down. I don’t want, well, I did this favor. I gave you this gift in the past. And so, you know, maybe you really ought to stick around. He doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want that expectation of reciprocal kindness attached to someone he knows he can’t trust further than he can throw him.So Jacob prudently refuses the gift and says, instead, let’s make another business deal. You give me all the striped and speckled of the flock and all the black lambs. So these are going to be less common colors of the goats and of the sheep. He says, you pull those out of the flock. They’re mine. And for the extent of this time, it’s going to be six years that he works for Laban for these flocks. All of the goats and the sheep that are these colors belong to me. All the rest belong to you, Laban. And I’ll keep shepherding your flocks. I’ll keep growing your business as long as I get to grow mine on the side. And you’ll be able to look at my flocks and see if I stole anything that belonged to you. It’s going to be pretty obvious.And Laban says, that sounds like a great idea. And then immediately, the second thing we see here is that dealing with deceitful people demands prudence. Because Laban immediately then pulls all of those colors of goats and sheep out of his flocks and gets them three days journey away from Jacob. He immediately undercuts the deal. But nonetheless, there is clarity in what was agreed upon.Laban is exceedingly shrewd in a way that’s unhinged from obedience to God. In the gospel of Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells a parable about an unjust but shrewd business manager. He owes his employer a large sum of money and he’s about to get fired because he hasn’t done a good job managing. He’s the opposite of Jacob. He’s got all these accounts that haven’t been collected because he hasn’t done a good job as a manager. But then he goes, he knows he’s going to get fired and he thinks he might face some pretty severe consequences. So he goes to each of the people who have these open accounts. He’s like, you owe, we’ll put it in our terms, you owe $1,000, here, pay $100 and we’ll call that account good. And he goes and he does this with all of the creditors. And the guy who’s about to fire him says, you know what? That was pretty shrewd. Like, I’m not crazy about how you just did this, but I’ve kind of got to hand it to you. That was the right thing to do. Because what did he do? He then made friends with all of these other people who owed his employer this money.And Jesus says then in Luke chapter 16 and verse eight, that the sons of this age, the people of the world, those who aren’t driven by righteousness and the desire to honor God are wiser, they’re shrewder, than the sons of light, than the children of God. They’re more likely to act in a way that is wise in this world. And then Jesus tells his disciples, use unrighteous mammon, use your earthly wealth and talents and gifts in a way that is shrewd so as to win friends in this world.Now, as Jesus is saying this, he’s not endorsing dishonesty. He’s not endorsing doing things that are foolish or sinful, but he’s saying just because you’re a Christian and called to love doesn’t mean you need to be an idiot. Like that’s what Jesus is trying to get across here. Use wisdom in how you deal with people in this world and use the things of this world, the money that God has given you, the skills that he has given you to curry friends, to win favor with those around so that when you come to them with the gospel, they know you’re not just some crazy person. Like you’re an intelligent human being that if they’re saying this, maybe they’re living differently than me, but I can kind of trust what they have to say. They’re not dumb.So, Laban is someone who is shrewd in a way that’s unhinged from obedience. By trying to remove all of Jacob’s wages, we see that in verse 35. But I think the question is put to us as we read about Laban, who is the Laban in your life? Who do you deal with, either occasionally or regularly, maybe you’re related to them, that you need to be more careful about how you deal with them? You probably should trust them less than you do.This is, again, where we can feel that tension as Christians. Love is motivated by the good of the other. It’s motivated by doing what’s best for someone else. Isn’t that intention with being prudent and wise and looking out for the dangers in relationships with people? It can feel that way, but it’s not. Love does take risks, but loves must be ordered. This is in classical Christian theology, like the understanding of the order of loves, Ordo amoris. That’s actually kind of come up in politics a couple months ago when JD Vance started talking about the orders of loves in how we relate to people in different parts of the world. Like we can’t actually love everybody the same right? You only have so much capacity and sometimes loving this person would seem to be in conflict with loving this person and so you have to order starting with your own family and then your own immediate community, your church and your town. Like you’ve got to order your loves and it starts with loving God first.I want to use a couple of examples here. Think of an addict in your life. This may be an obvious one, but one thing that people with addicts in their life often do is enable them. They don’t act wisely towards them. They try to be loving and they try to keep them on their feet and they’ll give them a place to land, a place to stay, no matter how they respond to that because they want to be loving.But if you keep enabling behavior that is destroying someone’s life, is that actually loving? Are you motivated by doing what’s best for that person or are you motivated by the discomfort it gives you to see them suffering from their own decisions? That’s an important question to ask. Are you motivated by the discomfort that you feel or are you motivated by what’s actually best for that person?Same thing with someone in your life who’s dishonest. They don’t tell the truth and you can try to skirt around that and try to keep everything smooth relationally. Not bring up when they lie to your face or when they’re doing things that violate the nature of your relationship. You can be afraid of the conflict that will come if you call that behavior out or when you just refuse to go along with their lies. Like, if you contradict those things, it will create tension, it will create conflict, especially if they have more explosive personalities. But are you driven by what’s actually right for them, what’s good for them, or are you driven by what will keep everything calm? Those aren’t the same thing most of the time.One of my favorite verses, I quote it all the time, Leviticus chapter 19, where Moses says to reason frankly with your neighbor, reason frankly with your brother if he’s offended you, if he’s wronged you, and do not hold bitterness in your heart.Our fundamental responsibility in this world as Christians, is to be godly. It’s to honor the Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second commandment’s like it, love your neighbor as yourself. Those two things are never truly in conflict, honoring the Lord and loving our neighbor. They sometimes feel like they are, but we always have to pull ourselves back to, regardless of how I feel, objectively what will honor the Lord in this situation. We are responsible to the Lord to trust in his direction for that. His direction through his word, his direction as we come to him in prayer, not to try to judge how others are going to feel or respond to that.Other people’s responses to our attempts to live wisely before God are not our responsibility. And so as long as you’re trying to calculate and figure out how am I going to act based on how I think they will respond, you are living based on the fear of man rather than the fear of God.Jacob here is okay with offending Laban. I’m sure Laban, well, Laban, to be honest, probably doesn’t take the time to feel offended because he’s just figuring out how he’s going to get the upper hand, which is often the case. We think people are going to be offended by the way we act, but really they’re just busy trying to think, how do I deal with this situation? They’re not actually thinking about what’s inside of you. That’s another topic.The third thing we see in this text when we get to verses 37 to 43. So we’ve seen that for Jacob to protect his family, he has to act in a way that is prudent. And we see that that’s necessary because of who he’s dealing with. And we often deal with people like Laban in our lives. So we too must act with prudence. The third thing we see in this text, though, is that we have to remember God’s providence in every situation.Jacob makes this deal with Laban and Laban immediately undercuts it. And now Laban is given Jacob a flock that has none of the things that they’ve just agreed will be given to Jacob. There’s no more striped and spotted goats. There’s no more black lambs. And Jacob is not an idiot. He knows he has been double-crossed. But that doesn’t really seem to faze him at all.Instead, he does this really weird thing. He goes to the place where they water the flocks, and he goes there with some sticks that he has peeled, and he puts the sticks down, and the sheep and the goats would breed where they went to water. There’s basically three ideas that commentators give associated with this. That as he’s put these sticks here, thinking that as the sheep and the goats breed, they’ll be looking at these sticks. He only does this for the strong ones. The weak ones, he pulls the sticks away. Like, I don’t want the weak ones affected by this. I only want the strong ones affected.Some people think, number one, first possibility, he’s basically participating in some kind of witchcraft, that this is like a voodoo deal, that if you put these sticks out here, it will magically make the babies turn the color associated with the peeled sticks. I basically completely reject that option because Jacob has shown he’s turned a corner here. He’s not all the way turned towards like sold out, worshiping God, serving God, but he clearly is acknowledging the presence and power of God in his life. He’s in his interaction with Laban credited God with the fact that the flocks have become prosperous.Later on in the next chapter, when he’s dealing with Laban again, he’s going to respond to Laban’s accusations that Jacob was stealing from him or that everything still really belonged to Laban. Jacob’s going to say, no, God has prospered me. So Jacob understands God’s providence in all of this. So I don’t think he’s turning the opposite direction and going towards witchcraft.The other two options are variations of the same theme. In the ancient Near East, it seems that there was an idea, and this actually carried on through not just to the ancient Near East, but really until within the last couple centuries as we started to understand genetics, which is not even the last couple centuries. That’s really within the last few decades. But there was this idea that if animals were breeding and they had a visual focus on something, whatever they were visually focusing on would affect their offspring.So some of the premier biblical commentators in the 19th century were Keil and Delitzsch. And they cite several references to this, like examples from people who were professional sheep breeders that they would use this same technique. And this is in the 17 and 1800s where they would set these peeled sticks in front of them and it would affect the coloring of the animals.So the two variations of this are, number one, Jacob was doing this because he knows something that we as modern people don’t know. We chalk everything up to genetics and he’s actually got information that we would just reject because, well, ancient people are superstitious. And he’s right and we’re wrong. That’s a possibility.The third possibility is that that’s what’s going through Jacob’s mind, that he’s setting these sticks out here because he thinks it’s going to affect the coloration of the animals. And it doesn’t actually affect the coloration of the animals, but God in his providence still allows those animals, the stronger ones, to produce the coloration that Jacob needs to grow his flocks.Either one of those, I think, are acceptable from the text. I lean towards the last one. I am a modern person. I do believe in genetics. But Jacob certainly, he sees that he’s taking an action here beyond just selective breeding, but trying to more quickly impact the coloration of his flocks by putting these sticks out here. I don’t think they probably do affect anything.There’s one word in verse 39. It says the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled and spotted. But that word so in our English Bibles is inserted by translators. It’s not actually there in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew text just gives you the order. He did this and then they gave birth to these speckled, spotted and striped offspring. It doesn’t tie his actions directly to the result. It just tells you this happened and then this happened. And I think we probably should just follow the Hebrew presentation of it there, that this is what happened. Here are Jacob’s actions. Here’s what happened afterward. The flock gave birth to these different colors from the stronger of the flock.So I don’t think Jacob’s technique here does anything for him, to be honest. God is blessing him. But I also don’t think we should judge him for it. He’s just acting in a way that’s consistent with their understanding of breeding animals at the time. And so he’s just doing something that’s in line with how any other sheep or goat herder would have acted at that time. And he still seems to have trust that it’s God’s providence that brings him the blessing that he needs.And we get to the end of the chapter and in verse 43 it says thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants and camels and donkeys. So his flocks have grown to the point where not only does he have a massive amount of sheep and goats but he’s obviously able to turn around and sell enough of them that he’s able to acquire more servants, acquire donkeys, acquire camels. Like he has become enormously rich through this process. God has continued to bless him.The narrator doesn’t pass negative judgment on Jacob here for doing what seems to us very strange with the peeled stick deal. So I don’t think we should pass judgment on him either. Instead, we should see a positive and needed example in Jacob in this chapter. It’s that he is seeking to live in a way that is prudent and wise. Not depending on the efficacy of his own prudence and wisdom, but depending on the providential care of God.Those are two things. Again, they feel like their intention, but biblically they’re not. We are required, we are expected to live with the most wisdom that we can. Book of Proverbs. How do you get wisdom? Seek wisdom. That’s what Ryan talked to us about last week. Pursue wisdom. And in all of that, don’t trust that your wisdom is what’s going to save you. Trust that God has a plan for you and he will protect you and he will provide for you.Pursue wisdom and trust in the providential protection and care of God. That’s what he calls us to on this earth. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the end of wisdom, the telos, the goal of wisdom is to live a life that brings honor and glory to God. And that’s the direction that Jacob is turning here. His narrative arc has moved from just like doing things his own way. And then he’s kind of getting pulled around by other people. But he started to turn towards desiring, not perfectly, but desiring to honor God. And God is caring for him. And God is keeping his promise to Jacob. And that’s the most important thing of all.Jacob’s imperfect and he fails. We are imperfect and we fail. But God had given promises to Jacob and God fulfills those promises. And God gives promises to us that if we trust in him, he will be there for us. He will be our rock and our fortress and our deliverer. And so we can trust in him as well.Would you pray with me? Father God, thank you for your kindness towards us. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for your care. Help us to be wise in how we deal with those around us. We want to put your love on display, Father. But help us to have love that is governed by biblical wisdom, not by feelings, not by emotions, the emotions of ourselves or others, but rather ordered by a right attention to what your word teaches. We need your help in this, and so we ask for it in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

This post is part of a series of devotions preparing our church (and those of you who follow along online) for Easter, 2026. The readings are loosely (very loosely) based off the Book of Common Prayer. Each day will have a reading, a theme for you to focus on in prayer, and a written prayer or reflection. Some days will have supplemental material at the end.TextJonah 2 (ASV)Then Jonah prayed unto Jehovah his God out of the fish’s belly. 2 And he said,I called [a]by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah,And he answered me;Out of the belly of Sheol cried I,And thou heardest my voice.3 For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas,And the flood was round about me;All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.4 And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes;Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul;The deep was round about me;The weeds were wrapped about my head.6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains;The earth with its bars closed upon me for ever:Yet hast thou brought up my life from [b]the pit, O Jehovah my God.7 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah;And my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple.8 They that regard lying vanitiesForsake their own mercy.9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;I will pay that which I have vowed.Salvation is of Jehovah.10 And Jehovah spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.Prayer Focus: The Gift of SalvationPoemAs the sailors heave me over the prow,I've nowhere to go, sinking deeper down now--the fish swallows me. Why to run did I try?Out of the depths of Sheol hear my cry!Salvation belongsSalvation belongsSalvation belongs to the LordThanks for reading Remsen Bible Fellowship! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors.If you want to take your Bibles in turn, we’re going to be in Genesis chapter 29 this morning is where we will start. Genesis 29. Andy told me last week that I was a little academic. So hopefully it won’t be quite so academic this week. It’ll be a little bit more in the story that we are reading. Genesis 29, beginning in verse 1 will read down through verse 14 to start with. Says then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well. Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” He said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well, and see, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with a sheep.” He said, “Behold, it is still high day. It is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep and go pasture them.” But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep.” While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. Now, as soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban, his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebecca’s son, and she ran and told her father. And as soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house, and Jacob told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh,” and he stayed with him a month.So chapter 29 begins with the word “then.” Then what? After what happened? Well, last week we looked at chapter 28 and beginning in verse 10 of chapter 28. God had met with Jacob at Bethel. Jacob’s running for his life. He’s afraid that his brother Esau is going to kill him. Esau wants to kill him. And so he’s taking off. His mother and his father have sent him to Padan Aram to Laban, the brother, rather, of Rebecca. And so as he’s going, God meets him there in a dream and promises him that he is going to receive the blessing that God had promised to Abraham and to Isaac before him, and then adds to that a personal promise that God would bring Jacob back to the land that he was leaving. He was going to come back to the land of promise. Verses 2 and 3, as Jacob goes on this journey, he rises from that place at Bethel and heads, continues on, towards his mother’s family. We meet some shepherds. He gets to a place where he sees a well, and wells are significant meeting places in the Bible, and here is no different. He comes and he meets these shepherds at a well, and then we get a little bit of background as to how these shepherds operate. When all of their flocks get together, then they move the stone, and then they start drawing water to water their sheep. But they’re just laying around here in the middle of the day. There’s apparently a flock that’s waiting to come. And Jacob initiates conversation with these men. He says, “Where are you guys from?” And they say “Haran,” which is exactly the place that he is wanting to get to. This is where Abraham’s family is from. It’s where Rebecca’s family is from. He’s trying to get to this place, and he has made it here. God has providentially led him to the right place and also at just the right time, because when he finds out that they’re from here and he says, “Hey, do you know Laban?” And they said, “Yeah, we know Laban. And hey, look, there is his daughter Rachel coming right now.” God has led Jacob to just the right place, at just the right time. And here comes Rachel. And Jacob here is seen initiating. That’s important. He initiates the conversation with these men. When Rachel comes with the flock, he immediately moves the stone that these men have been saying, “Yeah, we wait until everybody gets here.” Well, as soon as Rachel’s there, he moves the stone. He tells Rachel who he is. He kisses her. This is just a kiss of greeting. Laban’s going to kiss Jacob the same way in a few verses. So this is not like love at first sight, romantic kissing. This is just like, “Hey, hello, we are relatives. It’s good to see you.” And then, Rachel runs and tells her father, and Laban welcomes Jacob in as a member of the family. There doesn’t seem to be anything duplicitous, anything hidden in Laban’s actions here. He just welcomes his sister’s son, as if he is a member of the family, which he is. So we get to verse 15. So Jacob has come, he started to stay with Laban. Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” So Laban welcomes Jacob in, gives him a job, and then he says, “Okay, after a month, I’ve seen this guy work. I should probably quit treating—I shouldn’t treat him like a slave, but I can’t treat him like a son. I already have sons. They already get the inheritance, so I need to pay him something. Tell me, what shall your wages be?”Now, Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter, Rachel.” And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man. Stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love that he had for her. So again, Laban looks at Jacob and says, “This is probably a good worker, a guy who understands what he’s doing with the sheep,” and we’re going to see later on in Jacob’s story that God actually pours out a great deal of blessing upon Laban because of Jacob’s diligent efforts. And so after a month, he says, “Hey, tell me, how can I pay you? How can I make it worth your while to stay here?” And Jacob, in this time has fallen in love with Rachel. The comparison here between the two sisters says that Leah has weak eyes, and this could just be a metaphor saying that she’s less attractive than Rachel, or it could be like a literal description. One of the ways that beauty shines through in people, and I would say, well, I’m on thin ice here, I probably should have thought this one through first. But like, women in particular is like the vivacity of their eyes. Like, you can see beauty coming through someone’s eyes when you’re looking at their face. And so that description of Rachel seems to be that she, in contrast to her sister Leah, who has weak eyes, Rachel is beautiful in form and appearance. Jacob is taken with her, and he says, “I will work for you for seven years in order to have your younger daughter, Rachel.” And that idea of treating a woman as if like, oh, we have to pay for her, that might strike our modern ears as strange, but it was a normal custom, that there would be some kind of bride price that a young man, if he wanted to marry a woman, he would have to bring forward this bride price. That was a normal part of, honestly, most human cultures until the day before yesterday. And you would have, in this society, an exchange, basically, like the man brought forward a bride price, and then the father would give a dowry with his daughter, so it was a transaction of sorts that took place. And Jacob offers something that is over the top. Seven years of labor is a long time. That’s a massive bride price, and he himself has initiated it. It seems that his intention here is, “I’m going to tell him something he won’t say no to.” You know, seven years of labor. Okay, I’ll take that, Laban says. That sounds fine to me. I mean, you know, I’d hate for her to marry somebody around here. Like, you’re much better. Yeah, I’ll take seven years of labor, young man. But then you have, honestly, probably one of the most romantic verses in all the Bible. Verse 20 says that those seven years were just like a few days to Jacob because of the love that he had for Rachel. So his story, even though it starts off pretty bad, like, he’s running for his life from his brother Esau, he gets here, and he meets her at the well, and now these seven years of labor for her father is just like a few days for him. It starts off like some kind of fairy tale. Until we read verses 21 to 30, where Jacob gets out-Jacobed.Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast, but in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant. And in the morning, behold, it was Leah. And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then, have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is not so done in our country to give the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also, in return for serving me another seven years.” Jacob did so and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter, Rachel, to be her servant. So Jacob went into Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served Laban for another seven years. Verse 21, we have our first indicator that something might be wrong in the relationship between Laban and Jacob. Jacob is having to remind Laban, “Hey, seven years have passed. Like it’s time for you to give me my wife.” Like, Laban didn’t lose track of time here. Laban knows it’s been seven years, but Jacob’s having to remind him, “You owe me. Okay, let’s get this marriage thing settled.” Laban says, “Okay.” And he gathers all the people together, and we don’t know, we don’t have hardly any information about weddings in ancient cultures like this. In the Old Testament, I think really the only clear pictures of weddings we have are this one here, and in Judges 14, where Samson gets married. But from what we know of later Jewish weddings and from the data that we have here, it seems like this is a week long celebration, which is also the case even in the time of Jesus. And you have this great, big, long celebration, and at the first night, the husband and the wife are supposed to be able to be together, but it seems that there’s been quite a bit of celebration happening already. And Jacob, whether it’s because it’s dark or his wife’s wearing a veil or he’s consumed too much alcohol or maybe all three, doesn’t notice when Laban sends Leah instead of Rachel, until the next morning. And he goes, “You are not who I thought you were.” And he goes to Laban, and he’s furious, and for good reason, he’s just worked seven years, and you know, Laban, maybe he didn’t have this plan in mind at first, but over the course of seven years, he’s thinking, “I could get another seven years out of this guy. If I slip in Leah, and you know, she’s not that pretty, I haven’t had somebody come and offer to marry her, but I could give her instead of Rachel, and then I could get rid of both of them, like get them both married off, and seven more years of labor out of Jacob.” This is he’s scheming away here, and the irony that we can see as the reader, that maybe not immediately apparent to Jacob, or maybe it is, and it makes him even more mad, is that Jacob, who by deceit, had stolen the right of the firstborn from his brother Esau, who by deceit had stolen his father’s blessing. He now, by deceit, has wound up with a different wife than he thought he was working for. He has been out-Jacobed by Laban. He’s been out-tricked. He’s furious, but he still ends up, Laban says, “Well, here’s the deal. Finish out this first week with Leah. Then I’ll give you Rachel.” So in eight days, he has two wives now, the one he wanted and the one that Laban snuck in on him. And Leah here certainly is not unaware of what it says in verse 30. It’s one of the most devastating verses in the Book of Genesis. Jacob went into Rachel also and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served Laban for another seven years. Gordon Wenham, Old Testament commentator, he points out that these second seven years, those first seven years, they pass like a few days. And Wenham says, the second seven years didn’t go quite so fast for Jacob. And we see that through what follows.The Lord saw, verse 31, that Leah was hated. That term “hated” in the Old Testament is generally, like it’s a Hebrew euphemism for “loved substantially less.” See the same thing in the book of Malachi when it refers to Jacob and Esau, that the Lord loved Jacob, but he hated Esau. It’s a term of comparison. And here, it’s not that Jacob has no affection for Leah at all, but it’s nothing compared to what he has for Rachel. The Lord saw, though. The Lord saw that Leah was hated. He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has looked upon my affliction. Surely now my husband will love me.” And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also,” and she called his name Simeon. Again, she conceived and bore a son and said, “Now this time, my husband will be attached to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, she called his name, Levi. So, Leah is seen by the Lord, and the Lord hears her cries that she is not loved, that she is not cared for by her husband, and the Lord chooses to open her womb rather than Rachel’s. So unlike Rebecca, unlike Sarah, who had waited 20 years and 25 years in order to have a child, Leah is able to conceive and give birth right away. It seems like these children are just coming one right after the other, but then listen to these names. These names are devastating. The name Reuben means, I mean, these are what commentators call folk etymologies. Like it’s they’re word plays in Hebrew. It’s not that this is like literally where this word comes from, but this is what it sounds like. And what the word “Reuben” sounds like, the name Reuben sounds like “see, a son.” Like, “Look, now my husband’s gonna love me because I’ve produced a son for him. Maybe he didn’t care about me before, maybe I’m not as pretty as my sister, but I have produced an heir for him.” And then she has a second son, Simeon, whose name means “heard.” Like, “The Lord has heard my cries. And now my husband is going to love me. He’s heard of my affliction,” and then the third son’s name is Levi, which means “attached.” And she’s, you can just hear in the names that she’s giving these children, she is desperate, though the Lord has opened her womb and given her children, she is desperate for the love of her husband. “Would he be attached to me now that I have borne him three sons?” And by the time her fourth son comes, it seems she has given up hope of her husband ever actually loving her. Verse 35, and she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time, I will praise the Lord.” Instead of desperately hoping for her husband to love her, she’s simply going to praise the Lord, for giving her Judah, and then she ceased bearing.And then we come to chapter 30. And Rachel has the opposite problem. She has Jacob’s love. Jacob cares for her, he is affectionate toward her, but Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, and she envied her sister. And she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die.” And Jacob responds, and probably pretty reasonably. Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Jacob obviously spends a lot more time with Rachel than he does with Leah, and yet God has withheld children from her, and he says, “Who do I look like? Do I look like God?” And we can all answer with Jacob, “No, you don’t look like God, you don’t act like God.” But Rachel here, though she has the love of her husband, is desperate, because in that society, and I like not just in that society, like this is something that crosses times and cultures, a woman’s identity can be wrapped up in children, and she feels like her sister is beating her, is winning a competition with her, is in some sense, more valuable and valuable than her because she is able to have children when Rachel is not. It’s interesting here that in this whole passage, all of chapter 29, here in this first half of chapter 30, the only place Jacob mentions God at all is here in a flippant way of saying, “Do I look like God to you?” It’s the only way he refers to God in this entire text. Verse three, Rachel has a plan, and it’s a plan that we’ve heard before. It’s a plan very similar to Sarah’s back in chapter 16. Rachel says, “Here is my servant Bilhah. Go in to her that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” And Jacob should say, “Hey, I’ve heard this story before, and it doesn’t go very well. Like, let’s not do that.” But instead, he simply listens to the voice of his wife. She gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. And then Rachel said, “God has judged me and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore, she called his name Dan, and Dan just means, like, it sounds like the word for “judged,” “vindicated.” Like the idea is, Rachel is saying, “Well, now that I have done this, I have given my servant to my husband to have a child with, God has vindicated me by giving me this child,” and so his name is Dan. And verse 7, Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings, I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed,” so she called his name Naphtali. So like her idea with this name is like she’s in this competition with Leah, and now she’s got the upper hand. Not only does she have her husband’s love, but she has two children as well, even if they were through the means of her servant. Well, Leah says, “Two can play at that game. Two can play at that game.” Verse 9, Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, so she took her servant Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son, and Leah said, “Good fortune has come.” So she called his name Gad. “Good fortune, I have been blessed above my sister again.” And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, and Leah said, “Happy am I, for women have called me happy,” so she called his name, Asher. And she’s just rubbing it in to Leah, or to Rachel, rather, that God has continued to bless me over and above what he has you, little sister.And then we get this micro story here in verses 14 to 18 that is again filled with irony. In the days of wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother, Leah. So Reuben is the oldest son at this point. He’s maybe four or five years old. He goes out into the field, he finds these mandrakes and the mandrakes were a fruit that was thought to contain properties that would improve the relationship between a husband and his wife and would also be thought to improve fertility. And so Rachel sees this, verse middle of verse 14. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” And Leah says to her, verse 15, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “He may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” Rachel says, “OK, I have him most of the time, I’ll let you have him tonight in exchange for these mandrakes that are going to maybe bring me the child that I desire.” When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” Let’s think about what a disaster this family is if these are the conversations that they’re having. So he lay with her that night. So Rachel has him most of the time and now has the mandrakes. Leah has purchased him for one night, sold him for one night. And God listened to Leah verse 17, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. The mandrakes don’t work for Rachel, but the one night with Jacob works for Leah. Verse 18, Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. The situation is totally a disaster. It’s also very evident that their understanding of God and his blessing is a disaster. She thinks that she has gotten pregnant here because she had previously given her servant to her husband. She’s saying, “God has given me my wages here by giving me another son.” And Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment, and now my husband will honor me because I have borne him six sons.” And so she called his name Zebulun. Zebulun’s name just means “honor.” Like it sounds like Leah thinks, “I’ve given him six sons now. Surely he is going to give me the honor that I deserve. I’ve brought him so much.” And afterwards, she bore a daughter, verse 21, and called her name Dinah. And Jacob probably has other daughters that’s kind of indicated by chapter 46, that he doesn’t just have sons and this one daughter. But Dinah is named specifically because chapter 34 is going to be, she’s going to be at the center of that story. So her name is mentioned here, whereas the other daughters are not. And then, finally, in verse 22, God remembers Rachel. And God listened to her, and God opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son.” She calls him Joseph, which sounds like the words for “may he add,” but then also sounds similar to “he has taken away.” And so she believes that God has taken away the reproach of not having any children, as God gives her this son.This story is terrible. It’s just absolutely, it’s like so many of the stories of Genesis. The story is terrible. And so here’s some of the lessons we can learn from it. First of all, Jacob’s sins come home to roost. We saw last week that God had initiated a relationship with Jacob in chapter 28, even though Jacob didn’t deserve it. But God coming to Jacob and initiating that relationship did not remove the earthly consequences of Jacob’s decisions and his actions. And his deception comes back to haunt him as ironically, he is out-deceived by his future father in law, Laban. And I think this is an important thing for us to realize, is we can look at our lives and see all the ways that God is bringing things about what we’ll talk about this in a minute, and see the good that he brings about, we should not think that that is going to necessarily remove the negative consequences of our decisions and our actions. And Jacob is going to feel that again and again throughout his life, that he makes a foolish decision, and bad things happen from it. That happens here. Second, this is more indicated in a negative way here, but normally, when Jacob initiates in his life, things go well. But when he does not, when he’s just following the advice of others to sin, when he just follows along into it, things go poorly. That happened before when he listened to the voice of his mother, who said, “Deceive your father.” And he followed through with it, even though he had qualms, even though he was like, “I don’t know if this is a great idea.” He still follows the voice of his mother, and it has disastrous consequences for him where he ends up driven out. Here, the same thing happens. He is just listening to the voices of his wives. Rather than thinking, “What is the right thing to do in this situation? What should I be doing? Should I listen to the voice of Rachel and take Bilhah as a concubine here?” The answer is clearly no. We’re not to the law of Moses yet. They would clearly prohibit this, but he already has the pattern of how God made things in the beginning. He has the example of his grandfather with Abraham and Hagar. He knows this is the wrong thing to do, and he does it anyway, and the consequences are disastrous. Likewise, later on, instead of saying, “Wait a second, is time with your husband something that we purchase and trade as if it’s a barter transaction down in 14 through 18?” Instead of leading in his home and initiating, Jacob is just kind of taking whatever comes his way. And it goes very poorly, not just for him, but for everyone around him. But the third thing we see is that even in spite of all of this train wreck of a family, even in spite of the fairy tale turning into a soap opera, God is still at work. God is still building Jacob’s family. He’s actually fulfilling his promise to Jacob in chapter 28 to be multiplying his offspring. And so God is going to, with these children from four different women, still use these as the foundations of the people of Israel. These are 11 of the 12 sons who will become the twelve tribes of Israel. Benjamin won’t be born until they’re back in Canaan. Here are 11 of his sons. And even though the origin story of their lives is not necessarily good, God is still going to use them. God is still going to be at work through them. God is still going to bring blessing to the nations through them. I think of this specifically there of Judah, at the end of chapter 29. The first three sons, Leah bears, she thinks they’re going to cause Jacob to become attached to her. And in the fourth son, she says, “I will praise the Lord.” And it’s that fourth son who’s going to become the progenitor of the tribe of Judah from which the Messiah will come, the line of David, and ultimately the Christ comes through the line of Judah. God is still at work. And I take a great deal of comfort from that because I’m looking at a lot of these families in this room, and like me, you have a train wreck, at least in parts of your family. And you know what? God can still be at work through all that. God is not restricted to working through perfect, wonderful Christian families. God works providentially through every family. And for those who love him, I know I quote it all the time, but Exodus chapter 20 says that God is a jealous God visiting the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. Our bad decisions, our rebellion against God has real consequences that ripple out. But his steadfast love goes to the 1000th generation of those that love him. Our sin has consequences, and loving God has ripples that way past that. And I think you see that in Jacob’s life. His sin has consequences that ripple out, but the fact that he ultimately ends up trusting the Lord and walking with him has impacts that still hit us today. The Lord has blessed the nations through the family of Jacob. And so we can take confidence that no matter what our sins, no matter what our disaster around us, God is at work, and if we are trusting him, he’s going to be at work for good, in us and through us, to those around us. Would you pray with me? Father God, we thank you that you are not restricted to working through perfect people because there aren’t any outside of your son. And so, Lord, we thank you for him. We thank you for sending your son into this world to take on a true human nature, bear the weight of our sin and our rebellion. And we thank you that you are a sovereign God who is able to use both our obedience and our disobedience to bring glory to yourself, and to bring about your plan in this world. Help us to trust in you and to have confidence in you, regardless of what is going on around us, regardless of how chaotic our families may be, help us to trust you in every circumstance. We pray in Jesus’ name.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors. Ever since our first parents fell, Adam and Eve, and were cast east of the Garden of Eden, human beings have been trying to return. We've been trying to get back, back to the Garden, back to the Mountain of the Lord, back to the Tree of Life, or sometimes we call it the Fountain of Youth. We've been trying to get back into the presence of God. And that explains the irrepressible religiosity of humans across time and across space. Every part of the world, human beings are religious creatures. Aristotle called mankind a rational animal, but it would be just as accurate to call mankind a religious animal. We develop systems of worship. We build temples. We go to high places. We appoint mediators, religious leaders, officials, priests, and the like. We develop cultic practices. Human beings from our very earliest days have been religious, trying to find some way to get back to what we lost in Genesis 3. The psalmist asks, who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? And we all know deep down that on our own we can't. So that's why we develop these practices to try to get some way there. This text this morning starts us into God's answer for how can a human being come into his presence.So let's read it. It's Genesis chapter 28, beginning in verse 1. Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him. You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you so that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham. Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan Aram to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau's mother.Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there. And that as he blessed him, he directed him, you must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. And that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac, his father, Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahaleth, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.Jacob left Beersheba and went towards Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel. The name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me, I will give a full tenth to you.This text can be summarized, I think, under three headings. The heading of blessing, one of blundering, and one of beholding. So first we see the blessing. In the first five verses, Jacob receives the blessing of Abraham from his father Isaac. Verse 1, Jacob was called by Isaac, and Isaac blessed him and directed him. You must not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. Arise and go to Paddan Aram. And if you remember where we were last week in the previous chapter, Isaac had planned to bless his older son, Esau, his favorite son, Esau, and had told him to go out into the field and to kill a wild animal and to prepare delicious food because Isaac loved the food that Esau made. Rebecca overhearing this has Jacob pretend to be Esau. They kill a goat, make food with that instead, and brings that to Isaac. And they trick Isaac into blessing Jacob instead of Esau. And Esau, understandably, when he comes back, is a little bit upset about this and decides, I'm going to kill my brother. When my dad dies, I've got free reign. I can do what I want. I'm going to kill my brother and then I'll have my blessing back. And again, Rebecca overhears this and decides, I need to convince Isaac to send Jacob away so that he doesn't end up dead. And so that's the backstory here is Rebecca has said to Isaac, Ah, Esau's Canaanite wives are ruining my life. Would anything be worse than Jacob taking one of these Canaanite wives? And Isaac agrees this would be pretty bad. And so he decides, okay, we're going to send Jacob away. And so he calls him, he blesses him again, which we'll talk about in a moment, but then he sends him away.Why is it important? I mean, the idea of not taking wives from among the Canaanites, these women genuinely were making life hard for Isaac and Rebecca. It tells us that back at the end of chapter 26. And part of it is that there would be a deep cultural difference. That probably is mostly what Rebecca is talking about here. There's a deep cultural difference between these people who have come from Mesopotamia and the Canaanites of the land. They have a lot of differences in the way that they act, the way that they dress, perhaps. They would have deep religious differences. And those religious differences mattered to the people of God. They mattered to God himself. He called his people to be holy, to be distinct, to be different. And it mattered to Abraham back in chapter 24 when he had told his servant, you need to go get a wife for my son Isaac. And you remember, I said the longest chapter in the book of Genesis is chapter 24, where Abraham sends his servant to go back to his home country to get a wife for Isaac. He did not want Isaac marrying one of the women of the land. And it would be, I think the central reason is a religious one, that it would be hard to establish a home where God is at the center and if the wife that Isaac took was not of the same mindset as him, or even if, so we're going to see Jacob's wives, actually at least one of them clings to some household gods from her country. But it's different than the people of the land. And so it'll be easier for her to leave those gods behind when she comes to a new land rather than if she has the same gods as everyone around her trying to say, no, we're only going to worship the true God. So I think the key thing here is the religious difference is the reason why this is important. But in the story, Rebecca's just trying to get Jacob out of there. She's just trying to save her son's life.But Isaac calls Jacob to himself. And the next thing we see is that he issues him the blessing. And this is really an indictment of Jacob. Jacob is a man who has bought the birthright from his brother. In that case, he didn't use deceit. He just played on his brother's weaknesses and buys his birthright from him. And then in the last chapter, he has stolen the blessing. Now, it was a blessing that was supposed to go to him, but it winds up being a partial blessing that he receives from Jacob there in chapter 27. If you look back in chapter 27 and verses 28 and 29, it's an abundant blessing, but it's not the fullness of the Abrahamic blessing that God had promised to the descendants of Abraham. When he's trying to steal, he only gets what was given to Esau. But then, here in chapter 28, Isaac freely gives the fullness of the Abrahamic blessing to Jacob as he goes on his way. Verse 3, God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. And this echoes what God said to Abraham in chapter 12. I'll make you a great nation. It echoes what he says to Abraham in chapter 15 about the stars in the sky being the same number as the number of descendants you're going to receive in chapter 22, the sand on the seashore. God had promised Abraham that he would have a multitude of people come from him. And here that's reiterated by Isaac to Jacob. You may become a multitude, a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring after you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham. So the promise that God had given to Abraham initially and that had been then given to Isaac in chapter 26 is now passed on to Jacob as Jacob is leaving the land, as Jacob is about to head for Paddan Aram. So Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, the son of Bethuel.The theme here in these first five verses is simply that God's faithfulness to Abraham and his line continues, even though the family is a train wreck. The family is not worthy. The family hasn't done anything to deserve the blessing of God. And yet God is going to continue his covenant faithfulness to them. The next section here, we see Esau's blundering attempts to curry favor with his father. Esau sees that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him away. And here's the instruction. He must not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. And then Jacob leaves and Esau saw that the Canaanite women whom he had married did not please Isaac, his father. And as we saw last week, Esau lives for the pleasure of his father. You know, when he finds out that the blessing has been given to Jacob, he is clearly heartbroken. He cries out, do you not have another blessing for me? Do you not have anything that you can give to me, father? And at that point, Isaac had said to him, You're going to live away from the fatness of the earth. You're going to live away from the dew of heaven on high. You're going to live by the sword. He kind of blesses him when he tells him that eventually he's going to break the yoke away, that the brother lays on top of him. Eventually he'll break free from his rule. But it's almost a curse that Isaac lays on Esau. And Esau here, he's like, how can I... Dad doesn't like my wives. Mom doesn't like my wives. How can I make dad more happy with me? Well, he's sending Jacob away back to our mother's family. But, you know, Ishmael's family is close by. I could marry one of their daughters. And so he goes and he adds to his initial polygamy yet one more wife. But this one's a little better. She's not a Canaanite. She's an Ishmaelite.I think in verses 6 and 8, both here use the language of Esau saw. He sees how Jacob is treated by Isaac. He sees that Isaac says these certain things to Jacob about the Canaanite wives. And I think that's a damning indictment of Isaac's parenting, of his fathering. Here, Esau and Jacob are at least in their 40s at this point. You know, because it says earlier that Esau at 40 years old took these two Canaanite wives. And there's been enough time for Rebekah to say, wow, they're really making our life miserable. So these men are at least in their 40s. And he hasn't heard from his father what is expected in terms of like, hey, who would have been a good wife to marry? What would have been our expectations culturally, religiously? What would have been a good fit? No, he's seeing how Isaac is responding to Jacob and instructing Jacob. And having to figure out from that, what should I do? Isaac has done a very poor job of passing on the faith. He here, as Jacob leaves not to be seen again for 20 years, he tells Jacob what he ought to do in terms of looking for a wife. But he hasn't had any conversations with Esau about that, apparently. And if you just see how the brothers treat one another, they've clearly not been brought up, as Ephesians 6 says, in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Isaac is, in a lot of ways, a failure as a father.Esau's actions here then, I think, give us a pretty stark picture of what human effort to get things right looks like. He's trying to correct his previous mistakes, but by doing that, he's still choosing a wife who's not among the people of God. Ishmael had been sent away from the presence of Abraham, sent east out of the presence of the Lord. And so Esau is still taking a wife from among the peoples of the nations, and he's practicing polygamy, which in the book of Genesis never goes well. Any time in history doesn't go well, but specifically in the narrative of Genesis, it does not go well. Esau thinks he's trying to get back into dad's good graces. He thinks he's trying to do the right thing, but unaided by the light of divine guidance, Esau's trying to get it right only makes things worse. He's bumbling around in the dark, continuing with blunder after blunder. He needed, like we, the light of divine guidance in order to point him in the right direction.Jacob needed that too. We see that in verses 10 to 22. Jacob left Beersheba and went towards Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed and behold, there was a ladder set upon the earth and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.I think a key thing to notice as we see Jacob's vision of God and of an access point between heaven and earth is, first of all, God is the one who initiates this contact with Jacob. Jacob has gone out from his father's house and we have not seen Jacob himself mention God yet in the book of Genesis. Jacob hasn't interacted with God at all. He's trying to buy birthrights and steal blessings and he's a man of deceit and scheming and cunning. He's not out here looking for God in the desert. He's not gone out to have a desert experience with the Lord. He's running for his life and he lays down one night and God comes to him. God initiates with Jacob. And he gives Jacob the promise. The same promise that Isaac in his blessing had said, May God Almighty, may the God of Abraham and my God bless you, O Jacob. May he give you the blessing of Abraham. God personally comes to Jacob at night and says, I am giving you that blessing. Period. I will give it to you. I will give you this land. I will bring you back to this land. And you are going to multiply. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth. Now, there's a lot of sand on the earth, but you add the dust too. That's an awful lot of people. You're going to spread all over north, south, east, west. And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Again, repeating what God said to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3.But then God adds a personal aspect to this promise with Jacob. It's not just a general, your descendants are going to be blessed and the world is going to be blessed through them. But he personally promises Jacob, you will be brought back to this land safely. Verse 15, I am with you. And will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised for you. God promises Jacob that he will be brought back to the land in safety. And that's going to become a key point in the story going forward. So God initiates with Jacob. He makes him a personal promise. And Jacob recognizes when he awakes, he recognizes the holiness of the place he saw. the text here in the ESV says a ladder, but it's probably more likely a flight of stairs. Angels are going up and down at the same time. That'd be really tough to do on a ladder. I don't know if you spend any time on a ladder, but multiple people on the ladder is usually a bad idea, especially if you're going opposite directions. It's probably a flight of stairs. In all likelihood, it's actually like a ziggurat, an ancient pyramid-like structure with a flight of steps that goes up to the top, like the Tower of Babel was in Genesis chapter 11. These ancient temples were often structured this way so that you would be going up to the top and in a temple symbolically what you have is it ascends up to the heavens. But here what Jacob sees is literally the top is in heaven and God is standing at the top speaking to him.Jacob sees a window from heaven to earth and sees the angels coming up and down ministering. He sees and recognizes the importance of this place. He wakes up and is terrified by it. That's what we see in verse 17. He was afraid and said, how awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. Every time you see someone encounter God face to face like this in scripture, it is a terrifying experience for them. And that's the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 9 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Chapter 9 and verse 10 of Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And this is the beginning of wisdom in Jacob's life. He's still got a long ways to go. We're going to see him still make some big mistakes. But the beginning of his story turning in the right direction, away from deceit, begins with God initiating and giving him a vision forever. That terrifies him, that scares him, that puts the fear of God into him.Early in the morning, Jacob responds to the Lord's initiation by making the stone that he had put under his head used as a pillow. And he sets it up as a pillar and he pours oil on top of it. He anoints it. He recognizes it as a holy place. He renames it. It's no longer called Luz, which was just the cultural name given by the people of the region. And instead, he renames it Bethel, which means house of God. He calls it the house of God, and then he names it the house of God. And then he makes God a vow. He says, okay, God, I've never dealt with you before, but you just made me some pretty cool promises. And if you follow through on your end and bring me back the way you said, then here where I set up this stone, I will build a house of God. I will build a temple to you. And I will give you a full tenth. He promises to tithe. This is before any kind of instruction to tithe, before any kind of commandment that we see later in scripture about a tithe. But Jacob recognizes the fittingness of committing 10% of what he has to the service of the Lord if God brings him back here. And we'll see later on that that's exactly what he does.Jacob here is fleeing for his life because of his sin. And yet he is personally pursued and assured by God that the blessing of Abraham would continue through him. So what does that have to do? I mean, that's neat. That's a really cool story. That's really nice that God interacted with him that way. What's that got to do with us? What's that got to do with our need to connect with God Almighty? And we've got two hints at this story of something that's really important. Number one is going to be Isaac's alteration of a promise. And number two, Jesus's interpretation of this story in the Gospel of John.So Isaac's alteration we see in verse 3 says, He promises or blesses Jacob and says that you may become a company of peoples. Before, what God had promised to Abraham and what God had promised to Isaac is that God would make them a great people. He would make the people that descended from them, singular people, a massive number. And here, Isaac says to Jacob, God's going to make you a company of peoples, plural. And that's a strange thing to say because both Abraham and Isaac did have multiple nations descend from them. Abraham has Ishmael, his older son, from whom 12 princes descend. And then he has all the children after Isaac with his second wife, Keturah. And so he has a massive number of peoples who descend from him. Isaac has both Jacob here, but also Esau. And Esau's people become the people of Edom, the Edomites. So he has multiple nations descend from him. Jacob has one nation descend from him. His 12 sons become the 12 tribes of the singular nation of Israel. So what does it mean that he has multiple peoples who come from him? I think part of what we're seeing here is the first glimmer that the way that God is going to bless the nations through the offspring of Jacob is that those peoples are going to become part of Jacob, that they are going to be numbered among his children. Even if they aren't physically descended from him, they will be numbered among his people.Well, how would that happen? And Jesus is going to give us a hint as to how that would happen. In John chapter 1, there is a... It's an interesting interaction. Jesus has started his ministry. And then that was down in Judea in the region where John the Baptist was baptizing people. And that's where Jesus's first followers came from. And then he goes back to the north to his home region of Galilee. And he gets there. And this man from the town of Bethsaida, who's a friend of Andrew and Peter, probably his name is Philip. And he meets Jesus and Jesus says to him, follow me. And Philip follows him. But then he goes to get his buddy, Nathanael. And here in John 1, verse 45, it says, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. So this is some 2,000 years after Abraham, the time of Abraham. And so probably, you know, 1,800, 1,900 years after this story with Jacob. And as you come into the time of the New Testament, the people of God are waiting for a Messiah. They're waiting for the promised Savior of Genesis 3. They're waiting for the descendant of David who's going to come and liberate them from their oppressors. He's going to make Israel great again. That's what they're looking for, is they're looking for a Messiah, a Savior. And Philip comes to Nathanael and says, we found him. It's Jesus of Nazareth.And Nathanael says... Can anything good come out of Nazareth? I still haven't figured out exactly what that town is around here that compares to this. Where I grew up, I grew up on a reservation. And so like everybody around us just looked down on all of our towns. But one town in particular on the res was called De Smet. And everybody was like, if you said something really amazing was coming out of De Smet, everybody would turn their head and kind of like De Smet. Like, I don't believe it. That seems to be the reaction to Nazareth here. Nathaniel says, nothing good is coming out of Nazareth. But they walk to Jesus, and when Jesus sees Nathaniel coming in verse 47, he says, behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit, no guile. He's telling it like it is. He's not trying to be deceitful. And Nathaniel says, how did you know me? How do you know that's true about me? And Jesus says... Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. So he reveals that he has divine knowledge of Nathanael. Even before Philip went and called him, Jesus knew who Nathanael was, and he knew that he was coming.And Jesus said, well, Nathanael responds to Jesus then, and he says, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. And Jesus answered him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? you will see greater things than these. Okay, how is Jesus going to describe the greater things? Verse 51, he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. So when Jesus is speaking to Nathanael and explaining to him, yes, I am the son of God. I am the son of man, the promised one coming as in Daniel's prophecy in Daniel chapter seven. Yes, that's who I am. And how, what are you going to see that shows that to you? You're going to see the angels of God ascending and descending. He takes this image straight out of Genesis chapter 28 and Jacob's vision here at night.What is Jesus saying to Nathanael here? He is saying to him that he is the connecting point between God and man. This place where Jacob promised to build a temple and then it becomes a place of worship when he returns to the land and the people of Israel are going to, at different times, have worship centers set up here at Mount Gerizim. Jesus says... I'm greater than that. I am the meeting place of heaven and earth. I am the place where God has connected with humanity. This is part of John's temple theme in his gospel, that Jesus is the greater temple. John chapter 2, Jesus says to the people gathered around the temple, tear this temple down, and in three days I'll build it up again, speaking about the temple of his body, chapter 2, verse 21. And then in chapter 4 of John's gospel, he meets a woman at a well, jacob's well near mount gerizim near bethel and she says to him okay our fathers worshiped on this mountain you jews say we should worship in jerusalem which one's right jesus says and so far as that question goes basically the jews are correct salvation is of the jews god moved to the center of worship from here to jerusalem. But the time is coming and is now here when neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem will you worship, but the true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. And God is seeking such people to worship him.How do you worship in spirit and in truth? You worship the one who is the truth and who pours out the spirit, Jesus. When the disciples asked Jesus in John chapter 14, How do we get to the house that the Lord is preparing for us? How do we get to heaven? Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the meeting place of God a man. He is the point of Bethel. He is the true Bethel, the house of God. So why does the story with Jacob matter? God is initiating with Jacob here. And showing him a window from heaven to earth. But that window is fulfilled. That meeting place is assured through Christ himself coming. Because ultimately, as human beings, we can't climb that ladder. We can't climb that staircase to God. We can't do it. We don't have the power. And if we're like Jacob, we don't even have the interest to look for it. God comes to us and Jesus came to us. He came into this world. He took on flesh and dwelt among us so that he might die for us, cleansing us from our sins and offering us the reconciled relationship with God that each of us longs for and knows we need, whether we consciously know it or not. At a gut level, we know there is something missing. Jesus is the one who provides that.So by referring back to this story, Jesus is saying that it has perennial importance, not because we need to go to sleep out in the desert and have an experience with God that way, but because Jesus himself is the meeting place of heaven and earth. Through faith in him, we can have access to forgiveness, to cleansing, to the reconciled relationship we need with the Father. We've become part of his people through faith in the son. And in doing so, we're not only welcomed into his house, but we become his house as part of the church. That's what Paul says in first Corinthians. So Peter says in first Peter chapter two, that the church is the temple, the dwelling place of God. If we trust in Christ, we trust, become the meeting place of heaven and earth in our union to Christ. The spirit dwells within us and we become a connection point. That's why the people of God can be the light of the world, not because we have any light inherent to ourselves, but because his light is pouring out through us.And this is better than any religion devised by man. We've been searching, we've been striving since the beginning. We could grope forever in the dark, looking for a way to God and not find it, not knowing which way to turn. But in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles. That's what Paul says in Galatians 3. He has sought us out. And like Jacob, he has promised to be with us, all of those who trust in him, until he takes us home, not back to a earthly homeland, but to a city whose founder and builder is God.Would you pray with me? Father God, we don't pursue you on our own. And so we need your initiation. We need your help. We need you to make our dead hearts alive. And having been made alive, to see the terrifying reality that we stand under your judgment, And yet the beautiful reality that we can be forgiven because of your son, Jesus Christ, who came from heaven to earth to bear the weight of our sin, to carry it away, and to bring us to you. He died for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. So thank you that in Christ, heaven has come to earth and that we can have the promise of eternity with him, with you, if we would bought trust in the sufficiency of his sacrifice. Lord, help us to live in light of that reality. If we embrace that, everything else in this life that seems to bog us down and weary us and frighten us, It's relativized. It is so much less important than the reality of knowing where we stand with you. So thank you for your son. Thank you for connecting heaven and earth in him. And help us to trust in him, we pray in his precious name. Amen. This is a public episode. 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Transcript generated by AI. The Sermon Was Not. Please comment if you notice any errors.Do the ends justify the means? Now, if I phrase the question that way, you're all pre-prime to say, no, of course not, unless you're a pragmatist, in which case you say, yeah, maybe. So I'll rephrase the question a little bit. If the end of something is God's blessing, does that endorse everything that happened beforehand? If God pours out his blessing, does everything that came before that blessing represent things that are endorsed by God?We're about to look at a familiar story here in the 27th chapter of Genesis. And that question is a big question that is raised by this passage. Does God endorse the means by which Jacob acquires blessing from his father?Now, before we get going, I'm going to do something I don't normally do. Normally, I would read the passage, and then if I had comments on how it was structured, I would spell them out there. But because this is a familiar story for many of us, I'm going to talk about the structure ahead of time, just so you can kind of see what's happening here, and it's not just a familiar story washing past your ears and being ignored.This chapter, actually starting at the end of chapter 26, we're going to look at chapter 26, beginning in verse 34, and read all the way through the end of chapter 27. And this story is bracketed by two references to Hittite women. And that technique of bracketing the story is a common one in all storytelling, but especially ancient storytelling where they were mostly oral cultures not like he's writing down a final product here but this story has been passed along by means of speech for years and years and years and years and inside of those brackets i think what we actually have is also a chiasm which is if you're looking at a piece of paper a story that kind of does this it comes down to a point and then it comes back out and if you're reading things outside of biblical studies, they'll call this a ring composition because it circles down to the story and then circles back out. It works in rings.And I just want to point out a couple of these things to you. If I'm wrong about this, blame me. I didn't find this in any of the commentaries. I just noticed it as I was reading. I think the... Like I said, the brackets we have there. So if you were writing out a chiasm, I'm gonna nerd out here for a minute, okay? If you're writing out a chiasm, you would write out, here's section A, here's section B, and then in this case, you go C, and D is the center. And part of what the storyteller is doing when he comes down to the center is he's emphasizing that thing that's in the middle of the story it's not that everything else doesn't matter but this thing is the focal point and so this argument goes a or the story goes a b c d and then it comes out c prime matches up with c b prime matches up with b a prime matches up with a and so a and a prime are The reference to Esau's wives at the end of chapter 26, who are Hittites. And then at the end of chapter 27, Rebecca tells Jacob she doesn't want, or she tells Isaac that she doesn't want Jacob to marry Hittite women. So that's bracketing this story.Then in between, we have what happens where Isaac is an old man. And he is concerned about the fact that he needs to pass on his blessing to his son. But instead of blessing the son who is chosen by God, he instead wants to bless his preferred son, his favorite son, Esau. And we see references to his age in verse 1, his death approaching in verse 2, the fact that he wants Esau to use weapons in verse 3, and that he's going to bless him in verse 4. And down in verses 41 to 45 We see Isaac's death approaching. Esau planning probably to use weapons to kill his brother Jacob. Esau lamenting over the fact that his blessing has been stolen. And in both of those sections, verses 1 to 13 and verses 41 to 45, Rebecca overhears what's happening and then goes and talks to Jacob.And then verses C in our outline here, verses 14 to 25, we read of Jacob going out. Verse 30, Jacob went out. Verse 14, Rebecca prepares delicious food. Verse 31, Esau prepares delicious food and so on. So what I'm wanting to say is that as the story moves, it kind of moves down to a point and comes back out. And the author, Moses, wants us to see The emphasis that lays in the middle of the story, which is where Isaac blesses Jacob. That is, there's all kinds of other things going on in this story, but the center of what is being told to us is that God continues to bless the family of Abraham. And in this case, it's in spite of themselves.So having said all that, we're going to read the text. I know we just read Matthew 23, which is pretty long. Genesis 27 is pretty long too, and we're going to add two verses here. Genesis 26, beginning in verse 34, says this. ‏Genesis 26:34-27:46 (ESV)34 When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,“See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed!28 May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:“Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother;but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”First point, as we look at this passage, is this. No one deserves the blessing of God. This story centers on a blessing, but no one in the story deserves it. And this is a point that is made clear for us explicitly, numerous places in scripture, that no human being, this side of the fall, deserves God's blessing, his kindness, or his mercy. Romans chapter 3, beginning in verse 9, says, There is no one righteous, no, not one, no one understands, no one seeks for God. Together they have turned aside. Altogether they have become worthless. That's Paul's authoritative, Holy Spirit-inspired description of humanity. We naturally hate God. That's what Romans chapter 5 says, is that we are born at enmity. We are born enemies of God. And you see that in this story, all four characters. We're just going to walk through them by just like in a movie in order of appearance. We'll list them out here and look at the fact that they don't deserve God's blessing.And the first is Esau. He's introduced to us there at the end of chapter 26. And we're told that age 40, he marries two Hittite wives. Not a good start for Esau. Okay. First of all, he's practicing polygamy, which... We don't have the law yet given through Moses, but we do have the pattern. Genesis chapter 1, and it's very clear from the very beginning of Scripture that any time a man starts taking multiple wives, he's running away from the Lord. This happens when Abraham obeys the voice of his wife Sarah and takes her concubine, or takes for himself her servant as a concubine, like he's moving away from God's will for his life. And every time one of the patriarchs or those in their family take multiple wives, they're moving away from God's design. And so we see Esau doing that. Furthermore, he's taking wives of the land. He's taking Hittite wives who would come, coming with them would come the Hittite gods and Hittite religion. And it is making life miserable for his parents. So in that sense, he is not an admirable character.Now he does some other things in the story that are perfectly fine. He's a man of the field. He goes to hunt game for his father. He's a good cook. Like, that's great. There's things about Esau that there's nothing wrong with that are even admirable. He prepares game for his father. He desires the blessing of his father. That's a normal, natural desire. That's a good thing about Esau. But when that blessing is stolen from him, in verses 34 and following, we see that his response is not a response of godliness. It's not a response that has any indication of faith. When Esau heard the words of his father, he is angry with his brother. He desires to kill Jacob. We see that later on in the passage. We can have empathy for him. I mean, you just hear his words and you hear like the pain, like Do you only have one blessing, Father? Can you not also bless me, Father? And yet when Jacob does give him or Isaac gives him some sort of blessing, kind of a mixed blessing in verses 38 and 39, what Esau does afterwards is start to plot the death of his brother. He starts to plot the death of Jacob. He's understandably angry, but he's far from guiltless in this story.The second character that we meet is Isaac. And what we are told about Isaac in verse 1 is that he is old. And if you Google, I don't really suggest Googling answers to Bible questions because you get some weird stuff, especially now with AI. Like, AI will make up answers to things in the Bible. But if you Google, how old was Isaac when this happened, you're going to get all kinds of answers. But the... Most common answer from commentators is he was probably about 137 years old when this happened. And so Isaac is old. It says his eyes have grown dim. He can't see clearly. Now, he's not about to die. He's not going to die until he's 180 years old. So he's actually got 43 years of life left. However, he is probably thinking about his mortality because his brother Ishmael, who was 13 years older than him, had died at age 137. And so if Isaac is also 137 here, he probably is considering that my days may very well be numbered. And so he calls in. his son to bless him before he dies. This is the right thing to do. It's the right fatherly procedure. The blessing needs to pass from Isaac down to the next generation.But the problem is, instead of listening to the prophecy that God had given in chapter 25, that the older son was going to serve the younger, so here he should be blessing Jacob, he's instead planning to bless his favorite son, And we see back in chapter 25 that Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. So instead of listening to the plan of God, Isaac's going to listen to his personal preferences and he seeks to bless his older son. As blindness here is mentioned because it's a physical reality that's important for the story, it's also a spiritual reality. When the Bible mentions physical details, almost always there's something more going on than just the physical reality that's being talked about.An example of this elsewhere in Scripture would be like in 2 Samuel 4, when Eli, the priest, is old and fat. He's heavy. He falls over when he hears the news of the Ark of the Covenant being captured and breaks his neck. While his fatness had come from his sons stealing the fat off of the Lord's sacrifices. And then that word heavy is similar to the Hebrew word for glory, kavod. And... What happens when his daughter-in-law gives birth is that she names her child. The glory has departed because Eli had died and the Ark of the Covenant had been taken away. So the reference there to his weight helps explain why he died when he fell over and landed on his head. But it also indicates a spiritual reality that he had grown fat and dim and dull because of his... turning a blind eye to his son's sin. Similar thing here with Isaac. His blindness is a physical reality that plays an important part of the story. He's also spiritually dim to the things that are happening in his home and in his life. Though he, as we saw last week, is a true worshiper of God, he is not a sinless man. He is faltering here big time by choosing the wrong son.The third character that we meet is Isaac's wife, Rebecca. And she maybe is a little bit more of a sympathetic character than Isaac, because if you remember what we looked at last week in chapter 26, Isaac had taken her to a foreign land, to the land of the Philistines, and said, hey, can you pretend to not be my wife? Like, maybe she doesn't really trust this guy. And furthermore, he's, again, acting contrary, she knows, to the word of the Lord, to prophecy. And so she doesn't have confidence in his judgment. She doesn't have confidence in his abilities to do the right thing. And so instead of going to him directly and saying, hey, why are you planning to bless Esau and not Jacob? Instead of confronting him directly, which is what Leviticus 19 would say to do, Don't harbor bitterness in your heart against your neighbor, but go and reason frankly with him. Instead of going and reasoning frankly with her neighbor or her husband here, she instead decides to deceive him. And she ropes Jacob in on this plot to deceive his father.And when Jacob, whose name means like a schemer or a swindler, He doesn't even like this scheme. He's like, I feel like this could falter and not turn out so well for me. She says she treats blessing and curse as if it's a flippant thing. She says, let your curse be upon me. So she's not concerned about being cursed, presumably by God. Then at the end of the chapter, After her plan kind of works but also kind of backfires because now Esau wants to kill Jacob, instead of telling Isaac, here's the situation, your older son wants to kill your younger son, we should send him away, she instead turns to manipulation and gives just enough of the facts in hopes that Isaac will do what she wants. She's lying all throughout the story. I mean, this is characteristic of people who give themselves over to lies, isn't it? Like if you hear one lie from someone, do you ever trust anything else they say? Maybe if they're a small child, then you feel like the issue was corrected. But if you hear it from an adult, you're probably not going to trust that person again. And for good reason, because lies become a characteristic pattern of the human heart. And that's what's happened here with Rebecca. She's characterized by falsehood, not by truth.Finally, we come to Jacob, who in some sense is going to become the focal point of the story for the next number of chapters in Genesis. Now, the schemer here, even he doesn't like this scheme. He says, hey, this could backfire. Like if I go to dad and pretend to be Esau, he's going to notice that Esau's a big, strong, hairy guy, and I'm kind of a little not. Like smooth, I don't have the testosterone that he does. Like I can't produce the facial hair or the arm hair or whatever. And what if he curses me? Now, it's interesting here, Jacob's thought process. He never mentions God. He doesn't think about the potential of the blessing All he's worried about is the curse that could fall upon him.And it was interesting reading this week about blessing language in the Old Testament. And ancient Near Eastern societies were run primarily, no, I shouldn't say primarily. One of the key features of ancient Near Eastern religion was this emphasis upon curses. So like huge parts of ancient Near Eastern religion are focused upon breaking curses. And so you would have these treaties or these covenants that were administered by a Lord and the with them would come blessings and curses we see this even in the book of Deuteronomy where god gives the law a second time and then he gives blessings if the people obey the word of the lord and he gives curses if they disobey but the dominant note of the old testament of Hebrew and Israelite religion is that of blessing the focus like the curses are present but blessing is the focal pointAnd the concern is not so much, oh, we don't want to be cursed. The concern is I don't want to walk out of the blessing of God. But the religions all around them were the opposite. There's very little mention of blessing and there's lots of mention of cursing. And so Jacob's priorities here seem to be ordered along the lines of the nations all around them. He's more worried about curses than about anything else. He doesn't want to fall under a curse. Nonetheless, he still listens to the voice of his mother here at probably about 77 years old. He can't decide for himself what's right and wrong. He just listens to his mom.And there's an interesting thing here, like to jump back to Rebecca for a minute. Like the instruction of a mother is supposed to be a blessing. Proverbs chapter one, verses eight and nine says, it's a father speaking to his son and he tells him to listen to his instruction and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. And if you hold onto it, it's going to be like a garland for your head, a pendant for your neck. Like a mother's instruction should be a blessing to her children. It should lead him or her towards godliness and maturity and wisdom. But here, Rebekah is going in the opposite direction. She's leading her son into deception and into sin.Isaac is oblivious to this. Jacob follows his mother's instruction. And when he comes to his father, he tells at least four explicit lies. Verse 19, he says, I am Esau. Verse 19, again, he says, I've done as you told me. I went and I killed this game and I made this food. And when Isaac says, how so fast did you kill something and make food already? Well, Jacob invokes the name of God in this lie. He says, the Lord your God has granted me success. So he's not only lying to his father, he's also blaspheming the name of God. He's taking the Lord's name in vain, using it in a flippant way to... stamp an endorsement on his lie and in verse 24 when Isaac again asks are you really my son Esau—Jacob says oh yes I am so there's not a character in this story who is guiltless there's not a character in this story who has earned the blessing and the favor of god all are in some degree some measure pursuing disobedience rather than obedience.The second thing that we see here though is that the blessing of god is invincible The blessing of God is invincible. God had promised in chapter 25 before the boys were born to lift Jacob over Esau. Does Isaac's rebellion against that promise or Jacob's practice of deception invalidate the promise of God? No. Romans chapter 11 and verse 29, the apostle Paul says, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Like they can't be called back. Once God has spoken a blessing, he's not reeling it back into his mouth. When God has poured out his blessing, it's there. And so their sin does not change, does not overthrow the plan of God.And we see when Isaac blesses Jacob, It doesn't seem like a very spiritual blessing, and that's characteristic of Isaac. He's not a man with a very spiritual mind, it seems, throughout his life. But he blesses him richly with physical prosperity. Verse 28, may God give you of the dew of heaven, the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. So he's pouring out verbally this blessing from God. He's also promising earthly prestige. Let the people serve you. Nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers and may your mother's sons bow down to you. So everyone who descends from your mother is going to honor you as their lord, as their king, as their covenant head.And then a reiteration at the end of verse 29 of the promise given to Abraham in chapter 12 and verse 3. Cursed be everyone who curses you. and blessed be everyone who blesses you. Isaac passes on the blessing to the correct son, not because he planned to, but because God determined that's what was going to happen. And so he uses the deception of Rebecca and Jacob in order to pass on the blessing to Jacob, even though Isaac wasn't intending to do that. He's speaking here, Isaac is speaking, an authoritative prophetic word over Jacob's life.And we see that when Esau comes and says, hey, why can't you just give the blessing to me? Like, don't you have an extra one? And if the understanding of blessing in the Old Testament were the same as we have today, like just some nice words that you say to someone... Isaac would be able to reel it back here and go like, Oh, I made a mistake. And you could call Jacob on the phone and say, you dirty, rotten trickster. Why in the world would you lie to me like this? I'm writing you out of the will now. And until he saw, yeah, you do get everything, but that's not what happens instead. Isaac recognizes that this blessing was spoken with the authority of God, even though he was unconscious of having done it to the right person.This happens in other places in Scripture, the story of Balaam and the book of Numbers. It also happens in the New Testament. Caiaphas, the high priest, after Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, The Sanhedrin gets together and they're trying to decide, what are we going to do about this Jesus? Everybody's following him and now he's popular enough that we can't really do anything about him. And Caiaphas, the high priest that year, it says he was speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. What he's about to say, he means one way and God means something else by it. And what Caiaphas says is, do you not understand that it would be better for one man to die than for the whole nation to perish? And he's thinking, if we don't kill this guy and get rid of him, the Romans are going to come in and cause the nation to perish. But he's speaking prophetically, being high priest that year, because of his office, God speaks through him.and god is saying through Caiaphas that when Jesus dies the people of god's sins will be paid for so that they do not have to perish and it's not just the people of Israel who trust in him but he's dying to gather into one the people of god who are scattered abroad john 11 and verse 52 says so this is a thing that happens in scripture god speaks through people better than they know and that's what's happening here with Isaac he tries to bless the wrong son But God works and he so blesses the correct son. And that blessing is irrevocable. He can't take it back. He can't change his mind.God didn't leave Esau completely out in the cold like Ishmael before him. God says, I'm not going to bless. Ishmael, he's not the child of promise. Isaac is. But God still gave earthly prosperity to Ishmael. He became a father of 12 princes. He became a great and mighty man. Same thing's going to happen for Esau. He's going to become the father of the nation of Edom, which is going to become a prominent player in the Old Testament history. Even into the New Testament, King Herod, who calls himself king of the Jews, is actually an Edomite king. who tries to kill baby Jesus. Like the Edomites still play a massive role in the scriptures narrative.And here in verse 40, he says, your brother, you shall serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you shall break his yoke from your neck. And eventually during the reigns of David and Solomon, the Israelites rule over Edom. But eventually after that time, the Edomites break away and help actually conquer Israel and Judah. through the Assyrians and the Babylonians. So God gets his work done in this world, often in spite of his servants. Even though all the people in this story, all the human characters are failures, God is not a failure. God's plan will not be stopped even by our sin.But the third and final point here is God's blessing does not excuse our folly. To come back to our original point, A wrong inference from this story would be to say that God blesses their deception. Deception is culpable and condemnable before God. But God wasn't waiting for Jacob to be worthy of his promise, worthy of his blessing. So, don't worry... Don't worry. This is something that Christians worry about a lot. What if I mess up God's plan? What if I screw up his plan for my life by this sin? Or what if somebody else does something to me that messes up God's plan for my life? Human beings can't mess up God's plans. We don't have that power, so don't worry about it. What you do need to worry about is being faithful and obedient where he has put you.Here, Jacob and Rebecca are grasping for the thing that God had already promised to give. That's folly. God's promise to give was not going to go away. They did not need to grasp for it. They did not need to walk into sin here. Which brings us to our second point. Don't use God's providence, the fact that he can work all things together for good. Don't use that to whitewash sin. We can look at the result and say, well, Jacob got the blessing. That's good. But that doesn't excuse him. It doesn't excuse Rebecca. Don't use it in your life to excuse your own sin or the sins of others against you. It's so easy to say, well, I can see the good and the growth that came from this. So it wasn't that bad what they did to me. That's never the way the Bible treats sin. Call sin what it is. Even if God brought good about it, that's because God is good, not because the event, the thing was good.Third, The fact that God is complete in his providence, Providence is comprehensive over every single thing that happens, does not excuse us from making unwise or cavalier choices. Our actions still matter. And you see that in this story because Rebecca's favorite son is Jacob, right? And she plans this scheme to make sure he gets the blessing. But then Esau hates him so much he wants to kill him and she has to send him away to Paddan-Aram. And what we don't see yet, but we're going to see as the story continues, is that Rebecca disappears from the story. And probably what that means is that she dies before he comes back 20 years later. Her sin leads to her not seeing her favorite son again in her lifetime. So God brings good about, but there are still real painful earthly consequences to their sinful actions here. So don't be cavalier and unwise about your actions.Fourth, Finally, do have confidence that the word of the Lord will come to pass. Nothing that you do, that others do, that any human being can do, will stand in the way of God bringing about his purposes in your life and in the world. That's what we read in Psalm 2 as we opened up the service. The kings of the earth gather together to plot against the Lord and against his anointed, and he who sits in the heavens laughs at them. God is not intimidated by human actions. So neither should we be. Brothers and sisters, we need to trust God to be God. Do not trust in your own schemes. Do not trust in your own wisdom, your feelings, your experiences, or your ability to manipulate the situation to bring about what you think is the desired result. Trust in the Father who, according to his promise, will abundantly supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Would you pray with me?Father God, we thank you. for your goodness. We thank you that you are in control of everything. And so we pray now that you would give us hearts that have a firm confidence in your capacity to do good because you are good. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. This is a public episode. 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Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors.If you want to take your Bible and turn, we're going to be in Genesis chapter 26 this morning, Genesis 26. If you need a colored pencil, there's a few on the floor now.Do the promises of God depend upon the worthiness of the recipient? Do the promises of God depend upon upon the worthiness of the recipient. Do you need to check certain boxes before God is willing or able to work through you or for you? Those are important questions. Think about the things that are promises from God. Salvation is a promise. Forgiveness of sins is a promise. Eternity with Christ is a promise. Do those promises ultimately depend upon God, or do they ultimately depend upon you? That's a crucial question to answer, and Genesis 26 is going to help us answer those questions this morning.Genesis 26, we'll read the first five verses. We'll just move section by section through. We won't go all the way to the end of the chapter. We'll stop at verse 33, but we're just going to read the first five verses here. Genesis 26, verses 1 through 5.Now there was a famine in the land besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech, king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land. and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your offspring all these lands, and in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."Cade, can you do me a big favor? Could you go turn the AC off for a minute? I don't think I'll preach long enough for it to get hot in here. But I'm going to roach my voice trying to yell over the top of it.Before we get going, we should just like re-situate where we are in the book of Genesis. So chapter 25 introduces us to Isaac. And we had met his wife, Rebecca, in chapter 24. Okay. And then here, after the end of chapter 25, where we meet Isaac's sons, Jacob and Esau. Thank you. Here we come into chapter 26, and the focus pulls off of the sons and goes back onto Isaac. And probably... It actually goes back in time. So a lot of times these Old Testament narratives aren't necessarily given to us in chronological order. And so when we get the generations of Isaac and then it starts telling us about his sons, that's a normal narrative pattern in the book of Genesis, the generations of Isaac. Now we're going to talk about his sons. But then there's this story from Isaac's life that Moses wants us to know about. And so he pulls us back in time, probably back before Isaac, Jacob and Esau were born. And he tells us there was a famine in the land.And in the story that we're about to read, there's two stories that are very similar to it in the life of Abraham. And so a lot of times critical scholars will say, well, these are all just various legends of the same story. You know, there's these two stories with Abraham where he goes into a foreign land and tells the ruler that his wife is actually his sister. And now the same thing's happening with Isaac. It's all really just one event. These are just three versions of it. I think that's utter nonsense. And Moses points out to us that this is a distinct event. Verse one, he says, now there was a famine in the land besides the former famine in the days of Abraham. So he's making a clear distinction between this event and what happened in Genesis chapter 13. There's also a distinction between what happened here and when Abraham also interacts with a Philistine king named Abimelech in Genesis chapter 20. These are unique situations.Now, it's interesting that the time frame, this is before Isaac's children are born, but it's still a long time after the incident with Abraham and with Sarah. But the king's name is still Abimelech. So it could be that this is a family name. And so this is Abimelech from chapter 20. This is his son or his grandson. Or it could be just a royal name like Caesar or Pharaoh. It could function in the same way for them. We don't know for sure. But this guy has the same name as the one whom Abraham interacted with in chapter 20.It's also interesting, like, if you're reading... like secular history, and they talk about the Philistines, they'll point out that the Philistines don't come to inhabit this region. They came from another part of the Mediterranean and they were a seafaring people. They don't settle permanently in this region for another 700 years. So what's going on? Why is Moses telling us that Abimelech is a Philistine king? And probably what is going on is something similar to like when the Vikings, who were a seafaring people, went to iceland and then a couple of them got kicked out of iceland and keep going west and you get a settlement of vikings in newfoundland you know 600 years before there are permanent european settlements in the new world you still have colony there and that's probably what this is like the philistines are probably a very small group in the land of canaan at this time they're not they're not fully moved to the area yet that's still several centuries in the future so let's just come some of the historical background here but what's happening in verses two and followingAfter this famine comes, Isaac is obviously considering moving down to Egypt. His dad had done that in the face of a famine again in chapter 13. But the Lord appears to Isaac and he says, do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land of which I shall tell you, which sounds very similar to what God said to Abraham in chapter 12. Go to the land that I shall show you. Verse three says sojourn in this land. So dwell here, even though you're not a permanent resident, even though he's not going to build houses, he's not going to live in any fixed place. He says sojourn in this land and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and to your offspring, I will give all these lands and will establish the oath that I swore to your father, Abraham. And what is happening here is that God is reiterating the promise promises that he had made to Abraham. He's now promising those things to his son, Isaac.So if you remember the whole story with Ishmael earlier in Abraham's life in chapter 15, uh, Abraham and Sarah had tried to help God along with his promises. And God said, no, I am not going to bless you through Ishmael. I will give Ishmael blessings, but you are going to have a son by Sarah. And so then when... They do have a son. God says, I will bless you through Isaac. Isaac is the one through whom your offspring are going to be named. And now God comes to Isaac himself and says, here are the blessings, the blessings that God promised in chapter 12, that you're going to become a great nation, that you're going to multiply, that you're going to bless the nation. The nations are going to be blessed through your family. God is giving that promise to Isaac here.These aren't new promises. The promise for his descendants to be as numerous as the stars in the sky. God says that to Abraham in chapter 15 and verse 5. He's not giving him a new promise about all nations of the earth being blessed through him. Again, that was in chapter 12. He's... He's saying, Isaac, you are the child of promise and you can rest secure in the fact that everything that I promised to Abraham is going to be yours.Why did God pass on these promises to Isaac? That's a very interesting question. The way that God puts this in verse five is interesting to me. God promised to bless Isaac because of Abraham's obedience. That's what verse five says. Chapter 26, verse five. Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, my rules. How does that work? That the promises of God come to Isaac because of Abraham's obedience.God came to Abraham before Abraham believed in him. God gives promises to Abraham before Abraham obeys. And yet God says to Isaac that the fulfillment, that the continuation of the promise is because Abraham did obey him. God's gifts are unmerited. We're gonna see that again shortly. Nonetheless, they are conditionally received. And what is the condition of receiving the promises of God? That condition, according to chapter 15 and verse 6, is faith. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. But what does faith look like? Faith is not in the Bible. Now, the way we think about faith as modern Western people is totally different than how the Bible portrays faith. Faith is not just a hope, like a feeling inside where you're, yeah, I feel pretty confident about that. Or I think that's probably right. It's not just an intellectual agreement to a set of factual statements. Yes, I believe in the words on the page that Jesus is God, that he died for my sins. To just nod your head with that is not faith, as the Bible talks about faith. Faith always leads to action. Faith is a commitment of your whole self. And so Abraham had faith, and that's counted to him as righteousness, but how did it live out in his life? Abraham obeyed my voice. He kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.Real faith always follows out with obedience. This is what James is talking about in his letter when he says, you say you have faith and I have works. Well, I'm going to show you my faith by my works. They're not in opposition to one another. Good works, obedience should always follow faith. And obedience brings blessings. Obedience brings blessings. How obedient then was Isaac? We'll see that in verses 6 through 16.So Isaac settled in Gerar, like God told him to. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, She is my sister, for he feared to say my wife, thinking lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah, because she was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebecca, his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say she is my sister? Isaac said, Because I thought lest I should die because of her. Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us. So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.So how obedient was Isaac? Well, when Isaac is in this land and he sees that the king has power, he probably has a harem of other women. And he goes, you know what? Rebecca is a beautiful woman. I am terrified that they are going to kill me. Now, remember, he's just received God's promise that God is going to give him offspring, that God is going to bless the nations through him. And yet his first response to this difficult situation is fear. He's afraid of what might happen, and so he lies. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Abraham. He doesn't obey what God would say. Instead, he... He doesn't literally run from the situation, but he's running away from the danger by putting on this pretense for, we don't know how long the long time is, but it kind of makes you wonder. So like back in the previous chapter, you know, for a long time, 20 years, Rebecca is barren. They don't have any children. And it might have something to do with the fact that they were in Gerar for a long time, pretending to not be married. Like, how long is this? We don't know. But they're spending a long time not being visibly, apparently, with one another.Isaac... Isaac shared the fear of his father, repeated the failure of his father. And I think this is an important principle for us that like living out of fear is always going to lead you to sin. Living out of fear is a shortcut to sin. When Paul is writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1 and verse 7, he is encouraging him to continue in his ministry, to live into the calling that God has given him. And he says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of sound mind. God does not desire his children to live out of fear. He's just given Isaac a promise. Now, God... is not waiting for Isaac to get it right in order to protect his family. God supernaturally protects Isaac here in spite of himself and protects Abimelech from sin. He protects him by Abimelech overseeing something.Now, you read verse 8 and the king looks out his window and sees Isaac laughing with Rebecca and calls Abimelech. Isaac in and says, well, she must be your wife. Now it's possible, possible that you didn't ever laugh with someone of the opposite gender in the ancient world. I think that's probably pretty unlikely. A lot of English translations will bring this word into English, not as laughing, but as something like caressing. They're obviously acting in a way that's married. And Abimelech is able to look at how they're acting and go, he's a liar. That's not his sister. And so he calls Isaac into his presence and says, why did you lie to us? Why did you put us in this position? Isaac, by his fear, not only was putting himself in sin, but he was putting his wife in danger of sin. He was putting his host country in danger of sin. Living out of fear had put him in position to bring great shame and sin upon all of those around him. But God protected him. God protected him from his foolishness. He protected him from his fear and he protected him from himself.In verse 12, Isaac then sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him and the man became rich and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants so that the Philistines envied him. Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father. And Abimelech said to Isaac, go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.I wonder when you read Isaac's temptation here, obviously it's very easy to go, wow, what a loser. To pretend your wife isn't your wife just to save your own skin and then put everybody else in danger. Like, duh, you shouldn't do that. But where are you tempted to try to just blend in, to fit in with the people around you, whether it's friends or family or others to, as Jesus says, hide your lamp under a bushel in order to... just to save your own skin, whether that's probably in our society, not a literal thing. You're not literally worried about being put to death for standing up for Christ. But people might think you're weird. People might think you're strange. If you don't participate in the sinful things that they participate in, or if you openly express your faith, if you question their actions based on the standards of God's word, Where are you tempted to hide those things in order to just make life smoother and easier? Basically, that's living out of fear rather than out of confidence in God's promises. And what that does is, obviously, it inhibits your ability to experience God's blessing because you're actually moving away from him, not towards him.I was just talking to some high school kids this week, and the point I was trying to make to them was like, there's really no neutral in the Christian life. There's no place you can go and just kind of, like if you have a stick shift, you understand this. You put the car in neutral, and if you're at the top of the hill, you don't actually stay there. You're rolling one direction or the other. Neutral isn't really a thing. If you're, because the world actually isn't the top of the hill where you can go either way, we live on a hill headed down to destruction because of sin. And so either you are in gear trying to get up the hill, the hard road towards life, or you're Yeah, trying to just coast, while coasting takes you the opposite direction of where you need to go. And living out of fear is almost like putting it in gear going down the hill, faster than you really even were going on your own, right? That analogy kind of broke down, because going in gear can actually make you go slower down the hill. But anyway, you understand what I'm saying?The road towards Christ, the road towards Christ, honoring God is up a difficult road that where Isaac in this situation could have said, I am going to tell them who she is. She's a beautiful woman. I don't have any power here. They might kill me. I'm afraid of that, but I'm going to tell the truth. I'm going to protect my wife to the best of my abilities. He could have done that, but instead he acted out of fear and he put other people at risk. God protected him from his own selfishness, his own fearfulness. He overcame Isaac's lying. And God is also capable of handling enemies, not just inside of us, not just our own folly, is also capable of handling the enemies outside of us.So. In verses 14 and following, the Philistines start to envy Isaac, and they are filling in the wells that Abraham had made, and they tell him in verse 16, go away. Verse 17, Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerar and settled there, and Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. Amen. And he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a spring of water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen saying, the water is ours. So he called the name of the well Essek because they contended with him. Then they dug another well and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitna. And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called his name Rehoboth, saying, For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.So the Philistines get jealous of Isaac and say, get out of here. Let's create some distance. Now, we don't know exactly where this city of Gerar, where Abimelech was king. That's disputed where that is. The best suggestion I heard is that it's the same city as what becomes Ziklag in the days of David. So it's in the southern region of Judah, what would become Judah. And then they drive him out from there to the valley of Gerar, it says. So probably this is the Negev. So again, this is a river valley in the southern part of what would become the kingdom of Judah. And then he moves down there and the Lord continues to prosper him. And this is an area where Abraham had spent quite a bit of time, had dug wells to water his flocks. But after he had left, the Philistines had filled those in. And so as Isaac is down there, he starts to dig them out. He starts to remove whatever earth they'd filled those wells in with and to access the springs of water. But he encounters this problem. The herdsmen who live in that area say, ah, that's actually, that's our water. You can't have it.And so the first place that they dig this well, Essek, its name means contention. It means a place where there is tension and fighting over these wells. The next one, the Sitna, it means enmity. So you've got these two places. peoples who are at war with one another over this water. And Isaac, I can't tell what Moses is trying to tell us about Isaac here. Like is Isaac being too passive? He's not contending for those things that God has given to him. I don't know. Maybe he's just trying to be a good neighbor as he just keeps moving, keeps moving, keeps looking for another well. And finally, third time's a charm. He comes to Rehoboth, which means broad places or room. There's expansive. There's enough room for us here. They quit fighting me for this region. Now I can have a well. Now I have a place where I can water my flocks.Isaac, when he leaves this region, God continues to provide for him, even in the face of tension, even in the face of difficulties. So Isaac's moved from trying to lie to preserve himself to now he's trying to be peaceable and he's living faithfully in the land. As we move into the next section, God is going to reveal himself to Isaac. But just because God has revealed himself to him does not mean all of the earthly problems disappear. Just because God has given him the promise that all of the blessings that were to flow to Abraham are going to come through his family, that does not mean his life is easy and free of toil, free of trouble. Following the Lord does not mean a smooth path with no roadblocks. It means that he will provide even when roadblocks and quarrels and fighting and difficulty come.Walking by faith requires in the face of those roadblocks, in the face of the people fighting over the well, confidence in the character and the competence of God. And what I mean by that is, is that when we are facing difficulties, when either the difficulty is caused by our own sin or the difficulties that are caused by sin in the world around us, by people we interact with, not honoring God with their choices, not being for us in the way that they live. We need to have confidence in God's character, that he is the kind of God who actually keeps his promises, that he hasn't told us one thing and he's pulling a bait and switch on us. He's actually, he's told us he's going to lead us into green pastures besides still waters, but actually he just wants our life to be hard and awful. I think it's easy to think that about God. I've spent years of my life thinking that about God. that he really doesn't have my best interests at heart. But we need to have confidence in God's character, that he really does have what's best for us in mind all the time. And then we need to have confidence in his competence. We need to trust that he actually knows what he's doing, that his ways are higher than our ways, that he, in fact, as God, knows what he's doing.We see in verses 23 to 25, God come to Isaac again. From there, he went up to Beersheba. Beersheba is the place that Abraham names at the end of chapter 21, I believe it is. Yeah, at the end of chapter 21, where Abraham had made an oath with the Abimelech of his time. They had made an oath together, uh, At that time, Abimelech and Phicol, commander of his army, come out and they say to Abraham, let's make a treaty. And Abraham is not so sure he really wants to, but then he does. He starts sacrificing animals and says, we're going to make this treaty, but we're going to make it in the sight of God. And then he names the place where they do this, Beersheba, which means well of an oath. And so Isaac comes here to this place where his father had a history and the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, I am the God of Abraham, your father. Fear not. He's about to reiterate the promise, but he adds those two words in the front end. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake. So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well. Again, they're excavating where Abraham had first built a well, but now they're re-digging that well.God comes and he reiterates to Isaac that he's going to bless him. He's going to pass on the gifts of the promises to Abraham. And he tells him to fear not. And he tells him this because we've just seen where fear led Isaac. Fear led Isaac away from obedience to the Lord. Fear led Isaac into endangering his wife. Fear led Isaac into giving opportunities... for the people around him to sin rather than opportunities for them to turn towards the one true God. And the second time that God comes to Isaac, Isaac responds by offering worship. He builds an altar there and he calls upon the name of the Lord. And that language of calling upon the name of the Lord in the book of Genesis refers to true worship of the one true God. And so that's what Isaac does.It's... The story that follows is a near repeat of the end of chapter 21, where Abimelech comes to Abraham. Here, Abimelech recognizes Isaac's wealth and his status and his power, and he comes and wants to make a treaty. Verse 26, when Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzath, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army, Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you? They said, we see plainly that the Lord has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you that you will do us no harm just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord. So they recognize that as God had blessed Abraham in the past, now God is pouring out his blessing upon his son, Isaac.There's a temptation... When you're in a situation like Isaac's, Isaac has been asked by these people to leave them. They started to see his wealth grow and they said, hey, get out of our land. And Simon, they've basically said, you're not welcome among us. And the Lord has continued to prosper him. He's grown more and more wealthy, more and more visibly powerful to the world. and now that they see he's gotten really powerful they come to him and say hey make a treaty with us and i think there would be a temptation in isaac's position to say no why would i do that why why would i trust you You who have sent me away. I mean, you see, he is suspicious. Why have you come to me seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you? There would be a temptation even to be petty here and to just say, I can't trust you. I won't let you trust me. But instead, he responds not out of fear, not out of that initial suspicion. He responds out of faith. He welcomes them. He made them a feast and they ate and they drank.I was just listening to a book this morning and they're talking about it's a biblical theology of the city of God. But he was quoting from Exodus chapter 24 and pointed out that same language there where after God gives the Ten Commandments and he calls the 70 elders of Israel up on to Mount Sinai. Their God hosts a feast for the elders of Israel, and they sat down and they ate and they drank with God in Exodus 24. And here in Genesis chapter 26, Isaac is hosting the nations. And that idea of table fellowship in the scripture is tightly tied to the idea of welcome and of blessing. The idea that we as Christians are welcomed to the table of the Lord at communion is a symbol of our welcome into his family. We remember what he did for us so that we could become part of his family. The end of the scriptures, Revelation chapter 19, the Lord Jesus is hosting the wedding supper of the Lamb. And so it's the same idea in Exodus 24 where God is hosting the elders of Israel. They are welcomed into the blessing of God's presence, and he hosts them at a meal. And here, I think what we see in verse 30 is God starting to fulfill his promise to Abraham and Isaac to bless the nations. Here these ungodly Philistine rulers come to Isaac and he, the prophet, the one through whom God is working in the world at that time, he welcomes them to the table. I think this is a little indicator to us, just this one sentence in the text that Moses is giving us, that God is starting to bless the nations through the family of Isaac.We also see Just a principle of when Isaac is living in faith, when he's living in a pattern of worship, instead of potentially bringing sin on the nations around him, like he did earlier, by lying about Rebekah, he put Abimelech in danger. Here, when he's walking in a pattern of worshiping the Lord, the Lord blesses him and is bringing peace to the nations through him. it makes me, just on a personal application level, think about Proverbs 16 and verse 7, which says, when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.There is so often, I think this is especially true in our modern American world, where Christians aren't popular, right? To actually follow the Lord isn't isn't the most popular thing to do. But there is a world of difference between being persecuted for righteousness' sake, like Matthew chapter 5 talks about, and being of such a character that nobody just likes you because you're a jerk. Sure, you hold to the truth in some form or fashion, but you're not a very loving person. You're not a very agreeable person. Well, Proverbs 16, 7 says if you're actually living in a way that's righteous, yeah, there's still going to be persecution that comes. All who desire to live godly and righteous will be persecuted. But the majority of the time, actually, you'll be at peace even with your enemies, even with people who don't like what you stand for because they won't be able to question your character. still are going to have some measure of respect and want to be at peace with you. And I think that's what we see here in Isaac's life. He's standing for something completely different than what the Philistines are standing for. And yet they want to be at peace with him because they see the blessing of God on his life. If we are walking in a way that honors the Lord, it will be visible to the world around us. It will be visible to the world around us. That's my last point here is that God's promise to bless becomes visible to others.So was there anything in Isaac that deserved the promise of God? No, on his own, Isaac is the kind of guy who is willing to put his wife in danger of being taken into someone else's harem. Like Isaac doesn't have native to himself merit that deserves the blessing of God. Nonetheless, God pours out his grace. He pours out his promise. He pours out his unmerited favor. But Isaac, like his father, was responsible to receive that promise by faith. And that is true for us as well. God holds out the promise of his blessing, the promise of salvation freely. Not because anybody deserves it. None of us do. But we are responsible to receive Have faith in him. We are responsible to respond with trust. And faith works its way out through worship and obedience. Blessing follows obedience, not because obedience earns God's favor. We can't ever put God into our debt. But because God is a God who keeps his promises and he's promised to bless those who trust in him.So we don't live a life based on fear of like, oh no, have I obeyed enough? Have I trusted enough? We live a life based on, I trust that God keeps his promises. And I am going to order my thoughts and my affections and my actions towards the God who keeps his promises. I want to live in line with him. So don't live a life based on fear. Live an obedient life, a life that displays confidence and the competence and the character of God.Father God, we need your help in this. We naturally are fearful. We do wander far from you. All the time. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. But Lord, we do pray with the words of that song. Take my heart. Oh, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. Give us hearts that trust you and that seek to obey you in all that we do, all that we say, all that we think. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Genesis 25:12-34 (ESV)12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.Following sermon transcript was generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors. So we've got basically three chunks of text here. The first is verses 12 to 18, the generations of Ishmael. And why would we care if Ishmael is not the son of promise?So Abraham has these sons. He actually has a number of other sons later by his second wife, Keturah. But earlier on in Genesis, we saw where God had promised to Abraham that he was going to become a great nation. But at that point, he was 75 and he didn't have any children. So after about a dozen years, his wife, who is only 10 years younger than him, is now at this point, she's also well into her 70s, says, hey, you know what? How about I give you my servant and you have a child with her and that child will be counted mine. And Abraham says, okay, sounds fine. And they decide to do that. That's a common practice in the ancient Near East. The children of the maidservant would have been considered the wife's children. And they do that. And Ishmael is born. Abraham has a child with Hagar. And God says, no, this was not my plan. It is not through Ishmael that your children will be named. I'm going to give a child to Sarah. And it's still then another 13 years before that promise comes to fruition. And God does give a child to Sarah. And this child's name is Isaac.And as Isaac is growing and he starts to get a little older, Ishmael starts to make fun of him and is poking fun at him. And Sarah, remember this was all her idea. Sarah says, get that woman and her child out of here. Send them away. And Abraham doesn't want to. Abraham doesn't want to send away his son, his firstborn son. He loves him. He cares about him. He cares about Hagar too. And he does not want to send them away. But God comes and he says, no, listen to Sarah. Send them away, and then in chapter 17 and verse 20, God promises that he is going to make Ishmael into a great people as well. Twelve princes are going to come from him. And here in chapter 25, we see that God is fulfilling his promise to Abraham. God is making Ishmael into a great nation, and these twelve princes, twelve tribes that become the people that today we would consider Arabs, they are descendants of Ishmael. So this is significant because we see God's faithfulness to the promise that he gave to Abraham to bless Ishmael, but at the same time we also see that this isn't the line of promise, these are not God's chosen people, and so we see a theme recurring that starts in Genesis all the way back in chapter four.And that's the theme of tension between brothers, between those who are the chosen people of God and those who are not. There is a tension, a division between them. And that happens with Cain and Abel. And we know how that results. And then it happens again here with this tension between Ishmael and Isaac. And Ishmael is blessed, but he's not the chosen one. And it's going to recur with Isaac's own children.So the second section we see are the children of Isaac. And if you remember it, here the text reminds us that Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean of Paddan Aram, sister of Laban, the Aramean to be his wife. The longest chapter in Genesis was one of the last ones we looked at, and that's chapter 24. And chapter 24 of Genesis is this great, big, long narrative of Abraham realizing my son needs a wife. And he should not be taking a wife from among the people of the nations, the Canaanites, who would lead him away from God. Lot did that. Lot moved into the same area. He followed Abram into the promised land. But then he took a wife from among the people of the land and raised his family the way that everybody else in that area did. And it was a disaster for Lot. It undid his life and he eventually loses his wife and things don't go well with his daughters.Abraham doesn't want that for his son. And so he sends a servant back to his home country and says, find a wife for my son. And so in chapter 24, you get the story of the servant coming and meeting Rebekah. And then the whole story is repeated as the servant repeats it back to Laban and his father. And it's kind of a head scratcher. Why does the author spend so much time informing us of how Isaac got a wife? But the point of the story is that God is providing miraculously for the people of God. He's miraculously providing for the line of promise to continue. Even though Abraham was so old when his child came, and now his son is getting old to be getting married for the first time, 40 years old. God is providing for him.So Isaac has this wife, Rebekah, but then she too, verse 21 tells us, is barren. She's barren just like her mother-in-law was. And so it's another 20 years of waiting for the promise of God. Waiting for what is going to happen here. And Jacob, Isaac rather, Isaac prays for his wife. And he prays for her to conceive. And she does conceive, which again, this is like a really important theme in the biblical narrative. If someone who is barren or someone who we don't expect to get pregnant gets pregnant, something important is about to happen in salvation history. It's true with Sarah, it's true with Rebecca, it'll be true later on with Rachel and then Ruth and then Hannah and then most importantly with Mary. All these people you don't expect to be pregnant either because they're old or they're barren or with the case of Mary, a virgin, like something significant is happening when the unexpected happens concerning a birth.And here, Rebecca conceives, but then she's miserable, and it seems more miserable than the typical pregnant woman. She's to the point where she goes to inquire of the Lord. And we don't know what that means specifically. I think it's entirely possible that she actually goes to her husband, Isaac, who we'll see later on in Genesis, seems to function as a prophet. Like, it seems that she probably goes to him and inquires, says, okay, ask the Lord for me. Why? Why is this struggle taking place within me? And she receives this prophecy. The Lord said to her, two nations are in your womb. And two peoples from within you shall be divided. One shall be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger. So she receives a prophecy concerning her children that they both will turn into nations and they will be at enmity with one another. One's going to be stronger and the younger is going to be the one who is the head. He's going to be the one who receives the blessing. He's going to be the chosen of God and the older will serve him.So then the boys are born. And the first one, we're told, comes out all red. And so he's all hairy and his name is then given to him. His name is Esau. And the second one, his name is really significant because as he comes out, he grabs hold of the heel of his brother. And the name Jacob means like a heel grabber, but it can also be taken to mean a deceiver or a trickster. And that, as we walk through the Jacob story, is going to be very indicative of the kind of man that Jacob is. Jacob is a deceiver. He is a trickster. He's a schemer. Even this word here in verse 27, where it says, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man. Could be taken to mean that he's a contemplative man, that he's sitting here, he's thinking. He's thinking about things and he's scheming how to get ahead.So you see these two brothers, they're different kinds of men. Esau is a man of action. Every time I say man of action, I think of the line from the Princess Bride where the man in black says to the six-fingered man, we are men of action, lies do not become us. Esau doesn't really seem to have a lying bone. He doesn't have a thinking bone in his body. He's just a man of action. Whereas Jacob is the schemer. These two brothers have very different trajectories, but those trajectories bring them into conflict.Again, we see in this section of verses 19 to 26 that God has been faithful to his promise. God is bringing about children to keep the line of promise going on, that God had promised that he was going to bless the world through Abraham's family, and against all odds, his family continues. Even though these old men and old women are having children, well, through the fact that they are having children, God is continuing to bring his promise to fruition.But then we start to get into the narrative proper of Jacob's life with his first story, which is, it's really a sad story. Verses 27 to 34. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man dwelling in tents. You see the start of the tension here. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Not a good deal. It's clear to everyone including the narrator that there's two kids and mom loves one and dad loves the other. This is not a good setup.Once when Jacob was cooking stew Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob let me eat some of that red stew for I'm exhausted. Now I don't know if you've watched brothers interact. They often speak to one another in this sort of way, this rough, confrontational, not very kind way. Now, nonetheless, you are reading the story and you're thinking, okay, if you know how the story goes and you know Jacob's the chosen one, Jacob's the one who's supposed to be like God's servant, how should he respond? How should he love his neighbor as himself here? How should he love his brother as himself? Maybe he should like throw some insult back at him about what a jerk he is and then give him a bowl of stew, right? Like he's... That's what you would expect a brother to do. Yeah, maybe he's going to throw an insult back and say, wow, maybe you could go out to the manor's tree and pick something but but he's gonna give him a little stew but that's not what happens instead the first thing on the tip of Jacob's tongue is sell me your birthright you're reading that you're like wait how did we go from stew because I'm hungry to birthright.And what is obvious as you're reading this text is Jacob's been thinking about this. Jacob has been scheming. I have got to find a way to get the birthright. Now, we don't know for sure whether Jacob knows the prophecy that was given to his mom, that the older is going to serve the younger. But I think it's entirely possible because Jacob is the one that Rachel loves, that Rachel has told Jacob this prophecy that you know someday that your brother is going to be serving you. And just bide your time. I know he's bigger than you and he beats you up sometimes, but someday he's going to serve you. And Jacob's sitting here scheming, going, how am I going to make that happen? How can I make him the heel that I take hold of and bring into submission to me? Here I am making this stew and in comes my brother and I have an opportunity. I have an opportunity to exercise my will in this situation and put him in his place.Jacob said, sell me your birthright now. And Esau said, I'm about to die. What good is a birthright to me? Why do I care about a birthright? And Jacob is not happy with the, well, I don't care answer. He says, no, swear to me, swear to me that you will give me your birthright now. So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew and he ate, and he drank, and he rose, and he went his way. Thus, Esau despised his birthright.You read that story, and you walk away going, I don't really think God could use either one of these guys. They're both kind of losers. One of them is absolutely unthinking. I mean, the chapter concludes with a negative reflection on Esau. The text does not say, oh, poor Esau, he got tricked. It doesn't say, oh a bummer thing for him. It says he despised his birthright. The birthright was everything. To be the oldest son means you would inherit your father's household, either the entirety of the household or at least a double portion over what everyone else would receive. And he looks at that and says, yeah, it doesn't matter. I'm just hungry. He's driven by his stomach. And the text holds him guilty for that. He is not well reflected on here.On the other hand, you have Jacob who's, he's a little bit more of a long-term thinker. He's driven by selfish interest, but not the selfish interest of right now, but he's driven by the selfish interest of, I'm gonna get mine out here in the future. I'm gonna lay things in place so that I can have what is coming to me or what I want to be coming to me, whether it should be or not. And that's really the point of this story is to introduce us to these two characters, both of whom are undeserving of anything from God. Both of whom are undeserving of God's mercy and his grace. Neither one deserves God's involvement in their life in any way except for judgment.But the point, longer term, thinking theologically, thinking through the whole of Scripture, that the Apostle Paul draws from this text is that though neither one of these two men deserves God's mercy, salvation does not ultimately depend upon our worthiness of God's mercy. We all deserve God's judgment, and yet God chooses to pour out mercy and grace. In the book of Malachi, God is bringing an indictment against the people of Israel because they have rejected him. He has poured out his love and his mercy on the people of Israel, the people who descend from Jacob over and over again. And they have chosen to reject him. They've acted like Esau and they've said, Paul, what good is it for us that we're God's chosen people? Oh, well, what good does that do us? They just keep rejecting him. And in Jesus, Malachi chapter 1, verses 2 and 3. God says, you say, what does it matter? You say, what good is it? Is it not written that Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated? He has loved Jacob so much that his treatment of Esau seems like hatred in comparison.I have loved you, says the Lord. But you say, how have you loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord? Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I hated. I have laid waste to his hill country. I have left his heritage to the jackals of the desert. If Edom says, We are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins, the Lord of hosts says, They may build, but I will tear down. They will be called the wicked country and people with whom the Lord is angry forever. Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel.So God holds both of these brothers accountable, and Esau is ultimately held accountable for his rejection of God. When it says the people of Edom, these are the people who descend from Esau. We saw there in chapter 25 of Genesis, Esau asked for this red stew, and God changes his name to Edom, which means red. His descendants are called the people of Edom. who like red stew, like, I don't know, the association there. And they live to the south of Israel and become a thorn in the people of Israel's side for centuries to come. And God ultimately says, but I'm bringing judgment on them in a way that he does bring judgment to Israel, but not in the same way, not in the ultimate way that Edom is destroyed. And that's not because of anything inherent in either one of them.The apostle Paul picks this language up in Romans chapter 9. beginning in verse 6. It is not as though the word of God has failed, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all who are children of Abraham, not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh or the children of God, but the children of the promise who are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said, about this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing good or bad, in order that God's promise of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, she was told the older will serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.I think when we see this story, we see Paul uses it as an illustration here of the fact that salvation does not ultimately depend on us. We are responsible for how we respond to God. Esau is held guilty because he despised that which was most important, the salvation, the blessing that was held out to him. He despised it. He didn't care about it. And God holds him guilty. But Jacob is the same kind of man. Jacob is just as sinful as his brother. And the fact that he will ultimately come to faith, that he will come to salvation, is because of the initiating love of God. The love of God that was determined for him before he was ever born.And so the truth I think that we should draw from this text is that we each are responsible for how we respond to God. But if we respond to him rightly with faith and obedience, it is not because we're smarter than our brother. It's not because we just know so much better and we're so much more enlightened. It's because God and his mercy has been gracious to us when we did not deserve it. Romans 9 there, Paul said, before they had done anything good or bad... God determined to show his love to Jacob. And if you have trusted in Christ, it's not because you are better than anybody else. It's because you, like Jacob, are an undeserving recipient of the love of God. And that's good news. Because if we look to ourselves as the basis of our salvation... and we look to our good works as the basis of our salvation or our wisdom as the basis of our salvation, we will rightly come to the conclusion that I don't have enough. I don't have enough wisdom. I don't have enough good works. I've got too much of a mess still going on either out in my life or inside in my head and in my heart, which Jesus says is just as culpable as the things that you do outside of you. If you sin in your heart, you've done it.You need a salvation that comes from the outside. And you need a God who is desiring to save you despite you. Despite your inclinations. Despite your unworthiness. And that's what we have in Scripture. A God who initiates. A God who sends. We're going to see that in Jacob's life where God will initiate with him over and over again. And we see it in the history of the world as God, the son himself enters into human history, takes on flesh and dwells among us. And in him, we have beheld the glory of the eternal father. And in him, the wrath of God is poured out and satisfied so that we might have a relationship with him so that we can respond to him in faith. But that's all a gift. It's not anything we deserve.And so as we jump back into the narrative of Genesis, we jump back into Jacob's story, jump into Jacob's story for the first time, we need to realize nothing that is good in our lives is because we deserve it. It's because God is gracious. God is going to pour out his love in Jacob's life, not because Jacob is good, but because God is loving. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you. that you are a good God, that you are a gracious God. And we ask that you would give us the grace and the mercy to respond rightly to you. We need your help in this. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Men for the Fight2 Samuel 21:15-22, 23:8-39; Remsen Bible Fellowship; 11/20/2022IntroductionSocieties need men. Churches need men. Families need men. Those three statements, hopefully, seem like common sense to you. But you are also well aware that in many parts of our society those statements would need a trigger warning attached. We hear frequent drumbeats of the dangers of patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Is masculinity a dangerous thing? Is it something to steer boys away from, and to protect women from?The Bible doesn’t seem to think so. Which, given that the Bible is God’s word, means that God doesn’t seem to think so. He created us male and female in His image. There is something about the distinctions between, and the resultant fitting together of men and women, that expresses God’s likeness in a way that androgynous humanity simply wouldn’t.We can all think of texts which celebrate various aspects of femininity and female strength. The stories of Ruth and Esther, the woman of Proverbs 31, and many of the women in the Gospels and Paul’s letters shine forth showing the way to what competent, beautiful, female, image bearing looks like. Where do the men turn?One answer would be our two passages from 2 Samuel this morning. We begin with 2 Samuel 21:15ff.15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”18 After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. 21 And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. (2 Samuel 21:15-22)Rather than slowly walk through each detail of our two passages, I want to highlight the obvious theology of these texts, and then spend the end of the sermon meditating on potential applications for us today.God’s PreservationWe have to remember where these texts are situated - in the epilogue of 2 Samuel, the conclusion of the narrative about David’s years as king. Though much of what takes place in these texts is from earlier in David’s reign, and some even before he becomes king, the author places the material here for us to see God’s hand at work preserving his anointed ruler, and preserving his chosen people. This is especially clear in 21:17-18, where David’s life is on the line. He is tired from fighting, and Ishbi-benob, a giant, takes notice. This mountain of a man, who wields a spear with an eight pound point on the end and who had some form of new weapon (the Hebrew is unclear if it was a new sword or new armor or new something else - but it was new and shiny and ready for a test against David) is about to slay the king. Until Abishai steps in and saves the day.In this section of chapter 21 there are four different giants who fall by the hand of David and his men, and the material here is to help us see that the promise made by God (quoted in 2 Samuel 3:18) that Israel would be saved from the Philistines through David, has come true. God has delivered. Just like 1 Samuel 17, a giant once again comes out in v21 to taunt Israel. And just like in 1 Samuel 17, a descendant of Jesse once again slays the loud-mouthed giant. Standing against Yahweh never pays off, and taunting him certainly doesn’t. God will not be mocked. God will destroy his enemies and preserve his people.Sometimes God does this through miraculous intervention (giant hailstones, splitting the red sea in two, bringing down the walls of Jericho), but very often he is at work through more ordinary means. Like preserving a nation through brave warriors.At Work Through Men8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory.While the focus of 2 Samuel never shifts from how the nation and Davidic dynasty are preserved - the Providental working of God - the author is clear about how God worked. “The Lord brought about a great victory that day” (v10). “The Lord worked a great victory” (v12). How? He delivered his people from fearsome and brutal enemies by means of fearsome and brutal warriors.Jeshob-basshebeth wielded his sword against 800(!) men. That’s the sort of man you put in charge of the elite forces.Eleazer, son of Dodo, was a man of great bravery, so much so that when all Israel fled, he was among the three who stood with David against an entire Philistine host. He fought until his hand literally froze to the sword. When the rest of the army came back, it was only to strip the bodies of the slain.And then there was Shammah, defending the lentil field. Lentils were a staple crop, and it appears the Philistines had come to raid Israel’s food. Again the troops fled, but Shammah took his stand, and struck down the enemies of God’s people.Then there were the three unnamed men of verses 13-17,13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.This seems to be before David’s time as king, during the wilderness years. David’s hometown of Bethlehem is under occupation, and he longingly wishes things were back to normal. “Oh that I could grab a drink in my hometown” might be a modern paraphrase. But three of his men take him literally, and sneak behind enemy lines to get him a glass of water. What devotion! Joyce Baldwin gives a helpful comment here, explaining why it made sense for David to pour this water out before the Lord: “The story of such devotion to a leader became part of Israel’s literary heritage, especially as the leader was humble enough to admit that only the Lord was worthy of such sacrifice. That is why he poured it out to the Lord as a libation: it represented the life-blood of three brave men.”And then the author goes back to naming names:18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.Abishai, Joab’s brother, wielded his spear against 300 - and though he was not listed among the three, his name was right up there. For a time he even led David’s army.And then there is Benaiah. The ultimate man’s man. He struck down “two Ariels of Moab” - we don’t know if these were sons of a man named Ariel, or if Ariel was a special name for Moabite elite warriors. We do know that this must have been impressive, because of the feats which follow in the list. He crawled into a pit, with a lion, on a day when snow had fallen. The rocks were slippery, the lion was hungry. Why is he going down there? Did the men need a sheltered place to get out of the weather, and was this lion in the way? We don’t know. We do know that Benaiah walked out of the pit, and the lion didn’t. He didn’t just “go down” into pits to chase lions. He “went down” to an Egyptian, a man whom 1 Chronicles tells us was over 7 feet tall. Handsome, impressive, a lot of man. And he held a spear, while Benaiah carried only a staff. But Benaiah used his staff to disarm the Egyptian, and then ran him through with his own spear. David had an eye for talent, and said, “that’s who should be in charge of my bodyguards.”There is an unflinching celebration of the men in these verses as warriors. And while we will discuss later that this is not how the kingdom of God advances in the church age, we nonetheless should see the nobility in mighty men standing up for their people and their nation. These men were loyal to the leader whom God had ordained. And so today, we should not fail to thank God for those who volunteer to fight for the country we live in, nor should we be squeamish about celebrating those who do so in an extraordinary way. We need to make a distinction between the kingdom then and now, but we don’t need to be ashamed of violence in its proper place. In a fallen world, where evil abounds, God has given the sword to the state. And that sword is intended to be carried by valiant men.24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.It’s worth noting before we turn to applying the text to our day, what an interesting and varied group this is. Men of Judah, as we would expect, David’s kinsmen. But also men of Benjamin, in fact Ittai is from Saul’s hometown. Several of these men we don’t know where to place geographically, but a bare minimum of three (and perhaps several more) are Gentiles, not of the people of Israel. Eliphelet is of Maacah, Zelek is an Ammonite, and Uriah is a Hittite. And by concluding with Uraiah, the author draws our mind back to the incident with Bethsheba, Uriah’s wife. Remember, that though the central human character of 1-2 Samuel is David, David is not the hero. God is the only hero in this book.What Can We Learn?So, what can we learn from a text like this? There are the twin temptations, the first to read this in shock and horror at what an uncivilized time this was, and wonder how God could speak so approvingly of such awfully violent men. That would be wrong because it would suggest that we know better than God.The flip side, the opposite temptation, is just to meditate on the gore and glorify a pagan-like warrior culture. Maybe start watching Braveheart for bible study. This is increasingly popular in many circles - to point out how demonized men have been, and to respond by living up to all of the negative stereotypes. “They want to call me a meat-eating Neanderthal? Well, I’ll show them how really uncivilized I can be! Nanny nanny boo boo!” And this type of masculinity, which might well be described as toxic, really misses the point. David was, after all, the warrior poet, the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1). He was a man of many layers. He was not afraid of battle, and neither were his men. Their confidence in God gave them the strength they needed to accomplish great feats. But David, rightly, also rebukes bloodthirstiness.So if, “go sharpen your swords,” or “buy more reloading gear,” isn’t the right lesson to draw from the text, what is? I think what we see here is that God works through men. And so, if we want to see God work here, we need to be the sort of men he’ll work through. This is not to deny how frequently and powerfully he uses ladies as well! - but that isn’t the point in this text. When I speak here of God working through men, I’m talking about XY chromosome men. Males.David’s kingdom was built and defended in no small part because these faithful men sacrificed themselves for the good of the kingdom. Some lived long lives of service, others gave their lives in service. But all sacrificed for God’s anointed.In the New Testament era, this side of Jesus coming to earth, living a perfect life, dying for our sins, rising from the dead, and ascending to the Father’s right hand, the kingdom is not tied to a political nation or leader in the same way it was in Jesus’ day. Rather, Jesus promised in Matthew 16 that he would build his church. And in Matthew 28 he makes clear that the way he intends to do this is by sending his followers into the nations, proclaiming his authority over everyone and everything. So what does this have to do with men?Well, the charge is to be led by men. When Jesus chose his 12 apostles, he chose men. When the apostles were laying out the requirements for pastors and elders, both the assumption and explicit teaching of Paul and Peter are that such persons would be male. While there is definitely debate about the office of deacon, there is no question that the first deacons were themselves male.Moving backward in time to the creation order, in the home God gives the man the role and responsibility - the duty - of leadership, of headship. This is not some special privilege where he gets to act like a big baby demanding his way. It means that the buck stops with him. How his wife is doing spiritually is his responsibility. How his kids behave and respond to authority is his responsibility. It is, in fact, the shouldering of this responsibility in the home that Paul uses as the primary indicator for how a man displays fitness for the office of pastor, or elder, or even deacon.Again, none of this is to diminish what women do or are capable of. To draw a specific analogy from our text, we know that women were the ones primarily responsible for harvesting grain in Israel (at least in the time of the Judges, see the book of Ruth). But when Philistines are at the field, those ladies can’t go to work. It takes a Shammah to make a stand, clearing the field of enemies, to make it a safe place to work. For women to flourish and reach their full spiritual potential in our homes and church, then we as men must step up to carry our share of the load.This is true right now, even as a small church. It’s also true for the future. This is a truth for me, for Scott, for Thomas; but it’s also a truth for Owen and Calvin and Wesley. If we pursue the Lord with our whole hearts, not being content to coast through life, but looking for opportunities to grow, and then not only grow, but to help lead others toward maturity in Christ, that will not diminish the ladies in our midst - it will enable them to be all that God has meant for them to be. Leaning into this kind of spiritual leadership - taking initiative in prayer, diligently searching the Scriptures in order to know the Lord, seeking to understand and serve our wives, discipling our children in godliness, setting an example in our workplace of diligence, excellence, and integrity, coming to church and joining voices in song as we proclaim Jesus’ Lordship over all - these things are profoundly counter-cultural. And they are exactly the need of the hour.They’re probably not the sort of thing that will get your name in a history book. Getting up, reading your Bible and praying, going to work and doing your best, and then coming home and finding ways to serve your wife probably won’t sit alongside slaughtering 800 Philistines in most people’s minds. Showing up to church every Sunday might not seem as impressive as jumping in a snowy pit with a lion. But this is the very sort of faithfulness the Lord Jesus calls us to, and in places like Ephesians 6, he calls it warfare.I’ve often thought over the years of the old Steve Green song, “Find us Faithful.” And I think that’s the testimony David’s mighty men left, more than anything else. God was pleased to do remarkable things through them, to be sure. But sometimes preserving David and took such big miracles because so few of the faithful were left. We have no idea what God will do through us, big or small. But if we remain steadfast and faithful, available to him, then we can be sure he will accomplish everything he wants through us, whether it looks big in our eyes or not. It’s his perspective that matters. So, in closing, let me encourage you with the words of 1 Corinthians 16:13-14,13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. This is a public episode. 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Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.Good morning, everybody. I will say at the gospel mission, they had a nice big podium for me to spread out on down there. Oh, it was custom made for me, don’t know, nice. Alright, good morning, everybody. Good morning. Again, you know who I am. It’s an honor to be here again preaching to you guys and teaching you the word of God. This week was a little bit of a challenge as Will always does. He’s getting me to make different types of sermons, challenging me in ways that I have not been challenged before. As it was said earlier, luckily, we have the Holy Spirit to lead us through these things. But he gave me one sentence to make a sermon off of, and that’ll be in Proverbs 10 verse one. Don’t dive too far deep because that’s where we’re stopping. And the text is: a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.I had the honor of going to the gospel mission last night and preaching this, and I feel like there’s more that can relate to this as far as the children go in this room. But the rest of you, you might be thinking, I’m not a child. Why does this even apply to me? So this was written by King Solomon. He was speaking to his child, to his son, and he’s giving him advice, and we’ll dive through more of that advice as we go through this. But I want you to kind of think about if you hear that you are a child, oftentimes, we can automatically go to that I’m a child of God. That’s who I am in this world. But Ephesians tells us that that’s not how we’re originally created, that we are naturally children of wrath. We don’t naturally follow God. We don’t naturally seek after him, but Ephesians 2:1-3, it says, and we were dead in our trespasses and sins in which we once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince and the power of the air. That is Satan. You guys, naturally, we follow him and not God. The spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.Each and every one of us, we are a child, so we can relate to this. But when we first read it, we might think for that first son that is bringing gladness to his father, naturally, that’s not the case. We are born as the second son who is bringing the sorrow to his mother. So as you’re sitting here today, any of you, do you have one that you think you more relate with? Are you that one that makes your father glad or the one that brings sorrow to your mother? Sadly, we are all the second one originally. Romans tells us that because we are naturally that child of wrath, we don’t seek God, but not only don’t we seek him, we can’t. There’s no way on our own that we can earn our righteousness by ourselves. I’ll read it, Romans 3: “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No at all.” So none of us have any upper hand on anyone else in this world. We are all, so no one has a better hand. “Are Jews any better off? No. Not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jew and Greeks, are under sin as it is written. No one is righteous. No. Not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. We’ve all turned aside together and have become worthless. No one does good. No. Not even one.”I want you to start to listen to, think, does this describe who you used to be or who you still are today? Their throats are like an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is on their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood, and their paths are ruined in misery. In the way of peace, they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. I can think of my life before becoming a child of God that this sadly described me. When I spoke to people, it was not love and kindness that came out. It was bitterness, curses. When you would look at me, what came out of my mouth revealed what was inside of me. We are naturally looked at, and you can see the death and the lack of life that is within us. So, again, I asked, which one do you relate to sitting here today? Are you the first or second child? Do you relate more to this child of wrath or to a child of God?The Bible is full of examples. Even when I ask you this question, you can naturally think, of course, I’m this first child. Of course, I bring honor and glory to my father, but there’s countless examples in the Bible of people who would answer that question that they are wise and they have understanding. One is found in the book of Matthew. We have three different cities run by these Jewish leaders. Jesus went and did most of his works in these three towns. And, again, these are people who devoted their life to the scribes and the Sadducees. They would say, yes, I’m righteous. I’m holy. I’m wise. I have this understanding. Yet Jesus himself, he denounces them. He went there. He showed them who he was, and they rejected him. He says, woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. He says, woe to you, Capernaum. Capernaum is where he was raised. Like, he went back to that town to where he was raised with Joseph and Mary. He says, do you think you’ll be exalted to heaven? I came here and I told you who I am and yet you deny me. Do you think you’ll be exalted to heaven? He says, no. You will be brought down to Hades.Oftentimes, we can think that we are righteous. We can think that we are wise. We can think that we have this understanding, and we can fool ourselves just like they did. They thought they were the best. The townsmen would look to them as something to aim for as being righteous and holy and wise, but yet they are being cast down to Hades. They too were naturally this child of wrath. Jesus goes on to describe them with the very words that we’re speaking of. He called them wise and understanding. But what he’s doing here is either being a little sarcastic because they think they are or they have the earthly wisdom, not wisdom that is from above. Do you go about your life today thinking you are wise, but yet knowing the word of God and rejecting it, thinking just like they did? I don’t need this repentance thing that you’re talking about. I don’t need to turn away from my sins. I can do it better on my own, God. That’s exactly how they were thinking, but I plead with you. You are being that second child who is bringing sorrow instead of that gladness.You may ask, okay, you’ve covered the children aspect of this. Why did the father even get brought in? Why did the mother get brought into this passage today? We did cover that it is a literal father writing to literal children, his literal son. Another thing that we have to think about is as parents, as kids, that there are roles that we have to do when we are in those positions. God tells us we have jobs to do as we are in those roles, and King Solomon was fulfilling that, and we’ll dive through some other proverbs that he has written to us showing that he fulfilled this. But as fathers, if you’re sitting here in this room, we’re told not to just make our kids angry for no reason. Don’t just provoke them, but bring them up in the discipline and the instruction of the Lord. This is what we see King Solomon doing as he’s writing these proverbs. He’s instructing. He is disciplining his child. Mothers, on the other hand, if you notice, the father is glad, but there’s sorrow in the mother’s heart. If you’re a mother sitting here today, Proverbs has a great example of what you seek in your life, how you live out your life to your kids if you’re following what the Bible says. It says the mothers, when they open their mouths, what comes out of her should be wisdom and kindness. When you look at her tongue, it’s not that death that we saw, but it’s wisdom and kindness that’s on her tongue. And when she looks at her household, she has gladness in it. Mothers, at least the mother of my children and maybe you too, there’s a lot more emotional connection to our children, and so they take it more personally. When their children are not wise, when they are this foolish child, it hurts them even more to the core. To see a child who they brought up in this instruction, they did everything that God said. When we see them just throw it away, that brings real sorrow to her.So how can you and I not be this second child? Because we are. How can we not be it anymore? One, we can listen to the instruction of our parents if they are biblically foundational. If they follow these rules, then we should listen to them, children in the front row. If you are not living at home with your family, there’s good news that we do have another father and he has instructed us and has given us the key to how to be wise, to have this understanding. But we also have other passages that Solomon wrote that we can look at. Did I say King Saul at some point? Solomon wrote these. I apologize. Sorry. Solomon is writing this to his children. But I do wanna read something that gives us hope. Ephesians 2, we read it where we were children of wrath, but we don’t have to stay that way. Verse 4 in Ephesians 2 says that, but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love in which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, even though we’re those children of wrath, he has made us alive together with Christ. By grace, we have been saved and raised up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus. It is by grace that we have been saved. We don’t have to stay this child of wrath. It is by grace that God has chosen us to adopt us as his children; we can live our life for him. It is a gift. Nothing that we did. These scribes and Pharisees, they tried on their own, but all they could do is boast on themselves. A true relationship for God to be your father, for you to be a child of him is for you to put your trust in him, and it’s nothing that we did to deserve that.So how again can we not be this child of wrath? We know that we need to put our faith in God. We need to be submitted under him, but we need to not have this earthly wisdom. We can’t be set in stone thinking the fact that we have wisdom when in fact it might not be the right wisdom. So how can we know? Am I fooling myself, or am I truly having godly wisdom, wisdom that is from above? The book of James tells us a little bit about this. He asks you straight to your face, who is wise and understanding among you? The same exact words that Jesus used to describe those leaders. He says, by his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. You can see it through your good works. Works don’t save you, but if you have this wisdom, you will do good works. But here’s how you can tell. But if you, again, sitting here today with this wisdom that you think you have, but if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not wisdom that comes down from above, but it is earthly, it is unspiritual, and it is demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exists, there will be disorder in every vile practice.I can think of the time when I was not saved. I thought I was. I was going to church for a good year before God actually saved me. If you ask me, yes, I was a believer. Yes, I was wise. Yes, I knew some scripture. That’s not what showed in my life. It was unspiritual. It was earthly. There was definitely jealousy in my life. Everything I did was out of selfish ambition. Even going to church, I selfishly went so that I could be seen. They saw me there so they wouldn’t question if I truly was saved or not. The chaos that ensued in my marriage showed the true disaster in every vile practice that was truly there. I was fooling those around me and fooling myself into thinking that I was wise and had understanding. So how do we know if what we have truly is? How do I know standing here today that I’m not fooling myself anymore? And James tells us, but this wisdom that is first pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. That is the wisdom that we want. That is the wisdom that is from above.So when you think, when you are wise, challenge yourself. Am I doing the things I’m doing for God or am I doing them for me? Am I doing them to better my own life or to glorify him? The rest of our time will be in Proverbs. So if you do want to open up there, we will look at Proverbs 9:10. This is talking about how do we gain this wisdom. So we talked about what is it? How do I know if it’s earthly? How do I know if it’s from above? How do I get this wisdom and stop being this child of wrath? Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. We cannot have this truly biblical wisdom if we don’t have a right perception of God. That right perception of God comes with fearing him. That doesn’t mean I should be scared to open up my Bible or scared to talk to him, but it’s having this awe and reverence of the true power of the creator of this universe and putting him in the place that he should be in our lives. I can say all day long, Jesus is Lord of my life, but if I don’t listen to him, is he truly?So Solomon, does he say any more about this? I do apologize. I hope last night I did not just say Saul the whole time, but Proverbs 1, if you wanna flip there, we see him instructing his son even more. We see him doing that duty as a father to bring up his son in the instruction and the discipline of the Lord so that his son is not the second son anymore, but instead can move into that place of the first one that’ll bring him gladness and fulfill the roles and duties that he has as a father in this world. Proverbs 1:8-9 says, hear my son, your father’s instructions, and forsake not your mother’s teachings for they are a graceful garland for your head and a pendant around your neck. When I first read this, I was thinking, like, why is she decorating me? Why is my mother supposed to be putting this onto me? When you think about the fact that when you are a child of God, when you are out in this world, you’re supposed to be representing something beautiful. You’re supposed to be representing Christ and God’s handiwork. And so we read earlier the mother’s job was to instruct and to give you knowledge and information, and she was going to make you beautiful to this world. When people look at you, they should see Christ. And so she decorates you with these graceful garlands, puts a pendant around your neck. When people see you, they will see that you are different.My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say come with us, let us lie in wait for blood. Let us ambush the innocent without reason. Like Sheol, let us swallow them alive and whole. Like those who go down to the pit, we shall find all precious goods. We shall fill our houses with plunder, throw in your lot among us. We will all have one purse. He’s saying, son, please listen to me. There will be people in your life who will try to entice you. They will promise you gifts. They will promise you a purse filled with this money. They will promise you these things that they have no right to promise you. But they don’t care who gets in their way. We need to be careful who we are around. Son, listen to my words. Do not even consent to be with them. He continues on, my son, do not walk in the way with them. Hold back your foot from their paths for their feet. They run to evil. They make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood. They set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. It takes away the life of its possessors. These people that will come into your lives don’t just not consent to go with them. Don’t even be on the same path that they are on. They don’t care who gets caught in the net. It says for in vain, they spread a net in the sight of any bird. They don’t care what the catch is. They just want to have gain from it. They will go through anyone and do anything to get what they want in their lives for this unjust gain. So don’t consent to be with them. Don’t even go on the same path they were on. We have people in our own lives today that will try to drag us down these paths, and we have to be cautious and wise about who we are with.Proverbs 4, you can turn there if you’d like. He continues to instruct his son. This is his duty. It is his job to make sure his son is wise so he continues to do so. He says, hear, oh, son, a father’s instruction and be attentive that you might gain insight. This word insight is the same as the understanding that we’ve seen. So pay attention, son, so you might gain this understanding for I give you good precepts. Do not forsake my teaching. He speaks about how his father did the same. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, let your heart hold fast to my words. Keep my commandments and live. Get wisdom. Get insight. Do not forget and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Again, he is pleading, son, don’t go with those people, but also get this wisdom and insight so that you can know better. Don’t turn away from my commandments. He now starts to talk about wisdom as a her. He says, do not forsake her, and she will keep you. Love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom. I always chuckled at that, but as if you’re looking and waiting for a place to start, you just need to jump in. If you want wisdom, you need to just go and get it. But whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you. She will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland. She will bestow on you a beautiful crown.There’s many passages to choose from, but I wanted to tie this one in for this graceful garland. We read that that’s what the mother did when you were underneath her care. Children, she will bestow this upon you. It comes with the wisdom. But now you keeping this wisdom that you should have will continue to do so. This wisdom in your life will continue to adorn you in these things. He says, hear my son and accept my words that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the ways of wisdom. I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered. And if you run, you will not stumble. Keep hold of instruction and do not let go. Guard her for she is your life. Do not enter into the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it. Do not go into it. Turn away and pass on. Again, even in this separate proverb, he is warning against those around you, those that are evil who are trying to drag you down.What’s interesting is how he describes them here next. These people that are in your lives even today that try to drag you back into the sins of which you once lived, it says they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong. They are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat of the bread of wickedness and they drink of the wine of violence. But the path of righteousness is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until a full day. The way of the wicked is like the deep darkness, and they do not know over what they stumble. A fun experience I was pleased to have last Wednesday at Lamar’s Bible Church is the youth group does this thing called underground church. You get middle schoolers, I think, did it last night. High schoolers is the group I was involved in. We got to do it Wednesday night. It is pitch black. You turn off all the lights in the church. The leaders lovingly get to walk around with pool noodles and try to smack tag them. We were wearing bells to entice them, and, there’s different levels to this game. At first, we could only be in the hallways of the church, but the whole church was for a game. And you could just jingle that bell, and you would hear people tripping and falling and stumbling. That was a great example of the image of what is said here. It was pretty dark, wasn’t it? Yeah. But the amount of blindness that we have when we are in this darkness, we can be in a room that you could normally traverse perfectly fine. But when you’re blinded by this darkness, you don’t know the path of which you’re on. It says the way of the wicked is like this deep darkness. They do not even know what they stumble on. But what he does say is that the righteous is like the light of dawn. So you could have that same very room right after hearing these kids stumble. Could turn on the light, and they could walk out perfectly fine. If you’re living your life in the light, you can see the path of which you’re walking on.So he continues on. My son, be attentive to my words and incline your ears to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight. Keep them in your heart. For they are a life to those who find them and a healing to all the flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance. From it flows the springs of life. Remember, the light is stronger than the darkness. Even the sun makes the night scatter. So how much more will the wisdom of God make these second child’s wisdom flee? He says, put away from you crooked speech and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, then all of your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left or turn your foot away from evil. Being a Christian or at least walking in the path of how God tells us to is purposeful. You don’t wake up one day and accidentally follow God. It is a purposeful path that in the light you can perfectly see, contrasted to the darkness where we trip and we stumble and we fall.So how do we get there? Again, you and I were born this child of wrath. How do we get there? How do we get this wisdom? It’s not easy. Satan is alive, and he is strong, and he is out there. He will try to stop you every single step of the way. He did it in the Garden of Eden. He went there when they had this perfect environment. They walked with God himself, and yet he came and tempted them away. The opposition to this wisdom that we want is described in Proverbs 9 as woman folly. And when you read this description of what this foolishness or this folly is, it really brings it to light. It says that she stands in the city and she yells out. If you’ve ever had a sin or a vice that keeps drawing you back, you know it whispers in your ear. It tells you, come back to me. I am better. She is loud. She will catch your attention. Says that she is seductive, and she will draw you in. The devil knows your weaknesses. He knows what will try to lead you astray. But if you follow her, Proverbs 9 tells us that the guests in her house are in Sheol. If you follow this seductive woman, this woman of folly, it will only lead you to your own grave.So we need something stronger than this opposition that we are up against. That is Christ. Today, sitting here today, we need Christ Jesus to be the Lord of our lives and to shine the light so that we can see the path that we walk on. We don’t wanna continue to be the second child bringing sorrow to our mother. We want to be this one making our father glad. We’re told that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, that you will be saved. The words that I just uttered are not my own. They are promised from God himself that if you make Jesus your Lord and believe those things, you will be saved. God loved us so much that he sent his son into this world because we cannot do it on our own. We’re told if we fail at one single point of the law, we failed at it all. We don’t just kind of miss the mark a little bit. We completely flunk this test of life. That’s why Jesus had to come for us. We are naturally the second son. But he sent him, and he can keep us. Nothing can take us from the hands of God if you put your trust into him. Not angels, not demons, not other humans. Nothing can snatch you from the hands of God.But are you in the hands of God sitting here today? Do you trust him enough for you to actually make that step into his hands? Are you just kinda sorta hanging out next to him? There’s a difference of him being the Lord of your life and you knowing a lot about him. Even the demons know a lot about God. Remember that we all were this foolish child. We all started out as this wrath. Nothing can take us from him if we make that leap of faith into his hands. But also remember that just because you say you’re wise doesn’t mean you are. Just because you say you’re a child of God doesn’t mean you are. There are countless people like the scribes and the Pharisees. Maybe even people in this room that when the day of judgment comes, we’ll hear the words I never knew you. We need to be in his hands, secure in him, not just kind of hanging out around him and around his children.The one thing that we do have and that we know we can rely on is that we have a loving God. But what that means is that we have a God that’s not gonna force us to be with him. We have a God that gives you this opportunity. We have free will down here on this Earth. But if you don’t wanna be with him here, he’s not gonna force you to be with him in eternity. He loves you too much to then force you to come kicking and screaming into his kingdom. So have you made this leap of faith? He will not force you to. But if you love him and you go into his hands, he will keep you. Do not separate yourselves from him. Instead, run towards him. I plead with you that if you are still this child of wrath, even hiding like I was in the church pews, cry out to him. He will accept you. He loves you.I pray that as we continue out our weeks, as madam Folly, day in and day out, entices us, calls to us that we walk in the paths of Christ and not towards her house. Well, thank you guys for your time. Dear God, I wanna thank you for this opportunity to dive into what wisdom truly looks like when it’s from you, Lord. I pray that we don’t rely on our own understandings, our own thought of what wisdom is. I pray that we look towards you, that we are not falling into the paths of those around us that try to drag us into our graves, Lord. I pray that we turn to you, the only one who can bring life to us. You don’t just say that we’re lost. You say that we are a pile of dead and dry bones. Without you, we cannot have the life that we need to be with you eternally, Lord. I pray that if there’s anyone here today that has not made you truly the Lord of their lives, that they take that step and they step into your hands, Lord. I know that you will take care of them and you will love them until eternity. In your name, amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Have You Bent the Knee?2 Samuel 20, 11/06/2022, Remsen Bible FellowshipIntroductionDeath, power plays, political intrigue, and kingdom and covenant in crisis. Folks often think of the Old Testament as a boring collection of books with meaningless history and lots of lists of people and names. And while there are plenty of lists, even those lists are set in place to help us understand the background of the intense drama which unfolds before us in the pages of the text. When you read the Bible, it is helpful to do so imaginatively. Remember that the stories are real stories that take place in the lives of real people. Try to set yourself there and start asking questions. What would it be like to be part of a kingdom in political turmoil? How would you feel if your son had rebelled against you, and was now dead? These kinds of questions help us get into the skin of a story, and then spark our interest as we ask more objective questions, like: what is the message the author is trying to communicate? What lessons should a reader 30 centuries removed take away from this narrative?This morning we need to remember where we are in David’s story. He is a man approaching 70 years old, very near the end of his life. His son Solomon is the intended next king, but nothing has been formalized yet. In the presence of David’s weakness, and with a plausible claim to the throne himself, his son Absalom stages a coup, in which many high ranking officials, including David’s closest counselor, Ahithophel, take part.By the end of chapter 19 that rebellion has been put down. After Joab led the military victory, and then disregarded David’s orders by slaying Absalom, there needed to again be a king. David sends messengers to the people of Judah, and they bring him back to Jerusalem. Things are back on level footing, right?Well, maybe. The problem is that David’s move with the people of Judah created more narrative tension - he displaced Joab as commander of his army with the rebel leader Amasa. And he further exacerbated the division between Judah and the rest of the nation. And so we come into chapter 20.A Sad and Familiar Situation, v1-3Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,“We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;every man to his tents, O Israel!”2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.This feels like another verse of the same song, doesn’t it? A worthless man rises up and calls the people of Israel to himself. In 19:43, the people of Israel are contending with the people of Judah, saying “we have ten shares in David!” But, having lost that argument, Sheba’s rallying cry becomes, “we have no share in David!” Every man to his tents, this is the time for war.And the text tells us that “all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri.” Now all Israel withdrew probably doesn’t mean that he pulled the entire army of Israel together, given what follows. But their loyalties again shifted away from David and to a challenger. They would be happy for Sheba’s rebellion to be successful, they would not remain loyal to David.The effect of this upon David’s household can be seen in verse three. This verse is loaded with a sad irony. David, who had left these ten concubines in Jerusalem to take care of the house when he fled, now returns. As we remember from chapter 16:20-23, Absalom had violated each of these women in broad daylight in order to lay claim to the king’s household. Now David has returned, and with the renewed threat against the kingdom, he ensures that from now on these women are safe. But ironically, this means that they will be shut away, left to mourn the rest of their days. If you remember, this whole saga with Absalom began when his sister Tamar was violated, and she then lived, a desolate woman, in Absalom’s house for the rest of her days. He was so furious about that sin that he murdered his brother. But now he has committed the same sin against 10 women. It’s a brief detail in the story, but worth pausing simply to mourn with these women. Again we cry with the Psalmist, “how long oh Lord?” Will you forget the down cast forever?Who’s In Charge Here?, v4-13The drama keeps moving, though, as this rebellion of Sheba must be dealt with.4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself.” 5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. 6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us.” 7 And there went out after him Joab’s men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier’s garment, and over it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened on his thigh, and as he went forward it fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow, and he died.Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 And one of Joab’s young men took his stand by Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” 12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway. And anyone who came by, seeing him, stopped. And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. 13 When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.David is giving orders - but David is clearly not in charge in this situation. In v4, David calls Amasa (the new military leader) to himself and says “gather the army in three days.” However, we see in v5 that Amasa either cannot or simply does not do as David says. I think what we’re supposed to draw from that delay is not poor intention on Amasa’s part, but rather an implied contrast with Joab - Joab is a man of action, effective in getting things done and leading the army. Amasa couldn’t even pull them together in three days. Then in v6, David tells Abishai to call together “your Lord’s men”. Notice that David does not call Joab back, he needs the sons of Zeruiah, but he will only deal directly with Abishai. But notice in v7 that the first reference is not to “David’s men”, but to “Joab’s men.” David has no control in this situation at all.So Joab and Abishai take off after Shaeba, and when they come to Gibeon, just to the north of Jerusalem, Amasa meets up with them - presumably with his army now in tow. Joab, ever the sly fox, heads over to greet Amasa. But for some reason the belt on his soldier’s garment was a little loose. As he hurries to greet the leader of the army, his sword falls from his sheath. But as he bends over, he picks it up not with his right hand - the dominant hand, the hand of war - but with his left. He uses the right hand to extend a greeting, taking hold of Amasa’s beard to give him a kiss, which was the standard cultural “hello” for those to whom you were close. Amasa, thinking nothing of the sword in the left hand of Joab, is then taken completely by surprise when that sword is buried to the hilt in his belly.Joab, ever the opportunist, has struck again. It reminds us of how he executed Abner in 2 Samuel 3:27. It calls to mind the death of Ehud executing Eglon the king of Moab in Judges 3:21-23. And the betrayal with a kiss takes us to the garden of Gethsemane on the night Jesus was betrayed.Back in charge of the whole army, Joab and Abishai lead the pursuit of Sheba, and one of his soldiers stands in the road and calls for loyalty - loyalty above all. “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.” We hear many such calls today from modern Joabs. If you’re a real Christian, you have to…fill in the blank with something the Bible doesn’t say. Beware of teachers who tell you that you have a Christian duty to do anything that isn’t in the Bible. We certainly can exercise wisdom and be informed by biblical principles far beyond the explicit black and white statements of Scripture. But when questionable deductions or pet projects get lifted to the status of “litmus test for faithfulness”, what you have isn’t real Christianity - not real loyalty to David’s Son - what you have is a false gospel.Beheaded Rebellion, v14-22For all Joab’s faults, though, we should give credit where it is due: he was effective at his job.14 And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-maacah, and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. 15 And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah. They cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and they were battering the wall to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman called from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, ‘Come here, that I may speak to you.’ ” 17 And he came near her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” And he answered, “I am listening.” 18 Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter. 19 I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the heritage of the LORD?” 20 Joab answered, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, called Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.The army pursues Sheba, and it seems that his actual fighting force ends up being not much more than his own family, the clan of the Bichrites from the tribe of Benjamin. They head for a fortified city in the north, the very thing David feared, and they go all the way to Abel of Beth-Maacah. If you have maps in the back of your Bible they probably don’t show Abel of Beth-Maacah, but they will almost certainly have Dan in the very north of Israel. This city is to the west of Dan, in the far reaches of the kingdom.Joab and co. set up siege works in order to destroy the city and get to that traitor Sheba. Then a wise woman comes to the wall. As we saw with the woman of Tekoa in chapter 14, it seems like the title “wise” wasn’t just a descriptive adjective, but was perhaps some form of formal title whereby she was able to speak on behalf of the city and/or enter into negotiations with Joab. She argues that the city of Abel has been a faithful mother to Israel, a fount of wisdom, and that Joab and his men are seeking to swallow up the Lord’s heritage by destroying this peaceful and faithful place.Joab, ironically, protests that he’s not the swallowing up or destroying type. All they want is Sheba. The woman says, “how about his head?” And she then convinces the other townspeople of the prudence of one man dying, rather than the whole city. At this point the rebellion ceases, and Joab and the troops are able to return to the king.All’s Well that Ends Well?, v23-2623 Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was secretary; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was also David’s priest.These concluding verses place a bookend to the portion of 2 Samuel beginning in chapter 9. Starting next week we’ll see some summary information that is presented not in chronological order, but meant to tie up a number of loose ends and prepare the reader for the narrative of 1 & 2 Kings.What should we take from this list of names? It seems like everything is “back to normal” and maybe the kingdom can breathe easy. But if you keep reading in 1 Kings this is not so. There is yet another rebellion before David’s death, but that time Joab will not be on his side. I think the big overarching point of the text is that God is working out his ends in the people of Israel and the life of David in spite of the human characters in the story, who seem to do everything then can to get in the way. But as we close, I want to spend a little time pondering how to think about Joab and apply the lessons of his life to our own.In his fiction book, The Great Divorce, CS Lewis takes his readers on a bus ride. This bus ride begins in hell, where it collects a number of passengers and then begins flying. The final destination? The outskirts of heaven. Now, if you had just been in hell and were dropped off in heaven you might think that was a pretty good deal. But what these characters find as they disembark the bus and begin to move around is that the world they have entered is too solid for them to enjoy - or even tolerate. Some complain, and head straight back for the bus. Others try, slowly, painfully, to explore. The grass is more solid than their ghostly feet. The water, though moving, is impenetrable to their shadowy forms. Messengers are then sent to each of these visitors, inviting them to abandon the bus and hell, and to come further into heaven. Yes, it will be painful now, but as you grow more solid your joy will likewise increase.But for the most part, the ghosts decline this invitation. They can’t stand what they’re experiencing and hearing about the place. Why, they allowed a known murderer in! One woman is invited to stay and be reunited with her husband, but she can’t stand the thought because he didn’t appreciate all of her nagging in life seeking to “improve” him. On second thought, perhaps she will stay - but only if allowed to really have free reign in how she “handles” him. One scholarly Anglican priest thinks it could potentially be okay if he is “allowed to make some contributions” morally and intellectually.No, heaven will not apologize for allowing repentant murderers. No, you will not be engaged in manipulating or controlling anyone. No, you won’t be making any contributions to the God who is already complete.Now, in that book Lewis isn’t suggesting that people actually get a second chance after they die. Not indeed, is he suggesting that anyone experiencing hell thinking they would prefer it to heaven. What he does through that fictional story, though, is lay bare the problem of the human heart here on earth. We’ll say yes to heaven - to God - on our own terms. You may be happy to wear the “team Jesus” jersey, and even be fiercely loyal to the cause, but you want to call your own plays. You want Jesus as your savior, but you struggle to submit to him as your Lord.As we read the Samuel narratives, we time again run into Joab. And Joab is David’s most fiercely loyal servant. And Joab will always do what he thinks is right for the kingdom and Davidic dynasty. But Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 - verses with a message so important that it’s a word-for-word repetition - say “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Are you walking the road to death this morning? You cannot love, follow, and serve Jesus in a way that he accepts without this crucial component: obedience.Jesus makes that about as clear as possible in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”And he puts it in stark terms in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”Allegiance to Jesus - verbalized and even felt, is not enough. You must obey him. This has applications for us both as individuals and as a church. As individuals, we each ought to take stock of our lives. Is there a particular passage of Scripture you really don’t like? Is there a sin in your life that makes you really offended when people point it out? When you cherish your sin it will destroy you. Be willing to put your sin to death. Obey Jesus, no matter what it costs you. Don’t cling to your lust, or your pride, or your own definition of love, or your bitterness. Cling to Jesus, and follow him.As a church, we can face the same temptations. To do “what works.” To look for someone with the shrewdness and effectiveness of Joab. What does it take to draw a crowd? You can go the way of the seeker-sensitive model, watering things down and not talking about the hard edges of the Christian faith or expecting commitment. Just come as you are, and stay that way! Or in our day, you can draw a crowd by doing the opposite. Take strong stands on controversial issues, that way everyone will know what side you’re on! That can draw a crowd in 2022.Or we can do what faithful churches have done for close to 2,000 years. Preach the Bible. Pray together. Eat together. Baptize new believers and regularly remember Jesus’ death for us in communion. Pursue holiness and obedience to him in every area of life. We can refuse to be carried around by the winds of the moment, and remain firmly fixed to the foundation of our faith, the anchor of our soul, the Lord Jesus Christ.In another of his books, Lewis makes the statement that God will surely use you in his plan - but it matters a great deal to you if you play the part of Judas or John. We might alter that and put it this way - don’t imitate Joab. Don’t justify your disobedience by thinking that, “at least I’m on the right team.” Spend your life obeying Jesus. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

How to Pray When You’ve SinnedRemsen Bible Fellowship, Psalm 51, 09/04/2022The following is an AI generated transcript, not a manuscript. And Father, again, as we turn to your word now, would you open our eyes to behold both the horrific things we would see in ourselves and the beauty of what were revealed of you, what was shown of you in your word. We ask these things in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.If you want to take your Bibles and turn, we’re going to be in Psalm 51 this morning. Psalm 51.One of the great dangers as a human being is to want to hide our sin. We love living in the darkness, John 3 says, because our deeds are evil. And Satan, who is the prince of darkness, and Ephesians 2 says he is the prince of the power of the air, thus he’s the god of this world, He loves that. He loves the darkness and those who are born into his reign, which is all of us. We love the darkness rather than the light because our deeds are evil. But God sometimes in his mercy will shine a spotlight into the darkness. He’ll shine a spotlight on our sin so that even if we’re trying to run, even if we’re trying to hide it, He makes it unmistakably clear that this is who we are and this is where we’re at. We are sinners without hope. We are sinners lost in our sin. We are sinners condemned under his righteous decree.That’s what God did for David in 2 Samuel. We’ve looked the last two weeks at 2 Samuel 11 and 12, and in chapter 11, David says, sees Bathsheba he lusts after her he inquires after her he brings her to himself he takes advantage of her then he tries to get her husband to cover it up unknowingly that doesn’t work so he has him killed and he takes Bathsheba to himself And we’re told at the end of 2 Samuel 11 that the thing David had done displeased the Lord. But God did not just leave David in that dark place. He sent Nathan the prophet to him, and the word of God was spoken to David. And Nathan tells the story of the rich man who had many, many things, and the poor man who had one little lamb. But the rich man wasn’t satisfied with what he had, and so he stole from the poor man to satisfy his own desires. And David, rightly, is indignant. He’s angry at that man. And the prophet Nathan speaks the word of God to David and says, You are that man. You are the man who deserves to die, David. King, anointed of the Lord, you deserve to die.And David has an option there. He’s the king. He’s the supreme judge. He could do what kings often did in Israel and say, get this prophet out of my sight. Kill him. Throw him in a well. Get him out of here. I don’t want to listen. He could try to keep hiding his sin. Or he could do what he did and say, I have sinned against the Lord. We have that same option anytime God, in his gracious mercy, reveals our sin to us. Whether it’s like David and someone lovingly comes and confronts us with our sin. Or God just mercifully as we’re reading his word or as we hear a sermon opens up to us. This is an area that needs change. This is an area where you fall short and you’re walking in sin. God mercifully confronts us. And we have the option in that instance whether to keep hiding in the darkness or to walk in the light as he is in the light. 1 John 1.How do you do that? How? When we know that God is holy and we are not, how do you walk towards him? How do you pray when you’ve sinned? That’s what David shows us here in Psalm 51. Psalm 51, the heading gives us the setting. To the choir master, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. And in the first four verses here, we’re going to see that the first step in praying when you’ve sinned is to repent. To repent of your sins, to agree with God about what your sin is. And to have a change of mind, that’s literally what repent means, is a change of mind where you agree with God about what you’ve done, and you ask him for your forgiveness.Repentance... 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 10 tells us that there’s a godly grief that leads to repentance. Repentance is not just feeling bad about what you’ve done. We’ll talk about this more in a few minutes. But in 2 Corinthians 7.10, Paul says there’s a godly grief that leads to repentance that leads to life. And there’s a worldly sorrow that leads to death. So don’t get confused when we talk about repentance as just feeling bad about what you’ve done. Everybody at some level feels bad about what they’ve done. The question is going to be what we do with that. But true repentance has some characteristics. And in verse 1, we see that the first characteristic of true repentance... is that he cries out to God for mercy. This is fascinating to me as I read this psalm this week and was reading commentaries that David, after this grievous, grievous sin, does not, when he goes to God, start by saying, here’s what I did wrong. Here’s how I need help. Please take this out of my life. The first thing he does is he starts talking to God about God. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.The first thing he comes to God with is the character of God. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. That phrase, steadfast love, is a phrase that’s translated one Hebrew word, chesed, which occurs 245 times in the Old Testament. It’s often translated steadfast love or loving kindness or merciful love. But that Hebrew word is one of the dominant, if not the dominant, descriptions of God in the Old Testament. That God, as 1 John tells us, is love. He is the God who keeps covenant love with his people. And so when David goes to God and asks for mercy, he does so not on the basis of anything in himself. but on the basis of God’s own character. He’s not saying, God, I deserve you to forgive me. Here’s all the things I’ve done for you in the past. He comes to God and says, you are a loving God. You are a merciful God. Please have mercy on me.In the New Testament, Jesus talks about two different kinds of men. There’s a Pharisee who goes and he prays three times a day. And he says, Lord, thank you that I’m not like that guy over there. I give my tithes. I do my good works. Pray three times a day. I do all of the right things. Thank you. And thank you, God. I’m not going to take any of the credit for this. But thank you that I’m not like that. Thank you that I’m good. And then there’s a tax collector who beats his breast, won’t even look to heaven, and says, have mercy on me, a sinner. And only one of those men went to his house justified. David here is acting like that tax collector. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.Verse 2, he says, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. And that language that he uses there, wash me and cleanse me, is the language of Leviticus. It’s the language of... ceremonial cleanness to be able to approach god you had to have all of the proper washings all of the proper your clothes had to be washed in the right way you had to be washed in the right way you were a woman you couldn’t be there at a certain time of month there’s all these ceremonial laws and David’s saying i by my sin am made unclean and two words they’re used for sin iniquity is not talking about his actions so much as it’s talking about his person He, by his very nature, and we’ll look at this more in a second, but by his very nature, he is full of, stained by, covered in sinfulness. But then he talks about his action as well. That word sin at the end of verse 2, cleanse me from my sin, is the word that’s often used in the Old Testament. It means to miss the mark. Like God’s got a standard and it’s up here. It’s perfection. And David says, I fell short of that. Please cleanse me.That sin, it’s not just a bad thing, it’s not just a slip-up, it’s not just a oops to heiress human. He’s saying there’s a moral deficiency that’s already present in me, I have iniquity, and that expresses itself in the fact that my actions and my words and my thoughts fall short of the glory of God. Verse 3 says, I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. And I can’t help but wonder here. David has had Uriah killed and brought Bathsheba to himself. I wonder if just every time he looks at her, he thinks about everything he did wrong that created the situation. Every time he sees this woman whom maybe he really loves, And this child growing, a child whom he will love, and thinks all of the things he did wrong. He hasn’t wanted to admit it. He missed when Nathan was calling him out until Nathan spelled it out in black and white. But David is a man after God’s heart. David knows the word of the Lord. And there’s just got to be this slow burn where even if he’s tried to sear and callous his conscience, God’s just working at him in the background. And he knows his transgression is ever before him, whether he wants to admit it or not in the moment.And then we come to verse 4, which to our modern ears is probably somewhat offensive. Because he says against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. And we might read that and think... Well, David, I think you’re forgetting the story. Remember Uriah? He’s dead now. Bathsheba? The whole nation of Israel who will face the consequences of your sin? I think you’ve sinned against more than just God. And David actually, by the end, we’re going to see here, he understands that his relationship with God affects a lot more than just himself. So David’s not saying that none of those other people were affected. None of them matter.But ultimately... Why is what he did to Bathsheba or Uriah or as the leader of a nation, why is that wrong? By what standard is it wrong? By this standard, it is wrong. By the word of the Lord, by the word of God, it is judged as wrong. If David doesn’t have that external standard, that authority over him that tells he, the king, what is right and wrong he can do whatever he wants you see that in the ancient world so a man who gets sent out to battle dies David says to Joab the sword devours one and then another so a king the most powerful man in his nation takes somebody else’s wife that’s what we expect that’s what the Egyptians do it’s what the Canaanites do what is the big deal It’s only by the authority of God’s word that we can look at these things and say right or wrong. To look at how he treated these other people and say he shouldn’t treat them that way.So ultimately, it’s only if sin is ultimately against God that it can be wrong against someone else. Because God’s the only one with authority to tell you how to act in the end. He sets up other structures of authority that he tells us to obey. But again, we know that as he reveals it in his word. And this is going to be important as we look at the next section. This is one of the differences between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow will feel bad. that this person was upset or hurt, and that that’s having bad consequences for me, and so I’m gonna try to patch this up as best as I can. And either that’s going to fail, you won’t be able to patch it up, and you’ll still be devastated and it will lead you down a spiral. Or you will patch it up and think, whew, I got away with it, got past it. That sin, though it was never atoned for, I’m not having to deal with the consequences, so it’s okay.But if sin is ultimately against God, and I go to Him and receive His forgiveness, then I can approach the horizontal relationship where I’ve failed, and I can own my responsibility, and I can say, I’ve sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, and there may be consequences, and I will have to deal with them. But I’ve got the vertical thing figured out, and it’s going to be okay. I can do that not with any self-interest at heart, but actually go in love towards those who have hurt and say, I’m sorry. Would you please forgive me? That’s the other thing we see here is that David is asking God to forgive him. He’s not just saying, I’m sorry. He’s not just acknowledging that he did something wrong. But he’s going that next step and asking for forgiveness. He’s putting himself at God’s mercy.So he begins with repentance. And that’s where we have to start. If we want to approach a holy God as those who are sinners, we must repent of our sins, agree with God that what we have done is wrong, that who we are in some sense is wrong, and that we need him to forgive us. And the next thing we see is David asking God to fix him, to renew him, to make him new by the power of the Holy Spirit.I’ll just read verses 5 through 12. You delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.David, in verse 5, acknowledges that from the womb, he was a sinner. We sometimes have this backwards idea that what makes us sinners is that we sin. But the fact of the matter, as Scripture reveals it, is that we are born sinners. Everyone after Adam and Eve is born a sinner, Therefore, we sin. We have the capacity to choose between right and wrong, just like Adam and Eve did. But we are born with a bent towards evil. And so we choose over and over again to rebel against God. We are born that way from the tiniest little child all the way up. That’s what we do. That’s who we are. He’s not saying, when he says, in sin did my mother conceive me, he’s not saying his mother was in sin in that moment, but rather he’s saying that from that point of conception, I am a sinner.Now this is a totally parenthetical comment here, but I think that also should point for us to say, God considers that unborn child from the point of conception a human being. that he’s held guilty as a sinner before God from that point. It sounds kind of negative that he’s a sinner from that point, but God doesn’t call animals sinners. He doesn’t call trees sinners, rocks sinners. Random clumps of cells that exist in the world aren’t sinners. Only human beings with full dignity made in the image of God, who are rebels against him, are called sinners.Verse 6, he says, Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. And that’s just set in contrast, really, with verse 5. From the point of conception, we are born into this world as those who are sinners. God delights to teach us wisdom, though. We’re reading through Proverbs with the kids right now, and it’s just so striking over and over. Wisdom is calling out. God wants to teach us his ways. He wants to show us wisdom. And yet we as rebels reject it over and over again.He returns to the language of Leviticus here when he says, Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. And in Leviticus, I think it’s chapter 14, it talks about the cleansing rituals that there are for lepers. And when someone is infected with leprosy, which was just like a... It’s not necessarily talking about Hansen’s disease, which is what we call leprosy today, but just the broad range of transmissible skin diseases were called leprosy in the Old Testament. And you had a whole series of things you had to do if you had had leprosy or if somebody in your house had had leprosy, not just for you as that person to be declared clean, But for the different items in your house, some things that were permeable just had to be burned or gotten rid of. But then things that weren’t had to be cleansed. They had to be washed and then sprinkled with the blood of a sacrifice. And these birds would be killed and their bodies ripped open. And then a scarlet thread and a piece of cedar wood and a branch of hyssop would be dipped in that blood and sprinkled over those things to be declared clean.For... We often think of sin, again, just as stuff that we do. But especially in the Old Testament, the idea of sin is broader than that. It’s like this contagion that goes out everywhere. Everything that’s touched by a sinner becomes tainted by that sin. And God says the only way for that to get fixed is to be sprinkled with blood, to be cleansed. And David here, he’s like, I am a man. And this is exactly what God promises to do for those who will trust in him. Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 18 says, are like crimson i will wash them white as snow though they are like scarlet i will make them like wool god will cleanse away the sins of those who trust in him that’s what David’s asking for purge me as we who are on this side of the cross we know that that final blood sacrifice is Christ and in first peter chapter one and verse two it’s talking about and he’s addressing those to whom he’s writing that letter in the region of Asia Minor, and he calls them those who have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ Jesus.And if you are in Christ, you’ve trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, and he has sprinkled you with Christ’s blood and cleansed you, it’s as if that red garment, that stain, the red of Christ’s blood, and that his blood’s more powerful than your sin. And it outsoaks to the point where your garment becomes white as snow. Verse 80 says, let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Just asking over and over again, God, would you cleanse me? Would you purify me? This sin goes all the way down, and I can’t get it out. I need you to do it.Do you recognize that in yourself? That in the end, no matter how hard you try, you can’t clean you up. You can’t fix your problems. Only God can. And here we have a great advantage over David. Verses 11 and 12, he says, Cast me not away from your presence. Take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. That verse 11 causes a lot of people to trip up. Well, if we’re given the Holy Spirit, he doesn’t take the Spirit away, does he? Like once saved, always saved, right? But in the Old Testament, they didn’t have the continuous indwelling of the Spirit. That’s a new thing in the New Testament, starting in the book of Acts. Jesus promised it in the upper room to the disciples that when he went away, it would actually be better for them because the Spirit would come upon them and he would indwell them.But for saints in the Old Testament, though the Spirit was at work, he’s the one who gave them new life to be able to trust in Christ. He was still working in them. But he didn’t dwell with them in the same way. And the Spirit would come upon people for particular purposes. And so we see Saul, David’s predecessor, who is probably in David’s mind right now. The Spirit of God came upon Saul, rushed upon Saul, so that he could lead the people, so that he could guide the nation of Israel in holiness and in battle and to direct them underneath God. But then when Saul rejected the word of the Lord and would not repent when confronted with his sin, God took the spirit away, and Saul went crazy. It said God took his Holy Spirit away, and then a couple chapters later, God is sending a tormenting spirit upon him. Things go very bad for Saul when he refuses to repent for his sin, and David has got that in his head to be sure, and is saying, God, I don’t want to go that same way. Do not make me like Saul. Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me, O Lord.And as we who are believers, we know that God won’t take his spirit from us. He gives his spirit irrevocably. If you’ve trusted in Christ, the spirit has come upon you and he makes your body his temple. He lives there. But this prayer can still be instructive for us because even with the spirit living in you, still grieve the spirit you can still get out of step from where the spirit wants you to be walking that’s why the apostle Paul in Galatians 5 says keep in step with the spirit because we can still harden our hearts against god and say i don’t want to listen i don’t want to do things your way and stamp our foot like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum And we can lose the joy of salvation by acting that way.We should be instructed here by David, who desires deeply to have the joy of salvation, restore to me the joy of salvation. He contrasts that with the breaking of bones that he’s felt from having this sin stuffed inside. When you’re confronted with your sin i think we’ve basically got three roads in front of us when that happens the first is to try to stuff it behind us and pretend it doesn’t exist to and i think this is probably like one of the biggest temptations for believers is to pretend that we’re okay when we’re not okay to pretend that What we’re doing that’s wrong or bad or the thoughts that we’re having that are dishonoring to God to pretend they don’t exist and try to paste them over with our good works. To be like that Pharisee who said, I’m not like that guy over there. Look at all the good things about me. And we do that towards one another. We try to put a good front up. And we try to do it to God, which is stupid because he sees everything. But we still try to do it.But the other temptation is a temptation that our world has bought fully into at this point, which is to say, wrong. I’m proud of this. This is not wrong. There’s nothing wrong with how I live. There’s nothing wrong with what I want to do. In the book of Isaiah chapter 5, it says, woe unto those who call good evil and evil good. But that’s an option that we have in front of us. When we’re confronted with our sins, sometimes we just say, wow, that’s who I am. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem, not mine. But woe unto a culture that calls killing life health care. Woe unto a culture that calls the denial of the gift of male and female good to say those things don’t exist. who say acting like the culture in how we speak is just how you get things done rather than being different.Chapter 6 of Isaiah, Woe unto me, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I come from a people of unclean lips. We can try to stuff it and hide it, but God sees everything. We can try to just embrace it and say, well, this is who I am and it’s okay. And God will say, no, it’s not. Or we can humbly submit to him and say, Lord, please forgive me. Please renew me. Make me like Christ.Finally, we see that David understands this isn’t just about him. This is about the renown of God in the world. god’s fame his glory verse 13 then i will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will return to you David understands like i don’t deserve this grace god but if you give it to me i will tell others that there is grace to be found in you i will teach transgressors your ways and it starts with repentance that’s where god the beginning of wisdom and that that David says if you save me forgive me lord i will spread that message abroad and i wonder how many thousands or millions of people since David wrote that have read psalm 51 and been turned to the Lord if God can forgive David if he can forgive David he can forgive anybodyDeliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation. And my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. You sing to the Lord with the joy that he has forgiven you. I’ve always been puzzled in church when you look around and you see people who just don’t sing. They’re so self-conscious about their voice or something. I understand not feeling comfortable singing where people can hear you. I’ve heard people where I understand the discomfort come from. But it isn’t about you. It’s about singing to the Lord over what he’s done for you so that others can hear you and hear, who cares if they’re four octaves off or couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, We’ve got the joy of God’s salvation, and they’re encouraged too. We sing to the Lord, not to put on a show, but because of what he’s done for us.Open, O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise, verse 15. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Now, David’s not disparaging the system of sacrifice that God set up in the Old Testament. He’s about to talk about, at the end of the psalm, God accepting those things again. But what he’s saying is, those things on their own don’t do anything. The sacrifices didn’t matter as a course of going through the motions. Check that box, check that box, check that box. Okay, God, you good with me now? It only mattered if it came from a heart that was broken and contrite and by faith decided I’m going to obey God in this matter of sacrifice so that this temporary covering of animal blood is there for my sins. The broken and contrite heart is what made the sacrifices matter.He says finally in verses 18 to 19, Do good to Zion in your good pleasure. Build up the walls of Jerusalem, then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bowls will be offered on your altar. David understood that as the king of the nation, his sin affected everybody underneath of him. Everybody in the nation was affected by David’s sin. And if he was out of whack with God, in some sense, everybody else was in a bad situation because of that. Because God was dealing with the nation of Israel primarily through their king.And we know, we talked about this when we looked at 2 Samuel 7, the only way Through the Davidic king who makes us right with God. Through Christ and the sacrifice that he made on the cross that was perfectly acceptable to God. Which God put his seal of approval on, Romans 1 says, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. It’s only through being identified with him that we can receive forgiveness, that we receive the gift of the Spirit who will renew us from the inside out, and that we can be right with him forever.And so what do you do when you sin? How do you pray? You turn to the Lord and you repent of your sin. And you repent. And you know that because God is concerned with his glory being made known, his character being shown in the world, that he will be happy to answer that prayer. Those who would seek God must believe that he exists, the book of Hebrews said, and that he rewards those who seek him. He rewards them with answers to prayers like this.Would you pray with me? Father God, we thank you that you are a God who loves sinners like us. You so love the world that you gave your only son that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. Lord, would you graciously, mercifully reveal our sin to us? Little by little, we can’t handle it all at once. Lord, we thank you that Jesus paid for it all at once. As we turn to communion now and think about what he did for us on that cross, allowing his body to be broken and his blood to be shed, would you give us joy in the salvation that we’ve been given through Christ? In his precious name we pray. This is a public episode. 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No White Hats2 Samuel 19; Remsen Bible Fellowship; 10/30/2022IntroductionI grew up watching a lot of B-movie cowboy films from the 1930s. We were huge John Wayne fans in our house, and while most people know him from roles in movies like McLintock!, The Searchers, or True Grit, we were familiar with a whole extra section of his catalog. Randy Rides Alone, Blue Steel, and Riders of Destiny were some of the ones we matched time and again. One of the interesting things about those John Waybe movies is that they often broke the mold of 1930s cowboy movies in this important respect: the good guy often wears a black hat. If you turn on a Gene Autry or Roy Rogers film from the next decade you’ll notice that all the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats. This simple costume device removed all question of who was a good guy and who was a bad guy. Just look at the hat.And while movies don’t use that particular device anymore, our society still does. We want to split people into two groups. Good and Evil. There’s a sense in which God does divide people in such a way. Except the grouping goes like this: Evil (this includes everyone, including you and your team) and Good (which includes the Triune God. That’s it.). So good and evil actually aren’t the most helpful distinctions when trying to discern people. Rather, instead of trying to throw a label on a person and pretending to then know everything about them, we ought to try and understand people in our lives, and the characters in the stories we read, based on the actions and the fruit of their lives. And those actions and fruit can change from situation to situation, and they can change over time. What we find out in the Bible is that there really aren’t a bunch or white hats and black hats. Or maybe we could put it another way - there are white hats and black hats, but the characters seem to make a lot of wardrobe changes.David is a character we traditionally think of in a white hat. But this far into 2 Samuel, we know that that hat doesn’t always fit his head very well. How about in chapter 19? Well, that’s complicated.OvercomeIn the opening verses of chapter 19, we find David right where we left him - sitting in Mahanaim, weeping over the death of his third-born son, Absalom.19:1 It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” 3 And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. 4 The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”In these verses, we find David giving himself over to his emotions. And we can have a lot of sympathy with that, can’t we? Just at a base level, we need to acknowledge that emotions, even very strong emotions, are a positive good; they are not something to be afraid of or run from. God gives us emotions as creatures made in his image. The book of Psalms - largely written by this emotional man, David - has been called the songbook of the soul.And we can even see the justification in the particular sadness he is feeling at this juncture. His third born son has just been killed, his firstborn we know is already dead, and the second born has disappeared from the story, presumably dead as well. David is right to lament the tragedy of Absalom’s life and rebellion, he’s right to lament his death, and he’s even right to feel these things compounded in magnitude by his own failings as a father. David is right to weep. So when you weep, know that God does not condemn your tears. David writes in Psalm 56:8, “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”Now, I say all of that so that you hear where I’m coming from when I say this: these public tears, in this time and place, do not reflect well on David. David’s public weeping and mourning for his son, in a time when the army should be returning with joy, is way out of line. He has taken a moment of great joy for Israel - a rebellion against the Lord’s anointed king has been squashed, the army of David has won a great victory! - and turned it into the equivalent of a funeral procession, or worse, a shameful retreat. At a time when the people would be right to rejoice and sing for praise, David has set the tone of sorrow and mourning. David’s self-absorption is causing him to fail as a king.What David is doing in this case is not merely feeling the emotions which we might naturally expect. He is not merely expressing what’s going on inside in an “authentic” way. He’s making this whole battle all about him and his personal life, and failing to see how God is at work in preserving his people Israel. David is not just Absalom’s father. As the king, he functioned as a figurative leader and father for the entire nation of Israel, and he’s acting as if the lives of all his other children are of no importance to him. He’s allowing his emotions to run amok, cloud his thinking, and drop the ball when it comes to setting the proper emotional tone for the people as they return in triumph. If David can’t be happy, he at least ought to be grateful.And Joab sees this failure. Now, as we’ll spend some time on next week, Joab definitely isn’t wearing a white hat most of the time, either. But for all his failures, Joab can always be counted on to call a spade a spade, and sometimes he’s the only one who will do so with David.19:5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, 6 because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 7 Now therefore arise, go out and speak kindly to your servants, for I swear by the LORD, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”Joab is not as cold and heartless as you might first think in this text. He acknowledges David’s hardship-scarred life (v7). He knows that David has had trouble since his youth. But he also points out that in this case, the worst evil yet could happen, and it would be his own doing. He had best pull himself together and go greet his men, thanking them for their service and bravery and loyalty, or he can forget about their protection in the future. Is this a veiled threat from Joab? It could be. Or it may simply be an acknowledgement of the situation.Before we move on with the narrative, I want to stop and linger over this application question: what are areas of your life where you’re allowing your feelings to ride roughshod over your responsibilities? Where is what you want to do and feel like doing in conflict with what is necessary and required of you? There are countless ways this comes up, but here are two potential scenarios.Maybe you have some conflict at work. You feel disrespected or looked down upon or left out. A very typical response in our day is to just say how you feel in that moment, throw a fit, and leave the job. No thought to the need to keep employed, or earn an income, or maintain stability. It feels uncomfortable, so we express displeasure and flee. We emphasize how we feel over the objective realities and needs of a given situation. And we prioritize self-expression over self-control. Yet Proverbs 16:32 says, “whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” You have a spirit, you have emotions - maturity is marked by ruling your spirit.Another situation, more pertinent to the life of David, is in parenting. Oftentimes our emotions get in the way of good parenting. This can take the obvious forms of losing control of your anger and screaming, or even physical violence in some homes. We know those things are bad. But there is a flip side to that coin, also. Not disciplining your children can also be a case of letting your emotions get in the way of godly child-rearing. David is said in 1 Kings 1:6 to have ‘never at any time displeased [his son Adonijah] by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?’ He never even asked “what are you doing?” I can guarantee that the young man never received a spanking.Yet what do the scriptures say is the duty of parents, especially fathers?* Proverbs 13:24, Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.* Proverbs 19:18, Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.The clear teaching of the Bible is that withholding discipline is not an act of love or kindness - it is setting that child up for death. And it expresses no hope for better behavior and growth. We have this conversation with our kids fairly frequently: mom and dad have rules and expectations - and consequences for falling short - because we love you and believe in you.But that requires diligence, Proverbs 13:24 says, and it means in a given situation I may have to ignore my own emotions, or my guilt because “I’m not perfect, so is it fair for me to expect my children to always obey me?” Sometimes life requires you, frankly, to stuff your feelings and do the right thing. This is part of what is meant in Scripture by “self-control.”We need to process our emotions in healthy and God-honoring ways. But we ought to express them with wisdom, self-control, and an eye not simply to “authenticity” or “showing my true self”, but to how those things will impact your duties and responsibilities.Again, hear me: I’m not calling for a blank, stiff-upper-lip, kind of life. I am saying that you can always tell God how you feel - you should be discerning about how you express that to or in front of others. Wearing your heart on your sleeve is seen as a value in our culture, but not in the Bible.How do you evaluate these things? How do I know in a given situation if it’s appropriate to express a particular emotion, or allow a decision to be driven by how I feel about it? I think a helpful contrast in David’s life is between this incident and when the ark is brought back to Jerusalem in chapter 6. You could also say in that case that David is freely expressing himself before the people. But in that case it is an expression which does not center on him, it’s joy over what the Lord has done for his people. Set that against his weeping in chapter 19, where the focus is drawn away from the nation, and away from God and his work, and centered on David and his sorrow. Are you seeking to center the attention of others on God and his work, or are you looking to be the center of the story?Thankfully, David got the message. He receives Joab’s rebuke, and in v8, he goes back out and sits at the gate. He appears before the people as their king and judge. And it seems, for a while, like he puts his white hat back on.David, Good and KindAs David crosses the Jordan and heads back toward Jerusalem in v16 he is met by a familiar figure - Shimei, who in chapter 16 had chased David, throwing dust and stones and cursing him all the way. Now he shows up with Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, and begs for forgiveness (v19-20). And though Joab’s brother Abishai would again like to put Shimei to death for his treasonous words, David forgives his enemy. He recognizes that a day of victory need not be a day for vengeance (v22-23). In this way, as he heads back to Jerusalem in triumph, he points forward to another king who forgives his enemies when they repent.David’s wisdom is also on display in verses 24-30. Mephibosheth comes down to meet David (worth a note that though it says Saul’s son, son didn’t always mean direct descendant, and it is clear here that we are discussing Jonathan’s son, Saul’s grandson), and David asks why he didn’t come with David come to start with. In 26-28, Mephibosheth explains that Ziba deceived David. Who is lying, Ziba or Mephibosheth? Peter Liethart notes in his commentary the description of Mephibosheth in v24. This is a description of someone in mourning, so it would seem that Mephibosheth really has mourned David’s absence. David either realizes that he can’t discern between the two, or simply wants to test Mephibosheth’s loyalty, but in v29 he takes all of the land that he had just given to Ziba, and divides it between the two. If it is a test, Mephibosheth (like the mother in 1 Kings 3) passes with flying colors (v30). He doesn’t want the land, he is just happy to have David back on the throne.In v31-40, David sets out to bless the old man Barzillai who had abundantly provided for him at Mahanaim (17:24-29). Though Barzillai is an old man who would rather stick close to home than travel to Jerusalem with the king, the king blesses him and fulfills his requests. David writes in Psalm 68 of God ascending on high and receiving gifts from men. But when Paul quotes that verse in Ephesians 4, he inverts it and says that God gives gifts to men (in that case speaking of the spiritual gifts given with the Holy Spirit’s presence). David foreshadows that here as he blesses and gives, not merely receiving.Left WantingBut even with this fairly positive return, we find David making a tactical error. From verses 8-10 we read of the Israelites arguing about when or if to bring back David. Instead of allowing a broad consensus to play out, David sends directly to his relatives in Judah who have tended to remain more faithful to him (v11-15). This seems like a logical enough move, except that when we come to the end of the chapter we find that this has exacerbated the already present tensions in the nation. This tactical flaw on David’s part sets up the rebellion of Sheba (and the murder of Amasa) that occupy chapter 20, which we’ll look at next week.As we read the story of David, we come to a familiar conclusion. If we are looking for straightforward “good guys” and “bad guys”, “black hats” and “white hats”, we’re going to miss the ultimate point. The Lord Jesus said all of the Scriptures bear witness to him. And we see that even in these chapters. One day a Davidic king will return to Jerusalem, and though that will be followed by a rebellion and bloodshed (see Revelation 19), when that rebellion is quashed and cast into the lake of fire there will be no repeat cycle. We long for the return of our king. He is a king who wept over Jerusalem - who felt deeply the tragedy of his own rejection - and who yet unflinchingly will exercise judgment over all his enemies.Jesus is a king, though, who in his first coming did not come for the purpose of judging his enemies. He came not into the world to condemn the world, John 3:17 says, but in order that the world might be saved through him. He will return in judgment. But Jesus is a king who not only is willing to pardon and give gifts of land to his enemies, but who laid down his own life in their place, and gives the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit and eternal life to all who, like Shimei, will bow before him and give up their rebellion. In Revelation Jesus is pictured not in a white hat, but a white robe, representing his righteousness. He is the only one who has such a garmet by nature, but he will give his righteousness to you if you will trust in him. Do you know him? Have you laid down your spit and your rocks and rebellion and asked for his forgiveness? He will gladly give you forgiveness - and his whole kingdom. Trust in him. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

10/16/2022, Remsen Bible FellowshipIntroduction:Do you long for a just world? Justice is a word which gets a bad wrap, depending upon who is using it. If someone on the left cries out for social justice, half of our society assumes they mean Marxism. If someone cries out for criminal justice, the other half of the society assumes they mean a strategy to maintain structures of power and privilege. We are very suspicious of the word justice, and the people who use it.Nevertheless, it remains a word with an enormous amount of purchase in our society. Despite our rampant skepticism and perhaps even cynicism regarding justice, we still want it. We want a world that is fair, where good is rewarded and wickedness punished. This desire is good, and it’s right. It’s a reflection of our being made in the image of a just God. If you remember back to our sermon about a month ago, we asked the question, “how can God forgive?” Given God’s justice, for him to forgive our sins required there to be a mechanism by which sin was atoned for in order for we sinners to live in God’s presence. God’s justice will not be mocked or compromised.So when we come to a text like 2 Samuel 13, we are right to cry out with the Psalmist, “how long oh Lord?” How long will God allow sin to run rampant, how long will God permit terrible abuse like Amnon’s rape of Tamar? And how long will he allow indolent kings like David to sit on the throne?All of this longing for justice makes someone like Absalom a sympathetic character in our eyes. He, too, saw the injustice. He saw the evil committed against his sister, and the king’s refusal to act. But Absalom was a man with a plan. He seethed in bitterness, and he schemed. 13:22 reads, “22 But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.”Trusting Himself for JusticeAbsalom trusted himself. He trusted his own wisdom, his own cunning, his own charm and good looks. And when you have a great deal of cunning, wisdom, charn and good looks, that may well seem like a reasonable plan of action. But as we read this text, the perspective the author wants us to have is that of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:35, where we hear these words from the Lord, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.” The Lord is the one who brings justice, and he is not slow as some count slowness. But he’s too slow for Absalom.Which says something, because Absalom is a patient man. He refuses to speak to Amnon, but we read that two years later, as those who work for him shearing sheep are hard at labor, he invites David and all the brothers up to a party. If you remember the story of David and Nabal in 1 Samuel 25, there seems to be a great deal of festivity attached to this time of year. That connection should also put us on alert to potential parallels in the story. A time of sheepshearing, and an enemy of David.David doesn’t want to go though, “lest we be burdensome to you,” v25. Nonetheless, he gives leave for the other brothers to attend. And so Absalom has Amnon right where he wants him - once Amnon is drunk and can’t defend himself, Absalom has his servants murder him, v28-29. This, understandably, makes the rest of David’s sons feel like the party is over, and it’s time to saddle up the mules and head home. Which is where that old snake Jonadab comes back into the story. While David has heard news that his sons have all been killed, Jonadab offers the comfort that, “it’s only Amnon, and of course Absalom has been planning this a long time - so don’t take it to heart.” The cold and ruthless calculation of Jonadab is obvious here. Of course Amnon wouldn’t be dead if he hadn’t raped his sister, which wouldn’t have crossed his mind as an option unless Jonadab basically told him “if you want something, go get it.” Now Amnon is dead, and Jonadab says to David, “no big deal. It was only one son, and he kind of asked for it, right?” Beware of people like Jonadab who always are concerned with weaseling their way into power and manipulating events to their advantage.Of course, Absalom’s actions are not only an act of violence against his brother. Because Amnon was the eldest son and heir apparent, it could well have been construed as an attempted coup in and of itself. And so while David and his servant are filled with sorrow, Absalom flees to the city of Geshur (v37), which was a city in Syria - and where Absalom’s mother, Maacah, was from. He stayed there three years.Let’s pause for a moment and think about this human pursuit of justice apart from God. Absalom is rightly furious about the treatment of his sister and Amnon’s seeming to get away with it. Yet when he takes matters into his own hand, what purpose is this serving? How is Tamar ministered to? She remains a desolate woman in Absalom’s house (13:20). When justice is served by the state there is, in a sense, a community statement that “we will not tolerate such behavior in our bounds.” When we outlaw something we define ourselves as “the people who will not indulge or allow x.” But, of course, vigilante justice manifestly does not serve that same communal purpose of corporate condemnation and vindicating the righteous, in this case a righteous victim like Tamar. Instead, vigilante justice in the end always turns in on itself, looking to exert one’s own will on the world. If you’re familiar with the John Wayne movie, The Searchers, you see an example of this. I won’t go into the plot here, but the character Ethan Edwards, played by Wayne, is seen at first to be looking to avenge some family members who were murdered and perhaps even save the life of one. But over time the pursuit of that vengeance destroys him and he transforms from being a potentially heroic character into the clear villain of the story. But, of course, he doesn’t see that transition himself.Patient ConspiracyRemember what I said about Absalom’s patience. Throughout our narrative we have time stamps, and I think one of the purposes is to help us see how drawn out it all was. After three years in Geshur, though, Absalom is probably tired of living in hiding. And though it is never clearly stated, it seems likely he has maintained some connection with people in the kingdom, notably Joab, the commander of David’s army. So Joab hatches this plan, by recruiting a “wise woman” from the city of Tekoa (v2). We0 might well wonder if Joab had attempted to convince David to forgive Absalom and bring him back to the royal court, and 13:39 had said that David’s heart went out to Absalom. But this apparently hadn’t worked, and so Joab resorts to deceit. The woman is recruited to tell David the story of two brothers who quarrel, and one is killed, and the rest of the family drives him away. Of course, as in the story of the rich man stealing the sheep of the poor man in chapter 12, this story is meant to spin back on David. When he promises in v11 that, “not one hair of your son shall be destroyed,” the woman turns around and asks why he won’t show this kind of kindness toward his own son, and why is he keeping him in exile?Commentator David Payne notes that Absalom’s concern in this seems to be the good of the nation and the peaceful transfer of power. David is aging, Amnon the firstborn is dead, and Chileab the second born has seemingly disappeared from the story. And so Absalom seems like the logical next king, and wouldn’t it be better for him to be nearby? This would explain the statement of the woman in v13, that David keeping Absalom in exile is an action “against the people of God.”David gives in to this line of attack - but only partially. Absalom is allowed to come to Jerusalem - but not all the way home. He is not to be allowed into the presence of the king. But this is an enormous mistake on David’s part. 14:25-26 lingers over the beauty of Absalom, the absence of any visible blemish, the majesty of his hair. And apparently the beauty was hereditary, because his daughter Tamar was beautiful as well.But after two more years, Absalom is tired of being in Jerusalem, this near to power, and having none of it for himself. Surely he could be running things better than David could. So he sends for Joab, telling him of his desire of an audience with himself and then the king (v29). When Joab doesn’t come, Absalom resorts to vandalism, and has his workers light Joab’s barley fields on fire. That gets Joab’s attention. When Joab cries out, in 14:31, “why have your servants set my fields on fire!” you can almost hear him add, “you lunatic!” But while Absalom may have resorted to crazy tactics, he got exactly what he wanted. Welcomed into David’s presence, as the king whose heart went out to Absalom in 13:39, now kisses his son in 14:33.But Absalom being this close to power is now very bad news. He acquires a chariot and a crew of men to go before him (15:1). He then sets up shop at the city gate, stirring up and appealing to those who felt justice was not rightly administered in their land. And there is no quicker way to build a political coalition than to say that the current administration is dead set on hurting you or simply doesn’t hear cases like yours. Absalom is able to parlay this combination of discontent with the status quo with his own charm and promise to do better by these citizens, were he the king, and 15:6 tells us he “stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”For four years this goes on. You might say Absalom spends four years on the campaign trail, before he decides he’s actually ready to challenge his father. But by this time, Absalom was very strong, and he was continuing to increase in strength (v12). Absalom continued to play his father, and asked for permission to go to Hebron to worship. This is a suspicious place to go for worship, and of course the reader remembers that David’s own reign began with seven years in Hebron. But David seems oblivious to all that is going on.That happy ignorance is shattered in v13. Messengers come to David with news of the conspiracy. And by this point things have gotten so out of hand that David thinks the best option is to flee. Absalom has been proclaimed king at Hebron (14:10), and apparently has a sufficient force that David doesn’t want to risk battle, at least not at the potential cost of the city. And so he gathers his household and servants, and they leave (14:16-17).Now we need to pause here again and consider Absalom’s actions. Back in chapter 13, we meet Absalom as a man whose sister has been wronged and who is harboring some anger which he has every right to feel. But that anger because a determination for vengeance, which morphed into a lust for his own power, power to be wielded rightly, for the good of the people!, in contrast to the rule of his father which would let such egregious sin go unpunished. So he makes a plan to grab for that power.Absalom’s objections to how David ruled were not wrong. David was not exercising his authority wisely or well, the back end of David’s life is filled with all sorts of folly and failure and outright sin. And yet, he was the Lord’s anointed. And remember all the lessons David himself taught us during the reign of Saul - one ought not reach out his hand against God’s anointed king.And while we certainly have no such king in our model of government - no king at all, and no covenant with God where he uses a prophet to anoint - nonetheless, Romans tells us that all governments are such up by God’s righteous decree. And thus, while human governments are always full of and run by humans, therefore being at times unjust, insufficiently just, corrupt, or simply incompetent, I think we are right to infer from our text, alongside the entire witness of scripture, that we are never to pick up arms against and forcefully rebel against human authority. There are times to disobey, there are times to refuse to doing that which is wrong, no matter who tells us to do it - but Absalom could have addressed any of these matters with the king in a direct and humble way, but instead chose to seek justice for himself. What a contrast with his father.Trusting in the Lord for JusticeDavid, for all his imperfections, knows where to go in trouble. Indeed, as you read the story of his life, it’s times of ease and peace that seem to cause him the most trouble. When times are tough, David knows where to turn.After stopping in 15:16 at the last house out of town, David’s servants all pass by. When Abiathar and Zadok come leading the Levites with the ark of the covenant out of town, David stops them. And in verse 25 he says, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.” David doesn’t feel the need, like the Israelites in 1 Samuel 4, to treat the ark like a google luck charm that you take into battle in order to win. David knows that God is in control of all things, and if he wants David on the throne (and David has the promise of 2 Samuel 7 in his mind), God will bring him back to town. So he sends the priests back.David sends all kinds of friends back. Zadok and Abiathar are sent back because David doesn’t need the ark as a trinket. They will also serve as helpful spies for gathering intelligence. The chapter closes with his friend, Hushai, coming out, dressed for mourning, to accompany David. But David sends him back as well, to also serve as a spy. David doesn’t eschew any human means of wisdom or intelligence. But he knows that in the end, these things don’t matter a hill of beans if God is not on your side.As we come into chapter 16, there are two characters who present contrasting responses to the retreating king. The first is Ziba, servant of Jonathan and then Mephibosheth. And while Mephibosheth thinks that David’s exit from Jerusalem is his chance to finally become king of Israel, his servant Ziba brings a massive load of supplies to David, an extraordinary act of kindness - and an example, even in a dark time, of the Lord’s provision for his servant. The second man is also from the household of Saul, and his name is Shimei. He comes out cursing the sky blue (v5), and hurling rocks at David (v6). And rather than allow Abishai, one of Zeruiah’s violent sons, to do him in, David simply accepts this cursing and abuse as from the Lord. Verse 11 reads, “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it.”David seems to accept that the cursing he receives is of the Lord. And if it is unjust, well, then surely the Lord will repay (v12). And so he endures this taunting and cursing, and marches on. Finally, exhausted, David and his men reach the river Jordan. Heading into exile, leaving the promised land.As I read of David absorbing that ridicule and abuse, my mind cannot help but be drawn to the description of Jesus in 1 Peter 2:21-23, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” David was not stoic or fatalistic in the sense of saying, “well, that’s just the way things are.” But he knew the one who was ultimately in control, and, like his Greater Son, entrusted himself to his faithful God.But how do you do that? Do you just form a stiff upper lip and march on? I think we can be helped by looking at the words David writes while on the run from Absalom. For those, turn over to Psalm 3. (read the text)Very briefly, consider three ways David addresses himself to God in Ps 3.* First, David addresses God honestly (1-2). He tells God that there are many foes, and that they mock his dependence upon God. (v1-2). Do you take your concerns, worries, and enemies to the Lord? We so often are caught up in wanting to say that we don’t have enemies on the one hand, or hating them on the other, that we’re afraid to just come to God and say, “here’s who my enemies are. They are bothering me. Their words and actions are damaging me. Could you do something? Where are you?” Those statements and questions sound almost sacrilegious to us, yet they are modeled for us over and over in the Psalms. And while David is confident in the Lord, his upper lip is emphatically not stiff. Back in our text, 15:30 reads, “But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went.” Weeping up the Mount of Olives.* He remembers that God has helped him in the past and helps him right now(v3-6). David has many times to draw upon - God delivered him from the lion, the bear, Goliath, Saul, Ish-Bosheth, the list could continue. He answers from his holy hill. For the believer, remembering how God has helped us in the past can take multiple forms. We can certainly draw on those individual experiences. The time you were out of money and a check for just what you needed to pay rent or buy groceries came at the last minute. The time you were incredibly discouraged and someone gave you an encouraging word at just the right moment. Or maybe like verses 5-6, you simply recognize that each morning you wake up is an act of his grace. But as we remember God’s work for us, our minds ought to be drawn to another man, crying up the Mount of Olives. Jesus, who wept on that mountain with such ferocity that his capillaries burst and he started sweating blood, then went the next day to the cross and bore the weight of all our sins. 1 Peter 2:24 reads, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” If you have trusted in Jesus, then you can remember that he purchased you with his own blood. And if you haven’t trusted in Jesus, then none of this can really make any sense to you.* He trusts the Lord for future salvation (v7-8). Again, the forthrightness here may take us aback. “Strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.”David is able to entrust himself to the Lord because he acknowledges to God what his concerns, worries, and fears really are. He isn’t putting on his Sunday morning face and heading to prayer “put-together.” He then remembers that God has helped him before, and indeed helps him every day. David need not take his own vengeance. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will repay Absalom, and Shimei, and everyone else who needs it.ConclusionWe are told in texts like Deuteronomy 32 that vengeance belongs to the Lord, that taking revenge is wrong, and that we ought not do it. What we see played out in the life of Absalom is how devastating it is to your soul when you let bitterness and revenge become a driving force. It morphs into a form of self-seeking pride that ends up as ugly as the original injustice it sought to avenge. But in David we see a man who refused to take that same kind of revenge. And this is an example we can follow. Not because we’re some sort of goody-two-shoes and let people walk on us. But because we have confidence that the God of all the universe is the only one who is truly just. And he will punish all sin. Sin has real consequences in this life, and we’ll see that for Absalom next week. But sin also has eternal consequences. Every injustice in this world will be paid for. Those responsible will either perish in hell forever for what they have done, or they will trust in Christ. And friends, if you would be saved from all of the sin in your life, you must trust in Christ. You have committed injustices against others. In all likelihood, you have sought vengeance at one time or another. These are sins which deserve God’s wrath. But Jesus bore that wrath in his body on the tree, that you might die to sin, and live to righteousness. He entrusted himself to his Father, the just judge. You should do the same. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

This has to be one of the hardest texts in scripture, and I had a hard time just like, one of the things you wanna do as you’re preparing to understand something, let alone to teach it, is to read it over and over. And I had a hard time reading this passage over and over. It was just, what the greatest privilege in my life is, is being able to—that might be a slight exaggeration. I do like being married and having kids too. But one of the greatest privileges in my life is getting to study and teach God’s word. And this week, this text was hard for me. It’s just not fun.First Timothy chapter four verse 16. Paul tells Timothy to watch your life and your doctrine closely. Now that has a direct application. Obviously, he’s speaking to a pastor. He’s telling him to watch his life and doctrine closely for in doing so, he’ll save both himself and his hearers. But it has a secondary application, I think, to all of us as Christians that we all should be watching our lives. It’s not just what we believe that matters. It’s how we live that matters.Sin is ugly. And the apostle Peter says Satan is there prowling around, creeping at the door, wanting to tempt us to sin. In the book of Genesis chapter four, God says to Cain, Sin is crouching at your door. And it’s crouching at all of our doors. Here in second Samuel chapter 13, we’re going to be lingering over some evil, and we’ll see three negative examples. There’s actually four negative examples in this text, but we don’t have time to get to the fourth one today. We’ll look at three negative examples, and then we’ll stop to listen to one cry for help.The first negative example we see is the godless lust of Amnon.Second Samuel 13, beginning in verse one, says, Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar. And after a time, Amnon, David’s son, loved her. And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeya, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. And he said to him, O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.Jonadab said to him, Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight that I may see it and eat from her hand. So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight that I may eat from her hand. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat.And Amnon said, Send everyone out for me. So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber that I may eat from your hand. Then Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. When she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said, Come, lie with me, my sister. She answered him, no, my brother. Do not violate me for such a thing is not done in Israel. Do not do this outrageous thing. And as for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now, therefore, please speak to the king for he will not withhold me from you. But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he loved her. And Amnon said to her, get up. Go. But she said to him, no, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me. But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, put this woman out of my presence and bolt the door after her.Who is Amnon? Amnon is the oldest son of David. He’s the heir apparent to the throne, and he’s also a very weak man. He’s a man who the apostle Paul might say is governed by his passions, governed by his belly, like Paul says in Philippians three nineteen, those who are godless and governed by their lusts. And he’s filled with lust for his half sister, Tamar, who is a beautiful young woman, apparently single, doesn’t have a husband. But Amnon can’t do anything about that. The law in Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, Deuteronomy, I think it’s 27 maybe, specifically forbid the marrying of your sister or your half sister. These things, though they took place in the times of the patriarchs, like Abraham and Sarah were half siblings. By the time God is giving the law, he is banning these kind of close relationships.And so Amnon sees no way that he can play out his lust, that he can do anything to her. And even the language here is just frankly, it’s grotesque. It seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. There’s hints even in the way that the author is talking that the love here is not what we should be thinking of in terms of like godly love. It’s a passionate desire for something, but it’s not putting her interests first. He doesn’t actually care about her. He cares about his hormones being satisfied.But he’s also a weak man, doesn’t have a lot of a plan for himself. He just because he thinks he can’t do anything, he sits around and he pouts. He sits around and he makes himself look ill to the point where Jonadab, his cousin and a close adviser comes to him and says, what is wrong with you? Like, why do you look haggard? What’s going on in your life that you can’t even get a grip on yourself and act normal? And when Amnon tells him, Jonadab says, Well, here. I’ll give you a plan. Since you can’t come up with one for yourself, I’ll come up with a plan for you. And Amnon drinks it up. He does exactly as Jonadab tells him.But again, he’s not acting out of love. He’s acting in entire self centeredness. He feigns illness in order to be served. And apparently David has a habit of visiting his children when they’re sick. He doesn’t seem to know them very well. And so, like, maybe this is like his olive branch. I’m going to be present when they’re sick, and I’ll go visit. And he goes to see Amnon, and Amnon says, well, send Tamar to me. I need her to stand where I can see her and have her make cakes and then have her bring them to me and feed me. This is a strange request. You would think, man, David ought to smell a rat, but he doesn’t. Amnon is given just whatever he wants.But when she comes to him and she does everything that’s asked of her, right? She serves him, she makes these cakes, she’s a hard worker, she brings them to him, he seizes her and demands that she sleep with him. In Scripture, true love is a gift from God. It’s a capacity that God gives to human beings to reflect what He is like by pursuing the good of others. It’s the chief of the spiritual virtues. These three remain faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. To lay down our lives in pursuit of the good of someone else is the greatest gift that God gives to human beings.Lust, in contrast, is the desire to take and have that to which we have no claim. To take what isn’t ours in order to satisfy our lusts, which is to say lust is a form of theft. And here that lust moves from being a theft of the mind to being a violent theft where he takes Tamar’s body for himself. Tamar calls this an outrageous thing in verse 12. She would call it an outrageous thing because, as we said, in Leviticus 18, incest was forbidden. That phrase there, such a thing is not done in Israel, calls to mind both Genesis 34 where the sons of Israel are outraged over something that should not be done in Israel. They’re referring to the rape of their sister, Dinah. Also in Judges chapter 20, there was an outrageous thing done in Israel when the Levites concubine was gang raped by the people of Benjamin the point where she actually died. That same phrase, such a thing should not be done in Israel. An outrageous thing was done in Israel. Same phrase is used there.Lust is a lot more serious than we usually take it to be. It also turns and transforms what feels like what might even be able to be papered over and called, yeah, maybe there’s some lust there, but it’s tied to this love. That’s what the guy in Genesis 34 says about Dinah. Right? He takes her because he loves her. Here, Amnon says, well, I love Tamar. But it turns immediately once the lust is satisfied. It turns to hate. Verse 15. He violated her and lay with her into fourteen fifteen. Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.Are you indulging lust in your life? Maybe letting your eyes linger where they shouldn’t viewing pornography, indulging fantasies that honor neither god nor those made in his image. This would be a lot easier, determined to preach, if there were, like, 400 people in here. You just, like, totally disconnect from everybody that’s here. For me, very practically, Andy and I were just talking about this a couple weeks ago. Like, one of the things that most helped me in my battle with these kind of thoughts was consciously thinking about every person to the extent that I’m able to as an image bearer of God.Like, you can put up all the rules and all the whatever you want in your life. And if you’re driven by lust, you’ll just work around the rules. You’ll out reason yourself. We’ll talk about that in a second. You’ll reason your way around it. But you can’t get around being conscious that that person is an image bearer of almighty God, That God Himself cares about exactly how I think and act towards that person. And that would solve so many problems, not just in our lives but in society, not just in this area of sexuality, but in so much of our lives. If we would just look at other people as image bearers of God, not as people who are objects for our own gratification or roadblocks in the way of us getting to our own gratification and happiness, but human beings that God made in his image and that he cares about and that he wants us to treat as if they are reflecting him.How we this is the very reasoning of murder being wrong in Genesis chapter nine is that God made man in his image. And so to violently act against an image bearer of God to take their life is in a sense a form of treason against God, like you’re trying to kill God. That that’s what murder is. So the first thing we see, the first thing we need to watch for is the godless lust of people like Amnon that can take place in our own hearts.The second thing we see in the text is the godless cunning of Jonadab verses four and five or verses three, four, and five. Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeh, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. Now relatively few people in scripture are given, like, a description of this sort for us. I mean, it happens, but it’s not like not every person is getting a description of this is what this person was like. Sometimes they just pop up and they disappear from the story and they’re here and gone and we don’t know that much about them. Jonadab, we’re told who he is. He’s a close relative. He’s Shimiya, David’s brother’s son. And he is a very crafty man, which means he knows how to get what he wants.So he tells Amnon, here is a very simple solution to getting what you want. He’s also a man we see at the end of the chapter. We’ll maybe look at this a little bit next week, but he’s a man who knows what’s going on in the world. He’s David’s freaking out when he thinks that all of his sons have been killed, and Jonadab says to him, oh, don’t worry. It’s only one. Amnon’s the only one that’s dead. You don’t have to worry. He has a kind of craftiness or cunning that is something that is fallen human beings we naturally admire. He is what we look for when we look for a winner. When we are thinking things like winning is a virtue or we just need to do whatever it takes or the ends justify the means.If that’s your line of thinking, like doing whatever it takes to get what you want or to get to the end result that you want, Jonadab is the kind of guy you want on your side because he’s crafty, he understands how the world works, and he knows how to manipulate people to get at where he’s going. But the first person in Scripture who’s called crafty isn’t actually a person. It’s in Genesis chapter three where it says, Now the serpent was more crafty than all the other creatures of the garden. We can think of craftiness and the ability to get where you want to go, and that isn’t bad in and of itself. Jesus actually tells us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. He says that the people of this world are shrewder with unrighteous mammon than the children of righteousness are. And he seems to be saying that as a compliment, like they’re better at using their goods to get where they’re going than Christians are. But if that craftiness is unhitched from submission to God and what He actually wants, then it is a very dangerous place to be. Beware of using craftily manipulated plans for your own benefit, and beware of hitching your bandwagon to those that do.I’ve got more. I could probably go on with that, but I think we’ll move on to the godless anger of David. This is where I wanna spend some time. Actually, this is where I thought the whole sermon was gonna go to start with. David makes me mad at this passage so much. The godless anger of David. We see this down in verse 21. He hears what’s going on. He’s been manipulated in this situation. Remember, Tamar gets to Amnon because David sent her there. So David’s been manipulated by this plan of Jonadab and Amnon. And when David heard of all these things, verse 21, he was very angry, and that’s it. He was just mad.Some older translations follow the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Septuagint, which have a longer reading. It says he would not punish Amnon, his son, because he loved him since he was his firstborn. And whether that actually should be part of the text or not, it’s obviously what’s happening here. He won’t punish Amnon. He’s just mad about it. David is right to be mad. These are the sort of things that should make us angry. If we read this text and we don’t feel some sense of anger or rage at this situation, there’s something wrong in our hearts. But David isn’t just an outside observer hearing about something that’s really bad. David is both the father of both of these people, and he is the king, which means he has the authority and the duty to act, not just to be mad.That’s, again, that’s why we have the original title of the sermon in the bulletin, Why Fathers Matter. Don’t simmer and stew about situations where you have a duty to take action. I hear this from parents our age all the time. They’ll talk about how some there’s some problem with their child, and you just think you know you created that situation. Right? Like, you don’t discipline. You don’t correct them, and you’re surprised that they act like little terrorists. That’s you’re responsible for creating the situation in which they live. You’re not responsible for their actions. They are. But you are responsible for dealing with their actions and for correcting them.And here, David is not just the father, but he is the judge. He is the supreme judge in Israel. And when a crime of this magnitude is committed, he has a duty to act and to punish Amnon. And instead he just sits on his hands and is angry. He stews. This is dangerous, first of all, in our own hearts, to stew on things because it causes bitterness. It doesn’t actually accomplish anything to just sit with your anger. It just makes you bitter. And out in the world to sit on your hands when you have a duty to act is the seedbed of chaos. David takes action here against Amnon, all of the tragic things that happen in the next five, six, seven chapters don’t happen. David could have cut it off at the pass. He wouldn’t have saved his daughter, wouldn’t have saved her from what had happened, but he could punish Amnon here and save all of the negative consequences for the kingdom, but he doesn’t do it.Paul says, Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. And we think about that being about forgiveness. And it largely, that is the right application of that text to forgive things. But anger can and at times very much should be a motivation to righteous action. Here David should have punished Amnon, this wicked son and wicked servant to the king. And instead, he just sits and is angry and watches disaster unfold before him.But so far in this sermon, we’ve done what most of the other characters in this chapter do. We haven’t listened to Tamar. Amnon doesn’t listen to her pleas to reconsider his actions either before or after the rape. David doesn’t listen to her case. And even Absalom, who is furious with his brother and does take action, not good action, but action, he doesn’t seem to actually be listening to her. We see that in verse 20. Her brother Absalom said to her, has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Do not take it to heart. So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house. Verse 20. Now Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar. Absalom is angry, as he should be, about what’s happened to his sister, but he doesn’t actually seem focused on trying to help her. He’s just focused on getting revenge, and that’s what will unfold as we look at it next week.In verses seven through 11, we find Tamar hard at work, obeying her father, kindly serving her supposedly ill brother, making him cakes and bringing them to him. David said to Tamar, verse seven, go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. She took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, send everyone out from me. So everyone went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, bring the food into the chamber that I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the cake she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon, her brother. When she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, come, lie with me, my sister.When she’s seized, she doesn’t have a defense. She’s a woman. She’s weaker than he is. I don’t remember who I was listening to recently, but they observed, you know, we our society kicks against the idea of a male dominated world. But in a world where men are stronger than women, which is the world all the time, the world is going to be dominated by men, and it’s a question of will that domination be used to take advantage of women or to serve? And Amnon is bent on taking advantage of Tamar.All she has left to defend herself are words. She has no recourse. The servants have all been sent out. They she has no way to cry for help. All she has are her words to him. So let’s listen to her plea. Verse 12, she says, No, my brother. Do not violate me. And that word violate could also be translated humiliate. He would be bringing great shame upon her. And in those passages in Leviticus 18, there’s a punishment for the man. There’s also a recognition that even though she wouldn’t be at fault, there would be a great deal of shame brought upon her. He would be humiliating her and in a way essentially taking away her future. Because if she’s been violated by him, then no other man in Israel is going to want to have her for a wife. So he is, for a moment of his own pleasure, robbing her entire future. He’s humiliating her. He’s bringing her low.As we talked about briefly earlier, she said that this is not a thing to be done in Israel. It would be an outrage. And as she says these words structurally between verses one and twenty two, these are like the center of if the author’s making an argument, these verses, her pleas in verses twelve and thirteen and then down in verse 16, these are like the center of the argument. This is what the author wants us to focus on. He wants us to hear her out, and she says, This is not the sort of thing that ought to be done. And when you think of your sin, do you think in those terms? An outrageous thing, a thing that should not be done among the people of God. Is that how you view your sin? Or do you use pet language like a lust issue or an anger problem? Or do you see your sin? Like, Tamar sees this sin as an affront to God and to His people.In verse 13, Tamar asks the most heartbreaking question. As for me, where could I carry my shame? Where could I carry my shame? I just said we tend to think that if you can’t help it, if you didn’t do anything wrong, then you don’t need to have any shame. Like, you shouldn’t be ashamed of that. But the Bible has a category for shame that is born not from our own sin, but from things that have been done to us. And I wonder if any of you are carrying that kind of shame this morning.Amnon closes his ears to her cry, and he violates her, and then he compounds his crime. We see that when it says he hates her in verse 15. Amnon hated her with a very great hatred, so the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he loved her. And Amnon said to her, get up. Go. That’s just two words in Hebrew. It’s like, up, out. But she said to him, no, my brother, for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me. And I think this is tied to what she said earlier in verse 13, that if you would just speak to the king first, he would give me to you as a wife. Even though that was prohibited by law, we see that David is exceptionally indulgent of his children. He’ll let them do basically whatever if they just ask him.And so she’s saying, don’t rape me like this. Don’t treat me as nothing. Ask our father and he’ll give me to you as a wife and then at least I will not be as humiliated and ashamed and brought low before everyone. But he won’t do that. He’s not interested. Again, he’s not interested in what’s good for her. He’s not motivated by love. She says, This wrong in sending me away, sending me essentially to be a desolate woman, it says in verse 20, for the rest of her life because of what he’s done. He sends her away to that. He would not listen to her. Verse 16.When we read stories like this, I think not just in scripture, but people that we know, we talk to them, that’s part of your experience. A fair question is why would God allow such things to happen? And I don’t know. And I think most of the time when we try to answer that question, we create more problems than we solve. I think I don’t know is probably about as good an answer as there is. God, in his wisdom, allows a lot of awful, awful things to happen in this world.What we can say is what Isaiah 53 says. Jesus joined in that sorrow and in that shame and in that humiliation. When we think of Isaiah 53, we think of all of the that it says about Jesus carrying our sins and carrying our iniquities, carrying the wrong things that we’ve done and the guilt that we have and bearing God’s punishment for those things. And that’s exactly right. Isaiah 53 is full of that. Verse five, He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace. Back in verse three, it says he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, as one from whom men hide their faces up out. He was despised, and we esteemed him not we listened to him not.The Bible doesn’t tell us why God lets things happen like they happened to Tamar, but it does tell us that his response to it is to enter into that pain and that grief right alongside. So that even in our darkest moments, we can know that God is not far. And that He cares. And that He takes that sin so seriously that either the sinner will turn and repent, we should pray for the repentance of sinners, that they would trust in Christ who bore the wrath of God for their sin. Or if they don’t, it will be punished forever in hell. And we have no indication that Amnon ever turns from his sin before Absalom murders him. And so we know that Amnon pays for his sin eternally. Justice is served. Even if in this life it seems like the guilty get away with it, they never actually get away with it. It’s part of the hope of the book of Revelation, is the promise that God’s judgment is coming on sin.God cares about our pain even more than we do. We’re told in the Psalms, all over the place in the Psalms, that God is a refuge for those who turn to Him. Psalm nine verse nine says, the Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, oh Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.Sermons are supposed to have one point, but I couldn’t get down to one point. Okay. I think there’s two main things we see as we look at this first part of second Samuel 13. The first is that we have to beware of sin in our own lives because it will destroy us. We’ve been reading Proverbs seven, we get the end of Proverbs seven, it talks about what happens to those who follow the woman folly. The way to her house is the way to shield, the way to death, the grave. And you look at Jonadab, and you look at Amnon, and their way led to death. And David, had he not repented of his many, many sins, too would have gone to death.But the other thing we see that I think we need to know from second Samuel 13 is that God cares about those who have been humiliated in this life. He cares about the weak and the powerless and those who have been trampled on by others. And we need to hear the promises of scripture that God will be with those who even in those dark times will turn to him because Jesus is not a savior who’s distant from those things. One of my great frustrations sometimes is I hear people talk about the gospel as if it’s a way to get rid of the pain in your life. But Hebrews four tells us that Jesus is able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses. I think we could say He’s able to sympathize with us and empathize with us in our humiliation. He’s happy to join us there.Let’s pray. Father, As I pray that you would help us to be at a church that is welcome and open and sensitive to those who have experienced that kind of pain and shame and humiliation. And, Lord, would you help us to be watchful over our own lives, to hate our sin as you hate our sin so that we would not be those who perpetuate such humiliation and devastation against others? Lord, you hate sin not just because of it of the fact that it affronts you and your holiness, but because of the havoc that it wreaks against your creatures, against your people that you love. Lord, help us to hate sin that same way and to comfort those who have been wounded. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors. If you want to take your Bibles and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 12, the book of Romans chapter 6 verse 23, it tells us that the wages of sin are The wages of sin is death. And as we looked at last week in 2 Samuel 11, David had sinned grievously. So much so that this narrator, who's usually happy to just tell us the story, just tell us what happened without casting judgment on it, just lets us interpret what's going on, and by the way that he shades things or the words that he uses, figure out, okay, are we supposed to see this positively, negatively, or is he just telling us what happened? But here in 2 Samuel chapter 11, David has sinned in such a severe way that the author inserts himself and says, God is upset about this. The thing that David had done displeased the Lord.He's committed at least—he's broken at least four of the Ten Commandments. I mean, if we start getting nitty-gritty about how we parse it, probably more than that, but at least—Clearly four. He's coveted Uriah's wife. He's committed adultery then with Uriah's wife. He's lied to try and cover it up, and then he murders Uriah. At least four of the Ten Commandments David breaks just in chapter 11. Have you ever been in a spin cycle of sin? It seems like you do one thing and that leads to committing another sin and another sin. This is especially true once you start getting into lying to cover it up. It just compounds and builds on itself and spins over and over. And you feel like sometimes you can't even get off of that roller coaster.One of the most precious and terrifying truths in the Bible is that if you are a child of God, When you are in that cycle of sin, he will chase you down. He will chase you down. That's the first thing that we see here in 2 Samuel chapter 12, the first six and a half verses, is that God's grace will pursue you in your sin. God's grace will pursue you in your sin. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.Now there came a traveler to the rich man. He was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herds to prepare for the guest who had come to him. But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives and the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, You are the man. You are the man.Verse 1, that word sent is a word we saw several times. I think it's 11 times total in chapter 11 that the word sent is used. It's usually David sending messengers to do this or to do that. David never leaves his home in chapter 11 of 2 Samuel. He's sending messengers back and forth with Bathsheba and with Joab. The action in chapter 11 is driven by sending. The actions all take place, and there's very little notice of God given at all in that chapter until the very end where the narrator tells us that God's not happy about what's been going on. But as we come into chapter 12, God himself decides to do some sending. He sends Nathan. He sends a messenger, a prophet, to David.I think we should observe the wisdom of how he does this, though. God sends Nathan to pursue David, but Nathan doesn't come with a full frontal assault. He comes with a story, and the story isn't, now once there was a king who had a loyal servant who had a wife who was bathing on a rooftop. That's not the story Nathan tells. Instead, Nathan comes with a story about sheep, about a rich man and a poor man. One guy who had a lot of sheep, one guy who didn't have anything. Just one little ewe lamb who was like one of his children. I think there's a lot of wisdom in there for us in a day and age in which people are judged by how boldface and all caps, they clearly state everything that they think about every single thing that happens in the world and every person that's in the news. You have to have your opinion and it has to be out there loud and clear. And God's word very often isn't like that. It's clear, it's true, and the truth is unchanging. But the way the truth is presented is often a lot more subversive than that.Because if the full frontal assault comes, often our response is just to shut it out. If Nathan had come to David, guns a-blazing, as it were, like, you have sinned, you have done this and this wrong, David might have thrown up the defenses and gotten like, hey, hey, hey, get out of here. But instead, Nathan tells a story, which is the story of David, but David doesn't see it, and gets David on his side. And he goes, David sees the injustice of the situation. He sees the lack of pity. He sees that what is going on here is absolutely wrong. And then Nathan's able to turn it and say, Now you know that that's you, David. You know that you are the one who has stolen the lamb.Conviction is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit. But we as his messengers, we should be winsomely wise as serpents and harmless as doves in how we confront others. Notice the details of this story. The lamb ate the lamb. The poor man's food. It drank his drink. It lay in his arms or in his bosom, it says. And these are the very actions that Uriah had actually chosen not to do with Bathsheba because out of his loyalty to David, when David calls Uriah home from the battlefront, thinks I'll just send him to his house and we'll take care of this issue. We'll cover it up. Uriah, out of his loyalty to David, won't take, as it were, his sheep into his arms. Won't go drink and eat with her. But the rich man, who had more than enough, robs from the poor man. And David, he sees this. He bursts out at the injustice. And he's so passionately angry, he swears by the Lord, saying that the rich man deserves death.Now, you've got to remember, David doesn't necessarily know that this is a parable, right? David, as the king, they didn't have the same separation of powers like our government does. David is the king. He's also the supreme judge in the land. And so Nathan's bringing this case to him and David may well think, well, he's bringing a case for me to judge. And David's so caught up in what Nathan is saying that he says, this man deserves to die. But then he pauses, like reels himself back in, his emotions, and says, okay, well, legally, what should happen is he pays him back fourfold. Exodus 22 and verse 1 says if somebody steals an ox, you pay him back five oxen. If somebody steals a sheep, you pay him back four sheep. And so David makes a legal judgment here saying, well, he needs to pay back fourfold what's been taken. But he understands that That even though the letter of the law is fourfold restoration, there's something going on here deep down, like spiritually, morally, this man deserves death. The wages of sin should be death in this case. And then Nathan turns it right back against him and says, you're the one who deserves that condemnation, David. You are the one who stole, though having much. David is the man who took Uriah, took everything from Uriah, from his wife to his life. David is the man who, under the law, deserved to die.Every single one of his actions that he takes in that whole process, adultery deserved death. Murder deserved death. Lying under oath deserved death. The second point we see here is that just like David, your sin is senseless in view of God's kindness. Second half of verse seven through verse nine says, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with a sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.In verses 7 and 8, we see that the focus is four I statements. God says, let's pull the attention off of you for a second, David, and let's look at what I, the Lord God, have done for you. I anointed you king over Israel. Did David do anything to deserve that? No. God went and chose him from the flock, pulled him out of the field, and anointed him king over Israel. I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. Multiple times, David's life is hanging by a thread. Saul is about to capture him, and God preserves his life. And I gave to you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms and gave the house of Israel and Judah. God just says, I poured out all of these blessings upon you. All of these things that Saul had were transferred to David. David took possession of everything that was owned by Saul. He didn't earn any of it. God gave it to him. And then fourth, if this were too little... It's like God takes a knife and twists here. I've given you all of this, and if that were too little, I would have given you more.Is there anything more, I don't know what the right word is, crushing? When you sneakily, maybe you remember doing this when you were a kid. And you try to sneak something, you take it, you get caught, you get in huge trouble for stealing it. And your parents come back to you and they say, you know, if you would have asked, I would have given you that and then some. But now you've tried to take it, you don't get it. God says, I would have given you much more if what I had already poured out upon you graciously and abundantly were not enough. I would have given you much more. Think of James 4.2. You do not have because you do not ask. Matthew 7.7, Jesus says, Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.If David's eyes had been fixed on God, first of all, he would have seen the blessings that God had already poured out on him. Number two, if he really felt he needed more, he could have just asked. But he didn't. He wasn't looking at God. He was looking at his circumstances, and he thought, boy, she looks nice. And he reached out to take for himself. God had given David everything he could have asked for, and then some. Why is David selfishly and senselessly grabbing for his own satisfaction? God lays the blame for this squarely at David's feet again. Nowhere is Bathsheba blamed. Nowhere is even Joab blamed for sending Uriah to the front. This is all laid at the feet of David. And God calls it the sin that God calls out here. I mean, there's the individual sins, but the big overarching sin is that David has despised the word of the Lord. He has despised the word of the Lord. And that phrase in the scriptures is the exact same thing as despising God himself.Now that might be a little bit of a hard bridge for us to get to. Like, how is it despising God if I just ignore some of what he says? Like, I'm still going to listen to most of what he says. I just despise this a little bit over here. How is that despising God? I think, hopefully a helpful analogy... My analogies is kind of a toss-up if they'll ever be helpful or not. But hopefully this will help us again. Andy and I, when we were dating, used to write letters back and forth to one another. And we still have these letters, I think all of them, probably all of them, in boxes or in binders, and hopefully hidden from the children to where they won't find them until after we're dead, because it's kind of sappy and very sappy. But if I were to take those letters, and say hey and you come out here i want i want to do something and then i lit a bonfire with them would i just be burning up some old papers or would i be making a statement about this is what i think about our love this is what i think about all these emotions this is what i think about you by despising her words and all those letters that she wrote to me i would be saying something about what i thought about her And so when God gives us his word, when God gave David his word, he's not just saying, yeah, I want you to write it down and read it, David, although he's supposed to do that. He's also supposed to obey it and live in a way that honors the word of God. And when David ignores that, and when David despises the word of the Lord, he's despising God himself.And when you look back at what God has done for David, It's utterly senseless. It makes no sense at all for him to do this. God has been incredibly kind to him. But not only is it senseless, it is dangerous in view of God's holiness. Third point is, your sin has consequences because God is holy. Beginning in verse 10, it says, Now therefore, this is still Nathan speaking on behalf of God. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this son. For you did it secretly. But I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die. Then Nathan went to his house.And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all that night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. And on the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, Behold, while the child was dead alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him, The child is dead? He may do himself some harm. But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, Is the child dead? They said, He is dead.And David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him and he ate. And his servants said to him, What is this thing you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive? When the child died, you arose and ate food. He said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.God reveals here to David four consequences for his sin. It's interesting because David has, in his judgment against the fictional rich man, said he needs to pay four times over. Well, God gives David four consequences for his sin. The first, in verse 10, is that the sword will not depart. And within this, we see a fourfold consequence as four of David's own sons will die. The first son is the son that we just read about here in verses 15 through 23. But then Amnon will die, Absalom will die, and Adonijah will die. Four of David's sons will perish. And it all flows from David's sin. Chapters 13 through 20 of 2 Samuel are defined by the reality that the sword will not depart from David's house. And then it continues on all through the history of Israel. All of the wars, all of the intrigues, all of the jostling for power in Judah and in Israel stems back to David's sin with Bathsheba.The second point we see here is that God says, I will raise up a challenger. I will raise up evil from within your house. And that's what we begin to see in the chapters that follow. Absalom would for a time depose David, kick him off of his throne, and chase him out of Jerusalem. The third thing that we see is that after Absalom does this, He will take this sin that David has committed in secret by taking another man's wife, and Absalom's going to do it in public. He takes David's throne, chases him out of Jerusalem, and he goes to Ahithophel, the counselor, and says to him, What should I do to really establish myself? And Ahithophel says, Take your father's concubines and go into them. Have sex with all of your father's concubines. So they build a tent for Absalom on the roof of his house so that all of Israel can see what's going on. And Ahithophel's advice is heeded by Absalom as he brings all of these concubines to himself.The fourth consequence that we see is that the child who will be born to Bathsheba will die. The baby will die. There is no getting around, as we read these consequences, how devastating sin is. And we have to remember that there's really no such thing as a private sin. David thought he had sinned in private. He thought he had covered it up. But no sin stays private. The consequences of sin are never limited to just yourself. David's sin obviously affected Bathsheba, Uriah, this child who had died. But the consequences flow into the whole kingdom through all the following history of Israel as affected by this decision of David, these decisions of David.What sins are in your heart that you're telling yourself aren't a big deal? They aren't hurting anyone else, or at least you can keep it quiet. A holy God will not leave your sin undealt with because he loves you. He's not just holy, he's loving. It's important to note here as we look at Nathan's confrontation of David, here's the big difference between David and Saul. It's not that Saul was bad and David was good. David's sins are objectively worse than Saul's by far. David's sins are worse than Saul's. But when in 1 Samuel, chapter 15, the prophet Samuel comes to Saul to confront him, all we hear from Saul is excuse, excuse, justification, excuse. And here, Nathan comes to David, and David's statement is so short and direct. Six words, I have sinned against the Lord.And we might be reading this and think, boy, shouldn't there be some groveling, long, extensive public apology? Instead, we just get this simple statement, accepting responsibility, acknowledging before whom he had sinned. David says, I have sinned against the Lord. We'll look, Lord willing, next week at Psalm 51, which is a longer meditation of David's prayer of repentance before the Lord after this had happened. We'll look at how do you pray when you've sinned, when God has confronted you with the evil inside of you? How do you respond to him in those times?For now, I think we should be instructed by what brought him to repentance. He was brought to repentance by hearing someone else speak the word of God to him. David had the law, and if he's been obedient to Deuteronomy chapter 17, he has a copy of the law that he has copied down with his own hand that's been approved by the priests and that he reads day by day. David has the word of the Lord. He meditates on it day and night. I think we should be fairly confident of that. But the heart, Jeremiah 17, 9 tells us, is deceitful and desperately sick. It's desperately wicked. And so even if we are personally reading the word of God by ourselves, we can trick ourselves into thinking that we're obeying it. Which is why we need to gather with other believers in small groups and in public worship to hear the word read and to hear the word taught so that we can be confronted with God's word from outside of us. We need it privately. We also need the gathering to hear the word together so that we can together be confronted with God's word, both its comforts and its harder edges that call us to repentance.David's heart was exposed and he repented. And the Lord spares his life, we see in verse 13. But the consequences remain. Though the Lord forgave him, though the Lord spared him, the child died. And this might make David's actions in verses 15 to 23 confusing to us. Hadn't God already proclaimed that the child was going to die, and yet as the child gets sick, David... loses it he is he's on his face on the ground pouring out his heart he won't eat he won't sleep they're begging him come on get some rest eat some food and he says no i'm going to pray i'm going to ask the lord that he would be merciful and that he would spare this child and we might read that after god's already said the child's going to die we might read that as well david's just like fighting with god here But I think what we should see in David's actions are actually that he has turned back to the Lord and that he knows God is a gracious God and he may well spare this child. He may well be gracious in that way. And so he turns and he desperately pleads with God for the life of his son.But then the servants are even more confused when the child dies. They're afraid to tell David. They say, if he's going to act like this while the baby's still alive, what's going to happen if he finds out he's dead? He might hurt himself. He might commit suicide. But David sees that they're whispering to themselves. He sees what's going on, and he says, he's dead, isn't he? And when they say yes, when he gets a straight answer in verse 19, he does what they totally don't expect. He bathes? Puts lotion on himself, which, I mean, those actions for someone who was in mourning in that day would have signified that he was at the end of his mourning period. He's cleaning up. He says, okay, I'd like to eat now.As the child dies, it seems he comes out of his period of mourning. and they're confused they ask him what what's going on and he tells he gives them the reason in verse 22 while the child was alive i fasted and wept for who knows i said who knows whether the lord will be gracious to me that the child may live but now he is dead god god's fulfilled his word to david god told him this was going to happen and now it's happened And David says, there's no reason for me to fast now. I can't bring him back from the dead. David's confronted here even with his own mortality. He says, I will go to him. David knows that one day he will die. He will join the place of the dead, the child. I will go to him, but he will not return to me.David's sin has horrific consequences, up to and including the death of his own son. The fourth thing we see, though, is that God's grace provides. Beginning in verse 24, Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him, and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah because of the Lord. Jedidiah means beloved by the Lord. Now Joab fought against Reba of the Ammonites and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Reba. Moreover, I have taken the city of waters. Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name. So David gathered all the people together and went to Reba, fought against it and took it. And he took the crown of their king from his head. And the weight of it was a talent of gold. And in it was a precious stone. It was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city a very great amount. And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. Thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.So we see in verses 24 and 25 that God's grace provides a beloved heir. And I think we see grace here especially to Bathsheba. As much as to David, after this child has died, David comforts his wife and went in and lay with her and she bore a son and they called his name Solomon. Now Solomon obviously does not replace, doesn't replace the child who died. Can't replace a child. But I do think it is a grace of God to Bathsheba that she who has been on the receiving end of a lot of sin in this story, She's taken from her husband. Her husband's murdered. Now her child dies. It's through her, of all David's wives, that God chooses to give the chosen king, the chosen son, the son who is to follow in David's throne and expand the kingdom and build the temple and be in the line of Christ, the Messiah. It's through Bathsheba that God chooses to bring forth the chosen son, the fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7, the son who would be loved into the world. God's grace provided a beloved heir.Verses 26 through 31, we kind of see the wrapping up of the story that we almost lose sight of this war with Ammon. And chapters 10 through 12 begin and end with this war with the Ammonites, and at the start of chapter 10, David had sent Joab out, and then we read at the beginning of chapter 11, where we have the whole narrative with Bathsheba, that David had remained in Jerusalem at the time when kings go out to war, and he sent his men out. But here, at the end of chapter 12, Instead of David sitting back in the city, now he has gone out. Joab's called him out and he's gone out and actually acted like a king. He's remembered his role. Joab has captured most of the city. Rabah was a very strategic city in that it had the headwaters of the Jabbok River there. And Joab has captured the part of the city with the water supply. So he says, hey, I know that we're about to topple them. We're about to take them. You need to come out and finish this off, David. Otherwise, I'm going to get credit and we'll name the city after me. So David comes out. They conquer the Ammonites. The king's crown weighs a talent. It's like 65 to 75 pounds of gold. This is an enormous... He probably didn't wear this around in his spare time. This is an enormous crown that's given to David. God graciously provides victory in this battle that set the backdrop for all of these events.But I think the final thing we see In conclusion, is that God's grace provides a substitute. Look back just very briefly at verses 13 through 14. David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die. In these verses we see David forgiven. We see the death sentence that he deserved commuted. It's removed. And thus we can understand the joy that he would have in a place like Psalm 32, verse 6, where he writes, You forgave the iniquity of my sin. My plan, my hope in a couple weeks is to look at Psalm 32 and the joy that there is in being forgiven.But David's son still dies. And without wanting to stretch the analogy too far, I think it's important for us to see that even though God is slow to anger, quick to forgive, abounding in steadfast love, the wages for sin is always death. Someone has to pay. A son of David has to pay. Romans 6.23 that we open with says, The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. And if, like David, we want to experience the forgiveness of God when we repent, when we acknowledge our sin, when we pray for forgiveness, someone has to take that punishment of death that we deserve. And that's exactly what Jesus did on the cross. That's what Romans 6.23 means. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.We don't get eternal life as God just like passing it out like candy. Someone died so that we could have forgiveness. The greater son of David died so that we could be forgiven. David's sin and my sin, your sin, the sins of everyone who will repent of their sins and trust on Jesus for salvation, was taken by him on the cross so that they could receive his righteousness and be covered, be clean, be white as snow. Will this wash away the earthly consequences of our sin? Not necessarily. But you can face the consequences in faith. David's son died and he rose up and he clothed himself and he went into the tabernacle and he worshipped. Knowing we can be like that. We can rise up in the face of even when we're facing the consequences of our own sin. We can rise up and worship, knowing that because of Jesus, we are no longer condemned. We have eternity with him. Hebrews 12 calls those consequences for our sin in this life. If we're God's children, it's like his fatherly loving correction of us. We can see every trial that comes from his hand as part of him loving us, shepherding us towards him.Would you pray for me? Father God, we thank you that you are a loving God who pursues us even in our sin. What marvelous kindness and love you have poured out towards us. You sent your son into this world to seek and to save that which was lost. You send the son, the good shepherd, he'll leave the 99 to go chase down the one wandering sheep. Lord, when we wander, would you make us quick to sense that we have wandered away? Would you make us receptive to the voice of your Son? My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. When we are in sin, Lord, would you help us to be quick to say, I have sinned against the Lord, and to turn to you, knowing that because of your Son, Jesus, we can have forgiveness, and that for those who are in him, there is therefore now no condemnation. We are safe eternally because of Christ. What a precious gift. We thank you for it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors. We're going to be in 2 Samuel chapter 11, so you can go ahead and turn there. While you're turning, I want to read a couple of verses out of the book of James. These verses are going to kind of frame the sermon. I think 2 Samuel 11 is something of an extended illustration of James chapter 1, verses 13 through 15.Say, let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.Can we ever say, the devil made me do it? When you sin, what is your first response? To blame shift to another person? That's what Adam did. Adam, where are you? What have you done? Well, the woman made me do it. Maybe to blame shift to the devil. The devil made me do it. That's what Eve said. It was that snake. He told me, he tempted me, and I ate. Perhaps most common in our age is to just blame outside circumstances, the economy or the state of your own personal finances, your job situation or your home situation growing up. Maybe the chemicals in your own brain are responsible for your decisions. To be sure, each of those things that I've mentioned and a thousand things more affect us. They have real impacts upon us. But the Bible never shifts the blame for sin. Not once. Or the penalty. Romans 6.23 says the wages of sin is death. And these truths, again, they're dramatically painted for us in 2 Samuel chapter 11.So the first thing we see is verse 1. David is at ease. 2 Samuel chapter 11 verse 1 says, In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabob. But David remained at Jerusalem.Now if you remember the last several chapters of 2 Samuel, including chapter 10 last week, David had been fighting with and destroying the Ammonites. The Lord had promised David peace on every side back in chapter 7, and he was providing him that peace through military conquest. After the last defeat of the Ammonites in chapter 10, verse 14, they had fled back to their capital city, back to Raboth, because it was a natural shelter, a natural fortification. It had a good high position. It had lots of sources of water. It was an easy city to defend. So when the Israelites defeated the Ammonites, the Ammonites all flee back to Raboth, and apparently it's moving towards a time of year that isn't isn't great for fighting. And so Joab brings his men back to Jerusalem.But now it's the spring. And instead of going back out to attack and sack Rabah himself, David has sent Joab. Joab is leading the men and David remains in Jerusalem. And this is strange for David, right? If we're reading the first and second Samuel, Narratives. David has always been a man of action. In 1 Chronicles 28 and verse 3, God calls David a man of war. That's the reason God gives him there for not allowing him to build the temple because he has been a man of war. There's too much blood on his hands.This man of war, this ultimate action hero from the Bible is now sitting at home. He sends Joab to lead. Ten times in this chapter, the verb send or sent is used. Seven times, it's referring to David sending someone else to do something, to take a message, to perform an action. The man of action, the man of war, never leaves his house in chapter 11. That's a striking contrast to other places in the book.Often, the first step toward temptation is not a conscious step at all. It's not an action of, I think I want to rebel. Rather, it's an attitude of apathy, resting in past accomplishments, luxuriating, as David was here in his house, in current ease. In this way, David serves as a type for the nation of Israel, a people who, when God calls him out, I mean, probably the most vivid place God describes this is in Ezekiel 16, where God talks about drawing the people of Israel and forming them as a people, and then when they see how beautiful they are, they forget about him and they turn away. And David seems to be going through this process himself.People are never more in danger than when things are going well. You are never in more spiritual danger than when everything seems to be going well. What things are you taking for granted?To go back to our frame in James, it talks about being lured and enticed by your own desires, and we see that in verses 2 through 5. It happened late one afternoon. So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Now she had them purifying herself from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house, and the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant.David's not at war with his men. Instead, he's back at his house, a house which likely offered a commanding view over all of Jerusalem. He's probably got the biggest house in the city, probably set in the most prominent place in the city. And late one afternoon, after enjoying his siesta, laying on his couch, taking a nap. Nothing wrong with that. You live in a warm climate. People nap in the middle of the day. That's what they do. He goes for a stroll on the roof.And we don't know what's going on in his head as he goes for this stroll, as he walks around back and forth on the roof. But as I read this text this week, my mind was drawn to Daniel chapter 4. When you go there and you read about Nebuchadnezzar walking back and forth on the roof of his palace, looking over the city of Babylon and saying to himself, look at this great city, which my might and my hands have built. And you know the story of Nebuchadnezzar. He ends up spending seven years in exile from his city and from his palace, eating grass like an ox, his hair growing long. He falls all to shambles. He goes crazy.You wonder if something like that is going through David's mind. Look at this city that I am in charge of, that I lead, basking in the glory of it all. And then, what do we have here? Just a few houses away, David sees a woman bathing, and she is beautiful. David sees her, and when it comes to women, David is used to getting exactly what he wants. Remember, at this point, he has at least six other wives. But he sees, and he wants, and so he inquires.Victor Hamilton notes in his handbook on the historical books that three times before in 2 Samuel, we're told that David inquires. And all of those times, he is inquiring of the Lord. Now, he's inquiring in those circumstances. He's facing a trial or a hard decision, and so he inquires of the Lord. What do I do? And Hamilton notes that now in the face of temptation would be an excellent time to inquire of the Lord. What would you have me to do with my temptation, Lord? Instead, David inquires after Bathsheba.In what ways do you inquire after sin? Not, of course, with the intention of following through. We wouldn't do that. But just to take a peek into that world. what would it be like on the other side of the curtain? If you weren't a good Christian and weren't going to say no to that, what would it be like? Maybe that lady on the rooftop, maybe she just happens to be the only single lady with enough money in Jerusalem to buy her own house. Who knows? Maybe. Probably not, but what's it hurt to ask? What's it hurt to look?Sin starts with lying to yourself. David couldn't control temptation. It's really not his fault that he's walking on the roof of his own house and sees someone bathing. That's not David's fault. But he's responsible for everything that follows. As he allows his own sinful desires to lead him down a trail of curiosity. So she's the wife of Uriah, he finds out. Uriah's out with Joab. What will it hurt for her to come over for just a quick visit? And then we'll send her home. And nobody's really hurt, right?Desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin. And Bathsheba, the object of David's desire, conceives.In verses 6 to 13, we see that sin leads to more sin. David sent word to Joab, Send me Uriah the Hittite. Joab is probably perplexed. What? This is one of the mighty men. Why do you want him pulled off the front lines? Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing, how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, go down to your house and wash your feet. Uriah went out of the king's house and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of the Lord and did not go down to his house. When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house. David said to Uriah, Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house? Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing. Then David said to Uriah, Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.So David sends for Uriah. Maybe he can just get him to come home and spend the night with his wife and it will look like the child is his own and everything's going to be okay. David's clearly scrambling at this point. But it's about to get worse because Uriah won't go home. We've seen earlier in the Samuel narratives that one of the customs for Israelite warriors was abstaining from sexual relationships as part of how they committed themselves to readiness for battle, for action. So when David hears in verse 10 that Uriah didn't go down and questions him, Uriah gives this noble reply that we read. The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths. They're out there in tents. They're out there fighting. My lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. How can I just abandon them, abandon my vows, abandon all of those men who are fighting for Israel, and instead just come home and act like nothing out of the normal is going on? Go home, eat, drink, and be with my wife. No, he won't do it.So David resorts to further sin and thinks maybe he can get Uriah so drunk that he forgets about all of his nobility and all of his commitments, and he'll just stumble on home and spend time with his wife. But again, no dice. Joyce Baldwin notes in her commentary how ironic it is that when Uriah comes, initially David is asking him, well, How are you? How's Joab? How's the army doing? How goes the war? He's asking about how is the welfare? How is the shalom? How is the peace of all of these things? He's asking about that, all the while doing everything in his power to destroy the peace, the welfare of a family, and soon enough of a life. Many lives it will turn out.In chapter 23, as I said earlier, we find out that Uriah is one of David's mighty men. Likely enough, given that Uriah is a Hittite, he's not from the people of Israel, he probably is one of the people who joined David while David was in his wilderness years, hiding, fleeing from Saul, fighting the people around Israel. And so all of this time he's been with David, he's been faithful to David, one of just an inner circle of men who are David's top warriors. He's been too loyal, too noble. All that loyalty and nobility now make him an inconvenience, an inconvenience to be dealt with. And again, this is the nature of sin. People cease to be people to us when we're caught in our sin. They become objects, either objects for our own gratification, as what Bathsheba was to David, just an object to gratify him. Or, like Uriah, they become obstacles, things that are in the way of our sin.Sin, when fully grown, brings forth death. See that in verses 14 to 25. In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting and then draw back from him so that he may be struck down and die. And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. And he instructed the messenger, When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, then if the king's anger rises and he says to you, Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech, the son of Jerubasheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebes? Why did you go so near the wall? Then you shall say, Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. David said to the messenger, Thus shall you say to Joab, Do not let this matter displease you. For the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it and encourage him.Uriah is so trustworthy, so trustworthy, that when David decides to write a death warrant for him, he sends it by his own hand. He tells Joab to put Uriah where the fighting is the fiercest, the hottest, and then draw back from him. Let him die. And here, here is Joab's chance to do his patented tell David he's wrong and being stupid thing. Joab does this several times in the book. Just the chapter before, we've seen Joab's confidence in God, his faith. Here's another opportunity for Joab to be obedient. Instead, Joab actually improves David's plan rather than abandon Uriah, which would be a little obvious. Like, why are we trying to get rid of Uriah? This wouldn't make any sense. Instead, Joab concocts a battle plan that's going to result in many people dying, but it doesn't look suspicious. He puts a whole unit up against the section of the wall where he knows Ammon has their premier warriors, and Uriah is killed, and so are many other men.And this we see just in the exchange, like where, how Joab knows David's going to respond, that this has to be an unusual tactic for Joab and David to use. For good reason, it results in lots of men unnecessarily being killed. But Joab knows David will be angry, and so he has the messenger slip this little tidbit in at the end, and Uriah died too. And we see David's temperature shift from the passionate anger. How could you be so stupid? Why would you do this thing? If you read the book of Judges, you know that a woman could kill a soldier who's standing right next to the wall. She's just going to drop a rock on his head. But Uriah the Hittite is dead also. And David's temperature shifts from passionate anger to callous. Tell Joab that's just what happens in the war. One guy dies, another guy dies. Tell him to keep going. He'll take the city. Do you see how nefarious and deceitful sin is?Some people will spend all their time in this passage talking about the dangers of lust, maybe even blame Bathsheba for her immodesty. Was she trying to bait David by bathing on her rooftop? If you're in ancient Israel, where else are you supposed to bathe? I'm not quite sure. That probably is just where people did bathe. The whole tone and tenor of the text is not aimed at Bathsheba at all. She's basically a silent, the only thing she says is, I'm pregnant. She's a silent character. All of the blame is laid at David's feet. He's the one with the power. He is the man who supposedly is a man after God's own heart, but he's forgotten God. He took the sin of lust and he treated it like a pet. I feed it a little, inquire, get some more information. I'm in control.This is the danger of lust, especially in our day where pornography is so freely available on the internet through your phone. That's the danger. Do you think you can hide it and you think it won't matter? David thinks he's in control. He's sent for Bathsheba and indulged his desires. Not a big deal. Who's it going to hurt? And then she's pregnant, but he can just call Uriah in off the line and everybody will assume it's his child, but that doesn't work either. So David has him killed and takes Bathsheba for his wife. Verses 26 and 27. When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.Now Bathsheba's mourning here probably doesn't mean that David waited until Bathsheba was done being sad about her husband. It's more of a formal time, which, based on other things we read in the Old Testament, could have been anywhere from one week to three weeks of a formal mourning period. This whole event really happens in a pretty compact time frame. It's possible even that the people as a whole still have no idea about David's adultery and what he's done to Uriah. But God knew. God saw what David had done. And the narrator does something very unusual in 1 and 2 Samuel. I've mentioned several times over that when we're reading narrative, we just have to read carefully and see, is this character reflected in a good light, or is it seeming to be more negative, or is it mixed? And you just have to read carefully to kind of see what the author's doing. It's not going to be spelled out for you in black and white. But here it is. The thing that David had done displeased the Lord. I can't off the top of my head think of another place in 1 and 2 Samuel where it just tells you how God felt about something. He is upset with David. Sin displeases God and it leaves ruin in its wake.The question for us then as we read this text, this depressing text in 2 Samuel 11 where the man of God tumbles and falls. How do we protect ourselves from that same sort of callousness to sin? How do we maintain our memory of and fear for the Lord? For the answer, I direct your attention to Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3, verses 12 through 15. Hebrews 3, beginning in verse 12, reads, As it is said, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Just very briefly, I see four practical helps for us in these verses. And number one is to take care. Recognize that an unbelieving heart can grow up inside of you. You are not spiritually above or beyond hardening your heart towards God. You could walk away from him. So take heed lest you do so. Again, verse 15, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. That's what the people of Israel did when they rebelled against Moses. That's the story that the author of Hebrews is referring to here. And it's exactly the same kind of thing that David had done. As he's rebelling against God, You can almost guarantee that he's not, especially based on what we're going to see in chapter 12, he's not consciously going, I want to rebel against God. He's just forgetting about him and hardening his heart. He's hardened his heart. When his conscience breaks him, he says, nope, I want to do my thing. And the author of Hebrews tells us, do not do that. Be aware, your heart is the one that can get hard. It's not somebody else out there. It's you.Number two, he says to exhort one another, verse 13. Exhort one another. And that word means both to encourage, so when you're together and you see good things in another person, call those things out. Say, this is how I see God working in you. This is something that's encouraging. And it means to admonish, to call out sin. Because so often, we are blind to our own sins. We do not see ourselves clearly. We do not know ourselves as well as we think we do. That's another thing we're going to see in chapter 12. Nathan comes and gives David a story, a parable, about what he's just done. And David sees that that man deserves to die, but he doesn't see that as he points that finger out, three fingers are pointed back at him. He doesn't see it. He needs someone else to tell him, and we need that too. We need others to exhort us to admonish us to encourage us and this requires meeting together exhort one another every day as long as it is called today this requires at least at the very least getting together on sundays to worship and pray and sing and hear god's word together but here he says every day in acts 2 the People are getting together day by day. They're spending time with one another frequently, encouraging one another on towards Christ. We need that. We need each other.Super practically for the guys this fall, I don't have a date set. So if you're interested, please talk to me and we can talk about dates and stuff. But I want to start working through this book. It's called Every Man a Warrior, How to Help Men Succeed in Life. And it's just walking through biblical principles for how to live. I've had it really highly recommended to me by several other pastors. And so I want to start a group working through that. The fourth and final thing that we see here is hold firm to Christ. Verse 14. For we have come to share in Christ. If indeed we hold our original confidence, and the confidence that he's speaking about is that Christ is the Messiah, that Christ is the Savior, that Christ is the one who has paid for our sins. The next chapter, chapter 4, he's going to talk about him as a high priest, the one who intercedes and prays for us on the basis of his own sacrifice, the sacrifice of his own blood. Jesus is the one who takes your condemnation. Who takes the suffering for your sin that you deserve.So when you are tempted, don't cradle the temptation. That's what we want to do. We want to see that temptation. We want to just entertain it for a little bit. Don't treasure the idea of sin. Remember what Christ paid on your behalf, that you might be forgiven of sin and freed from sin. 1 Peter 2.24 says that he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. Don't treasure sin, treasure Jesus. Don't run around trying to hide your failures, some Like David's sin compounds when he thinks he can hide or prevent other people from seeing what he's done wrong. But the book of 1 John tells us to openly confess our sins to he who is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. To walk in the light, that is, allowing our sins and our failures and our shortcomings to be exposed. And if we walk in the light as he is in the light... We have fellowship with one another and we have fellowship with him. What 1 John 1 says. So openly confess your sins. Be honest with others. Be honest with yourself. And walk in the light as he is in the light. That you may enjoy true fellowship with him.Father God, we need your help in this. I'm so... Convicted, as I read 2 Samuel 11, Lord, how often do I just let the idea of sin sit in my mind too long? And desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to, naturally follows into sin. Father, we have sinful hearts that naturally rebel against you. And we can't say no. We can't turn our thoughts. We can't take our thoughts captive apart from the power of your Holy Spirit. So we're dependent upon him. And we thank you that if we are in Christ, if we have trusted in Jesus to be our Savior, you have given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. He has been poured out, shed abroad into our hearts so that we can say no to sin. We have a huge advantage over David, Lord. You've given us the spirit. You've taken out our heart of stone. You've given us a heart of flesh. You've made us new. Help us to live as those who have been made new. We ask for our sake and for your glory. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. The sermon was not. Please comment if you notice any errors. Why did God save you? If you've trusted in Christ, why did God save you? There's all kinds of ways we can answer that question from the Bible.First of all, we might say, because he loves us. God so loved the world, John 3.16 said, that he sent his only son. We might say because he chose to. That's a good Bible answer. God saved me because he decided to in eternity past, according to the unchangeable counsel of his perfect will.We might say I don't know. And that would be a good Bible answer too, because why did God save you in particular when we know from the scriptures that there are others that he chooses not to save, that he allows to keep walking in their sin and rebellion, that he allows to harden their hearts? Why? I don't know.But another answer to that question that is surely, clearly shown to us from Scripture, is that he has saved us, not simply for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others.So we think of places like Ephesians 2, 8, and 9 that tell us that it's by grace that we're saved, through faith, not of ourselves, not of works, it's a gift, lest anyone should boast. Then Ephesians 2, 10 says, for you are God's workmanship, his masterpiece in progress, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared in advance that you should walk in them. He saved you by grace so that, for the purpose that, you would walk in the good works he's prepared for you.Or in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 22, he's speaking to believers there and he says, you've purified your souls by obedience to the truth. And what he means by that is you've believed the gospel. You've obeyed by believing the truth that Jesus died for your sins in your place. By embracing that truth, you've done this for brotherly love. You've embraced Christ's so that you can be brought into god's family and love other believers.Galatians chapter 5 which we'll look at again later says that the spirit when he comes into our lives produces fruit and those fruit even though there's something that is taking place inside of us always ends up being outward directed love. Well, love can't have yourself as the main object. Love is facing out. Joy. While joy is something that's happening inside of you, we all know if we're around someone who's joyful or not. Peace. You know whether the person that you're with, you don't always know this perfectly, but you generally get an idea if you're around somebody a lot, whether they are peaceful or anxious and worried. And you can go all the way down the list. Love, joy, peace, patience. We certainly know whether we're with patient or impatient people. The things that God does in us, they are for us. Absolutely. God does love you. But he's also doing something in you and through you that's bigger than you. It's for others.And as we look at the book of 2 Samuel, we see that David understands this about himself. 2 Samuel 5 we looked at a few weeks ago. And verse 12, this is when God has allowed David's throne to be established in Jerusalem. Verse 12, it says, And David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. God did something great in David, for David, but it wasn't just for David. It wasn't merely for David.Last week we looked at chapter 7 of 2 Samuel, God's covenant with David. Where God, David, he thinks, boy, I'm sitting here in this house of cedar, I have this beautiful home that I live in, and God's over there, the Ark of the Covenant, it's in a tent. Maybe I should build a house for God. And God says through the prophet Nathan to David, no. You're not going to build me a house. I am going to build you a house. And God promises that he will build this dynasty for David. And that he will provide for him a great name and establish him on the earth. But it's not just for David. It's bigger than David. David recognizes that. Verse 19 says, Yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. And this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God. David understands that this promise to him is bigger than just his house and his family. It's for all of mankind.And we come to chapter 8. And in chapter 8, we read essentially a record covering a long period of time of David's wars, of his victories over various nations. I think I pointed out last week that chapter 7, chronologically in the history, probably comes after chapter 8, maybe even after chapters 8, 9, and 10. But the reason the author of 1 and 2 Samuel front loads it for us is so that we understand David is having all of these mighty victories, but it's not David's own strength. It's not his military brilliance. It's not his prowess. I mean, he has all these things, right? David is a great and mighty warrior. But ultimately, it's not David's own strength that's getting into these victories. It's God fulfilling a promise to establish his house through him.So as we look at chapter 8, I'm just going to read through the whole chapter, maybe making some comments as we go through. After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Methag Amah out of the hand of the Philistines. Now this is, as we walk through this chapter, we're going to see enemies on every side of David are defeated. Every side of him.And he defeated, so the Philistines are off to his west. And he defeated Moab, and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants of David and brought tribute. Now the Moabites, so the Philistines are off to the west, the Moabites are to the east and the south of David. And it's interesting, like, this is brutal, right? He lines their whole army up, everybody who's left after he's defeated them, in three lines. He slaughters two-thirds of them, and he leaves one-third. And really, this is merciful. He could have killed them all. But he leaves one-third. But that level of brutality is really striking when you think about David's own great-grandmother, Ruth, was from Moab. She was a Moabitess. But the people of Moab had been sworn enemies of the people of Israel since the origin of both nations. And David brings them into subjection, and they bring him tribute. They're bringing him, essentially, taxes to show that he is their king and their lord.David also defeated Hadad Ezer, the son of Rahab, the king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. And David took from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough for 100 chariots. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadad Ezer, king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants of David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadad Ezer and brought them to Jerusalem. And from Beta and from Barathai, cities of Hadad Ezer, King David took very much bronze.Now these nations, Zobah is to the north of Israel. Up past Syria would have been directly north of Israel, and then Zobah was above it. And so when David goes up and he defeats Zobah, Syria comes to their aid. They come to try to help them, and David conquers them both. In total, over 40,000 men are killed.But then when Toy, king of Hamath, which is further still north, up past Zoboth, heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadad-Ezer, Toy sent his son Joram to King David to ask about his health and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadad-Ezer and defeated him, for Hadad-Ezer had often been at war with Toy. So these two nations, Hamath and Zobah were constantly in battle. And when David defeats Zobah, instead of Hamath trying to help because he had been at war with them, he is thankful to David. And so he sends his son with gifts, and he tries to establish a good relationship with David, lest the same thing happen to him.Joram brought with him, verse 10, articles of silver and gold and of bronze. Then also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued, from Edom directly to the south, Moab southeast, Ammonites to the east, Philistines to the west, Amalek. So every side, all of these enemies on every side, God had given David rest, either because he had conquered them, or they had voluntarily submitted when they saw his power.And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. Then he put garrisons in Edom. Throughout all Edom, he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. And that phrase right there is a repeat of exactly what the text had said in verse 6. End of verse 6, and the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. End of verse 14, and the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. What we're supposed to see as we read through chapter 18 is that every single time God is giving him the victory. David is powerful. David is mighty. That's supposed to be seen. God had promised in chapter 7 and verse 9 that I will cut off all your enemies before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones on the earth. David's name is being made great, but ultimately it's not david who's doing it it's not david who's bringing it about god is giving him the victory.At the end of verse eight we see kind of a summary statement that tells us how his administration was carried out david reigned over all israel and david administered justice and equity to all his people. So we just get this list of all the officials who are helping David carry out his just and equitable rule over the nation of Israel.One weird thing there at the end of verse 18, it says David's sons were priests, but they weren't. Obviously, David's of the tribe of Judah, and the priests were all to be Levites of the tribe of Levi. They're totally separate clans in Israel. And so what does he mean by priests? I'm not sure. If you look at the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 18, it says that David's sons were high officials. They were chief officials in his administration, in his house. And so the best commentary that I could get on it that I think makes sense is that the way a priest functions in the house of God was that they represented God. the people to God, and they ministered on behalf of the people to God. That's how a priest functioned. The prophet represented God to the people, the priest represented the people to God. And in a similar fashion, David's sons in his administration in his house may have represented the people to the king. Like they would have been possibly over a certain portion of the people and represented those people's interests when they were having discussions around the king's table about what to do. That's one possible answer to that seeming conflict, but I don't know for sure.But the whole point of the chapter is is really clear. God is giving David victory everywhere he goes. He's establishing his throne and beginning to answer the promise of chapter 7, that he will make for him a great house, that he will make for him a great name.Which then, when you come to chapter 9, makes chapter 9 feel a little out of place. If you skip over chapter 9, you get into chapter 10, which starts to tell you of the war with Ammon. And that's a three-chapter story, this long war with the Ammonites, which would seem to follow right on the heels of chapter 8. But then there's this little interlude where we read about David's dealings with a man named Mephibosheth.Chapter 9, beginning in verse 1. And David said, Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now if you remember, David is, to borrow from L.M. Montgomery, a bosom friend with Jonathan. David and Jonathan were knit together. Even though Jonathan's a much older man than David, probably 15 to 20 years older than David, when David had gone out and defeated Goliath, the text tells us, I think it's the very first part of 1 Samuel 18, that Jonathan's heart was knit to him. Jonathan had done similar things, right? He and his servant alone had gone and attacked a garrison of the Philistines earlier in 1 Samuel 18. And he had the same confidence in the Lord's power that gave him courage to do what he felt God wanted him to do, whether it made human sense or not. And so when he sees that in David, their hearts are beating to the same drum. They have the same view of God that leads them to take the same kind of brave and bold actions in service for the Lord. And so even when Saul, Jonathan's father, is trying to kill David, Jonathan still has a deep affection for his friend. And when Jonathan ultimately is killed, Mount Gilboa with his father David is broken-hearted and and and in this He had made promises both to Saul and Jonathan that when he came to the throne He would not utterly cut off their house that he wouldn't get rid of their whole family And this is really a crazy promise for David to have made To not cut off David's not cut off Saul's family because no matter how good of a king you are, no matter how good a ruler is, there's always a contingent of people who are ready for regime change, who are ready for someone else to take the throne. And Saul's family is the only other family that would have any legitimate claim to the throne. So to seek out someone from Saul's house to do good to them rather than to kill them seems a little nuts from a human perspective. But David wants to honor his friend Jonathan. He wants to honor his promise.Now there was a servant of the house of Saul, whose name was Ziba, verse 10. And they called him to David. And the king said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? Someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him. Ziba said to the king, there is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. And the king said to him, where is he? And Ziba said to the king, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Amiel at Lodibar, which would have been up in the northeast. It seems probably in the time of Ish-bosheth, his uncle, Mephibosheth would have been seen as a potential contestant for the throne. And so they probably took him away and hit him up in the northeast where he would have been safe.And the king David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Amiel at Lodebar. Verse 6, And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold, I am your servant. And David said to him, Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always. And he paid him homage and said, What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? Then the king called Ziba Saul's servant and said to him, All that belong to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. And Ziba said to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king's table. Now he was laying in both his feet.So David searches out. Now he's established on his throne. God is giving him victory everywhere he goes. And he spends his time now looking for someone to give kindness to. And the someone that he goes looking for is someone who, in an earthly sense, has every reason to be someone that David looks at as an enemy. Someone who could, the only person around who really has any rival claim to the throne, and instead of casting him out or killing him or even doing him kindness in a distant way, David brings him back to Jerusalem, gives into his possession all of the land of Saul and his family. Then takes this servant who had probably been stewarding or managing this property anyway, Ziba. And most likely beforehand, Ziba had been taking care of this property either directly for the benefit of David or for somebody else that David had said to receive the benefit of the produce of that ground. And now, Mephibosheth is going to be lord and master of all of Saul's possessions. But more than that, David brings him to the table as if he is David's own son.David is established by God, and then he reaches out and makes this human enemy his son, his friend, gives him a seat at his table every single day. God established David, not just for David's sake, but so that David could show the kindness of God to Mephibosheth, so that he could be merciful.Now David, like we said, is fulfilling his promise to Jonathan. But again, put yourself in David's place. David has been established, and he's not clamoring to secure his position against every possible foe. Instead, he's taking this firm establishment by God and using it as a basis, a platform from which to show God's kindness. And this, I think, is the lesson that we're supposed to draw from that, is that when we are established by God, he does so in order to to extend his kindness through us.What we talked about last week was how do we get established? Like we're not David. God didn't promise us a throne in Israel, right? He didn't promise that the Messiah is coming from our heritage. Rather, we become established as we are identified with the messianic king, as we're identified with the son of David. And so when we trust in Christ, we become members of his kingdom and we're given a firm foundation. That's the language Jesus uses in Matthew chapter 7, that our life goes from being built upon the shifting sand of whatever we try to build it on to being built on Christ himself and on his word. And when we have that firm foundation and our biggest problem, our relationship with God, which is broken by sin, when that's fixed by Jesus and by our trust in Jesus, we receive forgiveness. all of the promises of God being yes in Christ, when we receive Christ, we now have a platform from which to extend the very kindness of God himself.And this is one of the most common things in the New Testament that it says should be produced in us. So in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that love is patient and patient. In 2 Corinthians 6, one of the things that Paul is doing with that letter is he's trying to explain to the church There's been a lot of accusations that he's not really an apostle. He's not really all he's cracked up to be. This guy is kind of a joke. You shouldn't listen to him. You should listen to these super apostles instead. And so in 2 Corinthians 6, Paul lists out all of these reasons why actually you can trust us. And one of the reasons he gives in 2 Corinthians 6.6 is the kindness that they have shown. And then when you look at the fruit of the Spirit that God says should be produced in every Christian's life, one of those is kindness.I think this is really important in our age because kindness isn't really a value anymore. If you disagree with somebody, you're expected to be harsh and mean and, well, they just don't even deserve to be listened to. And yet God is marked by his kindness. Romans 11. Behold the kindness and severity of God. Severity. God is severe. He takes sin seriously. He won't be mocked, Galatians 6 says. but he's kind to us. In extending Christ, God has shown great kindness. And we are called to show that exact same kind of kindness.And why can we do that? If we're secure in Christ, why does that enable us to be kind? Even when, well, Matthew, Matthew chapter 5 says, At the end of the Beatitudes, Blessed are you when others revile you, verse 11, and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Why, when we are reviled, persecuted, when people utter all kinds of evil against us because they disagree with us and so we must be evil, why can we respond in kindness?If David were clamoring, trying to get the throne for himself and to secure the throne for himself and to hold on to his position— He couldn't have been kind to Mephibosheth because it wouldn't have made sense. And if we are living our lives trying to grasp some kind of identity for ourself or some kind of position or to make sure that things go well for us, we can't be focused on kindness. Because kindness, A, can be costly, and B, it's always risky. If you extend kindness to someone, they might just throw it back in your face. It might be misinterpreted. It might be taken wrong. There's no guarantee that it's going to come back towards you in any beneficial way.And yet that's exactly what Christ calls us to in Luke chapter 14. And I think this is significant, particularly when we think about the story of Mephibosheth. So that chapter, chapter 9, when Mephibosheth is introduced to us, the first thing that Ziba says is that he's crippled in both of his feet. And then the very last verse of the chapter, it again points out that he's lame in both feet. So like bracketing the whole section there on Mephibosheth is this emphasis that he's lame. That he has nothing he can offer David. It's not like, so when Abner came to David, Abner was David's enemy, and David was willing to bring Abner in. He was willing to bring him into the fold. But Abner was bringing half the kingdom with him. Abner had a lot to offer David. It was maybe a little bit of a risk on David's part to trust this guy, but Abner was bringing a lot to the table. Mephibosheth didn't have anything. David gave him everything he had.And when you look at Luke 14, so Jesus, he's here, verse 1, it says, One Sabbath, when he went to dine at a house of the ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. So this Pharisee has invited him in, and then three different things happened. During this Sabbath dinner. First, Jesus heals a guy on the Sabbath, which is a scandal. And the second thing is he looks around at everybody that's at the party and everybody's jockeying for the best seat. Who can I sit close to that's going to give me the ability to rub elbows, rub shoulders with power and move up in the world? And Jesus tells them a parable and says, you know, it's probably better to sit at a low spot and have someone call you up to the honored position than to be jockeying for the honored position and told to go sit back down.This isn't the point, but that reminds me of a story. When I was a freshman and I was playing football, I was homeschooled. So I was kind of already the weird kid on the team, right? I'm homeschooled and I'm playing with all these public school kids. And I was also very sure of myself. I don't know, you can't imagine that. And I knew how things were supposed to be done. I studied the game, I memorized the playbook backwards and forwards, I knew how everything was supposed to happen. And I thought since I knew, if somebody did it wrong, I should tell them. And surprisingly, juniors and seniors Didn't think that was the best thing in the world. And so they would single me out of practice and beat the snot out of me and I needed it. And then finally after practice, I still didn't get the message though. And after practice one day, the head coach and the assistant coach, they pull me aside and they're like, Will, number one, you're a freshman. Number two, you're homeschooled. Number three, you're a freshman. Shut up. You do understand things. If you can correct other freshmen, you can talk to sophomores, Just don't even talk to the juniors and seniors anymore. And I needed to be put in my place. And Jesus is saying to the guys at this feast, it's better to just sit in the lower spot to start with and be called up to a position than to think, oh, I'm going to show everybody how it's done or I'm going to be so awesome and be told, no, go sit back down.But the third thing he does is he looks at the man who who hosted him. He looks at the man who is holding this banquet and he says, verse 12, when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. And when you invite people over, who do you normally invite over? Relatives, friends, people that you want to know, Like that's normal. That's what everybody does.But Jesus says in verse 13, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.Now the basis for inviting all of these people who can't pay you back, who don't offer anything in return, is that last phrase, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. It's the knowledge that because we're with Christ, because we're with the eternal king, the eternal son of David, son of God, if we're with him, if we're being established eternally by being right with him, We can reach out to those who can't do anything for us in this life knowing that God himself will give the rewards. If we're trying to jockey for our own position in this world, those are the last people we're going to want to be involved with. The last people that we're going to want to involve our lives with is the people who are a drain on your time and your energy and your effort and don't give anything in return.And yet God says If you are with me, I will reward you. And you can pour yourself out gladly. You can pour yourself out in knowledge that blessing, happiness, joy from God himself is what will flow back to you in return forever. And this is exactly what David was doing for Mephibosheth And it's exactly what God does for us.That's where Jesus says, freely you've received, freely give. When we refuse to give that kind of love, that kind of kindness out, what we're doing is denying what God has done for us. If we aren't willing to pour ourselves out for those who can't give us anything in return, we're denying our own sinfulness and our own need. God doesn't love us because we deserve it. God doesn't love us because of anything that's already lovely in us. Anything that's lovely in us is created by him. Just like Mephibosheth brings nothing to David's table except his crippled self. So we bring nothing to God's table except our sinful, spiritually crippled and dead selves. And yet he gives us everything. And he does that so that we, in turn, can be conduits of his grace, pouring that same kindness out to others, inviting them to Christ's table, to the table of the king.As we get ready to take communion, I just want to challenge myself with that and to challenge you with that. Who is there in your life that you are hesitant to to pour out for, hesitant to invest in, because I'm just not going to get anything in return. And how can you show them God's kindness, the kindness that he has already shown to you in Christ?So I'm going to take A minute or two here. Silently pray. Ask the Lord that question. And as we get ready for communion, ask him to prepare your heart to remember what Christ did for you at the cross. In shedding his blood, having his body broken for you. And ask him to help you pour that same love out to those he's put us in contact with. Let's pray. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors. And this is more likely than normal, because the AI tools did not like this sermon.A Son to MeHow do you get on God's good side? That is probably the most important question that a human being can ask. How do you get on God's good side? How do you make sure that God likes you, is okay with you, will tolerate you, will be pleased with you? The late writer A.W. Tozer once said that whatever you think of when you think about God is the most important thing about you. And in response to that, C.S. Lewis quipped, actually, what comes into God's mind when he thinks about you is of far more importance. So how do you make sure that when God thinks of you, he thinks happy things, that he's happy and not upset, that he's going to bless you and not crush you? That's an important question for human beings to ask. And it's a question that's addressed by our text here in 2 Samuel today.First three verses of 2 Samuel 7 read this way. Now when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, the ark of God dwells in its hands. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. And David, he's sitting here in this house. 2 Samuel 5 tells us that Hiram, king of Tyre, had sent men and materials to build David a house. And now David's house is built. He's living in this house of cedar. And he looks out and he sees something that's incongruous. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't fit together. That here he, a human king, is in this beautiful palace. And there, the Ark of God, the symbol of God's presence with his people, is in a tent made out of curtains. How does that make sense?And David thinks of himself, and he thinks, you know, who am I? I am a man who was just a boy out in a field, and God has brought him from the field, and he took him to the battlefield where he gave him great success, such that the king himself became jealous of David. And then David was on the run, but God delivered him from that and has now made him king and set him up. And it seems, actually, that this story here in 2 Samuel 7 says, takes place after chapter 8, maybe even at chapter 10, which are retellings of David's wars with the Philistines and the Moabites and Hadad-Ezer, the king of Zobah, and then the Ammonites, and on and on. We hear stories of David's battles in later chapters of 2 Samuel. And it seems that what's about to happen here in 2 Samuel 7 is so important that the author has said, I need to tell this story first. Because here David sits and he's got peace on every side. His wars are over. He's already dwelling securely. God has given him rest. And he's like, I'm at rest here in this beautiful house. But God dwells in a tent.And David has a very human thought process at this point. I think his desire is right. like we should want to honor god more than we honor ourselves right and and so he wants to build god a house that's at least equal to the house that he's in that would make sense there's there's nothing wrong with that desire but it's also incredibly human in his process of how do i make sure god likes me if we look at The history of the ancient Near East, a thousand years before David, the Sumerians had a king who perceived himself to be blessed by his God. And his response to that was to build a temple for the God so that the God would keep liking him, would keep blessing him. A few hundred years before David, two different instances we have of Egyptian pharaohs who felt that they were blessed by their gods, and so they built great temples in hopes that the gods would keep blessing their family, their line of kings. And then a couple hundred years after David, we see the same thing with the Assyrians, where they feel like their god is blessing them, and so they build a temple in response so that their god would keep blessing them.But here, David says... Man, God is dwelling in a tent, and I'm in a house. And Nathan, the prophet, essentially the voice of God, is right there with him and says, that's right. You know what? Do everything that's in your heart. God is with you. Go and execute this plan. But then Nathan goes home. And that same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, verse 4. Go and tell my servant David. Thus says the Lord. Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, that I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all the places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?David's heart seems to be in the right place. But God says, I didn't ask for a house, David. I didn't give you any instructions to build me a house. God has been content. God has been happy. Ever since the people were wandering in the desert, and then even as they come into the land of promise and their life there is very topsy-turvy, God is happy to have his ark, the representation of his presence, dwell in a tent just like most of the people no matter what they were going through as they moved around and the ark got moved with them god was not upset by that circumstance god was not saying hey why have you not built me a temple yet god was happy to dwell in the midst of his people and it reminds us of of acts where the apostle paul walks into the areopagus and he looks around at all of the statues to the gods, and he sees that they have a statue to the unknown god in their temple. And he says to them, man, I perceive that you're very religious, but I can tell you about this unknown god. I can tell you about this god who made heaven and earth and everything in it And he's a God that doesn't live in temples made by human hands. He's not a God who's served by human beings as though he needed anything. For he gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.And that same God that Paul was talking about in Acts 17 is the God who... David is interacting with and is speaking now to Nathan to give David this message in 2 Samuel 7. I don't need a temple, David. It's not necessarily a wrong desire on David's part. God's going to eventually say yes, and Solomon, David's son, will build the temple. But if David thinks he's going to curry favor with the Lord or somehow pay God back by building a temple, God doesn't need us to pay him back for anything. Now, one of the ways that people will often think they can put God in their debt or make God like them is, I'll do such and such a thing for you, God. I'll start going to church more, or I'll give X percent of my income, or I'll do this good thing. I'll help out this poorer person than me, and then God will be okay with me. The whole religions are set up around good things that you can do to pay God back for what you've done wrong or to build up an accumulation of merit. But in the Bible, we never actually earn merit before God. God never owes us anything. And so the idea that we can do things that will make him like us more is ridiculous. There's nothing we can do that will make God like us more than he's already shown.And then we get to verses 8 through 17. And listen to these verses really carefully. So we believe, 2 Timothy 3, that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable. It's all useful. That's why we read even chapters like Genesis 29. And Andy's going to have a conversation with me later for having Rory read that passage. But there's value in all of God's word. He gave all of his word to us to teach us. But there are passages in scripture which are of extra importance in helping move the storyline, helping along, helping us to understand what God is doing in the world. And 2 Samuel 7, these verses especially, verses 8 through 17, this is one of these passages that is crucial for understanding the whole Bible and how the whole Bible fits together.So it says this, Now therefore, Thus you shall say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom, forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the strikes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.There's so much happening here. I probably do like a whole sermon series just on those verses. The first thing to see, though, is the contrast. So David has set out, he has in his heart to build a house for God. And God has just corrected him in verses 4 through 7 and said, I didn't ask you to do that. You're not going to build a house for me. But instead, verse 11 says, The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. David had wanted to build God a house of stone or a house of cedar. But God says, no, I'm going to build you a house. And he doesn't mean a house of stone or cedar. David already has one of those. But he's going to establish a Davidic dynasty that lasts far longer than anything else in the ancient world. Even taking into account the fact that the Israelites get conquered and carried off into captivity in 587, the fact that kings from David's line sat on the throne, literally, in Jerusalem for over 400 years makes everything else in the ancient world pale in comparison. Very rarely did family dynasties and even the great kingdoms of the ancient world last for more than 100 years. The greatest of the pharaohs, their families, lasted for 250 years before they were conquered. Or there was some kind of insurrection that conquered them from inside. And yet David's family lasts for a long time on the throne.God is going to establish a house for David. Second, though David is not allowed to build his house, God is going to use his son to build the house. When your days are fulfilled, verse 12, and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And when you look over in the book of Chronicles, we find out that part of the reason God didn't allow David to build a house for him specifically was because David was a man of blood. He was a man of war. And though God didn't have a problem with David being that way, God has blessed David in his victories. For some reason that I don't have a total grasp on, God didn't want that kind of a warrior man to be the one who built his house. And so Solomon is given that task instead.But here in 2 Samuel, that's not the focus. The reasons that David's not allowed to are not the focus. The focus is that God is going to build you a house rather than you building him a house. The focus isn't on David, what can you do for God? The focus is on what God has done and will keep doing for you. The focus is on God's love for and building of the family and dynasty of David. We see this is an important pivot point in Israel's history. So the language that God uses in verse 2, 9. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. That's picking up on language that God had used with Abram in Genesis chapter 12. That he called him out from his nation and sent him to a new land. And he said, I will make of you a great nation. I will make you a great name. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. And that same kind of language is picked up here.and then when god says that your son verse 14 so this son who comes from david's line from his body i will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son so god had called abram out and and set him apart as his own people and then those people had gone down into or getting close to there in genesis where they're taken down into Egypt and then God brings them out. And the language that God uses there in the time of the Exodus and then in the prophets is that out of Egypt, I called my son. The whole nation of Israel was referred to collectively as the son of God. But here that that gets narrowed down to not just So there was a promise to all of the people of Israel through their father, Abram, and they were called out as the son of God. In Genesis 49, there's a promise that there will be a ruler who comes from Judah, the tribe of Judah. David is of the tribe of Judah. And here, God is saying that a king from David's line in the tribe of Judah will be himself a son of God.And one of the changes that we see is that the previous leaders of Israel, all through the period of the judges, were basically just a reflection of the people. They were all a mess. God would raise them up to do some mighty task. But if you read through Judges, even the people that we think of as great heroes, Samson, Gideon, not exactly great models of godliness. They are train wrecks. And they just reflect what the people of Israel were like. And... And God is responding in those times. He's punishing and delivering the people in response to the sin and the repentance of the nation as a whole. But then as we move into the books of Kings, which follow directly after Samuel in chronological order, the way that God deals with the whole people is a reflection of the leadership of the kings. And so God will punish the people for the sins of the king, or he will spare the people for the repentance of the king.You see the specific example of this actually still in 2 Samuel, last chapter. I'm going to preach this at LBC tonight, actually. 2 Samuel 24, David sinfully conducts a census. We don't know specifically what the sin is. There's probably pride. But God kills 70,000 of the people of Israel because of David's sin. And then God stays in the hand of the angel of death in response to David's repentance and pleas for mercy. And what we see with the Davidic covenant is this shift from God responding to the nation as a whole to them being identified with the Davidic king. And where they stood with God was largely, and there was still individual responsibility before God, but the way that the nation was dealt with was through the covenant head of the people. Just as in Adam we all sin, Romans 5 says, that in Adam we're all held guilty.So now the people of Israel were relating to God largely through the headship of the king. And this becomes very important for us. This isn't just like Will going on a random theology rant about the Old Testament. This is incredibly important for us because when we come to the New Testament, Jesus is identified as the son of David and the son of God. And even in that phrase, son of God, I'd This is one of those things that I read somewhere and I knew, but just thinking about 2 Samuel 7 this week has really just impressed on me, like, wow, this is super important. When Jesus calls himself the Son of God in the New Testament, he is making a claim to divinity, to deity. That's why in John 8 they want to kill him, because he's claiming to be equal with God. But he is also, by saying he is the Son of God, he's claiming to be this greater Son of David, who carries on the tradition of David's line, and he's therefore the king who is legitimate to sit on the throne of Israel. The claim to be the Son of God is the claim to be the Messiah, the Savior that the people are waiting for. This would have been really front and center for the minds of the people of Israel in Jesus' day.Because God makes this promise to David, he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Verse 16, and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. Like I said, David's throne was established in Jerusalem for a long time. 400 years is a really long time, but it's something short of forever, right? 400 years is long, but it's not forever. So for God's promise to the people to come through, somebody from David's line had to come to be a king forever. And this is the promise of the prophets. Isaiah 40-55, the song of the suffering servant, and the servant of the Lord, not just the suffering servant. There's several servant songs there in Isaiah 40-55. But there's a promise that there's one who's coming who is of David's line, who is from the stump of Jesse, who is a shoot from the root of David. And he's going to come and fulfill the promises to David to be a king forever.The author of the book of Hebrews, when he's talking in chapter 1 about how much superior Jesus is to the angels... For to which of the angels did God ever say, I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son? That's taken straight out of 2 Samuel 7. This promise to David matters because it's only in this Davidic king that salvation can be found. And it's in being identified with him and his right standing with God that that we can be right with God. So what I just had said there a little earlier about God starts relating to the people based on the king's relationship with him. For us, to be right with God is only possible if we are identified with the right king.When Jesus came as the son of David, the son of Abram, the son of Adam, the son of God... He comes as true God and true man, the representative king over Israel. And Israel was called out among the nations to be the nation that related to God, in a sense, as priests on behalf of the nations to God. And so Jesus, as coming as the true Israelite, is coming as the representative of all humanity. And so when he goes to the cross... We see a fulfillment even here in verse 14. I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son. Now verse 14 says when he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the strikes of the sons of men. Jesus didn't ever commit any iniquity, right? He never committed any sin. But as our representative, as our head, He took our iniquity, and he took our sins, and he was beaten not just with the rod of men and the strikes of the sons of men, but he took God's stripes. He took God's punishment for our sin, and as our head, he sucked up all of the wrath and the anger of God against us.And then verse 15, my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you. And David, there's no way David understands all of the implications of this, right? But he seems, as he responds to this message from God, that you're not going to build a house for me, but I'm going to build a house for you, and I'm going to make your son my son. And David recognizes that this isn't something he earned, this isn't something he could do. Seven times in this passage, we'll read through it, but seven times, David says, in the ESV it's translated, O Lord God. In the NIV it's Sovereign Lord. That phrase, it's kind of clunky to get into English. It's Yahweh Adonai. Yahweh is the personal name for God, and normally in our English Bibles it's translated capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. And then Adonai is the title for Lord or Master or King. And it's normally translated capital L, lowercase, O-R-D. So if they were to stay consistent, it would be Lord, Lord. But that would just confuse us, right? So they use these different phrases, Lord God or sovereign Lord.But what David is doing is he's relating to God personally. He's calling God by his personal name. But he's also recognizing that I am underneath of you. I am your servant, David. And you are my master, you are my Lord God, and you have made me these promises.Verse 20, And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant David, O Lord God, because of your promise and according to your own heart. You have brought about all this greatness to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. There is none like you. There is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods. And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God.And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel, and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.Now David what he does here is he receives gladly the promise of God and it's interesting then in verse 29 he turns around and he prays that back to God as a prayer you've promised this to me God and I know it's true. Now, please do it. Now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servants so that it may continue forever before you. God's just promised that to him. David's just said, I believe your promise. You are going to do it. But then he requests God, please do what you've said.And to come back to where we started, how do we make sure we're on the right side with God and make sure that God is pleased with us? Well, we look at what he's already done in showing us his love in Christ. And we receive what he's done as the free gift that it is. And we say, Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. Father God, thank you for loving the world, including me, so much that you gave your only son. Thank you, Jesus, that you rule and reign and have authority in heaven and on earth to forgive sins, including my sins.And then we turn around and we take that gift that we've received, that promise from God, and we pray it back to him. And we can pray, like 1 John 1 says, We can know we have right standing with God, not because of anything in us, but because we are identified with the greater son of David. We are identified with the son of God. And for all of those who trust in him, John 1.12 says, he gives the right, the right, the power, the authority to be children of God.We can know that we are gods, that we are loved by him, that we are treasured by him. If we cling to Christ and put our hope fully in him. And we just, when we doubt, we take that back to God and say, Lord, I know what you have promised. And I know that Jesus has the power to deliver on that promise. Help me to trust and keep me. Keep me yours until the end.Would you pray? Father God, we thank you that you are God forever. Because you are God forever, we can trust you forever. There's no limit to what you can do. There's no limit to how much sin you can forgive. There's no limit to how great your mercy and your grace are. In the words of the song that we often sing, your... Our sins are many. Your mercy is more. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord. Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt.Father, help us to cling to Christ who is the author and the finisher of our faith. The son of David who sits with all power in heaven and on earth right now at your right hand and will come again one day to rule and to reign and to judge. Thank you that for all of those who are in Christ, there's no condemnation because we are in the safe grasp of his hand and our sins are covered by his blood and we have victory in him. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.When the Lord Broke OutIf you want to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 6, that's where we were last week, but we're going to dip back in there and maybe touch on some things that we mentioned but did not linger over, but are worth lingering over.Do you tremble before God? Do you tremble before God when you think about who God is? Holy, majestic, high and lifted up, creator of heaven and earth and who you are, sinful, small. Less than a drop in the bucket is what Isaiah calls the nations, let alone an individual before God. Do you tremble before him?Last week we looked at 2 Samuel 6 and we saw a focus on worship, the primacy of having God at the center of everything in your life. I quoted Harold Best who says that worship is a continuous outpouring of all that I am and all that I have towards the God or gods of my choosing or that have chosen me. And in the scriptures what we see is that people are always worshiping. We're either worshiping the true God, we're worshiping Yahweh in a way that honors him and directs our focus and our minds towards him, directs our hearts towards him, or we're worshiping other things, which the Bible calls idolatry, sin.And in 2 Samuel 6, David is seeking to bring the Ark of the Covenant from where it's been sitting in Baal Judah or Kiriath Jerim and bring it the seven eight miles up to Jerusalem which he has just made his political capital, the center of the nation and he's seeking to make it not just the political center of the nation but the spiritual center as well and we see later on that Solomon will build the temple there and the Jerusalem becomes in God's sight, really, the center of the world. It's the political headquarters for his people Israel. It's the spiritual headquarters with the ark and the temple. And that's set up by David conquering Jerusalem and then bringing the ark up. That's what he's setting out to do in 2 Samuel 6.As they move, the ark's been sitting in Baal Judah for 20 years, is what 1 Samuel 6 tells us. It sat there for 20 years, and as David seeks to bring it up, he gets together a huge crowd. We see there in verse 1, 2 Samuel 6, beginning of verse 1, says that David gathered all the chosen men of Israel, 30,000 people. And there's this massive crowd, and it is a huge spectacle. So they are singing, they are dancing, they are celebrating.And you can imagine if you're there, they go to the house of Abinadab, and his son Eliezer has been in charge of taking care of the ark. And now as they set out to take it to Jerusalem, his other two sons, Uzzah and Ahio, they're the ones who are in charge of guiding this cart, this new cart just for carrying the ark of the covenant of the lord and they're going to carry it up to Jerusalem and people are dancing and they're using their musical instruments and it's this loud giant raucous praise and worship service.I don't know if you've ever been to like one of those big festivals so like where closer to where i grew up there was creation well creation west creation festival was started out in Pennsylvania and then we have the west version in the gorge in at gorge at George the gorge it's a it's a natural amphitheater on the Columbia river and it's just like one of the most beautiful places you could ever go to watch a concert. Most people go there to watch concerts and get drunk out of their minds and not be able to enjoy the scenery anymore, I don't know why, but we went and they had this giant Christian festival there and you have all these bands and speakers come in but you would have you know if you start singing the doxology with 10 or 20 000 people in this natural amphitheater and it just like you can hear the sound reverberating down the river canyon like it's amazing and that's kind of the picture that we get here is these people are marching up towards Jerusalem as you have this mass of people singing praises to the lord dancing before him and then the oxen stumble.And you can just feel the air start to come out of the people who, at least those who see the oxen stumble, as the ark starts to tilt off. But then there's Uzzah, and everybody's, oh, Uzzah's going to save it. And he does his best center fielder impersonation, to be a little anachronistic. And he goes out, and he reaches for it. And if you're watching, you might think, oh, he's going to save it. He's got it. But then Uzzah touches the ark. And the text tells us, the anger of the Lord, verse 7, was kindled against Uzzah. And God struck him down.Now imagine if you're standing there and you're thinking the ark's falling. Uzzah's going to save it. He got it. He's dead. How disorienting would that be? And we're told here that David gets angry. Verse 8. David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And as you read that story, it might seem pretty confusing or offensive. Like he's trying to save the ark of the Lord from falling to the ground, and God killed him for it?David is certainly offended, becomes angry. He's angry that the Lord had broken out against Uzzah, it says there in verse 8. And that place is called Perez Uzzah, or breaking out against Uzzah to this day. And that language, if you remember from a couple weeks ago, chapter 5, should be familiar. The idea of breaking out. Chapter 5, verse 19, David's talking to the Lord about fighting the Philistines. And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to David, go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. And David came to Baal Parazin. And David defeated them there. And he said, the Lord has broken through my enemies. He's broken out against my enemies before me like a breaking flood. Therefore, the name of that place is called Baal Parazin, which means Lord of breaking through.The Lord who had broken out against the Philistines to save David, to preserve David, to establish David's kingdom. The Lord who had broken out against the enemies of Israel has now broken out against Uzzah as they seek to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the center of the nation. And this infuriates David and incenses him. You can just imagine where he's at, thinking, Lord, you've preserved me from the hand of Goliath. You've preserved me from the hand of the paw of the bear and the lion. You've preserved me from Saul in the wilderness. You've preserved me and broke out against the Philistines, against the Jebusites. Time and again, God has preserved him, and now as I seek to bring you to the center of the nation, you do this, not only is Uzzah dead, but David as the king, as the one who is leading this procession, he's going to lose face. He's going to look like a fool before the people, but he's bringing disaster upon them.So in verse 10, he despairs, he gives up. David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Nobed-Edom, the Gittite. He just abandons it for three months. Tries to get his head back on straight, like, what am I supposed to do here? Why did the Lord break out against Uzzah? Verse 7 tells us it was because of his error, his sin. He fell short in some way.Turn back to Numbers chapter 4. God gave the people of Israel clear instructions for how the ark of the Lord was to be carried, transported from place to place. We'll read verses 1 through 6, and then again down in verse 15 of Numbers chapter 4. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, Take a census of the sons of Kohath among the sons of Levi by their clans and their father's houses, from 30 years old up to 50 years old, all who come on duty to do the work in the tent of meeting. This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the most holy things. So this subsection of the Levites, the sons of Kohath, the Kohathites, their job is to deal with the most holy things.When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put it in its poles. So that's how the art is to be prepared. There's triple covering. The screen from inside the tabernacle covers it. Then a goatskin covers it. Then a blue cloth covers it. Nobody is supposed to even see the people who are responsible for leading worship, they are the only ones who can even see the Ark of the Covenant. And they cover it over three times to make sure nobody else even sees it.And then, down in verse 15, And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out after these, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, but they must not touch the holy things lest they die. So the way God designed for the tabernacle as a whole and especially the Ark of the Covenant to be carried was these most holy things were to be covered up so that the eyes of the people did not behold them. And then there were rings on the ark. If you look at it, I think it's Exodus 25 that God gives Moses instructions for how to build the ark. There are rings on it that are supposed to have poles slid through so that then the Kohathites can probably four guys at a time pick it up and carry it from place to place. But no one's eyes fall upon it. No one except the priest touches it. And the penalty for that, verse 15, is death. If you touch the ark, you will die. That's clear.When David and the people sought to bring up the ark, back in 2 Samuel 6, they have the right intention. This is why I spent most of last week not focused on this, but the center of it is that there is a right desire to bring God, in their case, the visible manifestation of God's presence, into the middle of the nation to center all of life around it. That's a right desire. But they embraced the wrong method. They embraced the way of the Philistines.If you look back at 1 Samuel... If you remember in the very first chapters of 1 Samuel, it actually takes a while before we get to Saul and David and that conflict in the books of Samuel. It starts off talking about Eli, his sons. Eli is the priest and he's a judge in Israel and he's a wicked man. And he has even more wicked sons. And they carry the Ark of the Lord into battle with the Philistines as if it's some kind of magic trinket that's going to bring them success. And God doesn't honor that. He allows them to be killed and the Ark to be taken captive. And as Eli hears this news, Eli falls over backwards and he dies.And then the Philistines take the ark, and they think, well, our gods must be more strong than Yahweh, the god of the Israelites. So they capture the ark, and they take it to Ashdod, set it up in the temple of Dagon, and things do not go well for Dagon. Dagon, in the process, loses his head, loses his arms, keeps falling down on the threshold, bowing down before the Ark of Yahweh. And this is all of this supernatural gods doing this, right? This stone idol that has no real eyes, no real ears, no real light is being caused by God to fall down before the Ark of the Covenant. Again, the Ark of the Covenant doesn't have any magical powers in its own, but it's the visible representation of God's presence with his people. And when it's brought captive to the Philistines, who think that there's power in the box itself, God says, well, I'll show you who has power. It's the God who's represented by this box, not the God who's represented by your carved-up piece of a rock. And Dagon keeps falling down.And then on top of that, the people of Ashdod suffer horrible sickness and people are dying. So they send it over to the next town. They send it over to Ekron. Same thing happens. People are getting tumors. People are dying. And they say, we have to get rid of this ark. Something is wrong. We've got to get it out of our country.And in chapter 6, verse 7... They talk to their priests, and the priests of the Philistines say, now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows, on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, to the new cart. It's an important language clue there, new cart. But take their calves home away from them and take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put a box at its side in the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go on its way and watch. If it goes on the way to its own land to Beth Shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm. But if not, And we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us, but it only happened by coincidence.And to fill in some of the backstory there, their priests had told them, you need to make gold figurines of the mice that are overrunning the town. And you need to make gold figurines of the tumors that people are getting and put them in a box next to the Ark of the Covenant and send it back to God. Send it back to the God of Israel. And the way we're going to see if it was actually their God that struck us or if it's just a coincidence, is we're going to hook up two cows and then take away their calves. And if it's just a coincidence, if God's not really at work, well, the cows are going to go back to their calves, right? They're going to go back to the barn. But instead, these two cows haul the new cart with the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel. They haul it back to Israel. And God shows to the Philistines that he is still the one who reigns, that they have not conquered the people of Israel because Dagon or any of their other gods are stronger than Yahweh. God is punishing Israel, and when the people of the Philistines think that they're the ones who are in charge, God says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm still on the throne. I am still the one who is to be feared.And the first town in Israel that this box comes back to are the people of Beth Shemesh. And they also do not fear God rightly. They think, let's look at the ark. Let's look at what's inside. And God kills 70 of the men of Beth Shemesh. And they do the same thing everybody else has done with the ark. They say, get it out of here. Get this representation of God's presence away from us. And so they send it to Kiriath-Jerim, where it is gone, and then sat for the next 20 years with Eleazar, the son of Abinadab, taking care of it.The Lord then, as they bring it out, back in 2 Samuel 6, as the people of Israel are seeking to bring this Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he breaks out against Uzzah and kills Uzzah when he touched the cart because Uzzah and Israel have acted like the Philistines. The Lord who broke out against the Philistines now breaks out against Israel when they start to act like the Philistines. Their method for bringing the cart back, same as the Philistines. Their thought process, this isn't a holy thing which I keep my hands off of. Instead, he feels free to touch it.Last week I quoted R.C. Sproul. It's one of my favorite quotes from him. Uzzah made the mistake of thinking that his sinful hand was cleaner than the dirt. The Ark of the Covenant would not be defiled by the dirt, but it would be by the sin of Uzzah. And so the Lord breaks out against him, and the Lord kills him. The Lord broke out against Uzzah and Israel as he had against the Philistines, when the word of the Lord, the clear instruction of the Lord in Numbers, was scorn in favor of Philistine practice. Their intentions were right to bring the ark up, but their practice was sinful.God will not accept disobedient worship. You cannot honor the Lord at the same time that you're disobeying. We read that this morning in Psalm 50. I planned these calls to worship like a year in advance. I didn't set out to do this. But here in Psalm 50, verse 9, I will not accept the bull from your house or goats from your folds. He goes on to say everything is his. He doesn't need these sacrifices. But the wicked, to the wicked, God says, verse 16, What right have you to recite my statutes or to take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. Verse 22, Mark this then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver. The one who offers thanksgiving as a sacrifice glorifies me. The one who orders his way rightly, I will show the salvation of God.Honoring God, worshiping God, requires obeying God. We don't... I'll touch on this later. But we don't get saved by being obedient to God. But if you are saved, you will obey him. And you cannot honor him at the same time that you are intentionally disobeying him. Those two things don't co-exist.But sin is very deceitful. They were right in their intentions, but their good desires tempted them. Their good desires tempted them to take sinful steps, take sinful measures. What good desires do you have that could tempt you towards sin? What good desires do you have that could tempt you towards sinning?Maybe it's the temptation to want a loving marriage, but you're married to a spouse who isn't conducive to that. Maybe I'll just leave. In spite of 1 Corinthians 7, which says, if they're willing to stay with you, stay. Maybe you're single and you want to be married. And you're willing to compromise because it's so hard to find the right person. Maybe an unbeliever will do. They're nice and odd. In spite of 2 Corinthians 6, which says not to be unequally yoked.Maybe you are so set on your own particular sets of issues that you want to be in a church that really lines up with that, but you can't find one, so you just say, well, I'm just going to do Christianity by myself for a while. In spite of Hebrews 3.13, which says we need to be together, warning one another, Hebrews 10.24 and 25 says don't forsake gathering together, as is the habit of some. I've heard these, and I could list way, way, way more. Things given as things people want to do because of right desires.It's not wrong to want to be married. It's not wrong to want your marriage to be happy and healthy. It's not wrong to want to be in the right church. But we cannot and we cannot pursue obedience at the same time as we're consciously disobeying God's word. It will not please him. So many times I've heard these sorts of things that are motivated by underneath a good desire. But then people will say, well, I prayed about it and I have a piece about doing this thing which disobeys God.Now, as David and Uzzah and Ohio are moving to bring the ark up to Jerusalem, they have the right desire. And they saw in the past the Philistines used a cart to carry it, and God didn't kill those Philistines for doing it that way. Right? It turned out all right. The ark got back to Israel. It's reasonable. It's a lot more efficient. We don't have to go find, like, things have been a mess in Israel for a long time. It could be a real hard deal to try to track down the Kohathites, you know, wherever they all move to. And then they're going to have to carry it. And the thing is heavy. Like, it's a heavy wooden box covered in gold. Four guys have to carry it for eight miles. It may be kind of tricky maybe. I don't remember how long the poles are. It might be tricky to hand it off halfway. It's just going to be easier to put it on this new cart. We made a new cart for it. Look, God, it's a beautiful cart that we made.God will never give you permission to sin. No matter how much you pray about it. No matter if you even feel a piece about it. If the action is sinful, God didn't give you permission to do it.I'll use a personal example. So, like, our church is getting close to three years since we started as a church, and then we had a Bible study for a year before that. But the process of Andie and I thinking about planting a church in Remsen and even talking to leadership at LBC about supporting that goes way back further than that. We haven't been at LBC hardly any time at all. And I went to the elders and I was like, hey, I think Remsen needs a church. You guys all agree with that, right? Yep, we all agree with that. Hey, I think our church probably has the resources to help do something like that. Yep, that's probably true. If nobody else wants to do it, I'll lead it. I wasn't married to being in charge, but it's like, someone we should be doing, let's keep going, and if nobody else wants to be in charge, I'll do it.And the elders kindly smiled and listened to me talk with my very detailed three bullet points on a sticky note, and said, we'll pray about that, Will. I believed them when they told me they prayed about it, but I didn't hear anything more other than Mike telling me one time that they prayed about it. And it fell by the wayside. And I talked to, I had several friends who share my inclination towards not doing well with authority. They're like, well, you don't actually need a church's permission to play in a church. Just go do it. And I thought really hard about that. Like, that's my inclination, is to... I don't need somebody to tell me what I can and can't do.And yet, I was in that church and under that authority, and I had brought this to the elders for approval and support, and had been essentially told no. And I think back to that, and I think I had an option there to either just go do this thing that I think is good and that I think needs done, but kind of be dismissive to the authority over me. Or I can do the thing that the Bible clearly says to do. The Bible doesn't say, we'll go plant a church in Remsen. The Bible does say, submit to the elders.So I chose that path, not because of any great holiness on my part just like thought really hard about it and looked at the bible and like okay I've got a clear command to do one of these things not the other and i did that and a few years later when i was a lot more mature and have a lot more uh perspective um was able to go back and receive approval and receive just like the tons of support that LBC has given us in this process and iAnd if I had just taken off at that point, I had the right motivation. The motivation was the same in both instances. I think Remsen needs a good gospel-preaching church, right? But if I had tried to abandon the way God said to live my life as a Christian in submission to authority, things, I don't know how they would have gone. I think it would have been bad for me spiritually at the very least. It would have been very bad for me. I can't say what else would have happened.We are faced with those kind of decisions all the time. That's just the one that popped into my mind immediately in my life. But we're faced with those kind of decisions all the time. We have right desires. I think God gives his children good desires. But we have to be diligent in doing and obedient to how he says to do it and very often God's way of doing things is less efficient I'm sure it was a lot easier to carry the ark on a cart than have four guys pack it around especially when they start we see when they start carrying it back from this this house of Obed-Edom to Jerusalem they're stopping every six steps to make a sacrifice like Those guys probably got pretty tired. This is incredibly inefficient, God.And so much of what God calls us to do is inefficient. Prayer is less efficient than our strategic planning. The Bible is a lot tougher book, a lot less efficient book to read for how much we get out of it compared to how much time we put into it than a good self-help book. It's a lot easier to read the self-help book. It'll give me bullet points to take away. The Bible's not like that. We have to spend time with it and really think over it and meditate on it, to use the words of the psalmist.Loving people is harder and less efficient towards increasing happiness in my life than just having a bunch of hobbies that I like to do where I can go do them by myself without those annoying people. Carrying an ark with poles is harder than building a new cart. But obedience, even if it's less efficient, brings more blessings in the long run. We have to fear the Lord enough to say, I will obey you, before we can have the true joy that comes from loving him.Verse 13, we see after God has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, then David says in verse 12, okay, I see that Obed-Edom's being blessed. We're going to bring the ark back up and in verse 13 we see it the author just kind of slips this in here he doesn't like draw attention to it and when those who bore the ark of the lord so they're carrying it now it's no longer on a cart when those who bore the ark of the lord had gone six steps and sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.And now David is not just having the singers and not just having the instruments, but he himself is dancing before the Lord with all his might. Because God is allowing the ark to be brought up to Jerusalem. He is allowing it to be set in the center of the nation. If we are to worship God, we must love and worship God, the God who is. And we must do so as he has instructed us. I don't remember how long ago it was now. I did a sermon where I just walked through why we do everything we do in a church service based like why how does that come out of the bible like i don't want to be doing things that aren't clearly commanded by scripture that aren't driven by what god wants us to do.Galatians chapter 6 verses 7 and 8 says, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. We sow what we reap. And if we sow disobedience, we will reap pain. But if we sow to the Spirit, we reap eternal life.And Hebrews 10, right after the verse is about gathering together to encourage one another. Verse 26 says, If we go on sinning deliberately, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who is trampled underfoot the son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has outraged the spirit of grace? For we know him who said, vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.An interesting difference between the Philistines and the Israelites. God didn't judge the Philistines for sending the ark back on a cart, right? In fact, God blesses them by removing all of the pain that they'd been experiencing when they sent the ark back. But they were just doing the best that they knew how with the revelation that they had. They didn't have numbers for it. They didn't know how the ark was supposed to be transported. They were just saying, okay, we see that you're in charge. We're going to do whatever we know how to do to make you happy.But the Israelites had God's word where they were told, how do you worship? How do you honor me? How do you want this ark to carry? And we as believers have the word of God that teaches us how to obey him, tells us what he wants. God does not make his will for us confusing or hard to understand. So much of it is just so simple and clear. It's hard to do many times, but it's not complicated to understand. And it is a fearful thing if we will look at those clear instructions and disobey them.There is forgiveness. Absolutely. We are still sinful human beings. The old man is still inside of us fighting against the spirit. We rightly talk about God being our father and he welcomes us into his presence, sins and all. He welcomes us with joy. So we talk about God being our father, but we also must remember that our father is God. He is to be approached boldly because of Christ, but never lightly.Bring your requests before him, but Jesus says don't heap up empty phrases. Don't come into his face and just blabber about nothing for the sake of blabbering. Come to him and tell him what's really on your heart. Understand that in Christ, you're no longer subject to condemnation. Romans 8 says that for those who are in Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation. You aren't going to be punished forever because of your sins. But the Lord will still give you loving discipline if you refuse to obey him.In Hebrews chapter 12, it talks about that. He says, Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility, it's talking about Christ, against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives.And David saw the chastisement of the Lord when Uzzah was struck. And though he was at first angry and then became fearful, he was able then, apparently, to go back to Numbers and say, Okay, God, how do you want this done? And bring the ark up the right way and rejoice in his presence because he received gladly the discipline of the Lord.And in our lives, we are going to mess this up. We are going to sin and do things that we know are wrong. And God very often will allow us to face the consequences of that in this life. But if we know that in Christ, we don't have to face the eternal consequences of those decisions. He has paid for them fully on the cross. And we can come to him for forgiveness. We can receive those bad things that happen because of our own foolishness as loving discipline from the Lord. The holy God who does not take sin lightly still welcomes us into his presence and will use even our foolishness for our eternal good.Would you pray with me? Father God, would you help us, first of all, to honor you rightly and to have hearts that want to be obedient. And when we don't want to be obedient, would you help us to be obedient anyway? And when we fail to obey you, would you cause us to flee back to Christ, who is our only Savior? And Lord, we thank you that you work all things together for good, even our own sin and foolishness, for those who love you and are called according to your purpose. We thank you that you are so good and so kind, at the same time that you are so holy and so righteous, and you hate our sin. You love us enough to hate our sin. Help us to hate it too. In Jesus' name, amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.David's Kingdom - A Proper View2 Samuel 5Opening Prayer and IntroductionIn the precious name of your son Jesus, amen.You want to take your Bibles and turn to 2 Samuel chapter 5? We're not going to try to cover three chapters today, we're just going to do one. 2 Samuel chapter 5.What drives you to your knees in prayer? What sort of situations cause you to cry out, I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Every hour, I need thee.If you're like me, there are particular rhythms in life which remind you to pray. For me, it's before a meal or during family devotions or before bed with the kids or before bed with Andy. Corporately, we gather on Sundays and we pray together, and Tuesday nights serve as kind of the same sort of family devotion times, family rhythm times, where we get together and pray.But those things, even as frequent as they may feel, still leave an awful lot of time when I'm not praying. And it can be easy in those in-between times, even for me as a pastor, somebody whose job, literally my job, is ministry of the word and prayer.But when you're praying, it doesn't feel like you're doing anything. And so it can seem unimportant, and I can just forget about prayer, which in the end is a symptom of simply forgetting God.The Structure and Purpose of 2 Samuel 5The chapter before us here in 2 Samuel 5 is about God establishing David's throne in Jerusalem. And as I wrestled with this text this week, what's the center of the text is this obviously important historical event. What does this event have to teach us today, David's throne being established?I was struck by how the narrator frames each of these happenings. Now maybe the first thing to point out in 2 Samuel 5, for those of you that have an eye for detail, is that the narrative in chapter 5 is not in chronological order.Dale Ralph Davis, probably my favorite commentator on the books of Samuel, he says, The chapter is orderly, but not sequential. It is a collage, a collection of fragments intending to give us a proper view of the kingdom.That phrase, orderly but not sequential, is important. If you're interested in the chronology here, there's five mini-units that make up chapter 5. Verses 1 through 5 describe David being received as the king by the united tribes of Israel. And this probably was the first thing that happened chronologically in this chapter. It sets up everything else that happens in chapter 5.But probably the story that takes place next are actually the two stories of verses 17 to 25, David's interactions with the Philistines there, two battles. In those verses, David heads for the stronghold, the same one probably that he had gone to when he was running away from Saul in 1 Samuel, when the Philistines come to attack him, which would be unnecessary if he already possessed the city of Jerusalem, which was itself a stronghold, but wasn't someplace he went down to. He went up to Jerusalem, so the language wouldn't fit.So it's likely, after he deals with the Philistine issue, that he's able to shift his focus to Jerusalem and attack the Jebusites in verses 6 through 10. And then the story of Hiram sending messengers and materials in verses 11 through 12 likely takes place towards the end of David's reign, because from what we can tell in history, Hiram's reign likely only overlapped with David's for the last 10 years of David's life. And then finally, verses 13 through 16 are more of an overarching statement covering all of David's reign in Jerusalem.And this is important because you'll occasionally hear people point out these chronological discrepancies, either here in the Old Testament or you get to the Gospels. And so Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels. They cover a lot of the same events, but they're not in the same order. And so people will say, well, see, these are inconsistencies. But that's not an inconsistency.When somebody's making those kind of points, what it's showing is that they don't actually understand Ancient Near Eastern storytellers, narrators, were not bound by our modern ideas of everything has to be in chronological order. In fact, even today, sometimes you'll read a memoir or an autobiography that cuts from scene to scene, like you're at a later point in someone's life, and it'll flash back to a related scene earlier in their life that kind of helps tie their story together. And the biblical story writers do this very often.Is this the way you would have written the story? Maybe not. But you're not God. How are you? Maybe he has something he's trying to show us with the order that the stories are in.Remember how Dale Ralph Davis had described this chapter. Orderly, but not sequential. So what is the order? What's the orderliness here? What's it meaning to show us by grouping these stories together? A proper view of David's kingdom. And a proper view of David's kingdom is that it's ultimately founded on the promises of God and that it was practically established through dependent prayer to the Lord. Dependence upon the Lord through prayer.David Crowned King Over All Israel (Verses 1-5)So let's read verses 1 through 5.Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord and the anointed David king over Israel. David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years. At Hebron, he reigned over Judah 7 years and 6 months, and at Jerusalem, he reigned over all Israel and Judah 33 years.So here at the beginning of the chapter, the civil war that we saw last week has come to an end. As we read there at the end of chapter 4 last week, Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, who had been set up as king over most of the tribes of Israel, he had been beheaded, killed in his own bed by wicked men. And while David did not approve of his murder, Clearly, it seems to have laid open the path for him to the throne of the entire nation of Israel.And in verses 1 of chapter 5 and following, it seems the men of Israel have come to their senses. They're no longer going to rebel against what God had declared way back in 1 Samuel, that David was going to be his anointed king.They come to David, and essentially they give three reasons for him to become king over the United Tribes. And the first is that he's an Israelite. First one, they say, you are our bone and flesh, which is to say you're one of our people. And we read in Deuteronomy 17 last week the requirements for a king in Israel, one of which is that you aren't going to make a foreigner. You will make one of your own people the king. And so they're saying, because you're one of us, you're an appropriate king. You're not a Philistine, you're not a Jebusite, you're not one of the other peoples of the region.Second, in verse 2, they acknowledge his prior leadership of the people. If you remember back in 1 Samuel chapter 8... When the people asked for a king, one of the things they were looking for was someone to go out in front of us to battle, to lead us. Like all the other nations, they have kings to lead us. That was one of the functions of a king in the ancient world, is to lead the troops into battle. But what the men of Israel remember is that when David had been leading Saul's army, David was the one who led them into battle. David was the one functioning like a king, even when Saul was still on the throne. His role was one in which he had exercised king-like authority. And God had worked mightily through him for the benefit of the nation.And then third, at the end of verse 2... They note that this throne was promised to David by the Lord. And in the mind of the author of 1 and 2 Samuel, this is clearly the reason for David becoming king that matters the most. God had promised it to David. And this promise made to a teenage shepherd boy in 1 Samuel 15, 20 or 25 years before this. You know, David is 37 at this point. So that promise probably took place when he was between 12 and 17 years old. So it's been over two decades. It's finally fulfilled as the United Tribes of Israel asked David to reign over them.God's Faithful TimingGod established his kingdom for David in spite of Saul's resistance, in spite of the Philistines' resistance, in spite of Ish-bosheth and Abner's resistance. God's promise to David was faithful and true, though it had seemed to take a long time.Sometimes Andy asks me to do something, or I just voluntarily say to her, I'll do that. And maybe it's washing the dishes. And then an hour or two later, she'll be frustrated because I said I was going to do something and I haven't done it yet. Now, given enough time, I normally do get around to doing what I said I would do. But if we're being honest, the reason for the delay usually is that I forgot. Or I got sidetracked by something else and decided, well, yeah, I told her I'd do that, but I'll get to it when I have time and do this more urgent thing first.Do you ever wonder... If God forgot about you. Or if he got sidetracked by some other more important matter. I mean, after all, there's war in Ukraine. Iran is progressing in their nuclear capabilities. There's people around who are homeless. Maybe my problems just aren't that big of a deal to God. Maybe he'll give back around to me when he remembers me.But Peter tells us in 2 Peter chapter 3... 2 Peter 3, verses 8 and 9 say, Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, that all should reach repentance.Your timeline and God's timeline are not the same. Maybe God didn't deliver the kingdom to David immediately in 1 Samuel when he promised it to him, because it wouldn't have been good for David to receive it then. Perhaps a young, immature David who had not been through the metaphorical death of the wilderness years would not have been ready for the resurrection to the throne of Israel.And you, saying, banking on the promises of God to carry you through your hour of need, know that at the proper time he will deliver you. Not before, and not too late either. God knows what you need, and he knows when you need it, and you can trust him. Cling to the promises of God in Scripture, promises like, He will never leave you nor forsake you, Deuteronomy 31.8. He is able to keep you from stumbling and present you before the presence of His glory with great joy, Jude 24. And none who wait for you will be put to shame, Psalm 25.3.The Conquest of Jerusalem (Verses 6-10)And speaking of promises, the next paragraph deals with a really old promise. In Genesis 15, so we just read in Genesis 25, earlier than that, Genesis 15, verses 17 to 21, we read the conclusion of a covenant God made with Abram, which was essentially a reaffirmation of the covenant God made with him in Genesis 12. Genesis 15, beginning in verse 17.It says, when the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. So God had Abram lay out these sacrifices and then cut them open. And then God put Abram into a deep sleep. And then the Spirit of God, like in some visible form, passed through these pieces of animals like he was up. The idea is that a covenant was cut by blood and was sealed in blood. And by walking through the pieces, you're saying you agreed on your own blood to fulfill the covenant. And so God is passing between these, making a promise to Abram.And he says, verse 18, On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.A lot of ites. It is a lot of ites. You're right. The Jebusites. The last one mentioned there in that text. The Jebusites.Remember what we read in 2 Peter with the Lord? A thousand years is a day. A day is a thousand years. Abram lived a thousand years before David.Verse 6 of 2 Samuel 5.And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off, thinking, David cannot come in here. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. And David said on that day, Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul. therefore it is said the blind and the lame shall not come into the house and David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David and David built the city all around from the millow inward and David became greater and greater for the Lord the God of hosts was with himSo at this point David had been crowned the king but there was still no true capital for the nation David had been reigning from Hebron which was great when he just ruled the people of Judah. It was in their territory. It was in the far south of the country. But when he becomes king over the whole nation, Abram's not a very central location for people who are mostly traveling on foot. It's not a good location for a capital. It would have made sense for him to move it somewhere further north, like Jerusalem. This is a perfect city, Jerusalem.and to keep on with the Abrahamic theme, you might also remember another story from Genesis. Right before Genesis 15, we have Genesis 14. And in that chapter, Lot, the nephew of Abram, had been captured. He, along with many of the people of his city, had been captured and hauled off. And Abram had mounted up his 300-some soldiers and chased them down and freed them.And as he's coming back with Lot and everything that they freed, they come past the city of Salem, which is the same city. It becomes the city of Jerusalem. And out from the city of Salem... comes a king, a priest king, whose name is Melchizedek. He's called a priest of the Most High God, and he is the King of Salem, the King of Peace. Not only is he a priest, again, he is the King of Salem. He's a priest of the Most High God, the King of Peace, and his throne was established in a city that would one day be called Zion.So as we come to this story in 2 Samuel, we read not only of God delivering the Jebusites into David's hand in fulfillment of a Genesis 15 promise, we also see David's throne being established in a pattern that's closer to the ancient king Melchizedek than to his predecessor Saul.We should also look at the details of this conquest of Jerusalem because they're pretty great. The Jebusites are supremely comfortable that they can ward off David and his men. They jeer at them and say, well, soldiers who don't even have feet or don't even have eyes can keep you out of here. They just mock David and his men. But the joke turned out to be on them.In verse 8, the ESV reads that David sent his men to attack by the water shaft, which puzzled people for years. Like, what water shaft? And then in the year 1867, a man named Charles Warren discovered a water shaft in Jerusalem that likely dates to the time of the Jebusites, where possibly, we still don't know exactly how it would have worked, but possibly one by one, Joab and the men of David could have climbed up through that water shaft to attack from inside Jerusalem. We don't know exactly how it worked, but we do know that the end result was God delivered the jeering Jebusites into the hand of David and his men.And David so hates the Jebusites for their mockery that from then on, he just calls them the blind and the lame. And he won't even allow them to come near his house, those who survive. They made a joke about what David's army could accomplish, but the joke came back on their own head. God was on David's side.And so we read the theme of this part of 2 Samuel once again in verse 10. David became greater and greater. You remember 2 Samuel 3, last week we read... The house of David became greater and greater and the house of Saul became less and less. Well, at this point, the house of Saul is basically gone. And so it's just the house of David became greater and greater for the Lord, the God of hosts. And that word hosts could also be armies. The God of armies was with him. You can't really stand against the army that has the God of armies on its side.God made promises to his people, to Abraham and to David, and though both seemed like they took a really long time to be fulfilled, God held up his end of the bargain. Remember that God has a different timescale than you, and that when you turn to the word, you can cling to the promises, knowing that he who promised is faithful.David's House and Family (Verses 11-16)Turning now to verses 11 through 16. It says Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house. And David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. And David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron and more sons and daughters were born to David. And these are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem.Verses 11 through 16, in those verses that we just read, we see, again, the earthly establishment of David's house, and his literal house, as Hiram, king of Tyre, sent people and materials to build him a house. Tyre was a region renowned for their timber and for their skilled craftsmen, and Hiram's eager to help David by sending the men and material that he needs.And beyond that, we know that Hiram sent much of the material needed by Solomon later to build the house of the Lord, the temple. And as these events come together, it's obvious to David that God has in fact been faithful and that he's established his throne. But it's also clear to David that this blessing from the Lord is not just for David's sake.If you look again at verse 12, it says... David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people, Israel.God established David not just for David's own sake, but for the sake of the whole people of Israel.A Challenge About Prayer and MotivationWhen you pray, even as you pray for God's blessings on your life and on the things that you do on your endeavors, which are by no means wrong to pray for, are you praying for your own sake or are you praying for the sake of others? Do you ask God to provide a stable job or a raise or the ability to pay off your debts so that you have more to spend on yourself and your toys and your goals? Or do you ask for that stability to give you more opportunity for generosity?Do you pray for stable and happy relationships in your family just so that life's easier for you? Or because you want a safe place to draw others into?God had ultimately yet certainly established David. And David saw that, but David also saw that it wasn't ultimately about him. It was bigger than just David.Which makes verses 13 to 16 so cautionary. While the kingship It was received by David and conquering Jerusalem. These things were fulfillments of previous promises that God had given to David, demonstrations of God's blessing. And in verses 17 to 25, we're going to see David seeking the Lord in prayer and then acting in response to what God gives him for guidance.Here at the very middle of the chapter, verses 13 to 16. We read of David taking advantage of his position as king to act just like the kings of all the other nations. Again, just like we saw in chapter 3, David multiplies to himself more wives and more children. And it's telling that this action is not like the first part of the chapter, a response to a promise. God didn't promise David multiple wives and many children. Nor, as in the last half of the chapter, does it follow prayer. It's David acting on his own for his own benefit in stark contrast to the idea that his kingship was meant to benefit others.Sometimes when we don't pray, it's not because prayer is too hard and it's not even because we forget. Sometimes we don't pray because we don't want the answer. Always question your own motivations. And if you feel a hesitation to pray about something, you should probably pray about it all the more.Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Had David entrusted his family life to the Lord in prayer, how much different might 2 Samuel read? How different his life might have been? How different the nation might have fared?But while that cautionary note sits here without comment, just waiting for us to see it and think about it, the emphasis of this chapter remains on how God did establish David's throne. And so now we'll turn to those pesky Philistines.The Battles with the Philistines (Verses 17-25)Verses 17 and following say,When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand. And David came to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And he said, The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking through of waters. Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, You shall not go up; go around to their rear and come up against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines. And David did as the Lord commanded him and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.Again, this is likely just shortly after David has been made king over the United Tribes, because his position still seems to be pretty weak. He hears that the Philistines have gathered together, and he heads for the hills. He heads for his old stronghold, where he'd hidden from Saul. But this moment of desperation is useful in David's life, because again, it points him back to his need for God, and he turns to the Lord in prayer for direction.Verse 19, he asks God, shall I go up against the Philistines? David doesn't simply trust his own prowess or his own skill. And he has plenty of both. He is a skilled warrior. He's an experienced warrior. At this point, he's got two decades of service leading men under his belt. But he doesn't count on that. Instead, he relies on the Lord in prayer.We're reminded of the words of James chapter 1 and verse 5 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. It is that simple. If you need wisdom, pray for wisdom, depend on the Lord, and trust that he will guide you.David did pray, he did trust the Lord, and he did break through his enemies. David then names the place Baal Parazim in verse 20, and that name means Lord of the breaking through. God had led him through his enemies. David trusted the Lord, and his prayer wasn't just like, oh, please, pretty, please help me. Pretty, please give me an idea. No, he asked for guidance. made a decision based on what guidance God had given him, and then he acted on it. Faith doesn't just sit on its hands. It often requires us to do something, even as we depend on God for the results.So if you keep reading there in James chapter 1, after verse 5, we've got verses 6 through 8. And they say, Pray to the Lord, expecting that he will answer you.Now that answer is not going to be written in the sky. I doubt you'll ever hear an audible voice. But pray for wisdom. Weigh the decision. Look at the evidence. Make a decision and act. Trust that God will give you the wisdom that you need after you've prayed to him. Trust the Lord will answer the prayer that you prayed.David does this again when the Philistines return in verse 22. Instead of resting on having prayed once and, well, I'll just do what I did last time. He comes back to the Lord again and asks for more wisdom, new wisdom for a new situation. And this time God gives a different battle plan.The God of armies, remember that's who God calls himself in verse 10, sends his troops marching out, says God's armies march out front. They're marching through the top of the balsam trees. The God of angel armies is how Eugene Peterson brings that into English in the message. And instead of coming out front, David is to circle the rear and come up opposite the balsam trees. And the result is that the Philistines are driven and David strikes them down from Geba to Gezer. God brought David victory and he brought victory for his troops.David's kingdom was established not through David's genius, but as a result of dependent prayer to the Lord.One of the most well-known verses in the Bible, and I know I quoted it last week, but it bears repeating here. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Be not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.Conclusion: A Proper View of God's KingdomSo we end really where we began. 2 Samuel 5 isn't written to give you a chronological order of how David got to the throne. The goal of the chapter is to give you a proper view of his kingdom. A view that sees David's throne as founded in the promises of God and practically established through dependent prayer.The kingdom Jesus builds today is no different. The kingdom of Jesus, of David's greater son, Jesus, is just like that. Except, Hebrews tells us, it's founded on even better promises. It's founded upon a promise to save to the uttermost, to save for all time and eternity, to bring into the very family of God all of those who trust in Jesus.Jesus sealed those covenant promises by his blood shed upon the cross, and he proved their validity by his resurrection from the dead, and he seals them upon the life of the believer with the gift of his Holy Spirit.And how is his kingdom established today? through the prayers of his people. So we pray, your kingdom come. We look into the world and we see the lost and we pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest fields. And we look into our own hearts and see the old man still there. We see the residual sin that still lives within us. And we ask God in his kindness to purge us of that sin and to make us more like Jesus, to cut away the sin every day.Then we return to the promise our foundation that for those who trust in Jesus, he's happy not only to cut away the sin but to forgive it completely in revelation it pictures our prayers the prayers of the saints as incense before the heavenly throne Jesus the son of David sits on that throne not a throne in Jerusalem but a throne in heaven bearing all authority in heaven and on earth.So let us run to him, our great high priest king, our greater Melchizedek, with our every name, casting all your cares upon him because he cares for you.Closing PrayerWould you pray with me? Father God, we thank you for your kindness to us in Christ, who has paid for all of our sin and who now ever lives, Hebrews says, to make intercession for us, his saints, his people. This is a public episode. 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Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.Trusting God in Opposition - 2 Samuel 2-4IntroductionIf you want to go ahead and take your Bibles and turn to 2 Samuel, I won't try to one-up Rory's reading ability and read 2 Samuel chapters 2 through 4. Well, I'll narrate the event for you and we'll dip in and read particular points.I was struck, though, as we're sitting there, or standing, as Lorelei was reading, impatient I felt as as she was reading and just how counter to my nature and I'm sure to many of us it was to just stand still and listen to the word of God being read for an extended period of time and and how I just as I'm thinking about that how how indicative is that of my heart that I don't have the patience to just stand and drink in God's word I should be rejoicing in that and yet I'm feeling antsy like. Okay, I can see where she's at in the paragraph.I just thought that was probably a poor reflection on my own heart. And I think that's probably indicative of many of us. That's why churches don't do that kind of reading through God's Word very often anymore. It's because people don't want that. People don't want to be patient under God's Word.So this morning we're going to look at a big long section of 2 Samuel chapters 2 through 4. And we aren't going to read the whole thing. But we are trying to drink in as much of God's word as we can. That's why we gather together.The Central QuestionWhat do you do in the face of opposition? When, as a Christian, you face hostility in friendships or family over your faith, what do you do? When, as the church, the winds of culture blow against our message, how do we respond? And the first and most obvious answer to that question is that we trust God. But what does trusting God look like? Or to change how we put the question, what does trusting God stop us from doing?The Setting of 2 Samuel 2-4The first four chapters of 2 Samuel, so we looked at chapter 1 last week, but the first four chapters together prepare the way for the introduction of David as the king over the whole nation of Israel, an event which takes place, chapter 5. Lord willing, we'll look at that next week.But at this point, the arc of David's life is still very much on the rise. It's on the ascendancy. This point is emphasized by the first six verses of chapter 3, which recount the comparative increase of David's power over against the house of Saul, the former king. However, while David's ascendance is the keynote of these chapters, there are hints that the author gives us that the foundation may have cracks.The Tale of Two HousesDavid's Increasing StrengthSo let's read 2 Samuel 3, verses 1 through 6. It says: "There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, and David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. And sons were born to David at Hebron. His first was Amnon of Ahinoam of Jezreel. And his second, Kiliab of Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And the third, Absalom, the son of Makkah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Gesher, and fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith, and fifth, Shefaltiah, the son of Abital, and the sixth, Ithrium, of Eglot, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul."So bracketing that paragraph in 2 Samuel chapter 3, there's notes on houses. In verse 1, we saw that there's an extended warfare between the houses of Saul and David. And though we don't have the dates, we can reasonably assume that this war goes on the full seven years, seven and a half years that David is king at Hebron.It's interesting, though, that in this period, Saul's house is losing steam. Peter Lightheart notes in his commentary that while David is the king in Hebron for over seven years, we see in chapter 2 that Ish-bosheth is king in Mahanaim for only two years of that seventh. So Abner seems to have had a really hard time establishing Ish-bosheth on the throne. And this is likely due to the advance. So the Philistines had defeated Saul and his army on Mount Gilboa, and they probably took over a lot of the Israelite territory at that point, giving Abner a really hard time trying to set Saul's son up on the throne.The Weakness of Saul's HouseNow there's hints, again, at this weakness in Saul's house as we pick up the narrative from where we left off last week in chapter 1. One, we read of a messenger coming to David with news of Saul and Jonathan's demise, and then we read about how distraught David is. He and his men are weeping, and then we get this long song from David about the greatness of Jonathan and David and what a tragedy for the people is that Saul and Jonathan have died.But while David is obviously cast down by the loss of his friend and disturbed by what the loss of Saul in battle could mean for the nation, This nonetheless opens an opportunity for him to return to the land. And so he turns to the Lord in 2 Samuel chapter 2 and verse 1 and asks if he should return."After this, David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, Go up. And David said, To which shall I go up? And he said, To Hebron."When the Lord answers, Hebron, I don't have any consistency in how I say that. Hebron, Hebron. Abram, David goes there and he's made king over the tribe of Judah. And some people have wondered why would Judah act in isolation from the rest of the people of Israel? Why would they set up their own king?But you'd have to remember the political situation. So Israel had not functioned with a central leader from the death of Joshua until Saul was made king. They'd had various judges, but very rarely were those judges in control over the whole nation. They were judges usually set up over a portion of the land. And so the king brought in a centralized government. And so Saul was the first king, and now Saul is dead. And it seems like the first thing that these tribes are doing is just going back to how they had functioned before. We're going to fend for ourselves. We're going to do what's right for us.Further, Judah is in the south, separated very likely. If the Philistines have made incursions with their battles against Saul and his army, they probably pushed in and largely cut off Judah from the rest of the tribes. So it makes sense that they would set up their own king, at least in an earthly sense.Abner's Conflict with Ish-boshethAnd while in verses 8 and 10 here in chapter 2, We read of Abner making Ish-bosheth king. Again, that was only for two years. It seems like it took a really long time for him to be able to set that up. And his position is far from certain, even once he is in place.So this weakness that chapter 3, verse 1 told us was present in Saul's house, an increasing weakness. It's exemplified by just how strong Abner, the commander of Saul's army, was in comparison to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son. In chapter 3, verses 7 through 11, we read of Ish-bosheth accusing Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine, Rizpah.I'm going to read those verses. Chapter 3, verses 7 through 11: "Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Ai-ai. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, why have you gone into my father's concubine? Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day, I have I keep showing steadfast love to the house of Saul your father and to his brothers and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman. God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord had sworn to him, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba, from the very north to the very south. And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him."The king feared the commander of the army. When Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine, he's not just accusing him of adultery. He's claiming that Abner is trying to take the throne for himself.You see this in 2 Samuel chapter 16 when Absalom drives David out of Jerusalem. Absalom then goes up and sleeps with all of David's concubines. It's a claim to the throne. It's as if he's saying, I now own the royal throne and the royal bedroom.But the difference here between what Absalom does and what Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of is that Ish-bosheth is making a false accusation, it seems. He seems to have fallen into the same paranoia that his father Saul had done. Remember how Saul had chased David all over the countryside trying to kill him, even though David was loyal to him. David loved Saul, and Saul was paranoid that David was out to get him and he tried to kill him. And Ish-bosheth seems to have fallen into that same kind of paranoia.Abner has been loyal. Remember, he's the one who sets Ish-bosheth up on the throne. But in light of the ingratitude that Ish-bosheth shows, Abner shifts his loyalties to David and says, okay, if you don't believe me, you don't trust me, you don't value that I've sent you on the throne, I'll just do what God said was going to happen anyway. I'll give the throne to David. And Ish-bosheth, the king, is so afraid of this military commander, he doesn't have anything to say to him. He's like, okay, you shut me up.The Complete CollapseThe ever-weakening house of Saul lost its strongest defender. And this has been compounded in chapter 4 when Abner himself is murdered in cold blood by Joab. And then in chapter 4, verse 7, we read of Ish-bosheth being beheaded in his own bed. While the house of Saul was not entirely snuffed out, its weakness became overwhelming.David's Military SuccessAnd all this stands in stark contrast with David. So Saul's house is doing this number, just all the way down. And David, at the same time, is coming up. During the seven and a half years in heaven, David's strength continued to grow. In chapter two, he's working to establish political allies in Ish-bosheth's rear. So Jabesh-Gilead, the men who had gone and rescued Saul and his son's bodies off the wall in Philistia and brought them back. Jabesh-Gilead is a city in the rear of where Ish-bosheth reigns on the throne. So David sends messengers to them, and he probably genuinely does appreciate what they've done for Saul and his sons. But he's also making allies up north in Ish-bosheth's rear. And he's telling them, he's comforting them with the idea that, don't worry, I've been made king, and I'll look out for you.And we see how strong his military begins to grow. So in chapter 2, in verses 12 through 16, we read this: "Abner, the son of Ner, so this is the commander of Saul and then Ish-bosheth's army. Servants of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab, the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David, And Abner said to Joab, let the young men arise and compete before us. And Joab said, let them arise. Then they arose and passed over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and the sons of the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And each caught his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent's side, so that they fell down together. Therefore that place was called El-Kath Hazurim, which is at Ibeon."This kind of one-on-one or small group combat was a normal way in ancient warfare to try to eliminate mass fighting. If things could be settled by just putting your best soldiers forward, many lives could be spared. So, I mean, you'd think like back in 1 Samuel chapter 17, David goes to face Goliath. That's exactly what's happening there. Goliath is coming out as one man saying, send a hero out to fight me. We'll just decide this whole war with two guys fighting. It's a similar thing happening here where 12 from each side are picked. But they just kill each other. They grab each other by the beard and stab each other. All 24 die.So then a great battle ensues. Verse 17, "the battle was very fierce that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David."The small group battle failed, and the large battle ensued, and Abner and his men get driven from the field. In verses 18 to 23, we read one of the more tragic wartime incidents in the Bible, as Azahel, brother of Joab, and it says he's fleet of foot as a gazelle. He's chasing down Abner. He's trying to catch the commander of Ish-bosheth's army and kill him. And he must have been really fast because Abner is pleading with him while Abner's in a chariot. He's pleading with him. Turn around, Azahel. Kill one of the young men and take their stuff. Don't. Just leave me alone. I don't want to have to kill you. I couldn't look your brother in the face. Like, leave me. And Asael says, no. I'm not going to turn away. I'm not going to turn to the right or the left. I'm going to keep pursuing you. And Abner, it seems, really doesn't want to kill him. Because instead of turning around and stabbing him with the spear, he just hits him with the butt of the spear. Like, maybe he's trying to knock him down. But Asael is running so fast that even though he hits the butt of the spear, he's impaled on it. And he dies.which breeds the rage of Joab and his brother, because this was their brother who had died, and ultimately leads to Abner later being murdered in chapter 3. But despite the loss of Asael, David's men carry the day. David's army lost 20 men, and it says 360 of the men of Benjamin were killed.You have to remember, these are not standing armies. These guys don't just have tons of soldiers that that's all they do. These are guys who have jobs, they work farms, they're the providers for the nation. That's why they would try to do the small group combat if you could, because you don't want all of your farmers at harvest time to be dead. You've got to have people to work the field, you've got to have people to be blacksmiths, you have to have people to do all of these jobs. So this is a devastating loss for Abner's army to lose 360 men compared to David's 20. The house of Saul was growing weaker and weaker, but David continued to increase in strength.David's Strategic MarriagesAnd then when we get to chapter three, that's the point of listing out all of David's wives and the sons that he fathered with each of them. This display of strength or prestige is a marked increase from the two wives mentioned in chapter 2. Those marriages also were strategic. The marriage, one commentator says, to Makkah of Gesher, a small Aramean kingdom northeast of the Sea of Galilee, his ally, by making Gesher his ally. Again, that's another ally he's made up in Ish-bosheth's rear.And as commentator Victor Hamilton notes, the only other Ahinoam mentioned in scripture is the wife of Saul for Samuel 14. So it might be that Ahinoam is the person that Nathan the prophet refers to in 2 Samuel 12 when he tells David, "God gave you the wives of your predecessor and he gave you your master's wives."So this possible allegiance with or even conquering of Saul's house would only have been further cemented by David's demand to have Saul's daughter, Michael, return to him in chapter 3. Andy and I had a little bit of an argument about this last night. She still thinks David loved Michael. But while he may have felt affection for Michael, and he certainly had paid a high price for her hand in marriage, But what he's doing right there is he's making a bold, strategic move to position himself as the true son of Saul, who should sit on Saul's throne. He's the one who has the right to claim the throne of the fallen king.David's house grows in strength, and Saul's increasingly fades into the background. God's blessing of David with an increasing house foreshadows the strength that God promises later in chapter 7. There, in chapter 7, verse 2, David seeks to build a house for the Lord, but in chapter 7, verse 11, God says, No, David, I'm going to build a house for you.Lessons from the NarrativeAnd what are the lessons to learn in this narrative? I said when we did our overview of 1 Samuel a couple weeks ago, that there are no unvarnished heroes in the Bible except for Jesus. None of them. And this becomes brutally clear as we read David's life. There are many lessons to learn, positive and negative, if we slow down and listen to how the narrator leads us through the story.So as we approach the question, as we think about the question, how do I face opposition? I want to suggest two main lessons from these chapters.Lesson 1: We Trust God by Not Acting in RevengeNumber one, we trust God by not acting in revenge. We trust God by not acting in revenge. David continues throughout these chapters to be a sterling example of leaving revenge to the Lord, as Paul tells us to in Romans chapter 12, verse 19.When he hears of the brave men of Jabesh-Gilead in chapter 2 and verse 4, he sends messengers to commend them for showing love to Saul. He's not threatened by their love for Saul. He's not angry that they've somehow failed to come join his throne at Hebron. He simply commends them for what they've done. They've done a good thing.Further, unlike Joab, David understands that what happened to Azael being killed in battle by Abner is one of the tragic consequences of war, but was not something to take revenge over. Thus, when Joab pulls Abner aside and murders him in chapter three, David is deeply upset and he proclaims himself and his kingdom guiltless in the matter. He condemns Joab's action. David then proceeds to mourn over Abner, even though for many years Abner had been David's enemy, had led an army that tried to kill David.And finally, we see in chapter 4 when Ish-bosheth is assassinated, and then those servants, trying to garner favor with David, cut off Ish-bosheth's head and bring it to him. Well, much like the Amalekite in chapter 1, who was seeking a prize for killing the king, They find out with David they're barking up the wrong tree, and he has them hanged.While David refuses to take revenge, he does not hesitate when it comes to executing justice. Through all of this, we see in David's life a calm confidence that God is the one who will establish him. He does not need to lift his hand against his foes.Application to Current EventsAnd I think this is an important lesson for us today. We live in a society, in a world where our politics embraces this language of war, right? And we've lived to see what I certainly didn't think we'd ever see with the overturn of Roe on Friday. Roe and Casey both. Ever since abortion became legal across all 50 states with that court decision in 1973, 63 million babies have been killed inside the womb. And this is one of the greatest tragedies in human history.But Christians often have compounded that tragedy when, or at least people claiming to act in the name of Christ, maybe I should put it that way, when they would bomb abortion clinics or kill abortionists. One murder doesn't cancel out another.Today, there are many who are threatening violence against the pro-life cause. Clinics all over our country have been attacked. Churches and other religious centers are being protested today. How should Christians respond? We must trust God and refuse to take revenge while we are reviled.Matthew chapter 5, verses 9 through 12, Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."We rejoice when courts rule in righteousness. We rejoice when life is defended. But we should not be shocked that not everyone feels the same way. And our hearts should not be filled with rage towards those who are deeply angry or upset over the court's ruling. We should be filled with sorrow and compassion. Think of Jesus as he looked out over Jerusalem, the city which was to kill him. And he cried out, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem.Does your heart break not only for the lives lost in these last 50 years and the many which will continue to be lost in the states where abortion will be legal, but does your heart also break for those who, when they look at an ultrasound image, don't see the glory of God on display? The image of God?Friends, let us not return reviling for reviling, but go down on our knees and plead to God for mercy for those who are far from him. Let us embrace the fact that to be identified with Jesus, the greater son of David, is to be outside the camp of normalcy. And there, to go there and be with him, we must bear his reproach with him. That's what Hebrews 13 says. But to do so is worth it, because while we have no lasting city here, he is building for us an eternal one. That's what Hebrews 11 tells us.So we learn from these chapters, we learn from David, the importance of not seeking revenge.Lesson 2: We Trust God by Always Doing Things His WayHow else do we practically trust God in the face of opposition? Well, secondly, we trust God by always doing things his way. And this is really the flip side of the not seeking revenge lesson. To seek revenge would be one example of a worldly way to solve your issues, to solve your problems. And David rightly says, no, I'm not going to seek revenge. But there are other forms of worldly wisdom which David clearly falls prey to.God's Instructions for KingsAnd God had previously given instructions for how a king ought to behave in Israel, and I want to read some of those in Deuteronomy chapter 17, verses 14 through 20.Deuteronomy, beginning in chapter 17, verse 14. It says, "When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it, and then say, I will set a king over me, [He says,] And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it, in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brother's, And that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel."David's DisobedienceOne of the key commands in that text, chapter 17, verse 17, is that the king should not multiply wives for himself. But in stark contrast to God's law there in Deuteronomy 17, multiplying wives is exactly what David begins to do for himself as soon as he becomes king. The two wives listed in chapter 2 are tripled to six by the beginning of chapter 3.Further, in chapter 3, verses 12 through 16, David reaches out and says, Okay, Abner, you want to come to my side? Don't you come even try to see my face unless you bring my wife Michael with me. Michael was taken away from David when he ran away and given to another man, and David says, Don't even show up here, Abner, unless you bring my wife with me.But when David is asking for Michael to come back, he's not just adding another wife, make it seven. He's also clearly breaking the divorce laws in Deuteronomy 24, which says if you're separated or divorced and one of you goes to be with another person, do not reunite. That marriage is now over. If they've gone and they've become married to somebody else, your marriage is ended. Do not go back together. God calls it an abomination there in Deuteronomy 24, and yet David chooses to do so.So strategically, bringing in Saul's daughter, perhaps in addition to his wife Ahinoam, seems like brilliant 10th century B.C. politics. But it's also an example of blatant disobedience to the Lord. And while the narrator of 2 Samuel doesn't go out of his way to give us comments here or tell us, warning, warning, this is bad, we ought to take note.At least two of the sons listed in chapter three, Amnon and Absalom, are going to become great sources of sorrow in David's life. These various marriages, most of them taken primarily for political reasons, will end up blowing up in David's face. Again, commentator Lightheart says, ironically, the very institution intended to unify Israel ends up dividing it.Personal ApplicationHow are you tempted to follow the wisdom of the world rather than the wisdom of God? In what ways do you think this isn't that bad, or no one's ever going to know, or that's just the way it is these days? Maybe you point to some other area of faithfulness in your life and use that as an excuse to justify your sin over here. Well, at least I'm doing that right, God.As I said, the narrator doesn't go out of his way to point out how bad all of these marriages and children by multiple women are for David. He doesn't pause and say, now, dear reader, thou shalt not. But he doesn't have to. Because if we keep reading through 2 Samuel, we are going to see over and over the tragic consequences of David's sin in his family life. The man after God's own heart really isn't much of a husband or a father. And his kingdom eventually splits because of that.Friends, we should not let the world's wisdom draw us away from the plain teaching of God's word. David could find good reasons for all of those marriages, but that didn't make them right. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. He will make your paths straight."The Tragic Consequences of CompromiseSo those first six verses of chapter 3, they're a key text demonstrating that God was indeed building David's house. And though that process was slow, drawn out over the course of years, David's quiver was being filled with arrows, to reference Psalm 127.However, disobedience to the Lord's design for marriage and family would ultimately mean that David's house was one full of trouble and ascension. God built up this house, but it was a house full of trouble. And all of this would eventually lead to the splitting of the kingdom following Solomon's reign and the seeming destruction of David's house in exile.The Greater Son of DavidBut ultimately, all of those troubles lead the reader to anticipate the greater son of David talked about in Matthew chapter 1 verse 1. The one who would be faithful over all of God's house as a son, Hebrews 3, 6 says. Jesus is the one who built the home David really needed. And he's the one who has prepared rooms in his house for everyone who trusts in him.Have you trusted Jesus to save you from your sins? David needed someone to save him from his sins. So do you. As we look at David, we see that even the great heroes of the Bible are great sinners in need of salvation. But as we sang last week, for those of you that were with us, though our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. And if you trust in Jesus and his work on the cross to rescue you eternally, you can certainly trust him to get you through your difficulties today, to get you through opposition today.Conclusion: Practical ApplicationSo practically, the take home from this passage is to lean upon the Lord to fight your battles. Trust in the Lord. David was faithful in trusting the Lord to increase his house, never desiring to engage in open warfare with Saul or his descendants. But even in the midst of that general faithfulness, we see David's error in seeking to make alliances outside of God's provision, embracing what to earthly eyes was political shrewdness, yet in reality was the seedbed of many of his own heartaches.Building David's house was God's work. Building Jesus' kingdom is Jesus' work, a work into which we are invited. But let us heed the words of Hudson Taylor and be diligent to do God's work in God's way. Obey him no matter what.Closing PrayerWould you pray with me?Father God, we thank you for your word. And your word is so honest. There's no sugar coating, no varnish here to make people look better than they really were. And we need that, Lord, because we're just like the people in the scriptures. We are sinners prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.And so, Father, would you give us hearts that are devoted to you, that trust you no matter what. Help us to be obedient by the power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you that we have a gift that David didn't have. The Holy Spirit indwelling us and giving us the ability to want to obey you in a new way. We pray that we would experience that day by day. Help us to grow, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Sermon transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.Introduction to 2 SamuelIf you want to take your Bibles in turn, we are starting into a new book of the Bible. And while I have enjoyed talking about the marks of a healthy church, I am really excited to be back in a routine of just going straight through a book of the Bible. So 2 Samuel is where we're going to be for the next few months probably. 2 Samuel chapter 1.The Importance of LeadershipHow should Christians think about leadership? Is it really necessary? How should we respond when a leader falls? Leadership, as we've touched on multiple times in the last year, is a gift from God. And leadership in the home, in the church, in the nation, they are absolutely crucial to the flourishing of a people. In fact, I think what the scriptures assume is that a bad leader is, in fact, preferable to no leader at all. Leadership is necessary and it is crucial.Modern Views vs. Biblical ViewsThis is very different from the way our world views leadership. A little over a decade ago, you might remember the events known as the Arab Spring. Violent protests and uprisings toppled governments throughout the Arab world. And the US media largely covered that as a win for democracy. However, over a decade later, most of those countries are in the same position. Or worse, as strongmen have strengthened their grips, or they were substituted by military-backed leaders, strongmen, or the nation descended into chaotic disorder. I think of all the nations that have those uprisings, only one is what we would recognizably call some form of democracy now.were creeping up on the 4th of July here in our country. And I don't know how many Americans realize that the United States as we think of it was not really born in 1776. After the years of the Revolutionary War, the colonies had signed the Articles of Confederation and they created a very weak federal government. By the time you fast forward to 1789, the infant country was on the verge of collapse. Congress had no credibility. They hadn't paid the soldiers for the revolution still 15 years later. There was no central leader to speak of. The colonies had cast off their king, but they had nearly descended into chaos themselves. And as Americans, we can say praise the Lord for the constitutional convention that kind of pulled out of that mass, but there was no guarantee that that was going to work.David's Respect for AuthorityAnd stories like these would not surprise a man like David's. David had twice had the opportunity to save himself from a wicked king by taking that king's life with his own hand. Saul had given David every human reason to seek revenge, to assassinate him, to take by force the throne that God had promised to him. And yet, in both cases, 1 Samuel 24 and 1 Samuel 26, David refused. In fact, the time he actually reached out to take a part of Saul's robe, he later regretted having reached out his hand in any way against the Lord's anointed king.David seems to have deeply internalized the truth his son Solomon later wrote in Ecclesiastes 10.20, that we should not even speak against the leader of the people. Though David had been running from Saul for years, he maintained a respect and even a love For the king of his people. And gratitude to God for the good that was brought forth through this imperfect man.David's Flight to the PhilistinesHaving said that, the game of cat and mouse had become pretty precarious for David. And so we see in 1 Samuel 27 that David decides it's better to risk sheltering with the Philistine enemy. than to keep waiting for Saul to show up and execute him. We might not realize this as we're reading through, it's one of those things we can not stop to think about, that if David had those opportunities in close quarters to kill Saul, means that Saul had tracked David to those close quarters and was ready to kill him. Leaving made sense.And so David flees to the Philistines and it works out well for him. In 1 Samuel 28, we read of Achish, the king of Gath, making David his bodyguard. However, as the Philistines prepare to engage in battle with Saul, 1 Samuel 29, we find out that the other lords of the Philistines are perhaps more discerning than Achish was. and they refuse to let the hebrews come into battle with them lest they swap sides join forces with saul and demolish the philistines the the philistine leaders were like no achish leave these guys at home send them away we don't want david who has killed tens of thousands of philistines to be fighting with the philistines so david and his company go back to ziklag and upon returning they find that their homes have been raided by the amalekitesAnd David and his men respond to this by doing what they do best. They execute total war against the Amalekites, leaving none alive except the 400 young men who fled by camel. And so as we come into our narrative here in 2 Samuel, we find them freshly returned from that journey and that fight.The Messenger ArrivesVerses 1 and 2. Say after the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul's camp, his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell on the ground and paid homage.Now the journey this Amalekite, remember David's been killing Amalekites, and the journey this Amalekite goes on is remarkable. He's traveled from Mount Gilboa in southern Israel. judah where saul and his army had been to ziklag and there's a little bit of dispute as to where ziklag exactly was but in any of the options this guy's traveled at least 80 miles probably in the course of just three days he comes with his clothes torn and dirt on his head which would have been symbols of mourning and he falls on the ground paying homage to david and this had to have been just the weirdest sight for David's men like what is going on here and so David questions the man beginning in verse 3David said to him where do you come from and he said to him I have escaped from the camp of Israel David said to him how did it go tell me and he answered the people fled from the battle and also many of the people have fallen and are dead and Saul and his son Jonathan are also deadDavid's QuestionsPerhaps the first thing for us to notice in this interchange are David's questions. I know the first is obvious enough. Where did you come from? Someone who's traveled 80 miles in three days and is attired like a mourner, Would be a peculiar sight. Looks like someone's cat drug in.But David hears that this man, when he hears that this man has come from the camp of Israel, he asks a question that occurs only one other time in the Bible. He says, how did it go? Tell me. The anxiety in David's question is palpable. The only other time this phrase occurs is in 1 Samuel chapter 4, when Eli asks, how did it go? Tell me.In that case, 1 Samuel chapter 4, it was a Benjamite bearing news that Israel had been defeated by the Philistines and two prominent Levites were dead, Hophni and Phinehas. Now in 2 Samuel chapter 1, an Amalekite comes to David bearing news that Israel has again been defeated by the Philistines and two prominent Benjamites have been slain. As one commentator puts it, the author of Samuel established a deliberate connection between these two stories with this question, in order to set up an analogy between the fates of Saul's house and Eli's. Saul's house had been decimated, just like Eli's, because of Saul's rejection of the Lord, just like Eli's.The Amalekite's StoryThen David said to the young man who told him, How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? And the young man who told him said, By chance I happen to be on Mount Galboa. And there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close to him. When he looked behind him, he saw me, and he called to me, and I answered, Here I am. And he said to me, Who are you? I answered him, I am an Amalekite. And he said to me, Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers. So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I brought them here to my Lord.Analyzing the Amalekite's AccountBut the next thing to notice is how different this rendition of Saul's death is from what we read in 1 Samuel 31. Some commentators try to harmonize the two accounts or argue that we should believe the words of the Amalekite over against what the narrator said. However, we must remember that the first and second Samuel weren't originally two books, right? This is just one scroll all the way through. And so these two stories are coming right on top of each other. It would have been really strange for the author to narrate one version of the events. and then to give us another version in the mouth of a minor character, this Amalekite, and expect us to believe the Amalekite, not himself, not the one who's speaking to us.Remember, in 1 Samuel 31, Saul commits suicide by falling on his own sword. Here, the Amalekite claims Saul was leaning on a spear and asked to be killed. The details don't line up. As I'm reading through this, I'm like, well, maybe... Maybe spear and sword are the same word, and we're just translating different in English. No, they're totally different words. The details of the stories are just totally different.And I'm inclined to agree with Doug Payne, who writes, the Amalekite was probably telling some lies. In general, it seems more likely that he was robbing corpses on the battlefield than that he just happened to show up in the middle of a heated battle. Dale Ralph Davis is even more blunt. He says, the Amalekite lied. If you ever have a choice between a narrator and an Amalekite, always believe the narrator.Why would the Amalekite tell such a lie? Most likely because he believes that to do so would bring him some reward. Surely David would honor the man who had killed his enemy, right? If I can make it look like I've delivered the throne into David's hand, I killed Saul, I brought him the crown, I brought him the armlet that has the band, probably would have had like the seal on it. In fact, the guy's thinking, surely David will make me a man of prestige and honor when he comes to reign. But this Amalekite does not know David very well.David's Reaction: MourningInstead of rejoicing at the news of Saul's death, David rends his garments. The structural center of 2 Samuel 1-16 is David's mourning in verses 11-12. David then took hold, verse 11, of his clothes and tore them. And so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.To again quote David's, the narrator thinks the most important item in this story is the grief and wailing of David and his men over Israel, her fallen leaders and troops. And the Amalekite must surely be in shock. He's coming here. He thinks David's going to be excited. He thinks David's going to reward him. He brings this news to these exiled soldiers, right? These people who've been chased out of Israel. And he hears that, hey, Israel's leaders are dead. Their enemies are defeated. Now David has a clear shot, clear path to the throne. Why? Why this response?Understanding the NarrativeI'm often anxious when we read these narratives, in the Old Testament especially, but even in the New Testament, to remember that there are no heroes in the Bible, no true heroes apart from Jesus himself. Jesus alone is sinless, admirable in every way, worthy of our total emulation, our imitation, and our worship. His humanity was a true humanity, but it was untainted by sin so that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Every other character in the biblical story is a complex mix of motivations and intentions.So we shouldn't just assume that everything that David does is right, and we're going to see that as we get into 2 Samuel further. David makes some big mistakes. So when we read narrative portions of the Bible, we have to pay careful attention to how the author is framing the story for us and ask, am I supposed to see the character as a positive example or as a negative example? Or is it less more ambivalent than I'm supposed to puzzle over it? We have to do that with each individual story. Just because a character is portrayed in a positive way in one place doesn't mean he always will be.But in the case of David in this part of 2 Samuel, I think what we see here is clearly positive. His view of authority, his view of leadership, of belonging to a people and identifying with them is clearly something we should emulate. And so when he and his men are driven from their homes, forced into Philistine territory as exiles, they don't stop being or seeing themselves as Israelites. Therefore, when the people of Israel are defeated on the battlefield and their leaders are slain, it's not a case for rejoicing. It's a time to weep.Saul had made himself David's personal enemy. Saul had been genuinely wicked. And he nonetheless remained God's chosen ruler for the people so long as he lived. And for him to perish in battle was a devastating tragedy for the nation.David's JudgmentSo David turns back to the messenger in verse 13. David said to the young man who told him, where do you come from? And he answered, I am the son of a sojourner and a malachite. David said to him, How is it that you are not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? Then David called one of the young men and said, Go, execute him. And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, Your blood be on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed.David asks this man his origin, and it's no coincidence, no coincidence at all that he is an Amalekite. Now as the son of a sojourner, someone who lives in the country of the territory of Israel, he's brought himself under the protection and the rules, the laws of Israel, of being part of the people of Israel. While we might expect a foreigner to kill Saul in battle, as indeed the Philistines had tried to do, when this man brings himself under Hebrew law and custom, to strike the king is thus to make an attack on the very people who had offered him safety.This is not an act of war. It's a capital offense. It's a crime that he has claimed to have committed. And it seems fairly clear, again, that this man has some hope of being paid back for his service to David. But instead, David says that the payment for such an evil act is death. The Amalekites lie, which he told to advance himself, cost him his life.Proverbs 21 and verse 6 says, beginning of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. This guy tried to tell a lie to get ahead and didn't even work to get him there for a little while. It was faster than a fleeting vapor. It just didn't work at all. It just was a snare of death.It's worthy to know also that Saul had been rejected by the Lord for his failure to completely destroy the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15. And here in 2 Samuel 1, the narrative section, the first 16 verses where we see David after Saul's death, is bracketed by Saul striking down the Amalekites in verse 1 and striking down an Amalekite in verses 15 and 16. And there's a contrast being drawn between the rejected anointed of the Lord, Saul, and the chosen of the Lord, David, who is being faithful in all God's house.While David is acting here as a judge and a ruler, faithfully executing the justice of the Lord, his most important role in the story is still as a mourner, which takes us to the second half of the chapter, beginning in verse 17.David's LamentDavid lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, his son, And he said it should be taught to the people of Judah. Behold, it is written in the book of Jasher. He said, your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen. Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul not anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain and the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely, in life and in death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. Jonathan lies slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. How very pleasant you have been to me. Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perish.Why David LamentedWhy would David lament? Like this. I mean, this is a beautiful written lament. Why would he do so for the death of Saul and Jonathan? Some liberal scholars can't even imagine him doing this. And so they tried to say that this is just a reconstruction. The narrator inserted this to make David look better. How could he mourn for such a man who had chased him hither and yon for years, wanted to kill him, threw a spear at him twice?But if we take the text straightforwardly, we understand that David consistently placed the sacredness of the anointed king's life as one of his top priorities. This was true of wicked Saul. And then he implies the same principle in many of the Psalms that he writes, which call on the Lord to vindicate his anointed king. At that point, referencing David himself in Psalm 2, Psalm 18, Psalm 20, but also pointing forward to the Messiah. the anointed one who would come. David's confidence in those psalms is that the Lord works on earth through his anointed leader.Further, we remember the bond between David and Jonathan, seen in 1 Samuel 18-20. David sees tragedy for the nation in the death of Saul, and he himself feels a personal tragedy with the death of Jonathan.Literary StructureThe lament is structured in verses 19 through 25 with an inclusio. And so in your bulletin, I have... This might look like Greek to you. It's not Greek, it's actually Hebrew. It's a pair of chiasms to just show you how the first part of the chapter and the second part, the lament, are structured. And chiasm is a very typical way that Hebrew... writings are structured, both poetry, as we see in the second half of the chapter, and even narratives in the first half.In verses 19 and 25, there we have the inclusio of how the mighty have fallen, this repeated phrase. And the poetic lament, though, runs past the end of verse 25, right? It runs into verses 26 and 27. And it turns from the stylized lament over the leaders of Israel to a more personal lament of David for his friend Jonathan. But in between verses 19 and 25, like I said, we have this chiastic structure. And like I said, I put it in the bulletin for you.And chiasm is a very common structure for Hebrew literature. And part of how it works is by giving verbal cues then repeating themes so that things don't just move in a linear fashion so we have to remember most people weren't like sitting down to read the Bible right it was in scrolls the average person wasn't sitting down at home with copies of the scrolls they were going and publicly hearing these things read and so there are these structures in the text they give you clues to hear and repeated phrases or repeated ideas to help you internalize it, to store it in your heart, right? In Psalm 119, he says, I've hidden your word in my heart. Well, part of how the biblical writers help us do that is by structuring things in a way that help us remember.And so a chiastic structure is something that moves I think Andy used the right word earlier, mirrors. So there's the first part of the story, you go from the beginning to the center of the story, and then the second half mirrors it back as you move from the center back out to the beginning. And you see that in both the beginning and second half of 2 Samuel 1.So in the narrative section, we saw David slaying Amalekites while mourning for Saul who had failed in that same task. And in this poetic lament, we find David mourning for the slain glory of Israel. And then in the middle, we see that her protectors have fallen. That's who he's mourning for.And if all this just sounds like a nerdy aside to you, which it may, please forgive the digression. But I think it's a really helpful concept for helping us see just how, especially if you're reading the Psalms, to see how a lot of the Psalms move to the middle and then they work back to the end. And it'll just kind of help you see what's going on there. If you have that in your mind, how the poetry is structured or how the stories often are structured.The authors built these things in intentionally to help the readers and hearers of scripture understand what God said.The Value of Saul's Leadershipto tell and the digression saul's leadership imperfect though it was provided protection for the nation of israel especially in so far as his kick his his leadership was characterized by jonathan's bravery in verse 22 for the blood of the slain for the fat of the mighty the bow of jonathan turned not back that the sword of saul returned not empty i mean there's just this striking imagery of how powerful and mighty they were in battle and you know until i mean saul's reign for probably 40 some years at this point and he has won battle after battle after battle he's provided protection and safety he's been a shield for the people of israel jonathan his his life is characterized by a deep valor and chapter 18 and verse 1 of 1 Samuel, where it says Jonathan's heart was knit to David. That happened right after David had gone out and slain Goliath. Well, you remember a few chapters earlier, Jonathan had gone with his one servant to attack a whole camp of the Philistines. His heart was knit to David because he saw the same kind of valor, the same kind of courage in the Lord. These were men who had bravely defended Israel.In fact, even the tune of this lament is probably named after Jonathan's bow. I don't know why in the ESV, in verse 18, it says, he said it, which follows how the Septuagint has it translated. But the Hebrew says the bow. And most of your translations, if you read in, I think, an NIV or a New King James or a NASV, I think they all say either, The tune of the bow or the bow, the very tune of this song is named after Jonathan's weapon of war.The loss of the people's protective shield, their king, would rightly lead to weeping among those who had benefited from his reign. Verse 24. David speaks to the daughters of Israel who were clothed in luxurious scarlet, who had benefited with ornaments of gold on their apparel. This prosperity would have been due to the relative peace that they enjoyed during Saul's reign, the stability that came. Though Saul is a tragic figure in scripture, the people would not be wrong to see him as a major upgrade over the judges that they had had before.During the time of the judges, that refrain over and over is, There was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. At least with the king, there was some stability and some safety. And at the same time, one can be sure that though David says in verse 20, tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon. Such telling and publishing is exactly what would happen is what did happen. The warriors went home boasting of their victories. Saul was beheaded, stripped of his armor. His armor was hung in the, I think it was the temple of Ashdod, one of their gods. And he and his sons' bodies were hung on the wall of Bethshon. In all of this, the daughters of the Philistines would rejoice in their triumph. The defeat of Saul and his sons was an ugly day for Israel. And this song of lament is a formal recognition of that fact.Personal Lament for JonathanAs I noted earlier, The formal structure of lament runs from verses 19 to 25, but the end spills over. It keeps on going, verses 26 and 27, into a personal lament for Jonathan. And this has led to one of the modern preoccupations with this text. Probably something that should be addressed here.The question is namely this, what, to what, if any degree, is David implying a homosexual relationship with Jonathan when he says, your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. And clearly reading this text in its biblical context must lead us to agree, again, this is Dale Ralph Davis, he says, it is utterly wrong-headed to read the idea of homosexuality into this text.David and Jonathan's affection for one another is deep, very deep. But it's our modern obsession with sexualized identities which leads us to push those kind of relationships into this text where they don't belong. Now, if God has clearly prohibited some kind of relationship, and then it occurs in a narrative like this, the author of 1 and 2 Samuel has no problem criticizing David when he makes mistakes. When we get to chapters 11 and 12 and his sin with Bathsheba, the narrator is going to paint David in a very negative light. And so if there was something here in this relationship that was not admirable, the narrator would tell us. He would show it to us. He would paint David negatively. But instead, this is just shown as a deep, loving friendship.Maybe it's a sad reflection on our world at this point that we can't even imagine men having that kind of friendship. Instead of making wild assumptions that don't fit the context, we should recognize that Jonathan's deep and abiding faithfulness to David, despite the fact that it was Jonathan's future throne that God had promised to David, displayed a brotherly love, which was unlike David could receive from any of his wives. This was a different kind of love than they could have given to him. David recognizes what should be obvious to the careful reader. He has lost the best friend and ally he could ever have asked for. And so he rightly gives air to his grief. He rightly weeps over him.Conclusion: Leadership and Its ImpactFor leaders to fall is a tragedy for those underneath of them. It's tragedy for God's people. We see this in our own day. When leaders topple, even if they weren't good leaders, the effect of the fall can have horrific side effects, horrific consequences.When a father in the home, even if he wasn't a good father, when he leaves the home, the abandonment is not solving the issue. It compounds the issues. When an abusive pastor is exposed or fired, often the result is not renewal in the church, but the disintegration of that church. I've been following, there was a really big podcast last year, just exploded, called The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. And that was a ministry that I was very familiar with just from a distance because I listened to a lot of the podcasts and followed a lot of the materials and whatever. And I remember watching as there started to come to light all these things about abusive patterns of leadership and ungodliness, things being exposed. When the pastor left, it didn't result in the church all of a sudden becoming healthy. The church imploded. It disintegrated. People left financially. They became insolvent. It destroyed the church. Even though it was good and right for the wrongdoings to be exposed, it still wound up being—the fallout was horrible for many, many people involved.Such was nearly the case for Israel after this happened with Saul. And we tend to think, oh, Saul's gone and then David was installed. It was seven years between when this happened and when David is installed as king over all of Israel at Jerusalem. Seven years. When Saul fell in battle, though it opened the way for the Davidic glory years, quote unquote, It was not a smooth transition. It was a sad day for the people, and a day worthy of lament.Application for TodayMaybe this is a somber note to strike on Father's Day. Or anything. But I think a text like this should orient our hearts to view leadership in the same way that God does. It is a powerful gift meant to serve the flourishing of the people and to accomplish God's purposes in the world. And this means that we must, with the Apostle Paul, pray for those in authority. All the way to the top in our nation, in the middle, and all the way down at the bottom at the home level. And we've got to pray for fathers and grandfathers and those who have influence over young people's lives.We desperately need to be praying for those around us who have influence over others, not even just fathers. Obviously, mothers have huge influence, too. And we've got to look at that and say, Lord, how can I serve those around me so that they can better use the influence that they have to point people to you? and to encourage flourishing. And we need to evaluate our own lives. And when we see that we're failing, not back away and give up from influence, but pray that we would use it in a godly way.When leaders fall, the home and the church and the nation, it's something we should lament. When we see faltering and failing and falling, we should be brought to tears in some sense. God didn't design the world this way.Pointing to ChristBut like all of scripture, this text is not meant to simply be an end in itself where it just points us to tears. We shouldn't minimize that aspect of it. But as we read about an imperfect and fallen anointed of the Lord, our minds must also be drawn further down the biblical storyline to the anointed of the Lord, the Messiah, who was perfect. who did not have his life taken from him by Philistine archers and then his own hand, but who laid down his life of his own accord that he might take it up again. If we look to Jesus, if we bow to his lordship, we will have a king whose throne never ends, whose authority to forgive sins, has authority to forgive sins and to bring us to his eternal father, and whose bow is bent to save all of those who trust in him.Closing PrayerWould you pray with me? Father God, would you help us? I just look at my own life and I see how insufficient I am for even the limited influence that you've given me. And Lord, I don't want to be like salt. Lord, would you shape us and conform us to the image of your son? Lord, would you help usIt's probably not an exaggeration to say that everyone in this room has been impacted by awful leadership in our lives. By people who had power, who had authority, who had influence over us, and used it in a way that hurt us. Lord, would you help us to grieve that and to lament it and to mourn it rightly? And at the same time, to not become jaded and angry against your good idea of authority. Help us to keep in balance those two things, that we can rightly grieve poor uses of authority, and we should still rejoice in the gift that you have given in giving us leaders. We need to keep both of these things in our mind, and it's hard for us in this fallen world to do so. So we ask for your help. In the precious name of Jesus, amen. This is a public episode. 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Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.1 Samuel Recap: Where is Your Confidence?Introduction: A Question of ConfidenceLord willing, my plan is to start into 2 Samuel next week, and so before we did that, I wanted to kind of recap, since it's been several months since we were in 1 Samuel. I want to recap the book, but rather than going blow by blow and just give you an outline of the book and fill that in, I actually want to look at 1 Samuel chapter 2.As we turn here, I want to ask you a question. Where is your confidence? Where is your confidence? What gives you hope in life? Where do you trust? Whom do you trust?Hannah's Desperation and God's Answer1 Samuel opens in a strange place. 1 Samuel opens with a story of a woman named Hannah, who seems pretty insignificant. She's a barren woman. She's one of two wives of this man named Elkanah. And she, unlike the other wife, can have no children. And the text tells us that Elkanah loved Hannah more than he loved his other wife. But because the other wife had children, she had greater status in that society. All of a woman's worth, essentially, would have been wrapped up in her ability to produce and then raise children. And here Hannah was barren.And what we find in chapter 1 of 1 Samuel, is a woman who is desperate before the Lord. And she comes, and she comes up to the place where the tabernacle was, Shiloh, and she is pouring out her heart to the Lord. She is weeping and praying silently.But she's also in a society where God is not held in the esteem that he should be. There is a priest there at Shiloh, and his name is Eli. But Eli is something of a joke. And he sees someone there pouring her heart out to the Lord, crying. And the only category that he has for a woman acting like that is, she must be drunk. And so he comes and he rebukes her for her drunkenness. And she says, no, I'm not drunk. I'm pouring out my heart to the Lord. And he tells her, well, it seems almost like he's just trying to get rid of her. Like, okay, God will grant you your request. Like, get out of my presence, you hysterical woman.And she goes home. But God does grant her request. She's given a son, Samuel, and then she brings him back to the Lord. Once he's weaned, she brings him to the temple and dedicates him to the Lord.So she goes from chapter 1, pouring out her heart. In desperation, she has nowhere else to turn but the Lord.Hannah's Song: The Foundation of 1 and 2 SamuelBut then in chapter 2 we come, and here in chapter 2 we have one of the two songs or poems that really brackets the text of 1 and 2 Samuel. 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book, and this song in 1 Samuel chapter 2, the song with Hannah... It really lays out the groundwork for everything that follows and will be bracketed at the end of 2 Samuel by the Song of David.I want to read 1 Samuel 2, beginning in verse 1. And Hannah prayed and said, My heart exalts in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derives my enemies because I rejoice in your salvation, Lord. There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none besides you. There is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth. The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who are full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who are hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness. For not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. Against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.Lesson One: Seeing Yourself RightlyThe first thing that I think we need to see in this is that Hannah sees herself rightly. One of the main lessons of 1 and 2 Samuel is we have to see ourselves rightly. And she sees herself as someone who has nowhere to turn with God.If you have confidence anywhere or in anything else, if you're counting on your position in life, your accomplishments, your own abilities... Or maybe you know that I can't do it, but I'm going to look for a savior out there. Someone else is going to help me, whether that's a spouse. If I find the right person, that person will fulfill me. Or it's some political figure who, if we could get this person in office, things will just be better. If you're looking for another person outside of you to make things okay for you, things will not go well.But Hannah understands that needs. And the only one who can satisfy, the only one who can fulfill what I need is the Lord. And she turns to him. And what we see in her prayer is that the Lord is mighty. He is the one who is able to save. He is the one who sees the poor. Verse 7, the Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and he exalts. Verse 8, he raises up the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash. So this woman sees herself rightly, and she goes to the only one who can satisfy. She goes to the Lord.God's Might in ActionAnd then as we see the actions of the Lord throughout the book of 1 Samuel, we see, first of all, again, that he is a mighty God. And as this narrative unfolds, we'll talk about Eli and Samuel in a minute, but in the next couple chapters, we're going to see Samuel come into ministry, and Eli's family fall down. Literally fall down and die. And then the ark of God, the visual representation of God's presence in Israel, is carried off into captivity. And in that time, though the people of God are a mess, though the ministers of God are worthless, God is still acting. God still shows himself to be mighty by defeating the Philistines all throughout their region.First, they take the Ark of God and they place it in the temple of Dagon. And Dagon keeps falling over and worshiping. Dagon, this lifeless idol, the statue falls over before him. And then the statue falls over and breaks off the head and the arms representing his strength and his might. Such that the Philistines say, okay, we've got to get this out of here. Dagon's not doing too well with Yahweh around. So we get the Ark of the Covenant out, and then they start passing it around. And every place the Ark of God goes in Philistia, there is trouble. People get sick, people die, and they finally end up sending them back to Israel.God shows himself to be mighty, totally absent his people. He doesn't need his people at all. He still shows himself to be mighty.The Pattern: God Brings Down and Raises UpBut the other theme that we see here in Hannah's prayer is that the Lord is the one who exalts and the Lord brings low. And that is the story of 1 Samuel, is this bringing up and bringing down.The Fall of Eli's HouseSo first, you see the priest who's ruling at that time. There is no king in Israel. If you remember from the book of Judges, that's one of the refrains in the book of Judges. There was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The beginning of this book is still in the time of the Judges. So Samuel's life probably starts about the same time as Samson's life in Judges 13. They're probably born about the same time....under the judgeship of Eli, who is also the priest. And Eli, though we don't have a lot of negative things said about him specifically, his sons, it says, are worthless. 1 Samuel 2.12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. And the way that that's expressed is we see that these men, who are themselves priests... are sleeping with the women who serve at the at the tabernacle they are stealing from the sacrifices the the fat portions that are supposed to be set apart as burnt offerings from for the lord they steal that so that they can eat it because well who wants to eat the leftovers let's eat the good stuff we're here and you get down into later in chapter two and god calls eli to account because he although eli would rebuke his sons from time to time and say what are you doing guysHe never actually enforced any consequences on them. And in verse 29 of chapter 2, God says to Eli, Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?So God calls Eli out on the carpet for honoring his sons above the honor of God, above the glory of God. And he tells him down in verse 35, Verse 34, rather. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be assigned to you. Both of them shall die in the same day. And then he gives a prophecy. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.In the next couple chapters, you see the calling of Samuel. And then... Israel goes to battle with the Philistines. The Philistines are this group of people originally from the island of Crete who had moved down, starting several hundred years before this, but they moved into the land that became Philistine territory on the west bank there. And they set up these five mini-kingdoms, the five cities of the Philistines, and they started to intermarry with the giants who had been left in the land when Joshua and the people had failed to drive out the Philistines. The Philistines intermarried with them. So especially in Gath, you have this race of giants. We'll become familiar in chapter 17 with Goliath. And as these people came, they also had superior technology. They had superior weapons of war. They had iron weapons. And so they became a thorn in the Israelites' side.And the people go out to battle with the Philistines. And Hophni and Phinehas, these two priests, go out with them. But remember, these two men don't actually know the Lord. And so they take the Ark of God as if it's some sort of magical trinket that's going to provide them victory. But then what happens is the people are decimated. Hophni and Phinehas are killed, and the Ark of God is captured.And when news comes back to Eli, Eli has a heart attack, falls over backwards because he's 98 years old and really fat. He breaks his neck and dies. That's what happens. They're at the end of chapter 4. I'm summarizing slightly, but that's basically exactly what it says.And so we see that though this family had power, he's a judge, he's the priest. Because God was not valued in their life, God was not valued in their ministry, quote-unquote, God brings them down.The Rise of SamuelAnd at the same time that Eli is being brought down, Samuel is being raised up as a new—he's not a priest, he's not from the priestly line, though he does perform some priestly functions—but he's a prophet. And he is a judge for the people. God raises Samuel. It kind of disappears from the narrative as the ark spends its time in Philistine territory. But then in chapter 7, after the ark has been sent back because the Philistines got tired of passing this ark around and it destroying the lives of everybody around them, they send it back to Israel. And once the ark is back, Samuel calls the people together to call them to the Lord. And it seems like things are starting to go well.Israel Demands a KingBut then in chapter 10, Israel starts looking to be like all the nations around them. They say, give us a king that we might be like all the nations. They want someone to go out and fight their battles for them. They want someone to go out and represent them to the nations. And I think we mentioned this a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't necessarily wrong for the Israelites to want a king. God made provision for that in Deuteronomy 17. But they don't want a king to honor God. They don't want a king to lead them in honoring God as a people. They want a king because they want to be just like everybody else.And isn't that a warning for us? That we so often want to be just like everybody else. And we're willing to compromise, we're willing to do whatever it takes to not be seen as weird, to hold on to whatever rights or privileges we think we deserve. We're willing to be just like everybody else.Saul: The King They WantedThe sad thing is, in this story, God gives them exactly what they want. He gives them the king that they request, and he is the picture-perfect king. He's head and shoulders taller than everybody else. He's a beautiful man, and he's an awful king.Things start off well. He leads them in battle. They have some victories. But then they're supposed to drive out and totally, totally annihilate the people of Amalek. the Amalekites, and they fail to do so. They keep the best of the property. And Samuel comes and he calls Saul to account on this matter. And Saul says, well, I'm just doing this because we want to honor the Lord with all these good things that he's given us. And Samuel asks in chapter 15, verse 22, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to listen than the fat of rams.Listen to verse 23. For rebellion is as the sin of divination. Like we think of witchcraft, that kind of stuff is bad. God through Samuel says, rebelling against what God says is just as bad. And presumption as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he also has rejected you from being king.Saul's Long Fall and David's RiseNow the interesting thing here is that unlike the narrative with Eli, where the period between God saying your sons are going to die and them dying is pretty tight. Saul has been rejected as king here in chapter 15, but all the way through the end of 1 Samuel, Saul remains on the throne. And we get this long, drawn-out narrative of Saul's long, slow fall and David's long, slow rise.In the next chapter, Samuel basically sneaks out to Bethlehem and anoints David king. And David is the exact opposite of Saul. David is not the guy that anybody's picking to be the head of a nation. He's the youngest son. He's apparently pretty small, especially compared to Saul. Because in chapter 17, he goes to put Saul's armor on, and it's all too big and clunky. He's like, I haven't tried this. I can't do it. He's just a young man. And God has Samuel anoint him king.But all through the rest of the book, things don't go well for David. There's a few highlights. David and Goliath, chapter 17, there's a highlight.David's Confidence in the LordBut then, so this fall of Saul that we see is starting to get drawn out, even before it's terribly explicit, before we can see him going crazy. In chapter 17, David comes to bring lunch to his brothers. And Saul is there, and here's Saul who has led victories over the Amalekites, victories over the Philistines. And here, we come to chapter 17, and Saul is quaking in his boots with the rest of the nation. Rather than going out, he's the one who's head and shoulders taller than everybody else. He's the one whom they have asked for in order that he might fight their battles. And he's behind the lines, behind the men, hiding. From that big, scary guy who's calling out the people of Israel.And David comes, and David hears what Goliath is saying. And David doesn't say, oh, I'm a big, tough guy. I've got this. But David says, why are we listening to this man decry God?Verse 31 of chapter 17. When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight for this Philistine. And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth. But David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. When there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them.For, now listen, this is the reason he has confidence. He's like, yeah, I've killed bears, I've killed lions, but why is this uncircumcised Philistine going to be like one of them? For he has defied the armies of the living God. And David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion, from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.David comes into the scene, and what we see with David is someone who has confidence in the Lord as a deliverer.If you're back in Hannah's song, 1 Samuel 2, this is exactly the confidence she has. My heart exalts in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord. There is none holy like the Lord. The Lord is a God of knowledge. The Lord kills and brings to life. The Lord makes poor and makes rich. The adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. David's confidence is the same place, is in the same person as Hannah's confidence. It's in the Lord, nowhere else.The End of SaulIt looks a little sketchy for David going through the rest of this book. Because once David kills the Philistine, then the songs start to be about David. Saul is slain as thousands, but David is ten thousands. And Saul, who knows now that he's been rejected by the Lord, and sees, he doesn't know that David's been anointed king, but he sees the blessing that God is clearly giving to David. And he fears David. He tries to kill him twice, throws a spear at him, and then David has to flee into the wilderness. And the rest of the book, it's like a cat and mouse. Saul's trying to get David. But at the end of the book, who's dead?Saul lies slain on Mount Gilboa.Verse 4 of chapter 2 says, The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. I think it's interesting that it might just be coincidence, but it says the bows of the mighty are broken. It's the archers who kill Saul. Well, they don't kill him. They wound him severely in chapter 31, and then Saul kills himself. Saul's bow is broken, and he's killed by the archers of the Philistines.The Lesson: We Need JesusThe wrong lesson to draw from 1 Samuel, though, as we move into 2 Samuel, is to think, well, David's the hero. Because as we move into 2 Samuel, the same rise and fall that we saw with Saul is going to essentially happen to David too. 2 Samuel is full of the sins of David and the consequences on his family and the consequences on the nation. He is a man after God's own heart. Unlike Saul, he repents. Psalm 51, that prayer that Duane read for us from that prisoner, he quotes from Psalm 51. created me a clean heart oh god david does repent he is a model for us in that way but the lesson is not that oh david is the mighty man and we should be just like him no david leaves us longing just like these others did and in that in that condemnation of eli in first samuel chapter 2 god said and i will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.Well, if you look at the book of Hebrews, the only priest who lasts forever is Jesus.Like Samuel, Samuel here in 1 Samuel 2, verse 26 says, The boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man. Heard that before? Luke chapter 2, Lord Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.He also fulfills What God promises to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that he would build a house, an everlasting house, for the son of David. And Jesus comes and he fulfills the ministry of Samuel as the prophet, and the ministry of the Aaronic line as a priest, and the ministry of David's line as a king. Jesus is the prophet, the priest, and the king. Jesus is the one we need.That's a lesson in 1 Samuel as we watch all these rises and falls. As we go into 2 Samuel, we're going to see David, who in so many ways is a model for us, but ultimately is not someone who can bear our hopes. He can't hold them on his shoulders. No one in this world can. Only Jesus, who came and will live the perfect life, spoke to us perfectly the word of God, died as a priest who not only ministers the sacrifice, but himself became the sacrifice. that perfect priest and who now reigns as the risen from the dead victorious king forever and ever with all authority in heaven on earth he is the one we needClosing Prayerwould you pray with me father god we ask that you would help us to have our confidence in christ alone as we're about to sing it is so sweet to trust in jesus we look other places so often lord and we are left disappointed and downcastHelp us to fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. In his precious name we pray. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Sermon transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors.Mark 16:9-20 - The Disputed EndingIf you've got your Bibles and want to turn, even if you don't have a Bible and don't want to turn, we're still going to be in Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16, I'm going to read verses 9 through 20, the end of the book.Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.After these things, he appeared in another form to two of them as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.Afterward, he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.And these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.Textual Issues with Mark's EndingWell, if you do have your Bible in front of you, your text there that we just read is probably set off in brackets. And you might ask, why are there brackets? And we talked about that a couple of weeks ago, but if you weren't here or if you were here and your eyes glazed over as we spent 15 minutes talking about textual criticism, I would understand that. So I'm just gonna give you the short version this morning.The end of Mark's gospel is disputed. Most biblical scholars do not believe that Mark, the author of this gospel, wrote verses 9 through 20. Some folks suggest that he wrote a different ending, which was lost at some point. Others, that he simply ended abruptly with verse 8, which is the position that I take. I think Mark intentionally ended with verse 8. And then this later ending, verses 9 through 20, were attached sometime in the first two centuries of the church.The earliest manuscripts that we have don't include these verses. And early church testimony suggests that these verses weren't there in the earliest copies of Mark's gospel. Nonetheless, early on they were attached. But I think Mark intentionally left us with verse 8. The women are running away from the tomb in fear. They haven't seen Jesus yet. They've just heard the angels who have given the message that Jesus is alive. And I think Mark does that to leave us with this question of what are you going to do with the good news that Jesus is alive? Are you going to believe or are you going to doubt. There's no more important question for you to answer is what are you going to do with the good news of the resurrection of Jesus?But then we still do have these verses, verses 9 through 20, and they have been around for a long time. Again, second century probably is the first time we see these start getting attached to Mark's gospel, and you can understand how that would happen. Now, if you were in the early church and you're reading copies of the gospel and then you're making copies by hand, right? This is before the printing press, before typing. So you're writing these out by hand to send to your friends that live in different parts of the world or who are in new churches that don't have copies of the gospel yet.You might get to the end of Mark and think, I would like them to have some more information than just, oh, there's news that Jesus is alive. The other gospels have things like, you know, Jesus actually visibly appearing to people or giving more instructions to the disciples, ascending to heaven, the church starting to go out and obey what Jesus told them. These are important details that Mark didn't include. And you could see if you were sending a copy of this gospel out to a friend or to someone else who needs this news, you might go, I'm just going to add some details here to fill in the blanks for them. And then God in his providence for 1,800 years has preserved this as attached to the gospel of Mark.So the caveating there, done. We're still going to walk through these verses because with one exception, which we'll get to, all of the things that are mentioned here do come up elsewhere in scripture. And so I think they're still important. These events are attested to elsewhere in scripture, and they point to us over and over again.Post-Resurrection Appearances (Verses 9-14)So verses 9 through 14 give us the immediate post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. First to Mary Magdalene, then to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and then to the 11. And the reference to Jesus here, appearing to Mary Magdalene includes the fact that he had cast seven demons out from her. That's, again, if this had been written by Mark, this seems like a weird place for him to bring that up. He would have brought it up earlier. He's talked about Mary several times over. But it's backed up by Luke chapter 8 and verse 2, where it says that Mary Magdalene is someone from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons.We do see him appearing to Mary in John chapter 20 and verses 11 through 18. I'm going to read those for you real quickly. John chapter 20 beginning in verse 11 says, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. And Jesus said to her, Mary. Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher. And Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.Now, if you go back a little further in John's gospel, in John chapter 20, it would seem that putting this together with what we read earlier in Mark, the women... the group of four women, at least, who came to the tomb. They had met one angel there, and he had told them to go back and tell the disciples. So they go back and tell the disciples, who don't believe them. But then John and Peter sprint out to the tomb, and they don't see Jesus. They just see an empty tomb. And it seems like Mary has followed them back out here, and she's standing at the tomb weeping.And you can kind of see where she goes, Did I miss something before? I've got to look. And so she looks back down into the tomb and where one angel had been before, now there are two angels. And I said, what are you looking for? Why are you weeping? And she gives an answer that's number one, obvious. And number two tells us that she didn't listen to the first angel very carefully. She says, they have taken away my Lord. And I do not know where they have laid him. Well, obviously she doesn't know where he is. She's standing here weeping. But the first angel had already told her that he was alive. But she still sees no body and just assumes somebody has taken this body away.And then she turns around and there's this man standing here. And she assumes this man is the gardener. And he asks her the same question. Why are you weeping? And then he adds this second question. Whom? Are you seeking? And she says, you know, if you're the one who moved the body, if you've taken away my Lord, please tell me. I'll move him. I'll put him where he can stay. And Jesus replies to her with one word. He simply says her name. And when Jesus says her name, his voice is recognized by her. He is now recognized by her. And she clings to him and says, Rabboni, teacher, And then she does the only reasonable thing that she can do after he says, don't cling to me now. He sends her back to the disciples and she goes. Verse 18 tells us she goes back to tell the others.And then here in Mark, it tells us that Jesus afterwards appeared to two of them in the countryside. And that story is recorded for us in the gospel of Luke chapter 24. There are the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. They've left Jerusalem and they're heading to this little town that's about seven miles away from Jerusalem. And they're walking along the road and this man appears beside them and starts to ask them, what are you guys talking about?And they say, have you not heard? Are you the only one who's been in Jerusalem the past week and doesn't know what's happened? You don't know about this teacher who we thought was the one who was going to save Israel, but then they crucified. You don't know what's going on? And he says, well, explain this to me. And they're incredulous that he doesn't know, but they explain it. And then he kind of turns the incredulity back around on them and he says, oh, foolish ones. And slow of heart to believe everything that the prophets had spoken.And after that, Jesus, walking along the road with them, explains from Moses and from all the prophets why it was that the Messiah had to suffer before he could enter his glory. The disciples were expecting the Messiah, the Savior, to come to liberate them from Roman rule, to bring in the kingdom of God on earth at that time. And Jesus says it was all written down in the Old Testament in Moses and all the prophets that suffering had to come before glory. And so he corrects them.And then after that, he appears to the 11. The 11, of course, is the 12 minus Judas. And they're gathered around the table. These men have heard from Mary and the other women that Jesus is alive. They haven't believed it. The two who had been at Emmaus had run back after Jesus revealed himself to them at dinner. They run back and tell the eleven they don't believe him. And Jesus shows up.And it tells us in Luke and in Matthew that even seeing Jesus, some still doubted. You know, sometimes you'll talk to someone, they'll say, well, if Jesus were here today, then I could believe. Or it would be easier for me to believe if Jesus would just show up today. But literally, these guys saw the resurrected Jesus with their own eyes and looking on, some still doubted. Seeing is not the same thing as believing. But Jesus rebukes them for their hardness of heart. And Luke 28, 34, 24, 38, sorry, says, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?The Evidence of Jesus' AppearancesSo the first thing we see in this collection of stories and sayings here in Mark chapter 16, verses 9 through 14, is a reiteration of what we learn from Matthew and Luke and John, that Jesus appeared after the resurrection. And the importance of these appearances, the reason that they would be in this addendum to Mark's gospel is this... Jesus' appearances served as evidence to his disciples that his word was true.Jesus had promised three times. We've talked about this a number of times as we've walked through Mark's gospel. Jesus promised three times that he would be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, that he would be crucified and buried, and on the third day, rise. Now, Jesus being alive would show that, yes, he was alive, but it also validates that his word is always true. Even if he says something so improbable as, I will be killed and raised on the third day. If Jesus says something that impossible, it still comes true. Jesus's word can always be trusted.And that's something we need to know. as Christians today, that no matter what we read in this book, as impossible as it may seem, all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. All things? Really? That's what he said. And Jesus' word is always true.The Great Commission (Verses 15-16)That trustworthiness comes into play when we read the next couple of verses. Mark 16, verses 15 to 16, where he tells them, "'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'" Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.You can compare that with Matthew 28, 18 through 20, where the more well-known Great Commission passage, Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.Now this version of the commission in Mark's gospel isn't identical to what we just read from Matthew. Matthew, his emphasis is make disciples, whereas here in Mark's gospel, it says go and proclaim the gospel. What's the difference? Well, the technical difference is making disciples is a lifelong process. A disciple is a follower and And as Jesus elaborates that in Matthew 28, he breaks it down into pieces. Making disciples involves going, going to where they are, going to all the nations, baptizing them, teaching them to obey.So you go into all the world, baptizing, teaching to obey assumes. that those who are going are proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and his lordship. So disciple-making is the process of leading someone through the proclamation of the gospel to humble themselves before Christ and receive him as their savior and sovereign lord, and then teach them to live their whole life in conformity to his whole word.But here in Mark, it says proclaiming the gospel and announcing the good news. That means to proclaim is to preach. It doesn't mean necessarily like standing in front of a crowd and preaching, but it just means to announce the news of the good news of Jesus' life, death, and victorious resurrection in the place of sinners. Again, that can take place in public preaching. It can take place in private conversations through other activities.So we might be, if we're going to be like, Andy says, I'm pedantic. If you're going to be pedantic, you could say that narrowly speaking, proclaiming the gospel is a subset of discipleship. It's a piece of it. But it's worth noting that in Mark's gospel, good news is broader than just the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's the center of the good news. That's the core of the good news. But In Mark, the emphasis on good news includes the kingship, the lordship of Jesus Christ as well. And so proclaiming Jesus as the risen king as well as suffering savior makes these two commissions synonymous.A king's commands must be obeyed and they must be taught before anyone can obey them. And so... The idea in proclaiming the gospel to the whole creation is that we are to go and the church is responsible to go and tell everyone that Jesus died in their place for their sins. And now as the resurrected and ascended Lord rules over all of heaven and earth, that's what he says in Matthew 28, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. And we are called to respond in faith, receiving the gift of his salvation and And in obedience, submitting our whole lives to him. That's the commission that Jesus gives to the church in both Matthew and in Mark.The Role of BaptismNow, both Matthew and Mark tie into that baptism. And depending on like what tradition you grew up in or what your level of theological knowledge is, that idea that baptism being tied to salvation might make you kind of nervous, right? Right. Isn't faith what saves us, not works, including baptism? And the technical answer to that is actually it's Jesus who saves, not our faith or our works. It's Jesus who does the saving. We receive that salvation through salvation.An analogy I've always found helpful is that faith is the conduit. It's the pipe through which the living water of salvation through Jesus Christ flows. We have faith in Christ, and he pours his salvation into us through that faith. And Ephesians 2 tells us that even that faith is a gift. We do receive Jesus' work on our behalf by faith alone.Now, having said that, we shouldn't pull the punches that Scripture throws. And here in Mark, as well as Matthew, the command is that believers are to be baptized. It's not an optional add-on to the Christian life. Baptizing is the naming ceremony whereby your personal allegiance to Jesus is proclaimed and the church affirms your confession of faith and pledges to help you walk in his ways as you visibly become a member of Christ's body.So there's no saving power in baptism itself. Baptism doesn't save anyone. 1 Peter chapter 3 says, where Peter says, he's talking about the ark, and he says, baptism in the same way now saves you, not as removal of dirt from the body. That is, it's not the action of baptism that brings salvation. but as a pledge to God from a good conscience. That is, if you've placed your faith in Christ, you have a cleansed conscience. Visibly, baptism brings you in to the ark of the church that carries us through life.And so it's faith in Christ that brings salvation. But then the mark of that faith, the visible mark of it, is baptism. The New Testament doesn't have... any category for an unbaptized Christian. It just doesn't. So if you're here today as someone who believes in Jesus but hasn't been baptized as a believer, I'd encourage you, come talk to me. After the service or sometime in the near future. We're having a baptism service on the 17th. But if you won't be here that Sunday, we can make another time work too.Don't hide your faith under a bushel. I've talked to a lot of Christians over the years who are afraid to get baptized. And it's a fear. Well, one guy was like a literal fear of water. He just had like an actual phobia of water. But most of the time, it's usually a fear of being publicly identified with Christ. Jesus is bigger than your fears. He's worth being identified with.The way the text frames it is this. Those who believe and are baptized are saved. Those who do not believe are condemned. So belief is followed by baptism, but it's never that you're condemned for not being baptized. It's condemned for not belief. John chapter 3 has the same kind of framing. John 3, 16, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. And then John 3, 36, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life.It's believing that brings salvation, but that always works its way out into obedience. If you've trusted Jesus as your savior, then obey him and start with his command to be baptized. Jesus is the faithful king over all the earth. And so we are to proclaim it with our lives and collectively the church takes this message to the whole creation and we should let the nations hear and so be glad. That's what the psalmist says.The Signs That Follow (Verses 17-18)So while we have to carry out that mission by obedience to Jesus, it's still him that's really at work. And we see that in verses 17 and 18. Almost immediately, as soon as Jesus is ascended, it's just a short time later. And then the day of Pentecost comes and he sends the spirit upon his followers.Verses 17 and 18 of Mark 16 say this, And these signs will accompany those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.Now these signs, that's what Mark calls them, signs, they might seem strange to us, but four of the five have direct attestation in the New Testament. The first sign and the fifth, casting out demons and the healing of the sick, are something that we see even earlier in Mark's gospel. Chapter 6, Jesus gave the disciples authority as he sent them out two by two. And then in verse 13 of that same chapter, it says they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.That wonder-working power continued to move through the disciples into the book of Acts, chapter 5 and verse 16 of Acts, says the people gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they all were healed. In Acts 19, verses 11 and 12, sum up the ministry of the apostle Paul, saying that God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that touched his skin Like God was doing miraculous things through those first apostles. Jesus gave them the ability to heal and to cast out demons.But what about the weirder stuff? Those are miraculous and strange enough to us, right? But what about the even weirder stuff we see here? First, speaking in tongues. The first instance that we see of speaking in tongues is in chapter two of Acts. And there a group of disciples are gathered in that upper room as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon them as Jesus had promised. And it says in Acts chapter two, verse four, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in the tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.This first occurrence of tongues in the book of Acts is clearly the Holy Spirit enabling those gathered to speak in existing, distinct, known human languages. There's two other instances where this occurs in the gospel, or not the gospel, in the book of Acts. In the house of Cornelius, he's not a Jewish man, he's a Gentile, but he's familiar with the Old Testament. Acts chapter 10, verse 46. And then there's a, when he and his family receive the spirit, they speak in tongues. And then there's a small gathering of men in Acts chapter 19 and verse 6 where the same thing happens.Both instances, the sign of tongues is associated with the Holy Spirit being poured out on those who were gathered there. And we have no reason from the text to assume it's anything different than that first instance in chapter 2 where they're speaking in distinct, known, existing human languages.Why would Jesus give this as a sign of his continuing work through the disciples? tied with the Holy Spirit coming upon them. Like, why? That's a weird sign. What's the point of it?I was helped reading an article on this by S. Lewis Johnston, who was a longtime professor at Dallas Theological Seminary in the 20th century. He points out Paul's argument about tongues in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. 1 Corinthians 14, verses 21 to 22. I'm going to turn there and read those verses. They say this.In the law it is written, by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people. And even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Thus tongues are assigned not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is assigned not for unbelievers but for believers.And the argument that the Apostle Paul is making in that text, he cites Isaiah chapter 28 verse 11. And he says that sign tongues are a sign for unbelievers, specifically unbelievers who are. Jewish, either in their ancestry or who are familiar with the Old Testament Jewish scriptures, familiar with Isaiah's prophecy. And what God is doing with the sign of tongues is illustrating to them that God really is at work through the Lord Jesus Christ and his church.Speaking in tongues had a clear purpose of validating the work to the Jewish people of that day and those who were familiar with their scriptures.What about handling serpents and drinking poison? Are we going to move to Appalachia and start snake handling? Is that what it's talking about?The reference to serpents seems to be a repackaging of a promise Jesus gave in Luke chapter 10, verses 17 to 20, where the 72 had been sent out and they returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.Now, if it's the case, as I think it is, that the meaning of Jesus' promise is primarily about spiritual authority, serpents and scorpions being cast out, They were frequently associated with demonic powers all the way back to the Garden of Eden, Genesis chapter 3. Nonetheless, we do have at least one instance in Acts of someone being bitten by a poisonous snake and it not having any effect on them. In Paul's travels, he gets shipwrecked onto the island of Malta and he gets bitten by a snake. And the locals assume this guy must be evil for something like this to happen to him. And they assume that he is going to die almost instantly. But then he doesn't die.And so they assume then, well, he must be a god if he can survive this kind of a snake bite and live through it. No ill effects. He must be a god. That's how shocked they were by his being unaffected.As for the poison drinking, this is the one instance in these 12 verses where we have no corroboration outside of this verse in Scripture. No other statements from Jesus in the Gospels, nothing from Acts. My best guess, again, this is probably written in the late second century. There were probably stories in the early church where God had miraculously saved someone who had drank poison. And this is probably being preserved for us here.But the point of all of these signs... is one clear thing. That Jesus was divinely at work through the ministry of the early church. He was validating this transition in salvation history, this transition from temple worship centered in Jerusalem on with at its core the sacrifice of bulls and goats and sheep and pigeons, like all this blood and this transition period to Jesus Christ is the once for all sacrifice and you receive salvation through faith in him. This is a big shift in history. And so God is giving validation to these first apostles and those who are with them that this work really is true.That's not to say that God can't do the miraculous today. I'm going to be the last person in the world who's going to try to shove God's power in a box. But I don't think we should expect to see these things as normative. So, I mean, there are lots of folks in the Pentecostal tradition, brothers and sisters in Christ, who believe you have to speak in tongues in order to show evidence of the Spirit in your life. That would be bad news for me because it's never happened to me.I think what we see in scripture is that in this era of history, the Holy Spirit is still absolutely at work, but most of the miraculous things that he continues to do are less visible and less flashy because they're serving a different point now than they were initially in the early church. The Holy Spirit is still present and active in the continued growth of the church, the miraculous conversion of dead souls to living faith in Jesus Christ. Through this and the many other things that the Spirit continues to do, whether the signs are visible to us or not, the work of the Spirit is a testament to the faithfulness of Jesus to his people. The fact that the Spirit comes and dwells within every believer in Jesus Christ is a seal, the Apostle Paul tells us, of his faithfulness to his followers.Jesus' Ascension and the Apostles' Response (Verses 19-20)The final two verses of our text remind us what we saw in Hebrews chapter one earlier this month, that Jesus having finished his work of redemption is now ascended. That is he went back, ascended visibly back into heaven and is now seated at the father's right hand, the place of power and authority as described in Psalm 110.How did the apostles respond to Jesus ascension? Well, We know initially, again, from the book of Acts, that before the coming of the Spirit, there was all kinds of confusion and fear, and they're like hiding in the upper room. But once the Spirit fell, once the Spirit came in and dwelt those believers, they went out, and they went out with the message and changed the world.It is remarkable that something that started with 120 people in that upper room in Jerusalem in about 33 A.D., By the year 312, less than 300 years later, the mightiest empire in the history of the world to that point becomes officially Christian. How? It's the power of the living God working through his church.They went out, and God worked signs and wonders through the apostles, not for the sake of shock and awe, but in order to confirm the message. The message that Jesus is Lord, the message that he died, was buried, is raised, and is now ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high, and one day he will return.In short, the same Jesus who commissioned his followers was faithful to them as they obeyed his command to proclaim the gospel.Application for TodayIs there anything more important for us to know today? The same Jesus who was faithful to his early followers will be faithful to us today. We too, if we've believed in him, have the same gift of the spirit and the same commission to share the good news. And we can be sure that this mission will succeed. Jesus says in Matthew 16, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And he will provide for our needs in the midst of that obedience. and he will be faithful to the end.So let us obey him and take his message to our community and to the uttermost parts of the earth.Closing PrayerLet's pray. Father God, we ask for your help to continue to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray for any here who do not know you personally as their Savior, Lord, that they would submit to you, that they would trust in what Jesus did in their place, that they would be transformed by the power of your Spirit working in them.Pray for us as a church, Lord, that we would be faithful, that everything that we do would be filtered through. Are we being faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ? And are we trusting that he will be faithful to us? We thank you that we can have confidence, rock-solid confidence, that the risen Lord of the universe is at work for our good. And it's in his name we pray. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Location and Date: Remsen Bible Fellowship, 07/13/2025Theme: How will you respond to the news of Jesus’ resurrection?Subject: The strange ending of Mark’s gospelTitle: A Weird EndingIntroduction ‏How does the gospel of Mark end? That might seem a strange question to ask, at least considering that a good portion of you have Bibles in your laps and could simply look down for the answer, right?Or—could you? If you do have a physical or digital Bible in front of you, you will probably notice something weird right before verse 9. In the English Standard Version, which is the translation I preach from, there is a bracketed note written in all capital letters: [SOME OF THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT INCLUDE 16:9-20]. The text of 16:9-20 is then included, but set apart by double brackets. Most modern translations have similar features or notes in this place. So—what is going on here?To answer that question we’re going to have to talk about textual criticism. That is a phrase that might sound a little academic and nerdy—and well, it is. But the basic idea is pretty straightforward. Textual criticism attempts to ascertain the original wording of a given text. When studying ancient documents—for instance, the books of the Bible—one of the problems scholars encounter is the variation between the handwritten copies when it comes to wording or phrasing in particular passages. You can imagine how that might happen—if we each sat down to copy the gospel of Mark word-for-word, how many of us do you think would get every word correct? Probably none of us would.And that starts to sound a little scary. Well, if all of these errors crept in in the copying process, who can tell which ones are correct? Is biblical transmission just a long game of telephone? Here we have two simple sources of reassurance: 1) most of the people copying the books of the Bible were trained as scribes, and so while they were human and did make errors, they actually made a lot fewer than you might expect. 2) while there are errors in the manuscripts we have received, we have so many copies that it becomes possible for textual critics to determine where the errors are. So it’s not a case of two or three copies which are all different, and the scholars have to gather in a circle and flip a coin trying to determine which one is actually God’s word. Instead, we have over 5,800 whole or partial manuscripts of the NT. For comparison, there are about 10 copies of The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar. NT textual critics have a lot to work with, and that gives us more confidence in the text, rather than less. One of the greatest NT scholars of the 20th century was FF Bruce, and he put it this way:If the great number of manuscripts increases the number of scribal errors, it increases proportionately the means of correcting such errors, so that the margin of doubt left in the process of recovering the exact original wording is . . . in truth remarkably small.Or, to return to our analogy, if two of us make a copy and disagree about a word, that’s a potential problem. If 35 of us make copies, and only two people disagree on a particular word, we can guess that the 33 people who agree were correct in their copying of the original.All of that to say, the process of textual criticism has actually served to give us a great deal of certainty about the biblical text. You really can have confidence that what you are holding in your hand when you pick up a good English translation of the Bible is a faithful representation of what the Holy Spirit inspired the original authors to write.Now, having said that, there are two passages that cause a little extra consternation. The first is John 7:53-8:11, which was actually the text of the second sermon we ever had here at Remsen Bible. If you are still awake at the end of this service and are actually more interested, I can send you the link to that. But the other text is before us here Mark 16:9-20. Verses 9-20, the bracketed ones, have been associated with Mark’s gospel for a long time. Like, from the middle of the second century long time. Which, based on the standard above, might make you think “then they’re genuine, right?” But there are three main reasons why scholars today doubt the original status of verses 9-20. First, the language is very different from the rest of Mark’s gospel. Second, the transition from verse 8 to verse 9 is very abrupt. The subject of verse eight is clearly the women who had gone to the tomb. The subject of verse 9 is Jesus, but he isn’t introduced—he’s just referred to as “he.” That wouldn’t make sense if you were writing this as a continuous narrative. The third reason scholars doubt this section as original is that though most of our ancient manuscripts include it, the very earliest do not. Additionally, ancient Christian writers like Eusebius and Jerome speak of manuscripts both with and without this longer ending, and don’t seem to consider the longer ending original.So, where did it come from, and why is it still in our Bibles? Well, as to where it came from, we can’t be sure. Most likely it was compiled by some person or persons who thought that ending on the note v8 does—one of fear—maybe wasn’t the best way to conclude a gospel, a message of Good News. So they compiled a number of things that seemed important to them from other sources.It’s still in our Bibles because of the long connection it has with this gospel. Even if it is not, in fact, original to what Mark wrote, I think we can be fairly certain that God had a plan and purpose in preserving it for us for over 1800 years. We should be grateful for the help that textual criticism offers to the church and our understanding of God’s word, while still maintaining that the doctrine of God’s providence is more important than the work of scholars in the last 200 years. So, while some pastors—including men I respect and admire—look at the text-critical evidence and decide to skip the final dozen verses of Mark, my plan is still to cover them the next time I preach. There is plenty in them for our reflection and instruction.And that’s a really long introduction to bring us to the first 8 verses of Mark 16. But I wanted to lay that groundwork today, because if those scholars are correct in saying that 9-20 are an addition, then the end of what Mark wrote comes in v8. And that is significant, I believe, for understanding the point of the text.Mark 16:1-8, When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back— it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.Reset the SceneVerse one reintroduces the group of women we met in Mark 15:40. There, these women who had loved and served Jesus throughout his ministry in Galilee are reduced to a position of helplessness, where all they can do is grieve the crucifixion of their Lord.But verse one doesn’t simply reintroduce these women, it also continues the thought from Mark 15:47, then end of the previous chapter, which reads “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.” They had followed Joseph of Arimathia, the wealthy and respectable member of the council who had handled Jesus’ burial arrangements, and saw where he laid Jesus’ body to rest.While there was nothing they could do in that moment on Friday afternoon, nor on Saturday because it was the Sabbath day, they went first thing on Sunday morning. They went just after the sun had risen, and headed to the tomb. They brought with them spices for properly anointing the body. These women, who had previously shown so much care for Jesus, were determined to demonstrate their love one last time.How were they going to manage it? They weren’t even sure themselves. As we discussed last week, this stone would have been very large, and once sealed would have to be rolled back up an incline—a task for four strong men, which these women obviously were not. So they asked among themselves as they pressed on “who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”Do Not Be AlarmedImagine their surprise, then, when they looked up—I imagine them coming around a corner in the garden and lifting their eyes to make sure they were in the right location—and they saw the stone was already moved. Mark pauses here to remind us: this is a big ol stone. It didn’t move itself. So the women head toward the tomb, and then look down inside and, where they thought they would see Jesus’ body, instead they see a young man sitting there. A young man in a white robe. A young man who, pairing this with the other gospel narratives, is obviously an angel. That, I imagine, was also something of a surprise.Then the young man speaks to them: “do not be alarmed.” Well, too late. They’re already alarmed just by seeing him sitting there. They’re already alarmed because Jesus died. They’re already alarmed because the stone was rolled away. Why in the world, they might ask, would we not be alarmed?If that’s all he had to say, “don’t be alarmed”, it certainly wouldn’t have worked. It wouldn’t have meant much. But his message kept going: “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him” (v6).Here these women have come to take care of the body of the Lord—and the body is gone. Instead of a dead body, they instead meet an angel telling them that the man they seek is no longer dead—he had been dead, they could see the place where he was laid—but that he now lives. What must have flooded through their minds? Did they remember his words from Mark 9:31, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise”? Or the third prediction he made, in Mark 10:33-34, on the road to Jerusalem, a road these women journeyed with him: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”The betrayal and death part had been too hard for anyone to believe. And then it happened. These women had witnessed it in all its horror. But now this young man, this angelic being, this messenger from God was telling them that the final piece of the prediction was true, too: was it too good to be true?In verse 7 his instructions for the women continues: “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” The women are given a task: tell the disciples. Tell Peter, especially. Tell them that he will go before you to Galilee, and you will see him there.This is one of those details that’s pretty easy to miss—the fact that the women are the first eyewitnesses of the resurrection. They were the ones who beheld the empty tomb, before the disciples. We learn from John’s gospel that Mary Magdalene sees the Lord before any of the men do. No one who was making up the gospel stories would make this part up, simply for the reason that a woman’s testimony was not considered sufficient to stand up in court in 1st century Judaism. Women were considered less reliable than men. But not to Jesus. They were the first witnesses, and then messengers, of the resurrection.Trembling, Astonished, AfraidBut here is the strange thing about where Mark ends this narrative: he doesn’t tell us that they made it back and told the disciples. He doesn’t say they all went to Galilee and saw Jesus and talked with Jesus and were there when he ascended back to the Father’s right hand. He doesn’t tell us about the disciples on the road to Emmaus, or the appearance to doubting Thomas, in fact—he doesn’t even show us one instance of the resurrected Jesus!He just leaves us with the message of the angel, and the immediate reaction of the women thereto. And what was their reaction? “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” What was the immediate response of the first witnesses to the empty tomb? They ran from the angelic messenger. They were seized, the text tells us, by trembling and astonishment. And the final word of the book? Afraid. The women were afraid.Now, I just want to register at this point that I really sympathize with these ladies. I hate surprises. Maybe my least favorite thing in life is being surprised. Even when what I’m expecting is horrible, a pleasant surprise still doesn’t feel, well, pleasant in the moment. I have to process what’s going on and what it means before I can get over the fact that it wasn’t what I expected. So, if you’re one of those folks that loves surprises and can’t figure out what’s wrong with these women, I’m just saying—surprises can be hard for some of us, even if they’re objectively good.But on a more serious note, I think this note is intentionally where Mark leaves his book for theological reasons. The women have seen Jesus crucified. They saw him buried. And then when they went to the tomb—it was empty. And they were astonished and afraid. What were they going to do?How Will You Respond?We want Mark to spoon feed us the answer to that question, but I think he leaves us hanging for this reason: he wants you to decide what you’re going to do about Jesus. We’ve spent a good portion of the past two and a half years moving through Mark’s gospel. We’ve seen the miraculous power he exercised by healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, feeding the multitudes, and calming the seas. We’ve heard his teaching on the nature of salvation and the kingdom of God—and his counterintuitive instructions that to enter into his kingdom, we must see ourselves as little children (10:15).We’ve watched him gladly receive the praise of the multitudes who called him the Lord and the Son of David, and the extravagant worship of the woman who anointed him with priceless oil in passion week. We’ve heard his claim to have the power to forgive sins (2:10), his assertion that he is the Creator and Lord of time (2:28), and his claim that though he is David’s son, he is nonetheless greater than David (12:35-37).We’ve seen Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration, his glory revealed to Peter and James and John, with Moses and Elijah bearing witness to his glory.And, as I mentioned already in connection with the women at the tomb, we’ve seen three distinct times where Jesus predicted his betrayal, conviction, crucifixion, and resurrection.And now we come to the end. This very strange end.The women run away, afraid. They haven’t yet made sense of what they’ve heard.How do you respond to this news: the news that this Jesus, Jesus who claims authority over heaven and earth, Jesus who went to the cross to bear the weight of human sin and guilt—your sin and guilt—is now alive? When you hear the words, “Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”, or the words of the angels at the toms, “He has risen, he is not here”, how do you respond?Friends, this is a question that demands a response. The message of the angel is clear: Jesus is alive. Will you try to ignore him? Shrug your shoulders in indifference? Act like it only matters on Sunday? Or will you trust him with your life? Will you look to him for the forgiveness of your sins and be saved? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Text: Mark 15:33-47Location and Date: Remsen Bible Fellowship, 07/06/2025Title: The Darkest DayMark 15:33-47, And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.IntroductionWhen you hear the phrase, “The Darkest Day”, what comes to mind? I don’t mean in world history—we’ll turn there very shortly. But for this moment, I want that question to be intensely personal. When you think of your darkest day, what comes to mind?As you consider that day, I wonder if you asked then—or maybe you still ask now—“my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You wouldn’t be the first to ask such a question. Three thousand years ago King David wrote those very words (Psalm 22:1), and as we just read, Jesus quotes them from the cross. David, and the other psalmists, asked a lot of questions along those lines.Psalm 13:1a, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?”Psalm 79:5, “How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?”Psalm 89:46, “How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?”Psalm 13:1b, “How long will you hide your face from me?”The psalmists knew about dark days. And they knew how to bring those days of darkness to the Lord. They did not do the normal Christian thing of putting a stiff upper lip on and pretending like every day feels “#blessed.” When everything felt dark, when God seemed distant, they simply asked: where are you, God?Darkness AbsorbedThe sort of honesty is striking coming from the psalmists. But it is, in my view, almost mind-boggling when it’s coming from the lips of Jesus himself. Verse 33 tells us that darkness enveloped the whole land for three hours—the sixth to ninth hours, that is, noon until 3pm.Darkness in the Old Testament was largely associated with God’s judgement—think of the ninth plague in Egypt. Darkness enveloped the whole land. And this immediately precedes the final judgement—the death of the firstborn son.Or consider Amos 8:9, ‘“And on that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”’ Amos was speaking of the great and awful Day of the Lord, a time of judgement on Israel and the nations. The prophets Jeremiah and Micah both use similar imagery. The point? When God removes the light, the light which represents his blessing and presence, it is clear that his judgement has fallen.But what should surprise us as we read this passage in light of the OT, then, is not the fact of God’s wrath, but the object: the whole land is dark, but who stands—or rather, hangs—at the center? God’s beloved Son.We looked last week at the first half of this chapter, in which Mark clearly holds Jesus forward as the King of the Jews. He is God’s anointed, the Christ, the Messiah. And now, in verse 33, his place is just as clear: object of God’s Almighty fury. Why was Jesus in this place? To serve and save sinners. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Here, at the cross, Jesus is paying the price of that ransom. Enduring the hell of God’s wrath which you deserve. Which I deserve. Which all of those gathered around him that day deserved. The hell which all of sinful humanity deserves for our rebellion against our Creator—Jesus bore it on the cross.No wonder, then, that in the culmination of such suffering Jesus cries out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?” — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It’s a plea of brokenness, of sorrow, of desolation. He has borne the curse of God, endured hell, and in the midst of that suffering feels something foreign to his experience: distance from the Father.Now, let’s be clear: the Father wasn’t absent. But his presence on Golgotha was not one of blessing his Son. It was not the voice of pleasure we hear at Jesus’ baptism or at the Transfiguration. His presence was an ominous darkness filled with silence. Where is the statement “this is my beloved Son”? Where is the statement of love, “in whom I am well-pleased”? Where is the admonition to on-lookers, “listen to him”? Silence. Darkness. The Son is forsaken.The onlookers at the cross misunderstood Jesus, thinking he was crying out to Elijah. There were Jewish traditions which said that Elijah would come and help those in need, and those around the cross were apparently curious to see if he might show up. One person grabbed a sponge full of sour wine, basically the first century version of an electrolyte packet, and gave Jesus a drink.But he didn’t hang there and wait for Elijah to come. He cried out with a loud voice: Mark doesn’t record what Jesus cried out, though piecing things together from the other gospels, it seems likely that here he says “It is finshed”, and/or, “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.” Mark is less concerned with precisely what Jesus said here, and more with the two-fold effect: first, we see the eternal effect: in v38, the temple curtain is torn in two, from top to bottom. There were two curtains in the temple, one between the main temple and the holy place—separating the priests from the people—and another, between the holy place and the holy of holies. Mark doesn’t differentiate for us which curtain it was which was torn. I’ve always assumed he was speaking of the inner veil, which would indicate Jesus opening the way to the Father apart from the sacrificial system. One of the commentators I read this week argued pretty strongly for it being the outer veil, which would place a stronger emphasis on God’s judgement of the Herodian temple—certainly a theme in Mark’s gospel, as Jesus predicted its complete destruction at the beginning of chapter 13.In either case, though, the point comes back to this: Jesus’ death opened the way to direct access to God. We don’t need bloody sacrifices of sheep or bulls or goats, because the perfect Lamb of God has spilled his blood on our behalf. We don’t need a physical temple for priests to minister in and offer such sacrifices, because Jesus himself is the temple, the meeting place of heaven and earth. And we don’t need priests, because Jesus is our great high priest, and has made all of his people ministers of the New Covenant he initiated with his blood.The darkness Jesus endured on the cross was a swallowing up of the greatest darkness we face: the reality of our own sin and its eternal consequences. He opened access to, and made reconciliation with, the Father possible—but not merely possible, he made it a guarantee for everyone who trusts in the sufficiency of his work in their place.The roman centurion standing by didn’t grasp all of that. But he had watched a lot of men die. He had seen poorly, and he had seen men die well. But he had never seen the like of the man. And so the second effect of Jesus’ death which we see in this text is its immediate effect on the man standing there: “Truly this man was the Son of God!” He wouldn’t have all the theological content to go with that statement that you or I would. But he would know that Caesar claimed to be the Son of God. He would know that Caesar was the most powerful man on earth. And he sees that whatever Caesar claims, this man actually has.It’s a significant feature of Mark’s gospel that the theme which he states at the beginning—that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1)—is brought full circle with those very words “truly this man was the Son of God” carried on the lips not of the Jewish elite, or the religious leaders, but of a Roman soldier. In enduring the darkness of God’s wrath on Golgotha, Jesus has shone the light of truth into this man’s life.Helpers Rendered HelplessBut that Roman centurion was far from the only person witnessing Jesus’ death. Gathering at some distance, Mark tells us there was a group of women. He lists for us the names of three: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome. Mary Magdalene is most known to us because in John’s gospel we read of her interaction with Jesus after the resurrection. Salome was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of James and John. She is probably Jesus’ aunt. The second Mary listed by Mark in this passage, called the mother of James the younger and Joses, is probably the same woman referred to in the other gospels as Mary the wife of Clopas. Apparently both her husband and sons were known to the early church, and it probably depended upon which group was being spoken to which was a better way to identify her.What Mark tells us about these women is important: they had followed him down to Jerusalem, but this was hardly the beginning of their interactions with Jesus. They had followed him while in Galilee, and had ministered to him there.Here is a pretty straightforward observation, but it still bears our noticing: no ministry —even the ministry of Jesus—happens without the hard work of women, much of it behind the scenes. This is important to remember, perhaps especially in a church where we believe the bible teaches that leadership and teaching roles are reserved for men. That reality in no way diminishes the value or importance or necessity of gifted and active women for vital and healthy ministry to take place. These women had ministered to Jesus through their service. If this was necessary in the ministry of Jesus, how much more for us today!Now ladies, none of that is a newsflash to you. But put yourself, then, in the sandals of these women standing near the cross. They had followed this man, the king of the Jews, the promised Messiah, you had heard him teach and watched him heal. You had made arrangements with other ladies in your networks of family and friends to make sure Jesus and his disciples had a place to stay from town to town, you had made meals for this group of men, mostly in their late teens and twenties—heaven knows how much work that was—you had been able to help at every point along the way.And now, here you stand, helpless. You have ministered to the Lord over the course of days and months and maybe years, and now, in his hour of greatest need, you stand helpless.You’ve been there, haven’t you? When life takes a dark turn, and someone you love desperately needs your help—and there is absolutely nothing you can do. Nothing that is, except sit there and cry.There is a temptation in those moments to feel like a failure. To feel as if you have dropped the ball. You’ve let your loved one down, you’ve let yourself down, you’ve let Jesus down. Dear friend, you can’t let Jesus down. You weren’t holding him up.When it came to helping Jesus on the cross, there was nothing these women could do: and Jesus didn’t expect from them the impossible. There are days of darkness in your life when you feel helpless because you are helpless. And God does not hold that against you, he is not expecting anything from you in those moments of deepest grief other than to simply grieve. Sometimes even the best of helpers are helpless.Taking CourageMark shifts his camera to one more character in this passage. Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council. The council likely refers to the Sanhedrin—the very body of men who had condemned Jesus in that illegal nighttime trial and turned him over to Pilate for execution. He was a man looking for the kingdom of God, and this explains his being drawn to Jesus—the king of the Jews.Daylight is beginning to fade, there are only a few short hours before the Sabbath would begin at sunset. It was very common in cases of crucifixion for the bodies to be left on the cross for scavengers and carrion birds, but the Jews had requested that these bodies be taken down before the sun went down because the next day was a high feast day (John 19:31). Usually, then, the bodies would be taken to a place far outside the city and buried away from the view of polite society, although families could usually make a request for the body of a loved one. But Jesus’ family is nowhere to be found. Likely his mother knew she didn’t have the ability to give her son a proper burial in that limited time, and most likely had no resources of her own to even secure a tomb. And Jesus’ brothers are nowhere to be found.Enter Joseph. This man, a member of the council, wealthy and well-respected, “took courage” the text tells us, and goes to Pilate. Why did this require courage? First of all, because to be identified with Jesus would connect you with his “crimes.” He’s essentially going to Pilate and being identified with someone who was just executed for sedition.Now, of course, Pilate knows Jesus wasn’t guilty of any such crime, so maybe that risk is mitigated. Which brings us to the second and far more substantial area of courage required of Joseph: courage before his countrymen. By being identified with Jesus, the now-defeated enemy of the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, and all of the Jerusalem elite, Joseph is placing himself in opposition to all of those in his social circles. He was essentially signing up to be a social outcast. And he is doing so after Jesus no longer seems ascendent. This is not a bandwagoner. This is a believer. Friends, Joseph’s actions took real courage.When Pilate hears the request, he is by the quick death, but once he confirmed with the centurion that Jesus was, in fact, dead, he granted Joseph the body. Joseph then took Jesus’ body and, though Mark doesn’t explicitly say this, we can assume he washed it; then he wrapped the body in a linen shroud which he had purchased. He then lays Jesus in a tomb which he either already owned or also purchased. The way the stone is described indicates that this was a tomb intended for the rich—while most tombs had rocks designed to be inserted into the slot and seal the entrance, a few 1st century tombs have been found which have a rolling stone. This large cut stone would have been set inside a grove and been placed in such a way that one or two men could roll it into place, as it was on a downhill grade. But it would take several strong men to roll it back up and out of the way. Thus, we have a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9 that his grave would be with a rich man in his death.Joseph took all of these actions at great personal cost. Literally, in that he had to purchase the shroud, purchase the tomb, and probably pay servants to execute all of these actions. It’s highly unlikely that he could have done this all working alone. And moreso, as we already mentioned, at great social and political cost, as well.What was his motivation? We don’t get a first personal narrative from Joseph of Arimethea, and the narrator doesn’t tell us his motivations, either. We simply see his actions. And his actions speak loudly to a love, honor, and respect that is motivated—even in the darkness of loss and seeming defeat—to do the next right thing.The women at the foot of the cross genuinely were helpless—they could do nothing for Jesus’ body with the time and financial and physical constraints they faced. But Joseph could. And so he did. This is another lesson for us in the darkness of our darkest days. Sometimes there is nothing to do. But sometimes there is something to do, some obvious and in front of you responsibility to take up. And in those moments, the thing to do is to step into that gap and do what needs to be done. Joseph could make sure Jesus’ body was honored, and he spared no effort, expense, or public criticism to make sure it was taken care of.In his doing so, he afforded the women an opportunity to do what they could—mark the place where Jesus lay, so that they could come back Sunday morning.He Knows Your FrameFriends, there was no darker day in human history than that Friday afternoon outside of Jerusalem. There, the Lamb of God was taking away the sins of the world—taking them into his body, on the tree, and absorbing the wrath of God for you and for me. There, his dearest friends could do nothing to help him as he suffered. He bore that darkness alone.But friends, that darkness lifted. Not immediately. The women still wept. Joseph, I’m sure, wept as he and his servants cleaned and wrapped and buried the broken body of the Lord. But when you are in your darkest moments, when you are wracked by questioning and fear and disappointment with God, I want you to remember: we have a Savior who has been in the darkness, too. He is not surprised when there is nothing you can do; though he will often leave you something to do, as small as it may feel. But when you feel the darkness will not lift, remember: our Savior has descended into hell, and he knows the way out of the grave. Friday was dark. Saturday was bleak. But Sunday will come. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Remsen Bible Fellowship, 06/22/2025Text:Mark 14:66-72, And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.I remember that morning alongside the Sea of Galilee. My back was sore from hauling in nets full of fish throughout the night before. We were finishing up with a few more casts before the sun rose and the fish went into deeper waters. Our fishing partners had already pulled ashore and were mending their nets.It was my brother who looked down the beach and saw him approaching. We had met this man a few months ago when we were down south listening to a wilderness preacher—the same preacher had pointed my brother to another man—a wandering teacher from a podunk town. And the preacher told my brother to follow this other man instead. After my brother met him, he came and found me, claiming he had met God’s Anointed One. That made me wonder about his sanity—but I went with him and met this supposed Anointed of the Lord. This guy was from Nazareth. Nazareth, of all places.But then he spoke to me. And he didn’t simply speak, he spoke with the weight of authority. And he gave me a new name: “Peter.”But we were back in Galilee now. Back to fishing. Back to real life. Back to my father and my wife. Back to life as Simon, son of John.I wondered what Jesus was doing there along the shore. As he drew nearer, he called out to us—“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” There was that authority. How could we do anything but listen? How could we not follow?That next Sabbath he came with us to the synagogue service in Capernaum. His teaching astounded everyone who heard—that authority. The weight of his words. We’d never heard anything like it. Then a demon-possessed man came bursting into the synagogue, saying crazy things—calling Jesus the “Holy One of God”. Jesus rebuked the spirit and healed the man.That night, we returned to my home. My mother-in-law had been sick for some time, the fever left her bedridden. As we entered the house, we told Jesus about her situation. He came and took her by the hand—I thought maybe he would pray over her. Instead, he lifted her up. Then she got up—and made the evening meal! The word spread so quickly of this, and the incident at the synagogue, that everyone with any kind of illness—physical, mental, or spiritual—was gathering at the door and trying to burst in. They just wanted to see and hear—and experience—this Jesus.It was a similar situation a few weeks later, after we had gone on a preaching tour. We were gathered back in my home and the crowds pressed in. But then part of my ceiling started to fall in. People were pressed in so tight to hear Jesus teach that I was stuck there, watching my ceiling fall on the heads of all these people—and then it opened up. A group of men on my roof dropped a paralyzed man down in front of Jesus. And then Jesus did what no one expected—he told the man his sins had been forgiven. The teachers of the law were scandalized. So Jesus proved he had the authority to do it—and healed the paralytic right then and there. That man picked up his bed, and the crowd parted so that he could carry it home.Friends, that was just the start of the marvels. His teaching continued to amaze and even stun those within earshot—and those who heard it second hand. He claimed to be Lord, even over the Sabbath! After he had called the twelve—those of us whom he named Apostles, or sent ones—he told us that in spreading the word we were scattering seed. And though we had a responsibility to scatter that seed of the gospel message, the news of his kingdom, we really couldn’t control what kind of soil it landed in. But then he encouraged us by saying that true kingdom growth was often slow and hard to see—just like those seeds in the ground. But when it took root in the good soil, it would bear fruit. His words were so authoritative—so compellingly true—they continued to demand our attention.And he continued to heal. And as amazing as the healings were—a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years healed in a touch, a little girl who had died being brought back to life—they weren’t the only miracles we saw. One night we were sailing across the Sea of Galilee, and he was asleep in the stern of the boat. The storm picked up, and then began to rage, and we all thought we were going to drown. And Jesus kept sleeping. We woke him up and asked if he even cared what was going to happen to us! But he didn’t panic. Instead he rebuked the sea—telling it to be at peace. And then he rebuked us, and asked why we were afraid. What kind of man is this?And his authority went beyond humanity. Remember that man in the synagogue? Well Jesus didn’t simply have power over one demon at a time. After he calmed the storm, we landed in the Gentile region of the Decapolis, and were greeted by a man who was possessed by a whole legion of demons. But that demonic horde could not overthrow the Lord Jesus. They begged him for mercy—and so he cast them out of the man, and permitted them to go into the herd of pigs. Jesus was cleansing the land of its impurity.And the crowds continued to flock to him, even if it meant wandering in out of the way places. They would come in masses, and sit for days to listen to him speak. Twice he fed multitudes with nothing more than a small lunch. He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, and we had 12 baskets of leftovers. Later on, he fed the four thousand with seven loaves, and we had seven baskets leftover. His compassion was as obvious as his authority.But as we approached the end of that third year together, the winds of his ministry seemed to change. He took us away to the north, and started to ask questions. Questions like, “who do people say that I am?” We gave him, as best we could, an honest rundown of the rumors—maybe John the Baptist, maybe Elijah, maybe one of the other prophets. But when he asked for our assessment, I shouted what we all thought: “you are the Christ!” And he told us to keep this truth quiet for the time being.It was then that he started to teach us plainly what was going to happen to him—that he would be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, that he would be crucified, and then after three days rise again. At least three times he made this expressly clear. I remember especially the first time it came up—I tried to rebuke him for saying it. I didn’t see how the Messiah could possibly be killed. I’ll never forget what he said to me: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Those words still sting.It was just six days later, still in that region to the north of Galilee, when he took John and James and I up on a high mountain. There we saw Jesus transfigured before our eyes, and I frankly have yet to find words to describe it. With him, at first, we saw Elijah and Moses—I don’t know how I knew it was Elijah and Moses, but friends, I knew—and I couldn’t help but start running my mouth, suggesting we build some tabernacles up there for them. But I was silenced when a cloud descended over us, and the voice of God thundered forth: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” If Jesus didn’t speak with authority enough, now God himself was telling us—telling me—to shut up and listen.These last months of Jesus’ life were full of some of his strangest teaching. He said it was easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter heaven. He told us we had to be like little children if we wanted to enter his kingdom. He told us that the way to greatness in his kingdom is to be a servant of everyone.And then came the week of his suffering. The tension hung in the air. He rode into town on a donkey, clearly calling attention to Zechariah’s prophecy of a coming king. But he wasn’t acting like the king we expected. When we had dinner in Bethany, Mary came in and poured her most treasured possession—her jar of spikenard—all over his head and feet. He said this had to do with his burial. There he went, talking about death again. I didn’t correct him this time—I didn’t really want to be called Satan again.Finally, it was Thursday night. We gathered in the upper room to celebrate the Passover together. There at the table, Jesus continued to speak strangely. He told us the bread was not simply bread. It was his body—a body which was broken for us. What could that mean? And the cup of blessing—he called it his blood of the covenant, poured out for many. The wine was his blood? His blood was poured out? It was connected to God’s covenant? We were used to Jesus speaking cryptically, but this seemed over the top, even for him.We were still confused when he said it was time to go for a walk. So we sang a hymn, and then headed to the Mount of Olives. On the way there, he delivered a blow which none of us saw coming—he told us: “You will all fall away.” He quoted the words from Zechariah’s scroll about the striking of the Shepherd and the scattering of the sheep. But I couldn’t stand to be so insulted, regardless of what Scripture he was going to quote. I told him even if everyone else fell away, there was no way that I would. Did he not remember all the times when he had offended the crowds, and we stayed? Did he not remember all the rumors we had heard about the Pharisees and Sadducees wanting him dead—and did he not see us still here with him? How could he accuse us of unfaithfulness? But when I protested, he looked at me specifically and told me that before the rooster crowed twice, I would denied him three times.I couldn’t believe my ears. I protested again—I was willing to go with him to death! How could I ever deny my precious Lord?Then we came to the garden. He asked for James and John and I to walk on with him. To be near him and to pray.But it had been such a long week. We wanted to stay up and pray. But every time he withdrew, we fell asleep. I felt so bad. So small. He obviously was distraught about something, and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open.The last time he woke us up, there was a sound in the garden. A crowd was coming. Torches, clubs, swords. And there at the front—what? could it really be?—there was Judas. And as he kissed Jesus on the cheek—oh that dog—men stepped forward to lay hands on Jesus. I grabbed my sword and swung at Malchus, but I’m no soldier: instead of killing him I cut off his ear. But Jesus stopped me, and healed the man’s ear—right then and there. And as he spoke, giving himself into their custody, we were all overcome by fear. I dropped my sword. And we fled. We ran away. We scattered. We fell away, just like he said. Why had I doubted the authority of those words?But I wasn’t going to let that be the end of the story. Once I was out of the garden, and got some space, I gained a little clarity. I’ll follow them, I thought to myself. So I followed at a distance as they went to the houses of Annas, and then Caiaphas. Outside of the High Priest’s home, in the courtyard, there was a charcoal fire burning. I walked up to warm myself in the cool spring night.Then a little servant girl came up to me: “You were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” “I don’t know what you mean.” Best to play dumb, I thought. I went over by the gate, hoping to avoid any more uncomfortable conversations. And a rooster crowed.The little girl caught sight of me again, though, and started saying to the people around that I had been with Jesus. I denied it again. What could I say? How could I let them know I had spent three years traveling with a man now facing death?A little while later a man said “I know that accent, you’re Galilean—you’re definitely one of his followers!”I lost my cool, and started to curse and swear up and down that I did not know this Jesus. And when I finally shut my trap enough to hear again, there in the pale dark of dawn, the rooster crowed. And I remembered what Jesus had said: “before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” Why had I doubted the authority of these words?Friends, what could I do? I had betrayed my Lord. I had failed Jesus as a follower. I had failed him as a friend. I had fallen away. And as I thought, I remembered his words when we first told us he would be arrested and killed:‏Mark 8:34-38, And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”When I thought about it, I broke down and wept.I had been ashamed of Jesus—would he be ashamed of me? That’s what I deserved.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I’ve often thought about that night. My failure was greater than all the other disciples save one. Of course, you know the story of Judas as well as you know mine. I’ve often wondered, why did our stories end differently? Of course, in some sense we can never know. The Lord doesn’t tell us everything that happens in our own stories, let alone the stories of others. But when I consider how Judas’ life ended, and what happened that night, I am struck by one difference: We were both sorry for what we had done—but his sorrow drove him further away from Jesus, and mine led me back to him.My friend Paul wrote about this in his second letter to the church at Corinth:For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. [2 Corinthians 7:10]That was literally the difference between my story and Judas’. His sorrow led him to death—he would not humble himself before Jesus to ask for forgiveness and new life. But, by the grace of God, the Lord used my sorrow to bring me to repentance for my sinful failure. And when your sorrow over sin leads you to Jesus, then that sorrow is God’s tool to bring life to your soul. Godly sorrow leads to salvation without regret.Friends, your life is different from mine. But as my friend Juna likes to say, “I know something that is true”: you also have occasion for sorrow over sin. To be sad because you have failed Jesus, and dishonored him.Maybe that is an unclear feeling to you. You feel bad and don’t know why. If you have not yet recognized Jesus as the Lord, then it starts there. Recognize his authority—and then repent of your whole life of disobedience. Repent of your sins, and be baptized! Submit to his authority, and be saved! Publicly identify with him in confession of faith and baptism in water!And if you are already his follower, then hear this: he knows there will be times when you will cower in fear rather than boldly declaring your allegiance to him. And you need to know in those moments that you are not the first, and you will not be the last. You ought to mourn over those failures. It is right to weep over such failures. You should even feel shame when you fail to honor Jesus as Lord. But do not stay in that place of shame, do not wallow in your failure, do not wallow in your sorrow. Let your grief turn into repentance. Turn around, and head back to Jesus. Humble yourself under his merciful and mighty hand, and ask for him to forgive you. And to increase your boldness and faithfulness. And praise him for the riches of his grace.Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1 Peter 1:8-9]I flooded my bed with tears that day. I had failed Jesus. But friends—he’s never failed me. So when you fail, don’t run. Go back to him, seventy times seven. He’s already paid for your sin, and he will welcome you back with his nail-pierced hands. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

More than than They Bargained ForMark 14:53-62, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 06/15/2025IntroductionRevelation 1:5b-7, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark’s gospel, chapter 14.They had all run. Fled. Turned tail and disappeared into the darkness in a desperate attempt to avoid being taken, with him, by the authorities. The mob with their swords and clubs marched him off into that same night, headed back into the city.Their destination? The home of Ciaphas, the high priest. There, in his large upper room, the council of elders and chief priests and scribes came together. The seventy men of the Sanhedrin, not meeting in the market halls as they normally would, but instead gathered in this home. No gathering of this size could rightly be called secret, but the darkness of the event was pregnant with meaning. The workers of darkness had gathered under the cover of night in order to do the works of darkness. Verse 53, “And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together.”But for the reader, we feel a flicker of hope when we read the following verse. 54, “And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.” Here is Peter, who had boldly pledged his allegiance to Jesus in v29 & v31, had impulsively cut off an ear in v47, and then turned tail with the rest of the disciples in v50—he’s back. He followed—yes, at a distance, but followed nonetheless. He has not utterly abandoned his Lord.But he is hanging back. Outside the home of Ciaphas the high priest, Peter stands out here warming his hands against the chill of a cool spring night. Far enough to, hopefully, not be noticed. But near enough to hear what’s happening inside.And what’s happening inside could best be described as a banana court, a proceeding that has nothing to do with the execution of justice and everything to do with looking for a pretense to convict. The courtroom has more in common with a lynch mob than a hall of justice. The chief priests and the council weren’t looking for the truth—they were looking for a pretense: V55-56,Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree.They sought testimony to condemn him, but they couldn’t find any. The reason is simple, and Pilate will identify it in the following chapter (15:14): Jesus had never done or said anything evil. He had never broken any law, let alone a law which carried the death penalty.That doesn’t stop our enterprising adversaries from trying to get witnesses for their cause, though. You don’t need much imagination to picture the same people who had paid Judas to turn Jesus over also finding a whole stable of false witnesses—many bore false witness against him—but the problem was they hadn’t paid enough money to get their story straight. We can be understanding, of course: they were in a hurry, what with this hurried nighttime courtroom scene. No one had time between changing out of their pajamas and rushing down to Ciaphas’ house to stop for a story-coordination meeting.Mark even gives us an example of one piece of false testimony in v57-59,And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.Now, if you are familiar with the gospels, and the words Jesus spoke, what these witnesses say might sound familiar—you might catch yourself thinking, wait, didn’t Jesus say something like this? Are these false witnesses wrong? And the answer is yes, they are wrong. And that’s why they can’t agree—because their details are all jumbled up. Jesus certainly said some very offensive and shocking things concerning the temple, but never once did he claim that he would tear it down himself.What the accusers seem to be doing is mixing and mashing together two separate sayings of Jesus. The first is found in John chapter 2. The setting in this chapter is that Jesus has just entered—and then forcefully cleared—the temple. In verse 15 of John 2, Jesus makes a whip out of cords, and then drives the sheep, oxen, money-changers, and pigeons out of the temple courts. He then proceeds to dump out the money at the exchange booth, and toss their tables. He’s made a rather grand entrance to Jerusalem, you might say.And the Jews—a term that, in John’s gospel, usually refers to the leadership class in Jerusalem…the very same men who have Jesus on trial three years later—demand a “sign” for “doing these things”. Jesus replies with these words: “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v19). Now, does he say anything in there about him destroying the temple? No, in fact, he lays the impetus for that action at their feet. The Jerusalem leadership class will be the ones who destroy God’s temple. But what does Jesus say he will do? “In three days, I will raise it up.” And the gospel writer tells us two verses later that “he was speaking about the temple of his body.” He predicted that the leadership class would kill his body. But not permanently.Nonetheless, you could see where the accusers might get the idea about a temple not made with hands, and the fact that Jesus would build it inside of three days. The other place we find Jesus speaking about the destruction of the temple is earlier in Mark, in chapter 13. In Mark 13:2, Jesus tells his disciples that not one stone will be left upon another, in the day of the temple’s destruction. There he clearly was speaking about the destruction of the temple “made by hands.” Nonetheless, does he claim that he will personally be the one doing the destroying? No. Though, as I argued when we went through Mark 13, Jesus is the Lord of history and therefore superintended the destruction of the temple, specifically as an act of judgement upon the Jewish people for their rejection of the Messiah, he still was not claiming that he was going to show up personally with a sledge and a jackhammer. Rather, he used the Roman General Titus to accomplish that fact some forty years later.So, what we find in the gospels is that Jesus did predict the downfall of the temple. And he did predict his own bodily resurrection from the dead. But never once did he threaten any crime, nor did he violate the law of God.The Sanhedrin knows that Jesus is innocent. The witnesses know that Jesus is innocent. The dogs and the cats in the vicinity know that Jesus is innocent—everybody knows. Mark makes repeated reference to the fact that the witness testimony didn’t line up.So what kind of brilliant defense does Jesus marshal against these false accusations? Short answer: none. Verse 60 and on in to v61 says, “And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?’ But he remained silent and made no answer.” Reading this scene reminds me of Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”In standing silent and simply receiving the hurled insults and accusations of the religious and political insiders, Jesus fulfilled in part the picture of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Further, I think he is putting on beautiful display that truth of Proverbs 26:4—“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.” Jesus knows these men don’t care about the truth of any of their accusations—why would he waste breath in correcting them?It’s not the point of the passage here, but a useful note in our hyper-offendable age: you don’t have to answer every accusation, you don’t have to correct every wrong thought or idea even if the falsehood is aimed against you. Andie has joked that on my headstone she will place the words, “Well, actually…” — so I’m speaking from experience when I say that there is a temptation to vindicate yourself, to fix all the bad thinking, to refute every falsehood, and to really be under the illusion that such actions and words will amount to something more than a waste of breath—and usually that’s just not true. Especially if you are wasting time arguing with people in comment sections or on Facebook, save yourself some gray hair and just stop. Jesus is a model here. They throw false accusations against him, the chief priest knows their false but is hoping that he will respond with something they can prosecute for—but Jesus gives him nothing.TurnNothing, that is, until he asks a direct, pointed, question: v61b, “Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”As we’re reading this, the questions can fill our mind—how will Jesus answer this one? Will he remain silent, still? Mark’s gospel has often been called the gospel of secrecy, because Jesus’ identity as the Christ, the Jewish Messiah—while clear to the reader from the very first verse—is hidden from so many until the back end of the book. Jesus repeatedly silences those who would spread the news of his identity, from those he has healed of diseases, to demons. So how will he respond to this direct question from the high priest?Jesus drops a theological and cultural bomb in the middle of the faux-court scene. “Are you the Christ?”, asks Ciaphas. “And Jesus said, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven’” (v62). That might sound like standard Jesus-imagery to us, if we’ve grown up or had much exposure to the history of Christian art. But friends, let me give you the technical theological term for this in the 1st century: thems is fightin’ words.You can see that in the high priest’s response, as well as that of those around. Mark 14:63-65,And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.Why did the high priest tear his garments—a formal sign of mourning and distress? Why did the council condemn Jesus as worthy of death on account of his two-sentence testimony? Why did those around feel justified in striking, beating, and mocking the Lord? Why the violent reaction to Jesus’ simple answer?Because they understood his claim. And they hated it.Jesus answer, “I am”, in response to whether he was the Christ, was a bold claim to make. But when Ciaphas is asking if he is the Son of the Blessed, that is, the Son of God, he doesn’t mean that in the Christian sense. To a first century Jew, Son of God simply means the king from the line of David whom God will treat as a son. I say, “simply”, even though this itself is an amazing claim—many false christs had come before—but in saying simply, what I mean is that Jesus was not, with those two words, claiming to be God. To simply say he was the messiah might have been called blasphemy, but it might have simply been called a lie. It was what he said next that got their blood to boiling.When Jesus claimed that they would see him seated at the right hand of Power, he is clearly saying that he will be seated at the right of of YHWH, the Lord God. This is a reference to Psalm 110:1, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit a my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’”In that Psalm, David sees the LORD (all capital letters, the proper name for God in the Old Testament) speaking to his Lord (capital L, lowercase ord, that is, the One who rules over David) saying, “sit at my right hand.” If we want to put this in NT terminology—which Jesus explicitly does in this passage—this is God the Father saying to God the Son, “sit here, at the right hand of my power.” This is only a temporary place, though. He is seated until all his enemies are made a footstool. This idea is carried on in verse 5, “The Lord [lowercase ord, God the Son, Jesus Christ] is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.”The overall idea from these two verses in Psalm 110 is that the Son will be seated at the Father’s right hand, until the time comes when he executes judgement on all his enemies. Which brings us to the second place from which Jesus draws his imagery—Daniel chapter seven.I’ve referenced Daniel 7 verses 13 & 14 a lot over the years, in large part because it’s the place from which Jesus draws his favorite self-designation—Son of Man. But this morning I want to back up and start reading in verse nine. In this vision, Daniel is shown the heavenly courtroom. Daniel 7:9-14,“As I looked,thrones were placed,and the Ancient of Days took his seat;his clothing was white as snow,and the hair of his head like pure wool;his throne was fiery flames;its wheels were burning fire.A stream of fire issuedand came out from before him;a thousand thousands served him,and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;the court sat in judgement,and the books were opened.“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.“I saw in the night visions,and behold, with the clouds of heaventhere came one like a son of man,and he came to the Ancient of Daysand was presented before him.And to him was given dominionand glory and a kingdom,that all peoples, nations, and languagesshould serve him;his dominion is an everlasting dominion,which shall not pass away, and his kingdom onethat shall not be destroyed.”That’s a longer passage than I usually like to use for a cross-reference. And it’s weird. If you are feeling guilty for thinking it’s weird, don’t—the following verses tell us Daniel himself was pretty upset by it.But it’s important for understanding Jesus’ words before the high priest. Jesus, when he says he will come with the clouds of heaven, is explicitly tying himself to this image of the son of man appearing before God the Father, the Ancient of Days. He is claiming for himself authority and dominion over all rulers, nations, and languages.And he is doing so in the context of judgement. Verses 9-12 of Daniel 7 and a vision of the furious wrath of the perfect and Holy God. He takes his seat in heaven’s throneroom, and the fury of his judgement pours forth upon the earth, swallowing up his enemies.When we combine that image with the one in Psalm 110, we get a picture very much like the one in Revelation 19:11ff, where one called The Word of God comes forth executing God’s judgement upon the world.I know that’s a content dump, so let’s try and tie it together as neatly as possible:Jesus is standing in the makeshift courtroom of the Sanherdin, being falsely accused, and pointedly questioned by the High Priest. When it comes right down to the point—the question of whether or not Jesus is the Messiah—he answers no simply with a “yes”, though he starts there. But he goes on to a make a claim that he is on his way to the right hand of the Heavenly Judge, and that he has authority over the banana court he’s standing in, as well as over every court—legitimate or not—which ever has or ever will exist. His authority stretches over all of humanity, over all of the angels and demons, gods with a lowercase g. To borrow a phrase from a Dutch theologian, there is not one square inch of all creation over which the Lord Jesus does not cry out, “Mine!” Jesus is claiming that he will bring the Sanherdin—and all of rebellious humanity—under God’s judgement.In essence, Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man who will come on the clouds flips the entire situation on its head—who is really on trial here, Jesus, or the Jewish authorities? Who is really in danger of prosecution?ConclusionWhen set in this light, it’s pretty easy to see why the council responded as they did. If Jesus were claiming these things falsely, he would, in fact, be guilty of blasphemy. But if it’s true—and they had every evidential reason to know he was telling the truth—then they were in great peril themselves.And so they responded the way many of us do when backed into a corner. They lashed out. In anger, in fury, and in violence. And that’s where the text leaves us. Even the guards are receiving him with blows.The question this text poses to us is a simple one: how will you respond to the claims of Jesus? Not the Jesus of your imagination, not the Jesus of the paintings in the church you grew up in, not the Jesus of the story bibles: but the real, living, Lord Jesus who even now says that All authority in heaven and on earth has been delivered to him (Matthew 28:18-20). The Lord Jesus who will one day come to judge the living and the dead. How will you respond to him?If you respond in faith, trusting in the blood he shed on the cross to cover your sins, placing your hope in the resurrection life he promises to all of those who love him, then his coming in judgement is actually good news for you. That’s what those verses from Revelation one which I opened with teach us. If you repent of your sins, bow to Jesus as Lord, and receive him as your Savior, then he has made you a part of his kingdom. More than just a part, he has made you a priest, a minister of his kingdom—someone with direct access to him by prayer and the word.But if you refuse, if you join the Sanherdin in hardening your heart against him, then the news of his judgement is hard and fearful. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And friends, Jesus is the Living God. Bow your life to him. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

We Ran, He StandsMar 14:26-52, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 06/08/2025IntroductionHow confident are you in your ability to follow Jesus? To stay with him? To stay true in the face of trials, temptations, and the troubles of life?How confident should you be? Those are the sort of questions which confront us as we approach our passage this morning.We’re taking a longer section of text, verses 26-52, and so I want to examine it in four scenes.Who has the right to be confident?Scene one: Verses 26-31,And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.If you recall from a couple of weeks ago, Jesus and the disciples are celebrating the Passover meal, but as they take the bread and pass it around, Jesus shifts the focus. No longer are they to look at the unleavened loaf and think of the haste with which Israel left Egypt, but rather they should take this bread and consider the body of Jesus, broken in their place. No longer is the cup of blessing to look back simply on the history of God’s preservation of his people, but it is now to remind Jesus’ disciples of his blood shed in their place. His blood which seals the New Covenant of redemption.When the meal ended, they sang a hymn—probably one of the Psalms from Psalm 114-118. As I read those Psalms, and then this narrative, I really wonder if it was Psalm 116 or Psalm 118, both of which are especially appropriate.Then, after singing this hymn, they head out for the Mount of Olives. And on their journey, Jesus makes what must have been a startling announcement: “you will all fall away.” Imagine we were cleaning up one Sunday and I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “you’re all going to give up on the faith for a while.” I think most of you would be surprised by such a presumptuous statement, and I’m guessing a number of you would be (rightly) offended.But I’m a fallible human being, and it would be presumptuous of me to say such a thing, Jesus is the perfect Son of God, the omniscient Lord of the disciples. He’s not blowing smoke, and he’s not simply trying to shock them. He is, in fact, making an accurate prediction which was intended, at least in part, to prepare his disciples for the hours and days to come. We see that in what he says next: “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”The disciples don’t buy it, though. They were confident in themselves. Peter (of course Peter!) speaks up—even if they all fall, I won’t, Jesus! For Peter’s extra measure of boldness Jesus gives an extra dose of reality: before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. How jarring! This is the same Peter who refused to leave, though the crowds abandoned Jesus, because he knew Jesus had the words of eternal life. The same Peter who walked on water. The same Peter who confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus looks him square in the eye and says, “you’re going to deny you even know me: three times tonight.” You might understand Peter’s reply—“even if I must die with you, I won’t deny you!”And the rest of the disciples felt the same way. They had been loyal these three years. It certainly had cost them in terms of time, career, and relationships. They were all in on Jesus. How could he say they would deny him?The disciples were confident in their capacity to stick with Jesus, and why wouldn’t they be? They had done it, for crying out loud! But Jesus doesn’t have that same confidence. As John 2:24-25 states, “Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”Have you ever had a moment when you failed Jesus? Did you know he knew that would happen in advance? Your failures do not surprise God. Both Moses and Joshua, when they affirm the covenant with the people of Israel tell them that they will fail. They will fall short. And the people of Israel cry out, “no, we will obey!” Who is correct, the predictors of shortfall, or those self-assured in their capacity for obedience?Jesus knew how weak his disciples were. And he accounted for it. Jesus also knows how weak you are—and has accounted for that, too.Which takes us to the second scene.Why are you still sleeping?Verses 32-42,And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”The Lord Jesus himself, in this scene, is shown to be familiar with weakness. The book of Hebrews tells us, in the fourth chapter, that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. That double negative might not be great English, but it does refute a common thought—no one understands what I’m going through. In other words, we think Jesus is unable to sympathize. And the writer of Hebrews says: wrong! Jesus is able. And I think this scene must have been top of mind when he wrote those words.Jesus brings the disciples into this walled garden on the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane—or, oil press. And here Jesus was going to be pressed emotionally, spiritually, and even physically to the brink—all before he was arrested. In this time of anguish, what he describes as a time of being “very sorrowful, even to death” (v35), Jesus asks his friends to be with him. Jesus’ state resembles that of the Psalmist in Psalm 55:5, “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.Jesus words to the disciples, “Remain here and watch” are not an invitation to become voyeurs, someone observing his pain and anguish and prayer from the outside. Rather, it was an invitation to “be watchful in prayer” as Colossians 4:2 commands. Jesus was preparing to face the hell of God’s wrath, but what he walked through first was the intense struggle of bringing his human nature into submission to the Divine Will—his Divine Will, eternally united among the Father, Son, and Spirit—so that he might faithfully undertake the course necessary for our redemption. As he prayed, Jesus wanted his friends to labor with him in prayer. There is a very real sense in which, in his humanity, Jesus needed his friends by his side.But they failed him. When he returns to their side, what v35 had just called a “little” ways distant—Luke tells us it was about a “stone’s throw, maybe 15-20 yards?—in what state does Jesus find his disciples? Are they too, diligently laboring in prayer, holding up the arms of Jesus spiritually the way Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses in battle? Were they pleading, asking the Heavenly Father to give strength and resolution to his Son? Not quite. Jesus found his closest associates, James, John, and Peter, all sleeping.Jesus addressed those most self-assured of them: “Simon [Peter’s given name], are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?” The rebuke is subtle but clear: you say you’ll go with me to death, but can I count on you to stay awake?But Jesus does not merely give words of rebuke. His words of instruction are also clear, along with an obvious note of understanding: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation”— perhaps the temptation to violence, certainly the temptation to despair—“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The disciples were willing to help Jesus. They really wanted to be good friends and followers. What they had said on the road out to the garden was genuine in the sense that they were truly expressing how they felt. They never wanted to walk away from Jesus or abandon him. But they were weak. So. Terribly. Weak.I am often reminded of Psalm 103:13-14, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers we are dust.” Jesus knows your frame. His Father in heaven—our Father in heaven—knows your frame. He knows you are dust. And he has compassion.Importantly, though, compassion does not equal excuse making. Jesus gives them another opportunity, and is clearly disappointed when they fail him again. Their failures do not thwart the divine plan, they do not derail what Jesus is going to do. But they remain evidences not only of human weakness, but human failure. And those failures get worse.As Jesus had predicted three times, he would now be betrayed into the hands of sinners. And his disciples would fail in this scene, too.Varieties of failuresScene three: Verses 43-50,And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled.In this third scene, the disciples fail in various ways—the first and most glaring is, of course, Judas. He had gone out from the supper with the intention of betraying Jesus into the hands of the chief priests. Now that plan comes to full fruition. It culminates in what we might call the kiss of death. In the dark of the Garden, the mob might have misidentified Jesus and been worried he would give them the slip, but Judas says, no worries. I’ll identify him for you. Moreover, he seems to either be so in the bag for the chief priests, or so up in his own head, that he thinks that seizing Jesus and leading away under guard is both necessary and possible. He had literally watched Jesus raise the dead and calm the seas, and he thought this armed mob meant something. As if Jesus couldn’t simply call down legions of angels. Judas has lost all perspective, and as his failure grew to the point of betrayal, he seems to at least temporarily lose his grip on reality.Another disciple—unnamed by Mark, but Luke informs us it was Peter—chops of the ear of the High Priest’s servant. Also a failure to understand the gravity of the situation. Maybe rather than praying, Peter had been dreaming of taking up arms for Jesus, so when confronted with an armed mob, his first reaction is to grab his sword. Admirable for the bravery, but not for reading the situation rightly.After Jesus confronts the mob for their hypocrisy—he’d been in the temple courts daily, and they couldn’t arrest him then?—he points out that Scripture will continue to be fulfilled. Remember that Jesus is in complete control of this situation, just like every situation he faced—and just like every circumstance in your life. Did the disciples take comfort and courage from this fact, and stand by their Lord in his hour of trial and need? No, they turned tail and ran. They fell away. “They all left him and fled” (v50).Let he who stands take heed, lest he turn tail and runFourth and final scene: Verses 51-52,And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.This is an unidentified young man. Who is he, and why is this story in the text? We don’t have a definitive answer. There is a common, and what one commentator calls “attractive” guess, that this young man is Mark himself. Is this simply a personal detail that Mark throws in to let the reader know he saw it all first hand, and tell us of his own close brush with the Roman authorities? Maybe. But I think there is instruction for us here as well.I’ve mentioned before that one of the great temptations we face as Bible readers is to read the text of Scripture and think, “what silly people they were” or “wow, what was wrong with them” or “man, they really blew it.” We certainly could read these scenes and think such things of the disciples. The problem with these thoughts is not that they are inaccurate. There’s all kinds of problems with the biblical characters, including the disciples in gospel narratives. There really is only one Jesus.But reading in such a manner can give us a sense of emotional distance. And that felt distance is not justified. We are more like the disciples than we care to think. We are more susceptible to temptation than we want to realize. And that’s what this final scene in Garden shows us. Here is a curious young man—maybe, if it is Mark, he is even following Jesus and the disciples from his own house where they ate the supper, or maybe he heard the crowd which Judas led and wanted to know where they are going—in any case, a young man who is following the action. He is an outside observer, much like us. Presumably attached to the Jesus community. But when grasped he doesn’t try to give an answer, he doesn’t stand up for his abandoned Lord. He slips out of his loose-fitting clothes, and flees naked. And friends, we would, too. In the disciples' shoes, or Mark’s shoes, left to our own resources, we would run away from duty, away from the call of courage—away from Jesus.We are not aloneSo what do we do? Simply accept sin and failure as part of our lives and say, hey, Jesus can forgive me too, so it’s no big deal? Hardly. Jesus desired obedience from the disciples. He desired for them to labor in prayer. He told them in the upper room that to be his disciple meant to obey him. So, if Jesus desires obedience and faithfulness to him—even under duress—but our natural drive is one of self-preservation and the path of least resistance, how can we stand up, stand up for Jesus?We can’t do it on our own power. But the good news is that for believers in Jesus Christ we are not alone. We are not left to our own power, our own devices. We live this side of Pentecost. 50 days after the resurrection, and 10 days after his ascension back to heaven, the Lord Jesus poured out his Holy Spirit on the disciples in the upper room. And his pattern since that point has been to—at the moment of belief—baptize believers with his Holy Spirit, at the very same time they come to him by faith. If you have trusted in Jesus as your personal savior, then you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, and he lives with you and in you.The Spirit’s presence with us means that we have an ability to resist and even put to death sinful temptations which goes beyond what the disciples were capable of. In Mark chapter 13, probably just a few days before the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, he had told his disciples not to worry when they were arrested and dragged before councils, because the Spirit would speak through them (13:11). How did this group of fleeing and fearful disciples become the same group who would, indeed, boldly stand before councils and kings and suffer even unto death for the sake of Jesus? He had poured his Spirit out into their lives.What we need to see in these scenes from the garden is that we should have no confidence in our own power to follow Jesus. We are very much like the disciples, which should teach us humility. It is not hard to think of a time when you have failed in following Jesus. But at the same time, we should take heart. He knows our frame. He knows our sin. He knows our failures. And Jesus has everything under control, even our failures. And what’s more, the same Holy Spirit upon whom Jesus relied in his earthly life is now dwelling within each and every follower of Jesus, enabling us to be far more faithful and true than we could be on our own.Let us rejoice and exult with the words of Jesus’ brother, Jude:Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

The Lord’s SupperMark 14:22-25, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 05/25/2025IntroductionTomorrow is Memorial Day. Why do Americans celebrate memorial day? Beginning in 1868, Americans began to set aside a day to remember the sacrifices of those who had died in the Civil War. This expanded throughout the course of the late 19th and into the 20th centuries, and the last Monday of May was officially set aside by the federal government to celebrate Memorial Day beginning in 1971. Of course, it is also now generally seen as a time when we can remember all of those we have loved and lost, while maintaining that particular emphasis on those who served our country through military service. As an aside, I’d encourage you, if you are able, to attend one of the memorial day programs in the area. There’s one here in town at the Cemetery, at 10am, and one over in Oyens at 11am later. The one here in town, if the weather is bad, will be just down the street at the City gym. There’s a service at the cemetery in Marcus at 9:30am. Oyens does a very nice job, if you don’t have a particular attachment to one of the communities. It’s important to remember. To remember those who went before. To remember sacrifice.The Jewish people also have a Memorial day. The feast of Unleavened Bread, highlighted by the Passover meal, was described by God in this way: “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD” (Exodus 12:14).What were the people of Israel supposed to remember on that day? They were to remember the salvation worked by God as he brought them out of Egypt. We discussed this some last week, but to refresh your memory on the Exodus story: After 400 years of sojourning in the land of Egypt, God determined to save his people from their Egyptian oppressors. For this purpose he had raised up Moses, to deliver the people from the hand of Pharaoh. Over and over, the Lord commands Pharoah to “let my people go, that they may worship me”, and Pharoah steadfastly refuses. In chapter eleven, God described for Moses the dreadful devastation which would come when he stretched out his hand over the land—the firstborn males in all of Egypt would die: both animal and human, from the slave girl grinding grain to Pharaoh on the throne. The firstborn would all die.It is in chapter 12, then, that the Lord gives Moses instructions for this meal—a meal to be eaten in haste, consisting of bitter herbs, unleavened bread (all the leaven was cleared out—the two-fold purpose being the haste with which they would leave, and the symbolism which came to associate leaven with sin), and the passover lamb. This lamb, a spotless male from the flock, was to be killed and then roasted whole. The blood was to be taken, then, and sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of the house using a hyssop branch, and when the angel of death passed through Egypt, any house that was covered by the blood would be passed over.When the angel of death visited that night, Exodus 12:30 tells us, “Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.” The Lord had visited judgement on the enemies of his people, but Israel had been kept safe. Verses 31-32 continue, ‘Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”’Of course, the story doesn’t end there—in chapter 14 we read that Pharaoh, though he had that lucid moment after the death of his son, hardened again against the Lord and his people. He rides with his fastest chariots out into the desert to overtake them, and has them pressed against the Red Sea. But the Lord protects his people from behind with a pillar of cloud—and then he splits the sea. The people of Israel walked through on dry land, but when Pharaoh and his army attempted to pursue, the walls of water collapsed, and they were hurled into the depths. In Exodus 15:1 Moses led the people in song—“I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”All of this the people remembered on their memorial day, the day of Passover. It was a day of remembering God’s judgement of sin and his deliverance of his people.And so in Mark chapter 14, in verses 22-25, we read of Jesus eating together with his disciples on their Memorial Day, but then he does something interesting, something unexpected, with this particular meal. He shifts the focus off of God’s deliverance in the past, and moves the focus squarely to himself.TextMark 14:22-25, And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”Broken BodyAs I noted in the introduction, the most distinctive elements of the passover meal were the lamb, whose blood was shed, and the bitter herbs which were eaten with it. Bread was, of course, the most commonplace item available. Though for the week of the feast it was to only be unleavened bread, bread was, nonetheless, very everyday. So I find it striking that Jesus takes this item and picks it up, blesses it, and pronounces to his disciples: “take; this is my body.”What would they have made of this? Surely, their minds would have been drawn back to the hard words Jesus spoke in John 6:33-35,“For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”Jesus calls himself the bread from heaven—taking the minds of the audience back to the Exodus story, but this time a little further on—to where the people ask for food and God sends manna: bread from heaven. Jesus says to the people, “I am the true manna. I am the bread of real, spiritual, life. You must eat of me.” He continued in John 6 to insist that without eating his flesh you could not have life in you, that it was necessary to feed on him to abide in him, and that if you would eat of him you would have eternal life.After saying these words, Jesus lost many followers. John 6:66 says, “after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” The twelve, though they didn’t yet grasp his meaning, wouldn’t leave. Jesus asked if they, too, would, but Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Peter was right. Jesus did have the words of eternal life. But they weren’t always easy to grasp.And so, while the disciples had heard Jesus speak this way before—that his body was bread to be eaten—to hear it in the context of this meal must still have been jarring. He wanted them to take his body, and eat it.We should note here the obviously metaphorical nature of this language. Jesus’ body didn’t start to disintegrate or fall apart as they ate the bread. When he said this is my body, he is using language in a way that clearly means “this bread represents my body.” They were symbolically consuming Christ as they ate the bread he passed around the table.Blood of the CovenantAfter they had eaten the bread, Jesus took a cup. Though this wasn’t part of the initial celebration of the Passover meal, and least not as explicitly recorded in Exodus, by the time of Jesus it seems that the meal had become a multiple course affair, part of which was a number of glasses of wine. Several commentators argue, I think rightly, that this cup Jesus took would have been the third cup of wine—the cup of blessing. So he pronounced the blessing over it, and then they all drank of it. So far, so normal for the disciples. They’re still processing his words about the bread being his body: what exactly is he getting at?Then Jesus drops another bomb: “this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” They thought they were drinking wine—he calls it blood. They thought they were drinking it—he says it is poured out. Again, our minds must grasp the metaphorical use of language. There’s no superstitious transubstantiation, nor changing of the bread and wine into flesh and blood. But these tangible physical elements of bread and wine are now meant to point beyond themselves. But to what?It’s easy for us, as Christians, to jump straight to the cross here. And, of course, that is where our minds do need to end up. But Jesus says that this is his blood of the covenant. What does that mean?If you remember our discussions of covenant from Genesis you’ll remember that a covenant is a mutually binding agreement. But unlike a modern contract which assumes the equality of the two parties entering into that contract, there was often a power differential in ancient covenants. Thus you would have a Lord who initiated a covenant with his subjects. There were stipulations upon both parties, and the consequences were severe—sealed in blood. Further, there was usually a sign of the covenant which symbolized the covenant arrangement. The classic example of this is Genesis 15 where God enters into a covenant with Abram, putting Abram to sleep and giving him a vision in which the Lord himself passes between the split bodies of the sacrifices. He then, two chapters later, reaffirms the covenant and gives Abram the sign of circumcision—simultaneously changing his name to Abraham. Being in a covenant with God changes Abraham’s very identity.When Abraham’s descendants were in bondage in Egypt, and then delivered—the Exodus which God, in Genesis 15, had told Abraham would happen; and which Passover was the initiation of—God brought them to Mount Sinai and initiated a national covenant with them. There he gave them the law, the ten commandments and the rest of the Torah. This law was a good law, and Moses tells the people that he is setting before them, in the giving of this law, life itself. To walk in God’s ways is the path of life, obedience to the covenant stipulations brings covenant blessings. But on the flip side, to walk in disobedience was to bring down covenant curses. Disobedience was the path to death.So the people of Israel always walked in obedience, right? Ha. But God knew that. And the law also had, built into it, the recognition that God’s people would fall short of God’s standard. They would continue to sin. And so a substantial part of the system is what we call the Levitical sacrificial system. Pigeons and doves and bulls and goats and grain and oil—sacrifices of all kinds to thank the Lord, praise the Lord, but most importantly, to come before him for forgiveness and the atonement of sin. Without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness.But such a system, of course, never dealt with the core of the issue. The human heart which wanders far from God was still inclined toward sin, and while God made provision through the law for the blood of bulls and goats to, in a temporary way, cover that sin, their blood could never take the sin away (Hebrews 10:4). God’s people needed a new covenant. And, roughly 700 years after Moses, such a covenant is what the prophet Jeremiah foretold.Jeremiah 31:31-34, “Behold the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”That new covenant that is written, not on stone tablets, but upon human hearts, is the very covenant Jesus was accomplishing and sealing with his blood as it was poured out on the cross. It’s a covenant that isn’t merely external, but that purchases and accomplishes forgiveness, yes, but also the genuine repentance and transformation of those who are brought in.But one aspect of the new covenant passage in Jeremiah 31 that might disturb you as you read it is the intended audience—isn’t this just a promise for the houses of Israel and Judah? Well, if we only had Jeremiah’s testimony, we might think so. But a covenant, an everlasting covenant, with David—but which extends its blessings out to the nations—is the subject of Isaiah’s 55th chapter.Isaiah 55:1-5, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you did not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.”A nation that did not know the Lord would run to the Greatest Son of David. Friends, the apostle Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 that believers in Jesus Christ are that holy nation, a people for his own possession. And how do we become such a nation? How do we come to be part of the people who receive the good news of the new covenant? We trust in the blood of Jesus which was shed in our place for our sins. We heed the voice of the Lord Jesus, running to him, who, in John 7:37, makes reference to Isaiah 55: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” If we come to him by faith, drinking of the blood he shed in our place, he will pour out into our hearts the Holy Spirit. Jesus says John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” And John the gospel writer clarifies in the following verse: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive.” If you come to Jesus by faith, you become a member of the new covenant. You are counted among the many, for whom Jesus’ blood was spilled.Signs of UnionThe Lord Jesus gave us two signs of the New Covenant. The first, baptism, is an initiatory rite, comparable to how circumcision functioned under the Mosaic code. But the Lord’s table is an ongoing sign. Though it is not made explicit in the text here in Mark, both Luke and 1 Corinthians all give us the impression that this was something the church is to practice with great regularity. No specific frequency is required—but I would never want to take the Lord’s Supper less than our current once a month. And it is, in part, the ordinary elements of bread and wine make a regularity, and “as often-ness” possible. Jesus, our Passover lamb, has already been killed. We don’t need special herbs to season the meal, or to tie our robes tight around our waist, ready to run for the Red Sea. Instead, we are able to sit in the presence of the Lord Jesus and receive these tangible signs and symbols of his body and blood, reminders of the work he did for us on the cross, and the work he continues to do in us as we live as his covenant people here on earth. Though the symbols themselves are physical, the reality that they minister to us is the spiritual gift of Christ, who by his Spirit is present with us.That current presence by the Spirit is crucial. Jesus told his disciples in verse 25 that he wouldn’t sit down to eat and drink with them again until the kingdom had come—there is some debate over what he means by that, but I think the most straightforward way to understand it is the wedding supper of the Lamb pictured in Revelation 19. One day we will physically be seated at a table with the Lord Jesus at the head, eating the rich food of Isaiah 55 and drinking the best wine, such as he made in John 2. But until then, we regularly gather at the table, feasting by faith, nourished and knit together as we remember—and not only remember, but proclaim—the Lord’s death until he comes.Communion Meditation: Context and ContentGiven the content of the sermon this morning, we’re going to pause our meditations through the Creed, in order to focus more tightly on the Lord’s Supper itself.I mentioned in the sermon the everydayness of bread and wine: we no longer sacrifice a Passover lamb because Jesus is our Passover lamb who was sacrificed in our place. His blood is sprinkled over the doorposts of the heart of everyone who comes to him by faith. And he gives us ordinary means that we might celebrate and remember his sacrifice with great regularity.Now this ordinariness should not be transformed into lightness. We need to honor our Covenant Lord in the content of what we use, and the context of where we use it. There is a temptation for modern Christians to be flippant in how they approach the Lord’s Supper. Some take the idea that “wherever two or three are gathered” and reality that Christ fulfilled the Passover feast, and think we can remember this basically however we want. So if I’m camping, maybe graham crackers and hot cocoa can be the Lord’s supper. Or at my home with my friends, maybe we can call pizza and pepsi the Lord’s supper. Let me issue a loving, but stern, warning on this matter: the intended context of the supper is the gathered church. Paul speaks 1 Corinthians 11:17-18 of “when you come together.” Communion is not an individual act between you and God, or even you and some random collection of other Christians, this is an ordinance that he gives to his covenant people, identified and gathered in the church. I don’t think this excludes the ability to take communion to the infirmed, perhaps in a hospital or nursing home. But it does mean that those are exceptional cases, and not to be considered normal.Likewise, while the context is clearly to be the gathered church, the content or what have traditionally been called the elements are also prescribed by Scripture. First, there is the bread. Now, I do not believe the bread needs to be unleavened; we aren’t celebrating the feast of unleavened bread, we are remembering Jesus’ body. But it needs to be bread. Likewise, we have wine. The wine needs to be real fruit of the grape vine. Not water, not soda, not apple juice, not even that oh so holy substance we call coffee. Fruit of the vine. Historically, this has meant fermented wine. Only in the past 155 years has unfermented wine been used by some Christians—since Thomas Welch applied the process of pasteurization to grape juice and a stable juice became possible. Obviously the practice of our church, and many other churches—especially Methodists and Baptists in the past century and a half—has been to use grape juice. I don’t think there is anything wrong with grape juice, per se, because the Bible doesn’t explicitly say that the wine must be fermented, and the terms Jesus uses are “the cup” and “the fruit of the vine.” Nonetheless, what they used at that first meal was clearly and obviously wine, and that was the universal practice of Christian churches for well over 1800 years, and continues to be the practice of most churches today. And to be quite honest, the more I meditate on this reality, the more convinced I am that the most faithful way to practice the supper is with real, fermented, wine. And so, starting in July—not today, I don’t want to spring this on anybody out of the blue—my plan is to shift from our current practice of using grape juice to what I think is the more Biblical and historic Christian practice: wine.Now I also want to be sensitive to the fact that some of you may have a problem in your conscience with any consumption of alcohol under any circumstance, or perhaps you are concerned about your child who is a believer taking wine in communion. What I want to do here is two-fold: first, I want to offer an exhortation; second, I want to offer a clarification. First, the exhortation: you may be making the wise choice to abstain from drinking alcohol in principle, to not have it in your house, etc. If this has been a sin struggle in your past or in your family, I am not going to argue with you choosing to abstain. Jesus says to cut off your hand if that would keep you from sin, take drastic measures to avoid temptation, that’s good. I would ask you, however, to pray about whether a sip of wine in the context of the gathered church remembering Christ’s death for our sins—including the sin of abusing alcohol—is that in the same category as buying a case of Busch for the fridge or a bottle of Jack Daniels for the cupboard? Likewise, if you are concerned about your child having a sip of wine in communion, I would ask you to consider the wisdom of generations of Christians who went before who thought that honoring the Lord by remembering him through the supper was more important than whatever our normal house rules would be. Even the government acknowledges this difference in making exceptions to alcohol laws for religious practice.Second, the clarification: I really do want to honor the consciences of those who disagree in this matter. And so if not taking wine is a matter of conscience for you, I would ask you to do two things:1), pray about what I just laid out, and2), come talk to me—not right after church today, I really do want you to pray and read this passage and the 1 Corinthians 11 passage and meditate on what obedience to the Lord looks like—But if you do that, and still feel you could not in good conscience take wine in communion, again, come talk to me, and we’ll make accommodation for that. Because more important than the question of whether the juice is fermented or not is the question of discerning the presence of Christ’s body at the table: and while his broken physical body is symbolized by the bread, his true spiritual body is present in the gathering of the church. We, together, constitute the body of Christ on earth. And so as we celebrate the supper, let there be no quarreling or dissension between us. Let us be reminded of Christ’s body broken and blood shed in our place, that he might unite us to himself by faith, bringing us into the family of his Father by purchasing our pardon. And remembering also that he, in this process, has made us One, even as He and the Father are One. Let pursue the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace, and let us proclaim Jesus’ name and and death together, in love, unity, and gratitude. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Sermon Summary: Mark 14 - Judas's Betrayal and Jesus's SovereigntyThis sermon explores Mark 14, focusing on Judas's betrayal of Jesus and the theological implications regarding God's sovereignty and human responsibility.Main Outline* Introduction: Judas's Betrayal (Mark 14:10-11)* The chief priests were planning to kill Jesus after Passover* Judas approached them with an offer to betray Jesus* They paid him 30 pieces of silver (the price of a slave)* Contrast between Mary's sacrificial worship and Judas's betrayal for money* Preparation for Passover (Mark 14:12-16)* Jesus sends disciples to find a man carrying water* Detailed instructions reveal Jesus's complete foreknowledge* Everything prepared exactly as Jesus had planned* The Passover Meal & Betrayal Announcement (Mark 14:17-21)* Jesus announces one of the Twelve will betray him* Disciples' disbelief and questioning: "Is it I?"* Jesus references Psalm 41:9 as prophecy fulfilled* Jesus pronounces "woe" on his betrayer* Two Key Questions Addressed: a. Was Jesus a victim of betrayal?* Jesus demonstrated complete knowledge and control* The betrayal was part of God's sovereign plan from the beginning* Jesus knew Judas would betray him when he chose him* Jesus continued to serve and love Judas knowing his future betrayal b. Was Judas responsible for his actions?* God's sovereignty doesn't remove human responsibility* Judas actively sought to betray Jesus* Judas had the same opportunities as other disciples but hardened his heart* Jesus's pronouncement of "woe" indicates severe judgment* Applications:* God remains in control even in dark circumstances* External religious association isn't enough - true faith is required* Self-deception is dangerous - we must examine our hearts* The key question: Will we worship Jesus like Mary or betray him like Judas?The sermon concludes with a prayer asking for faith to see Christ's beauty and to remain faithful to him.TranscriptMark 14: The Betrayal of JesusIntroductionI wonder how he felt. I wonder what he told himself. After three years of walking with Jesus, after three years of hearing Jesus' teaching, after seeing all of the miracles from the wedding at Cana to the resurrection of Lazarus, after himself preaching the gospel of the kingdom and seeing many people come to faith in Christ, after himself doing many mighty works, including casting out demons and healing the sick, I wonder what he felt.Our text last week began in chapter 14, verses 1 and 2, where the chief priests and the scribes are seeking, they're plotting together how they're going to kill Jesus, and they decide they can't do it right away. They need to wait until the festival, the Passover festival, is over in Jerusalem. At that time as a city in the ancient world, a very large city, 100 to 200,000 people. But at Passover, Josephus tells us it would swell to well over a million with all of the visitors who came to town. And so the chief priests and the scribes decide we can't arrest and kill Jesus with this many people around. He's too popular. It's too dangerous. We'll wait until the festival is passed and then we will arrest him and kill him.But their plans change when opportunity comes knocking. And that's where we are in chapter 14, verse 10 this morning.Judas' BetrayalVerses 10 and 11 say this, Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money, and he sought an opportunity to betray him.So the plans of the chief priests and the scribes change when Judas comes to the chief priests with an offer they can't refuse. I, one of the 12, will betray him to you. You're worried about trying to get him at a time when the crowds won't be there, when the crowds won't notice, when the crowds won't see, they won't be able to stop you, or there won't be an uproar. I don't. I can help you out here. I can provide what you need.They're glad to hear it. It says so glad that they offer him money. Mark doesn't dwell on how much money that was. The other gospels tell us it was 30 pieces of silver in fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah chapter 12. And that price, 30 pieces of silver, we learned from the book of Exodus is what God had prescribed as the price of a slave. Judas sells Jesus for the price of a slave.We saw last week in the story of Mary at Bethany, verses 3 through 9, she had given a gift beyond cost to Jesus. An alabaster flask full of ointment that would have cost probably a year's salary, something she could never have earned on her own. And yet she is willing to pour it all out on Jesus, for Jesus. She worshipfully uses her material possessions. But Judas worships his material possessions, and it's more important to him to have that 30 pieces of silver than to be counted with Jesus.Planning the Passover MealThe next thing we see in verses 12 through 16 is Jesus planning for the Passover. On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, so this would be Thursday in Passion Week, his disciples said to him, Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? So they're out in Bethany, right? That's where they were in the first part of this chapter. They're staying either with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, or they've been at a feast at the house of Simon the leper. They're spending their time this week out in Bethany. But the Passover feast itself had to be celebrated in Jerusalem.And so they're asking Jesus, where do you want us to go set up in town for the Passover meal? And he sent two of his disciples, verse 13, and said to them, Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, The teacher says, Where is my guest room? Where may I eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. There, prepare for us. And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.Again, the meal had to be eaten in the city. And as I just said, there's over a million people in town. So this might sound like a bit of an impossible task that he sends these two disciples on. I want you to find a man carrying a jar of water. These narrow streets absolutely crowded with people. But what he's telling them to look for actually would stand out because carrying jars of water in ancient Jerusalem would have been considered women's work. So there weren't tons of men walking around carrying jars of water.The one exception to that would be the Essenes. The Essenes are not mentioned by name. It's a group, religious group in ancient Israel that aren't mentioned in the New Testament, they kind of came to a prominence in modern understanding with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were the community at Qumran who prepared all of those scrolls, who had kept meticulous copies of the ancient documents and then stored them in those caves that were eventually found in the 1940s and so that they were a group that was even more conservative than the pharisees the pharisees were one of the really conservative religious groups in first century Jerusalem they they thought the the Sadducees and the chief priests they were all sellouts to Rome.Well, the Essenes thought even the Pharisees were sellouts to the modern system. And so their way of preserving the way things ought to be is they went out into the desert, but they didn't have any women. It was all men. And you see cults like that. You think you don't have a very good long term plan, do you? I don't know how this is going to perpetuate itself. But in any case, you would have just men there. So all of the tasks of life had to be performed by men. So it's entirely possible that this is conjecture, but it's entirely possible that Jesus has connection with this Essene community who themselves would have come into Jerusalem for the Passover. And one of them is who he has had contact with and said, prepare for me a place in this upper room. And so when you see a man carrying a jar of water, follow that guy because he's going to go to the room that I had prepared for you.This meal that they would have had to plan for was the Passover meal, where they celebrated the exodus from Egypt, God's great deliverance of his people in the book of Exodus. And if you remember the ten plagues, the final plague in Egypt, after every plague, God had been saying to Pharaoh, let through the mouth of Moses and Aaron, let my people go. And Pharaoh would say, no, I'm not going to let your people go. Until finally, the last plague, God had sent the angel of death to kill the firstborn.And God had warned Pharaoh that this would be coming. And that angel of death passed through, but God had told the people of Israel, take a lamb, a spotless lamb, kill the lamb, and take the blood and put it over the lintel of your house, the doorposts. And when the angel of death sees the blood on the doorposts, he'll pass over your home. And then the meal that they were supposed to eat, they were supposed to eat that lamb, but they ate that meal at night with their coats tied on, and they were supposed to eat it standing up and to eat in haste. They ate the lamb however much they could of it. They ate unleavened bread, which was a symbol of what a hurry they were in. And then traditionally, they also would have eaten bitter herbs, would have been how they started that meal, and they would have had wine to go with it.The Last Supper and Jesus' PredictionIn verses 17 and following, we see them come into town to Jerusalem for the meal. By the time of Jesus, they're no longer eating this meal standing up. It's a feast. It's a festival meal. And so traditionally at that point, now they're reclining at table. So the Jews in the first century normally would have sat at the table to eat dinner but here for these festival meals they dine in roman fashion or greek fashion they recline like feet out away from the table arms towards the table and they're leaning in dipping the different pieces of bread in the oils and the bitter herbs when it was evening he came with the 12 verse 18 as they were reclining at table and eating jesus said truly i say to you one of you will betray me one who is eating with me.And they began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, is it I? And he said to them, it is one of the 12, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the son of man goes as it was written of him. But woe to that man by whom the son of man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had never been born.They come to this meal and in the middle of the meal, Jesus makes a declaration. My betrayer is here at this table. One of you, one of the 12 is going to betray me. And if you're trying to imagine this scenario, I would think like the air comes out of the room. Here they are. They've been with Jesus for three years and they know things are getting pretty tense. In fact, until this Passover, they've been avoiding Jerusalem and even the whole region of Judea for quite some time because Jesus is not popular with the religious authorities.But then Jesus says to them, my betrayer is not out there somewhere. He's right here eating this meal with us. And it says in verse 19 that they're sorrowful. They're disbelieving. They're asking the question, is it I, Lord? And the way that phrase is structured in Greek, it's expecting a negative answer. Surely it's not me. Who could it be? It's not, Peter says, it's not me. John says, it's not me, is it, Lord? Philip, it's not me, is it, Lord? And around and on and on it goes.They ask this question to share table fellowship, even today, but even more so in the ancient world. To share table fellowship with someone is a profound sense of welcoming them, bringing them in, saying, we are one, we are together, I accept you. And Jesus, who is the host of this meal, is saying, I have welcomed you all in, and one of you is going to stab me in the back. One of you is going to reject that welcome.Psalm 41 and verse 9 says that the one who had shared bread with me at table has lifted his heel against me. That's what Jesus means when he says, for the son of man, it goes, it is written of him. This was put down by David in the Psalms a thousand years ago, that this is what was going to happen. But woe to him by whom that comes. Severe damnation is what is indicated by that word, woe.Two Questions Raised by the TextSo this text is one which in my mind raises two basic questions. And we'll tackle the easier one first. And the first is, is Jesus a victim of this betrayal?And to answer that, I want to read verses 13 through 16 again. And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, The teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. There, prepare for us. And the disciples set out, went into the city, and found it just as he had told them, and there they prepared the Passover.The thing I find incredibly interesting in that passage is that the disciples do what Jesus told them to do. He's told them to walk into a city completely chock full of people, find the one guy walking around with a jar of water and follow him to a house and then say hey the teacher sent me for this prepared room that you already have set up for us.That sounds like a crazy task to send someone to do. And yet the disciples, these two disciples, just go and do as Jesus said. And what they find when they do so is that it is exactly as he had set up. They follow this man with a jar. And they ask, and yes, there's a room already ready for us.And there's a debate in the commentaries over the years as to what's happening here. Is this Jesus divine foreknowledge, like being able to say that you're gonna find this particular person, he's gonna be doing this particular task, and if you follow him, well, then here's what he's gonna have ready for you. Is this Jesus accessing divine knowledge? That's one group of people. And the other group says, no, what this indicates is that Jesus has planned this out ahead of time. And it seems like he's sending the disciples on a wild goose chase, but he already has it all planned out. He has it already. And so when he sends them in, they're going to find the people that Jesus has already talked to and set this up with.And to me, I read both of those and I go, this is a completely pointless argument because both of them indicate that Jesus had it all planned out, divinely accessing this knowledge, or he just, in human terms, planned it all out. The point either way is that Jesus planned it all out. Every single detail of the preparations for this Passover meal are planned out in advance by Jesus.Jesus Was Not SurprisedThere's nothing here that is surprising him. And so when we come to the meal, when we come to the Passover meal, and Jesus says, one of you is going to betray me, that's not unplanned by him either. He's been predicting it. There's three predictions of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection in the Gospel of Mark. Two of them, chapter 9, verse 31, and chapter 10, verse 33, include the detail that he would be delivered into the hands of the chief priests, that he would be delivered over to sinful men.Jesus knew from the beginning that he was going to be betrayed. In Mark chapter 6, verse 64, this is much earlier in Jesus' ministry. Jesus says, there are some of you who do not believe. And then John, the gospel writer, inserts this editorial comment. For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him.Jesus knew from the beginning. Jesus knew when he picked Judas that Judas would betray him. That's an important thing for us to know. That Judas did not surprise Jesus. That Jesus welcomed Judas into the Twelve. That Jesus gave Judas power and authority over demons and power to preach the gospel effectively. And Jesus brought Judas in and served him and loved him and gave him access to the collective purse of the community, which the other gospel writers tell us Judas was skimming the top off of. Jesus ministered to Judas for three years knowing that this moment was coming.In fact, in John's Gospel, chapter 13, when Jesus washes the disciples' feet, that takes place. Jesus washing their nasty, disgusting feet. A task so low that a Jewish servant was not allowed to do it. You could have a foreigner do it, but you could not have a Jewish servant wash your feet. Jesus washes the disciples' feet. And Judas was still there when he did that.Jesus knew from the beginning what Judas was to do. He knew from before the foundation of the earth that he was going to come to this earth and be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and die, be buried and be raised again. The whole plan was laid out in advance by God the Father in accordance with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The plan was since before the creation was the son would die for the sins of sinful human beings. None of this is by surprise to Jesus. Jesus is not a victim of what Judas is doing here. Jesus is the sovereign Lord of the situation.Was Judas Really at Fault?But if Jesus was sovereignly in control over the entire event, and if the method of betrayal had been foretold in the Psalms, again, Psalm 41, verse 9, was Judas really at fault? That's our other question. If God used what Judas did to bring about the salvation of every sinner who would ever believe in Christ, then if this was God's plan, is Judas really the bad guy? If Judas is part of God's plan, does that remove his responsibility?No, it doesn't. And we see that in verses 10 and 11, just the way that Mark, the gospel writer, portrays Judas. Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money, and he sought an opportunity to betray him. Listen to those active verbs. He went, he sought, he sought to betray him. Judas is active in this entire situation.The gospel writers leave no doubt in our minds how we're supposed to view Judas. Even when he's introduced early on in the gospel, they tell us in advance. They don't want to bury the lead. This is the Judas Iscariot who was to betray him. Judas, who is the betrayer. You sometimes wonder, especially when you're reading like Matthew or John, who were themselves disciples, members of the 12, there's almost a sting as they write it. Again, this is the guy who held the purse. They trusted Judas. And he betrayed Jesus. He betrayed us. He betrayed the Lord of glory.Human Responsibility and God's SovereigntyGod's comprehensive sovereignty over all things does not remove human responsibility. It does not remove our ability to choose right and wrong and our responsibility to choose right, to choose that which is honoring to God, to choose obedience to him, to choose faith.What it does mean is that when we choose sin, when we choose wickedness, we cannot thwart God's plan. God's comprehensive sovereignty means no matter how many wicked things human beings do, no matter how many wicked things human beings choose to do, we cannot thwart God's plan. There's nothing we can do to stop or stay His hand.But for Judas, he was responsible for his decisions. Judas had all the same experiences and opportunities as the other disciples. He heard all the same teaching. He was there for the Sermon on the Mount. But he let his heart grow hard to the point of betrayal, point of turning away and this is why Jesus says woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. That term woe is used in the old testament is the strongest prophetic denunciation condemnation term of condemnation for evil people and nations. You read in the book of Isaiah chapter 5 a series of woes against the people of Judah and Israel and in Isaiah there's also woes against other nations that oppress Israel and Judah.And in Isaiah six, the prophet says, woe is me for I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. I come from a people of unclean lips. Jesus picks up that language probably just earlier this week when he's talking about the scribes and the Pharisees. Matthew in chapter 25 runs through the woes against scribes and Pharisees. Woe to you, Jesus says over and over and over again. And what he's saying is you are condemned. Apart from repentance, you are damned by God. For what? For their hypocrisy. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. And now Jesus, after giving all of that teaching, turns and says, one of you disciples, woe to you. You too are a hypocrite. You too are pretending to be something over here, a faithful disciple of Jesus, when in reality you are the betrayer. And apart from repentance, you will be damned. That's what Jesus is saying when he says, woe to you.Better, he says, to have not been born. The clear implication is that he is facing eternal torment and it would have been better to have never existed than to face that. That's a sobering reality.Applications From This TextSo what do we do with this text? Okay, Jesus is in control of everything, but Judas is still responsible for his actions. Well, that translates very easily into two things that we need to take away.First of all, we need to remember that God is always in control of everything. We can take a great deal of comfort in that fact that there is no night so dark, that there is no circumstance so bleak that God is not in control. Jesus is walking his disciples here into the most disappointing and terrifying moment of their earthly lives. One of their own is going to betray them, betray Jesus specifically, and then Jesus himself will be crucified. And he is showing them and preparing them in advance that he knows it all, that he already knows this is going to happen and that it's going to be okay. Not that it's going to be okay in the sense of it's okay that this is happening, that God's okay with sin, but that God has it all under control.There are so many moments in life when we are tempted to believe that it's time to hit the panic button, that it's time to worry, that it's time to be afraid. But Jesus, by reminding us that he's in control of everything, reminds us what Paul says in Romans 8. If God is for us, who can be against us? If the God who planned out the death of his own son in our place is for us, who can be against us? He will work all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.But the second thing to learn from this text and to take to heart is that that promise that God will work all things together for good is only for those who love him. That's not a universal promise. God does not work everything together for good for everyone. He does not work all things together for Judas' good. Judas hardened his heart and betrayed the Lord Jesus.And I think the message for us there is that let he who stands take heed lest he fall. Judas, again, spent three years with Jesus, was one of the hand-picked disciples, and for all the world to see was just another one of Jesus' most intimate followers. That's what the world saw when they looked at Judas until the very end.It wasn't reality. Judas was not living that way. He was being a hypocrite there in Simon's house. He's criticizing Mary for worshiping Jesus. He's stealing money. So he's acting the hypocrite all the way through. But the world doesn't know that. And when I started with, I wonder what he thought, I really do wonder if Judas even saw himself that way. Because we have such a strong ability to lie to ourselves.Jeremiah says the heart is desperately sick. We have an immense capacity to fool ourselves. Matthew chapter 7. The tail end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks some terrifyingly sober words. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.That's Judas. He literally cast out demons in Jesus' name, did many mighty works in Jesus' name, and at the end, Jesus will say to him, I never knew you. Despite three years of walking and talking and being together, Jesus will say, I never knew you.Examining Our HeartsAnd this is one of those texts where we need to examine our own hearts because everybody else can't see what's going on inside of you. Do you trust Christ? Again Jesus says you workers of lawlessness there in chapter 7 of Matthew and the defense that that person is making they're saying but I did all this good stuff for you but what is the primary work that Jesus wants john chapter 6 says this is the work of my father that you believe in Jesus Christ whom he has sent.Faith in Christ will work its way out in good works. But if you think just because I'm doing good things or I'm showing up to church or I have some kind of association with Christians, that that's going to be good enough to Jesus, it's not. Because when push comes to shove, those kind of loose associations, even if they're important in your life, aren't enough. You have to actually be attached to Jesus by faith, united to him, given the gift of his Holy Spirit.Jesus says in John chapter 10 that those who are in the hand of the Father can never get out. They'll never leave. He will keep them till the end. Jesus preserves all of those who are his. But you only become Jesus' child. He's given you the gift of the Spirit and you have trust in by faith. There's no works that we do. There's no set of actions. It's not even showing up in the right place. Judas was in the right place for three years, except for his heart.His body was in the right place, but his heart was not. And so we need to ask, what do we love? What do we love? Who do we love?ConclusionIn one of his writings, I don't remember which one of it is, C.S. Lewis makes the point that you will surely be used in God's plan. You're in God's will one way or another. But it's of great matter to you whether you are in his plan the way John was or the way Judas was. And he put them together because, you know, they both start with a J. But here in Mark chapter 14, I think the question to us is, are we going to be part of Jesus's plan the way Mary was, as someone who's willing to pour our whole selves out and worship to him? Or the way Judas was, where in spite of our evil, God will use it. That's the question that we each get to answer for ourselves. Will I worship him or will I worship? Love something else. Will I betray him? Will I walk away?Would you pray with me? Father God, we need to trust you. We need to trust in what you've done through your son, Jesus Christ. We need to give our whole selves over to him. And yet, as those who are by nature sinful, we need you to do that in us. The place where your comprehensive sovereignty and our genuine responsibility meets is beyond our finite mind to grasp. And yet they're both clearly taught in your word. And so we trust that you will give it if we ask, that you will give the faith that we need, that you will give us eyes to see the beauty of Christ, who he is and what he has done for us. And we ask for the faith to follow to keep walking with him till the end. In the words of Jude, we are thankful to you because you are the one who is able to keep us in the love of Christ. Protect us now. Keep us in your love, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript and summary generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors. Sermon Summary"How Will You Respond to Jesus?"🔶 SERMON OUTLINEI. Introduction: The Range of Human Responses* Commentary on reactions to the announcement of a new Pope.* People’s emotions vary: excitement, skepticism, indifference.* Transition to Jesus: how people also respond to him in varied ways.* Key Question: Is it okay to have neutral feelings about Jesus?II. The Olivet Discourse and the Two Final Categories (Matthew)* Jesus declares that at the end of time, there will be only two types of people:* Those who embraced him (the sheep, right hand)* Those who rejected him (the goats, left hand)* Superficial acknowledgment of Jesus (“Lord, Lord”) is not sufficient.* Jesus demands full submission and trust as Savior and Lord.III. Overview of the Gospel of Mark* Mark introduces Jesus as the Son of God and King of the Kingdom.* The first half (chapters 1–8): Jesus establishes his identity through miracles:* Authority over demons (e.g., Legion)* Authority over sickness (healing diseases)* Authority over sins (forgiving the paralytic)* Authority over nature (feeding crowds, walking on water)* Pivot in Mark 8: Peter confesses Jesus is the Christ.* From that point on, Jesus reveals his plan for redemption: his death and resurrection (repeated in chapters 8–10).IV. Jesus’ Final Week (Mark 11–14)* Chapter 11: Triumphal entry and cursing the fig tree (symbol of Israel's spiritual barrenness).* Chapter 12: Warnings against the scribes.* Chapter 13: Prediction of temple destruction and Jesus’ second coming.* Chapter 14 opens with the plot to kill Jesus by religious leaders.V. Two Responses to Jesus (Mark 14:1–9)A. Rejection (vv. 1–2)* Chief priests and scribes seek to kill Jesus.* Even though modern hearers aren’t physically crucifying Jesus, choosing sin is still a rejection of him.* Every sin aligns us with the forces that put Jesus on the cross.B. Worship (vv. 3–9)* Mary’s act of worship: breaks alabaster jar of expensive perfume and anoints Jesus.* This sets up four characteristics of true worship:🔸 Four Characteristics of True Worship1. Worship Is Rich (Costly & Lavish)* Mary gives her most valuable possession (worth ~1 year’s wages).* True worship values Jesus above all material goods.* This worship is rich not just materially, but in affection and devotion.2. Worship Is Reasonable* The disciples (especially Judas) criticize Mary for wastefulness.* Jesus defends her: it was a beautiful thing.* Worship that gives Jesus everything isn’t extravagant—it’s entirely fitting.* Romans 12:1–2 – giving ourselves to God is our reasonable service.3. Worship Is Rewarded* Jesus promises Mary’s act will be remembered wherever the gospel is preached.* God sees and rewards every act of sacrificial love.* Encouragement especially to those who serve behind the scenes (e.g., mothers, caregivers).4. Worship Is Responsive* Mary’s act wasn’t to earn favor; it was in response to Jesus’ love and sacrifice.* She is preparing his body for burial—Jesus ties her act to his coming death.* True worship flows from understanding God’s grace, not trying to earn it.🔶 Conclusion: Side with Mary* Don’t align with the self-righteous or indifferent religious elite.* Pour out your life at Jesus’ feet—he is worthy.* This is another instance of Mary choosing the “better part” (Luke 10).* Final prayer: for God to make us like Mary.SERMON SUMMARYThis sermon presents a challenge to the listener: How will you respond to Jesus? Through a mix of biblical exposition, narrative overview, and practical application, the preacher presents two stark options: to reject or to worship Christ.Using Mark 14:1–9 as the focal text, the sermon contrasts the murderous intentions of the religious leaders with the extravagant, sincere devotion of Mary of Bethany. Her act of anointing Jesus with a year’s worth of perfume is held up as a model for Christian worship.The preacher offers four key traits of real worship—it must be rich, reasonable, rewarded, and responsive. Worship is not about checking boxes but about responding to the immeasurable worth of Jesus and the salvation he has already given.Sermon TranscriptHow will you respond to Jesus?There was a little discussion this morning about Pope stuff. Obviously, the Catholic Church named a new Pope here a couple days ago. And it's interesting having conversations with Catholic friends and customers at the coffee shop—just the different reactions to the Pope.There are people who are just excited to the point of tears, like they're really emotionally invested. And there are people who are skeptically excited, like, yeah, we'll see how he does. I talked to a friend of mine, and he said, “I just don't know, Will. I really don't trust Americans.” So he's really skeptical of the idea that there's an American pope.The way we react to people in general can be all over the map, right? Maybe you feel really strongly, passionately positive towards someone, or really strongly negative towards someone—or you're somewhere in between. And with normal human beings, we can have those kinds of all-over-the-map reactions.But is that the case with Jesus? A lot of people would say, yeah, I don't have strong feelings about Jesus. It seems like he was probably a good guy. Or, I don't have strong feelings about Jesus. I don't really feel the need to follow him. I don't see the need for a savior. But whatever, if you want to, that's fine.But what Jesus tells us in the Olivet Discourse in the Gospel of Matthew is that at the end of time, there's only going to be two categories of people. There are those who embraced him as all that he is—Savior, Lord, God—and they are the sheep who will go to his right hand. And then there are those who do not embrace him in that way, which includes many people who are going to say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do all kinds of good things for you?” But they didn’t actually submit to him as their Lord, and they are among the goats who will go to the left-hand side.That's important for us as a church. We've just gone through about two months of walking through the seven words that Jesus says from the cross and considering his life as it came to an end—an earthly end—where he paid for our sins. And we discussed all that that implied about our sinful state and about the sufficiency of his sacrifice and his sovereignty and all of that.As we jump back into the Gospel of Mark, we're going to again be confronted with this choice, this decision. There are two ways to respond to Jesus. You can reject him, or you can worship him.We should reorient ourselves to the Gospel of Mark just a little bit because it's been since August that we were here. The Gospel of Mark introduces itself, chapter 1, verse 1, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And Mark tells you at the very beginning of his Gospel who he is introducing you to. This is the Son of God who has come to earth.And in verse 15 of chapter 1, Jesus tells us that the gospel that he comes to bring, the good news that he comes to bring, is the good news of the kingdom. In his coming to earth, Jesus is the king of the universe, the king of God's kingdom, and he has come near. That's the good news that he is preaching.The first half of Mark's gospel is devoted to Jesus establishing his identity. And so we see that in the authority that he exercises over demons. Chapter 1, verse 34 tells us he's casting out all sorts of demons. It says that right after he has cast out a demon from a man in the synagogue that Sabbath day.Chapter 5 has the story of Jesus encountering a man when he comes to the region of the Decapolis. He comes to that region and a man meets him from the tombs. This man has—they've tried to chain him up—he's been ripping free of the chains. And Jesus says, “What's your name?” and he says—the demons from within him speak—“We are Legion, for we are many.”My name is Legion. So Jesus commands the legion of demons to leave this man. Jesus shows his power over the demonic realm, over all spirits, when a full legion, enough to inhabit 2,000 pigs—when Jesus casts them out—they all have to submit to his authority. 2,000 demons, one Jesus. Jesus has authority over all of them. They're begging him for mercy.We see his authority over sickness. Again, chapter 1, verse 34 says people with all sorts of diseases were coming to him. Same thing in chapter 3, verses 6 and 7. People with all sorts of diseases are coming to Jesus, and he's healing them. But he's doing that, again, to establish his authority, to show that he has authority on earth to forgive sins.Chapter 2: a group of men—Jesus is in a crowded house. He's healing and he's teaching. And this group of men want to get their buddy to Jesus, and they can't even get into the house. So they break through the roof, drop the man down through the roof, and Jesus, seeing their faith, says, 'Your sins are forgiven.'The religious leaders who are there think to themselves, this is blasphemy. No one can forgive sins except God alone. And Jesus sees what's in their mind and he says, why do you question among yourselves? What's easier to say, your sins are forgiven or rise, take up your bed and walk? But so that you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he says to the man, rise, take your bed and go home. And the man stands up, carries his bed out of there.Jesus shows his power over the physical body in order to establish his authority as God to forgive sins. And we see his authority over nature. We see him feed the 5,000. We see him feed the 4,000. And directly after the feeding of the 5,000, he walks on the water through a storm to the disciples. And when he comes into the boat, the wind and the waves cease.Jesus has authority over everything in this world, seen and unseen. And that's what the first half of Mark's gospel is devoted to establishing. And in the middle of chapter 8, Jesus takes his disciples aside and he says to them, 'Who do people say that I am?' And they said, 'Well, some say Elijah, John the Baptist raised from the dead, one of the other prophets.' Jesus says, 'Who do you say that I am?' And Peter, speaking for the twelve, says, 'You are the Christ, the Son of God.'And Jesus, after that moment, it's a pivot. The book pivots from establishing the person of Christ to telling us the plan that Christ has to accomplish the salvation that he has come to bring. And so in chapters 8, 9, and 10, each of them, we have a prediction that Jesus gives of his betrayal into the hands of sinful men, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection.Chapter 11 begins the Passion Week. Some commentators refer to the Gospel of Mark as a passion narrative with a really long introduction—that's basically what it is. Chapters 11 through 16 all focus on that one week. So in chapter 11, Jesus comes into Jerusalem. Then we have the narrative of the fig tree, where Jesus symbolically curses this tree to show us that the Jewish religious system that has become apostate—that has turned away from God and is just going through the motions—he’s cursed it.In chapter 12, he warns the disciples and those who are listening to him, 'Beware of the scribes and their practices. They devour widows' houses.' And in chapter 13, he basically proclaims a death sentence on the Jewish nation of that day when he says that the temple is going to come crashing down. He predicts what's going to happen in 70 AD and then tells of his coming return in glory that will usher in the end of all sin.And so it's with that that we come to chapter 14. And in chapter 14, we read this in verses 1 and 2: 'It was now two days before the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him. For they said, Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.'One of the ways that you can respond to Jesus is to reject him—is to want to kill him. And before we reject that and say, “Well, that's not me. I'm not trying to kill Jesus. He's not physically here, so I'm not in the same category as the chief priests and the scribes,” what we need to recognize is ultimately their plan comes to fruition, right? It actually comes together faster than they intended. They did not want to kill him during the festival. They were afraid of the crowds. And you're going to see just a few verses later next week that Judas is going to change their plans when Judas goes to betray Jesus. This is actually going to come together faster than they intended.But what ultimately puts Jesus on the cross is our sins. That’s right. And so, when we're thinking about how do I respond to Jesus, the question is, do I love my sin or do I love Jesus? Because every time I'm choosing my sin, I am choosing that which put Christ on the cross. And so that is still a relevant question for us, even though we're not there plotting and planning with the Sanhedrin. We have to ask, am I choosing to worship Christ or am I choosing that which put him on the cross? Am I choosing that which is abhorrent to God?That's the question that we have. That one option is to join with the chief priests and the scribes, to love our sin, to love our own way of doing things, to love being our own Lord. And the end of that way, Proverbs tells us, is death, destruction. It's what Jesus says in chapter 13 of Mark's gospel. To embrace your own rule is to reject Christ and to end in destruction.The other option that we see in the focus of the text and the focus of our sermon this morning is what we see in verses 3 through 9. We see another model laid for us. And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor,” and they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”To set the scene: he is at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. Now, to be in the house of a leper assumes that this leper has been healed, right? According to the customs of the day and the Jewish law, a leper wouldn't have been allowed to have contact with people, let alone would people be coming into his house. And yet he's known as Simon the leper. He's presumably a man who for some time suffered from a severe skin disease, not necessarily what we think of with leprosy and Hansen's disease. But any kind of skin disease could have been described as leprosy. It was bad enough that this was his identity, but he's presumably here been healed—almost certainly by Jesus.He comes to Bethany, and you can just imagine the scene. Jesus is coming to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, as a Jewish male would have been required to. And so he's coming here to this area. Bethany is just two miles away, and Bethany is also the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus—Lazarus, whom Jesus had recently raised from the dead. You can imagine that this group of people who know Jesus, love Jesus, experienced profound ministry from Jesus are excited that he's here. Simon says, “I'm going to host a feast. I'm going to welcome you in.” And they're reclining at table, which signifies it's a feast. Normally, they would sit up at the table, but for a special occasion, they would recline, which you see at the Passover meal—they're reclined.Then a woman comes in. Mark doesn't give us the identity of the woman. His focus is going to be elsewhere. We know from John's gospel that this is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. This is a woman who has known Jesus for a long time, has sat at his feet, has benefited from his ministry, has seen the miraculous worked at his hands. And as he's reclining at this table—this celebratory feast—a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.We're going to see four aspects of a worshipful response to Jesus this morning. And the first aspect of the worship response to Jesus is that it is rich. It's rich.What does Mary do here? What does this woman do? She comes with an alabaster flask. This would have been a white jar that had value in itself. It's probably 12 to 16 ounces in capacity, and it's full of what the ESV here translates as pure nard. Other translations say spike nard. It's an expensive ointment. He says here "very costly." We see down in verse 5 that when the disciples are criticizing her action, they say it's worth over 300 denarii. A denarius was a day's wage for your most laborers. In a six-day work week, you've got about a year's worth of salary here is how much value is contained in this jar, in this flask of ointment.Now, in that society, very few women had gainful employment, right? So where did she even come up with this? This is almost certainly like a family heirloom that's being passed on. And it is almost certainly the most valuable thing that Mary owns. A jar of perfume that, to put in rough modern dollars, maybe it's worth 50 or 60 or 70 thousand dollars. And she keeps it in a precious spot, probably in her home. And when they have this feast, where Jesus has reclined at table, she comes, she interrupts the meal, and she breaks the flask—because they wouldn't have had stoppers; it was a sealed container—she breaks it and pours it on his head.The Gospel of John says she then wipes his feet with her hair. I don't know if you've ever—I'm sure you've all spilled something at some point in your life. When liquid—you think 12 ounces, that’s not that much—until you spill 12 ounces. That’s a lot of fluid everywhere. And she has dumped it on his head, all down his body to the point where she is then wiping off his feet with her hair.This worship, this act of worship costs Mary something—probably her most valuable possession. What should we learn from that? Probably not that you should find your most valuable thing—your car or your house—and sell it and then give the money to the church. That’s probably not the application here, although the building fund would benefit from that. I really expected some kind of response from that.But the point in seeing what Mary is doing here is that she considers Jesus more valuable than her most valuable possession. This is exactly what Jesus is looking for in a disciple. He says elsewhere that if you are not willing to leave behind mother, brother, sister, houses, lands—if you don’t even hate your own life in comparison to how much you love Jesus—you can’t be his disciple. And Mary is demonstrating that whatever she owns is worth giving to Jesus. Everything she owns is worth giving to him.The question that I have as I reflect on that is: does my life display that I value Jesus above everything else? That’s a really ambiguous question. Like, how do you put wheels on that? “I value Jesus.” Okay, in my heart, I feel some kind of importance related to him. What do I do with that?One way, I think, just even in the ordering of your life—prioritizing church attendance is actually a way of very tangibly ordering your life around the value of Jesus, of hearing his word and being with his people.Let me clarify something. When I say that a worshipful response to Jesus is rich, I don't just mean that it's costly to us. I mean that it's rich in the same way that a really good meal can be rich. It might cost you something if you went someplace and paid for this meal—yeah, it was rich in the sense of what it came out of your wallet. But the experience of it, shared with good friends or someone you love—it’s a rich experience.Mary here is showing—she’s bursting into a room that’s full of men that she’s not allowed into unless she’s serving. And she comes and she interrupts everything to pour out her most valued possession on Christ. She’s not doing that begrudgingly. She’s not doing that because it seems like a religious duty to check off the list. She’s doing it because she loves Jesus that much that she wants to show his value. And this is the only way she can think that is fitting, that is appropriate.When I think about Sunday morning—ever since I was a little kid, and I’ve not always walked very closely with the Lord in my life—but ever since I was a little kid, by God’s grace, my favorite day has always been Sunday. Because there is something orienting, tethering, in being with God’s people that grounds my whole life.Another tangible way that we can put this into practice is to just think through—literally, she gave something that cost everything she owned. In the Old Testament, the principle of giving that we see typically is the tithe. And that principle is not reiterated in the New Testament. We're not told that we have to tithe off of our mint and dill and cumin, although Jesus says to the Pharisees, “You should have done that in addition to nailing down the more important matters of the law.”Rather, the principle that we see in the New Testament is that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. That’s what we see in 2 Corinthians. But the examples that are put forward in Scripture in the New Testament of givers who are getting it are people like the woman in Mark chapter 12 who gives her last two pennies—all she had to live on. And in 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul points to the Macedonians—probably the Philippian church—who out of their suffering and poverty generously gave.So there's no magic number, like “You have to give this percent of your income,” that the New Testament gives us. But there is a principle of: do you trust him, and do you love him? And do you want to show that with the thing that makes the world go round? Money makes the world go round. And do you trust God with your money enough to say, “I want to worship you with it”? That's an important question to ask.I don’t want to get too much more specific than that in how to apply this principle, though, because I think that’s a question that we need to linger with in all of our life: does my life put Jesus on display—and his value on display? The first thing about worship is that it's a rich response. And “rich” should encompass our whole lives.The second is that it's reasonable. The disciples question the reasonableness of Mary’s response to Jesus here—of her worship of Jesus.In chapter 14, verse 4, it says they said to themselves indignantly, “Why was this ointment wasted like that?” They look at Mary dumping this oil all over Jesus and they say, “What a waste.” Now, I believe it’s Luke’s account of this—or maybe Matthew—where they point out that it’s Judas who makes this statement. And he wasn’t actually worried about the poor. He had control of the purse, and he was scooping money out for himself. And he’s thinking, “300 denarii—I can make 40 or 50 come out pretty easily—maybe 30.”Nonetheless, surely the other disciples are also looking at this going, “What a waste. Don’t you know what we could have done with this that was good?”—given to the poor, it says in verse 5. And they scold her.From what I read in the commentaries, “scold” is probably a pretty generous, gentle translation of how they were treating Mary. I'm the oldest of 11 siblings. And I'm not the most gentle person in the world now. When I was younger, I most certainly was not. And anytime a younger sibling did something stupid, I was very quick to let them know in no uncertain terms how dumb I thought they were. And I think that's exactly what the disciples are doing with Mary here. They want her to feel small for having been so wasteful.How does Jesus respond to that? Jesus says, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”If someone is worth more than all the world, and someone gives something that costs a year's worth of wages, is that an extravagant or over-the-top gift—or is it a small but reasonable expression of love?I was reading a poem this week—I should have printed it off—it’s called The Lanyard by Billy Collins, I think. And he talks in this poem about how he went to summer camp and he went there and braided a lanyard with the help of a camp counselor. And this lanyard, which he had never seen anybody in real life actually use—assumed they must be used for something—but he brought it home for his mom.And his mom, who had given him life, provided him with an education, who had fed him thousands upon thousands of meals, made sure he had good clothes—he just walks through each of these, and he says, “And in exchange, I give a lanyard. And in exchange, I give a lanyard.” It’s a small thing, right? But in the child’s mind, it’s just, “I’m showing my mom I love her.” And that’s what Mary is doing here.Mary, to the disciples, to the world around, what she’s doing looks insane. Why would you dump $75,000 on someone’s head and wipe it off with your hair off their feet? It’s tiny compared to what Jesus deserves, but it’s what she had. In fact, Jesus recognizes that here. Verse 8: “She has done what she could.” Her service, as extravagant as it seemed—her worship—is perfectly reasonable because it’s what she could do. It’s what she could do to say, “Jesus, I love you. You are worth everything to me.”The Apostle Paul, in the book of Romans—chapter 12—in chapters 1 through 11 of Romans, Paul is exulting in the glories of the gospel and telling what God has done for us in Christ. And in chapter 11, that kind of reaches a crescendo point, and he is writing in probably the most poetic language Paul uses anywhere. Romans 11:34–35 says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has given him a gift that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”And Romans 12:1–2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”—or some translations say “reasonable service.”Worship—worshiping Jesus with everything that you have—is always reasonable. It might look crazy to the world. It might look crazy sometimes to other believers who don’t get it. But it is the most logical and reasonable thing you could ever do in light of all that Jesus has given and done.You wonder if Mary had paid more attention to Jesus’ teaching on his coming suffering and death than the rest of the disciples had. Because Jesus says here, “She has anointed my body beforehand for burial.” And we don’t know. We don’t know if she grasped ahead of time that this is what Jesus was going to do—that he was going to die when nobody else understood it—and she therefore anointed his body, poured this perfume on his body. Or maybe she’s just giving what she has to him because she loves him. And Jesus is pointing to a symbolic meaning that’s beyond what she knew. We don’t know.But if we are guided by a desire to worship Jesus in everything we do, he’s going to use it beyond what we can see, beyond what we can perceive.And that takes us to the third aspect of true worship—worshiping Jesus—is that it is always rewarded. Worshiping Jesus is rewarded. There is a sense in many people’s minds that we shouldn’t care about rewards. And that is silly, because the Bible promises rewards for loving and worshiping Jesus.Jesus says here, “She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”Do you ever think about the things that you do—the things, whether it’s in worship and coming to church, or the giving that you do, or the sacrifices that you make for others? That’s where I could have turned this and made it a Mother’s Day sermon—the sacrifices you make behind the scenes that nobody’s ever going to know, nobody’s ever going to notice.One of the struggles, honestly, that I watch a lot of mothers face is they become embittered by that lack of notice—the feeling unseen, either by the kids or by her husband or by the world around, not acknowledging all that I’m doing. This is part of why Instagram exists: to show the world how awesome I am and all the things that I’m doing.But if you’re living for the approval of other people—even people that you love very dearly—you’re not actually going to love them very well. Because then you’ll start doing things just because you think you’ll get affirmation from them. And then when they still don’t give it, or when they give it inconsistently, you’re going to be crushed by that.But if you’re living with a recognition that Jesus sees everything, and he will reward worship—and that worship might be coming and singing; that worship might be getting up in the middle of the night to feed a baby or to clean up a child who’s sick and cleaning up their vomit; it might be changing a diaper; it might be making a meal; it might be going to work—like there’s all kinds of ways that we worship God, offering our bodies, all of us, our whole lives, as living sacrifices to him.And he sees every bit of it. And he values that worship and will reward it. Hebrews 11 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. And here’s how he defines faith: “For those who would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”We need to live—we need to worship—with an understanding that worship is rewarded eternally. We don’t have to live for the approval of other people. If we are living to worship Christ with our lives, that has a reward. And unlike people, God is not fickle. God does not change. And he does not forget.Finally, the last thing we see is that the worshipful response to Jesus is a response. What is she preparing Jesus beforehand for? She’s preparing his body for burial, it says. He’s going to be buried because he’s going to be crucified—in her place—for her sins. He is her Savior. And that is why she responds in this way.All true worship—and this is so important for us to always remember, I’m not saying anything new here—but all true worship is a response to the fact that God has already loved us. First John says, “We love because he first loved us.” We don’t walk through a set of worship practices, we don’t give certain things away in order to achieve favor with God. Favor with God is a gift—given through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ, who is killed and raised on our behalf.And so if we are united to him by faith, then we pour out our lives in service to him. It is a response to what he has already done for us. So true worship doesn’t achieve favor with God—it’s a response to having received salvation through Jesus.That kind of response can—and should—carry us through every day. And so my exhortation is: side with Mary, not with the chief priests, not with the scribes. Side with Mary, pouring out everything at the feet of Jesus. This is one more example of Mary choosing the better part. The better part is to be with Jesus.Would you pray with me?Father God, we thank you for the gift of your Son. And we thank you for the example that we have in Scripture of those who poured out everything for you. Would you make us like them? Would you make us like Mary? We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. Comment if you notice any errors!Mark 13. I'm going to start reading in verse 24. Last week, we read the entire chapter and we'll kind of cover some of what happened before, but I'm going to read beginning in verse 24. It says:"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.""From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.""But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore, stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or when the rooster crows or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."I told Rory I was going to, every few minutes or so during the sermon, say to her, “Lorelei, stay awake.” I'm not actually going to do that, but Jesus repeats that phrase over and over there in the last section. Stay awake. That's why it's the title of the sermon.As I mentioned last week, Mark 13 is a hard passage to put all the pieces together and understand what's going on. I'm just going to briefly now run over three—there's way more nuances than this, I mean, there's all kinds of different positions—but the three big buckets that people fall into as they interpret this.The first one is to take everything that's in this chapter other than the destruction of the temple itself—so everything from verse 3 on—to take it all as in the future. That's probably the most common way people understand it today, to look at the wars and rumors of wars and the gospel being proclaimed in all the nations, the abomination of desolation—that's all out there in the future. We're waiting for that to happen.Why I don't think that particular reading makes sense is because of what Jesus says in verse 30: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” In a chapter full of symbols, a chapter full of confusing imagery for us, the clearest thing Jesus says is that these things will take place within one generation. And you could try to say, well, it's the generation that sees these things that's going to see him come back. Or you could say generation just means the world will be like this when he comes back. But everybody standing there listening to Jesus, everybody reading the first copies of Mark's gospel would have understood "generation" to mean about a 40-year period starting when Jesus said these words, which would put it between about 30, 33 AD, when Jesus spoke this, and 70 AD, you have the destruction of the temple. And one of the things we walked through last week was seeing, well, I think all of the things from verse 3 through verse 23 we can say were accomplished in that one generation.So I don't think to look at this as all happening out in the future really makes sense of the text itself.The second view is completely on the other side. If you want some theological jargon, it would be a full preterist reading of the text, and it would say that all of it's in the past. Everything here has already happened, including verses 24 to 27, the coming of the Son of Man. This again, it acknowledges the fulfillment of verses 3 through 23 before 70 AD, and it sees a connection between the destruction of the temple in verse 2 with the cosmic destruction language in verses 24 and 25.And some of that makes sense. We'll talk about that in a minute. But in this view, the coming of the Son of Man that we read about in verse 26 is seen, instead of being Jesus coming back to earth, they take it as a picture of him ascending to his throne in heaven. The great strength of this view is that it takes Jesus' statement about, in verse 30, about all this happening within one generation—it takes that seriously. But I don't think it's the best way to understand Jesus in this chapter.The third view, the one that I hold—albeit in a pretty loose grip because there's a lot of questions—but the view that I hold and that I've been teaching based on is to pay really close attention to that phrase, “these things.” I think some of these things are past. But then when he gets to verse 24, I think he's talking about something that's happening in the future.The disciples asked in verse 4 when these things will happen. And then in verse 23, Jesus says, “I have told you all things.” And so I think what he's saying in verse 30 when he says, “these things will take place within one generation,” I think he's saying everything between verse 3 and verse 23, when he says all things have been told. And then I think what he's saying is that when we come to verse 24 and the coming of the Son of Man, what we have there is something that can happen after these things have taken place—after the preparation, after the signs of verses 3 through 23.So again, hopefully that's clarifying. If it's not, you can come ask me questions. And just like last week when Jan came and asked me a question, my answer was, that's a really good question. I don't have all the answers. This is, again, a perplexing passage. But I think, again, we're going to get to the end and the main point of what Jesus is trying to say is incredibly clear. The reason he's telling these things is very, very clear.So we're going to structure this message around three questions: What is the coming of the Son of Man (verses 24 to 27)? When is the coming of the Son of Man (verses 28 to 31)? And why does the coming of the Son of Man matter (verses 32 through 37)?So what is the coming? Verses 24 and 25, it's some terrifying imagery. “In those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light. Stars will be falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaking.” When you read that, I mean, what's that sound like? It sounds like the end of the world, right? It sounds like chaos. The stars falling from the sky, like fireballs falling from heaven at the same time that the sun and moon have gone dark. So we're freezing and burning to death at the same time. Like it is terrifying imagery.Well, should we read it literally? Yes and no. Literally in the sense of, yes, we should read it as it was literally intended to be read. To be honest, I prefer the term, we should read the Bible literarily. We should read it as it is intended to be read. And sometimes you're reading something that's intended to be taken literally. And sometimes you're reading something that is intentionally metaphorical. And so we should always read for the author's original intent—or here, Jesus' original intent—in using this language.And Jesus isn't drawing this language out of thin air. This language of the sun and the moon going dark, of the skies being turned to blood—this is language that's present in the Old Testament prophets. So I just want to look at two passages quickly that use very similar language to this. It's not a direct quote, but it's very similar.Isaiah 13. And here, this is an oracle that Isaiah sees of the judgment of Babylon. So God has given Isaiah this picture of judgment upon the nation of Babylon, who was going to come. Isaiah is prophesying around 700 AD, and the Babylonians come and capture Jerusalem a little over 100 years later. And so God is prophesying that after Babylon has conquered Judah, then God is going to judge Babylon.Verse 9 of Isaiah 13: “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give light. The sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.”Then over in Ezekiel, Chapter 32, here Ezekiel is singing a vision. He's raising a lamentation—a sad song—over Pharaoh and the king of Egypt. Ezekiel 32, verse 7 says: “When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you and put darkness on your land,” declares the Lord.So there in both Isaiah 13 and Ezekiel 32, we see similar language. There's also language like this in other prophets—Joel 2 in particular. But in each of those circumstances, what we see is God using this cosmic sun, moon, and stars language to describe his judgment upon a particular nation. And I think the image that we're supposed to have is that for these nations, when they receive the wrath of God, the judgment of God, it is going to feel like the sky is falling down on them. Everything that's solid and stable—people for thousands of years—we measure times and seasons by the stars. We measure every day by the sunlight that we have. And it's going to seem like everything that you know, everything that you count on, is thrown into upheaval when God brings judgment on the nation.Now, again, the people who would say, “Yeah, all of Jesus' statements here in Mark 13, they're in the past”—what they would say is that then Jesus is using this language of this judgment to refer specifically to God's judgment on Jerusalem and on the temple in 70 AD.And that's possible. That could be what it's talking about. I don't think that's what Jesus is doing here. I think he's taking that language that in the Old Testament was used for a particular time and a particular place and he's broadening it out and applying it to all nations and kingdoms at the end of history when Christ returns.The reason I think that is because he connects it with other language from the Old Testament, from the book of Daniel. And we've looked at this passage a number of times while we've looked at Mark's gospel. Because it's incredibly important for understanding who Jesus is—thought himself to be and taught about who he was. And it's Daniel chapter seven, beginning in verse 13. Daniel writes:"I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. And he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and a glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."And so Jesus is tying this judgment language from places like Ezekiel and Isaiah with this cosmic rule language—that he has power over all authorities in heaven and on earth, as Jesus says in Matthew 28. You know, he's taking these two images and he's putting them together.And so when I think the picture that we have here in Mark 13 is when Jesus returns visibly on clouds of glory, it is a sign of judgment for the whole world—everyone underneath of his authority, which is everyone. Everyone's under the authority of Jesus. And it's judgment that's coming for all of those who are underneath his rule and yet refuse to bow to him. All of those in the world who refuse to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ, when he returns, they're out of chances.And so what was a fearful time of judgment for Egypt and for Babylon in the past, for Jerusalem in 70 AD, when they came under the wrath of God, that time is coming for the whole world when Christ returns. The paradox here is that at the same time that Christ comes in judgment, it's also a message of salvation for his people.Verse 27: "Then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of earth to the ends of heaven."I was just talking with Kate about this yesterday—like in the scriptures, this idea of God's judgment and God's salvation coming at the same time is pervasive. You see this all the way back in the book of Genesis with the flood. When God comes and he looks at the earth and the earth is so full of sin and vileness that he decides to destroy it all—how does he do it? He does it with a flood. And the same flood that destroys the earth and destroys the people on it is the same flood that lifts to safety the ark with the people of God inside, Noah and his family. They are brought to safety through the same means that God brings judgment on the earth.You see it in Luke. The Exodus—when God brings the people through the Red Sea, the waters part, they pass through, they're praising God for how he split the sea apart for them. And that same sea that's split so that the people of God could pass through in safety collapses in and brings judgment upon God's enemies, upon Pharaoh and his host as they seek to destroy the children of Israel.And we see this most importantly in scripture at the cross. Because on the cross Jesus was absorbing the wrath of God against sin and sinners. Colossians 2 says on the cross Christ was canceling the record of debt that stood against us—the sins that we all commit, Christ bore on the tree, took the wrath of God until it was completely exhausted. And Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished.” He canceled the record of debt that stood against us.In doing so, Colossians goes on to say, he was putting to shame all of the cosmic powers that line up against us. Satan and all of his hosts are destroyed, are made fun of. They still are active in the world, but they do not have the power they once had because Christ has taken away the power of sin and the power of death. Those things are not gone yet, but they do not have the teeth they once had because Christ in the cross is both displaying God's anger and hatred against sin and delivering all of those who would trust in him. That same death that we deserve for sin is a death that has brought us life.The paradox of Christianity is that God's salvation and his judgment are not far-off realities from one another that we can't reconcile. They come together. His judgment against sin and his salvation of sinners always are present together.When is his coming? If what is happening in verses 24 to 27 is Christ returning in power and glory to judge sin and to deliver his people, I think ultimately the picture we see in Revelation is that they're delivered to the new heavens and the new earth. And there's a great wedding feast—a wedding supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19. We're delivered to be with him forever in the presence of the Lord, as 1 Thessalonians says.When does that happen? Verses 28 to 31 say this: "From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."Jesus uses a fig tree multiple times as an example. And here he says, okay, you know that when the fig trees all start growing new growth and they put on their leaves, that's when you expect summer to be near. That's when you expect figs to be coming onto the tree. In that same way, when you see the signs of verses 3 through 23—wars and rumors of wars, Christians being persecuted, the gospel going to the Gentiles, and Christians, the destruction that happened in Jerusalem in the late 60s and into 70 AD—when you see all of that, you know that everything that has to be accomplished before Christ can return is accomplished.This is part of why I think it's not useful or beneficial to us to be looking at the news going, “Oh, are the prophetic pieces lining up so that Christ could come back?” Christ can already come back. Everything that he said has to be accomplished has already been accomplished, and so he could come back at any moment. And he tells us this is sure. You should 100% be banking on the fact that Jesus is coming back. Verse 31 says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."When is he coming back? Well, it has to wait for all of those signs to take place. They've already taken place, and so we should expect that Jesus could come back at any time. Now, we know for 2,000 years he hasn't. We don't know an exact time and date, and we're going to find out in just a verse here that—duh—we should have known that already, that we don't know an exact time and date. But we should live with the expectation that he could come back at any moment.That's what we're going to get to in this third part. Why does his coming matter? Why does Jesus tell his disciples this?Verse 32: "But concerning that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." So even the Son, Jesus, while he was on earth and choosing voluntarily to limit some of his access to divine knowledge—I think he was fully God, even in his earthly existence. And yet he chose, Philippians 2 says, he emptied himself. And so in taking on human form, Christ limited his access to some of divine knowledge and relied on the Spirit to guide him through this life. So he didn't at that point even know when he was coming back. Only the Father knows.And he says, be on guard. Keep awake. So Jesus is telling his disciples about his coming back not so that they would be trying to figure out the date. He says no one knows. The angels don't know. The Son doesn't know. Only the Father knows. So we shouldn't be trying to go, “Is it 1989?” Oh, that one didn't work out. “1991?” That didn't work out. “2001?” That didn't work out. However many times, whatever that guy's name was—I can't remember—Harold Camping, whoever tried to predict it. He's not the only one that tried to predict the return of Christ and look like a fool every time, but still sell books about the next time he thinks it's going to happen. It drives me nuts. People are so gullible.Anyway, he doesn't tell them that so that they can try to figure it out. They won't be able to. He also doesn't tell them that so that they will sit on their hands waiting around. One of the most important texts on the return of Christ in the New Testament is Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians in chapters four and five. But then in 2 Thessalonians, apparently there are some people in that church who are like, well, if Jesus could come back any time, let's just sit around and have a worship service the whole time. Let's just sit around and not do anything. We're just waiting for Jesus to come back. And Paul says, don't even hang out with people who are idle. If somebody's going to not work, if somebody's going to just sit around like, “Oh, we're waiting for Jesus to come back,” that's not somebody you should spend any time with. Get to work. Provide for yourself. Don't eat the bread of idleness. Eat your own bread. Work quietly and maintain a living. Keep working. Keep living.So Jesus didn't tell us this to figure it out. He didn't tell us this to sit on our hands. Why is he saying this? It's the phrase he repeats over and over. So what does it mean? What does Jesus mean when he says, “Stay awake”?Well, the analogy that he uses is helpful. It's like a master who goes on a journey and says, “Hey, you guys keep things running. You guys stay at your labors.” I remember when I was working for the post office when I was a city carrier. I was a city carrier for eight years, and you would just have your supervisor every now and then would just be like driving a loop, stopping to check on you. And that was—you didn't really want him to stop and check on you. Even if you're taking one of your officially allowed 10-minute breaks, you didn't want him to pull up during your 10-minute break when you're sitting there playing on your phone, right? You want him to come by when you're out carrying mail. I didn't even like when he pulled up and I'm sitting in my truck like organizing the mail. I just don't look like I'm working. I want to be out on the street when Gene drives by.I remember one time before I was a carrier, I was a clerk for five years. And I was working in this teeny tiny office. I didn't have a whole heck of a lot to do. And so I had got done the things that I had to get done. And I could have found something more to do. Like, there was always something more to do. But I was sitting looking at houses on the computer and where it sat, like where the computer sat, like you are quite a walk out to the counter. And I heard a couple of people come to the counter. So I just left the computer screen open and I walk over, and there is the—called him the POOM—the post office operations manager, who was like the postmaster's boss, and then the district manager. So it was like the boss's boss’s boss were there in our teeny tiny office.I was like, "Hey guys, how you doing?""Do you know who we are?""Yes, I know exactly who you are.""Well, can we come back and look?"So I walk around and let them in the access door. Forgot to close the screen on looking at the houses. They never said anything to me about it. But it was just like one of those incredibly embarrassing moments. Like, I'm getting paid to be at work, and I was blowing time doing something else.And Jesus, I think here, is trying to get at that idea. He has ascended to the Father's right hand. He rules and he reigns right now. Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. And as believers in him, he has left us here to be about his business—his business of just the normal stuff of life that he's given all human beings to do.Genesis 1:26–28, the dominion mandate. We're supposed to go into the world and take dominion, to exercise God's authority over creation. And so just our normal jobs, whether that's at Jeff's Foods or whether it's at the post office or Wells or the Pheasant—like all the work that God has given human beings to do—we're supposed to do that as Christians for the glory of God.Colossians 3:23 says to do all things as unto the Lord and not for men. It's from the Lord that we will receive a reward. And so Christ wants us to be living our normal lives, doing it, being diligent to be productive members of society for his glory.And then specifically as Christians, we've been given the—I think what we could even call—the fulfillment of the dominion mandate, because what Adam and Eve were supposed to be doing is making God's name, his image, fill the earth. You know, it tells them to be fruitful and multiply. They're the image bearers of God in that original temple there in Eden, and they're supposed to go into the world and fill the world with God's image.I think as Christians, when Jesus says, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations," Mark 16:15, "Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature," we have the further responsibility to take the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is why Christ has left us here. He has left us here to make disciples and tell people about what Christ has done for us.And it's really easy to just kind of sit on our laurels and coast through life. But Jesus wants us to be intentionally being productive and to intentionally be spreading the gospel so that when he comes, we don't have to be embarrassed about what's on our computer screen. We don't have to be embarrassed about what we did with the previous day.We need to be consciously thinking and living in light of the fact that we have a risen Savior and our sins are forgiven. We have a reigning Savior. And so we have nothing—no matter what happens in the world around us, no matter what craziness, wars, rumors of wars, whatever else, people persecuting us—we don't have to be afraid because Jesus is the one who's ultimately in charge. And we have a returning Savior.So we should be awake and working. Let's pray.Father God, help us. It's easy to coast, to not think about you, to not think about what you would want us to be doing with our moments and our days. Help us to honor you with the time that you've given us and to stay awake, knowing that our Lord Jesus is returning to finally put the last enemy—death—under his feet and to usher in the kingdom where there is no more pain and no more sadness and no more mourning and no more tears.Help us to look forward with hope through the hard times and to be motivated by the reality of his one day appearing, to be diligently at work serving you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript generated by AI. Please comment if you notice any errors!When is Jesus coming back?Some people hear a question like that and they're like, ooh, this is going to be an exciting thing to talk about. And some people are like, man, I should have slept in late today.Surely it must be soon. I mean, look at the world around us, right? It's got to be soon. We hope so. Many people would say, yes, we know that he's coming back soon. Or if they don't have an outright yes to that, they'll say, well, we at least know the general time frame has to be soon. And sometimes those people who are telling you, yes, we can at least know the general time frame, will then have a paperback you can buy for $14.95 and find out all about it.Since the 1970s, there's been an explosion of end times related media. It goes back further than that, but there was a real explosion in the 70s in Christian publishing and books with titles like The Late Great Planet Earth, The Day Approaching, or my favorite title I found, 2022 to 2042: The Final Days of Civilization.If I sound a little sarcastic as I'm reading those titles, it's because I have read some of those books. And I've also read Mark 13, our chapter here, where in verse 32, Jesus says, “Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” But maybe the people writing prophecy books know better than Jesus.It's very easy to be consumed with looking for signs of the times, drawing up charts of what future events will hold, and in doing so completely miss the point of biblical prophecy and apocalyptic literature. So that's an error on one side, to just get consumed by it. But there's also an error on the other side, if in reaction to some of the crazy that's out there, we fail to see the genuine important role that prophetic literature plays in the Scriptures.Over 30% of the Bible is prophecy. Now, a lot of that prophecy is already fulfilled. But nonetheless, this is a huge portion of God's Word that falls into the genre of prophetic literature. But when we're looking at it—looking at any part of the Bible, but prophecy especially—we have to be careful to let the Bible itself drive our thinking and drive our priorities.It's good. There's nothing wrong with having our own questions, having our own priorities when we come to the Bible and looking for Scripture's answers to those questions. But we need to be careful in imposing our current questions on the ancient text. God's Word does have answers, but sometimes what God's Word does is actually change our questions. The Bible should be the source of our questions as much as it is the source of our answers, which is a long way of saying in Mark 13, I'm looking for the intent of Jesus, the speaker, and Mark, the author.I'm not concerned first and foremost when I read these kinds of texts with how to make sense of news reports out of Russia or Iran or Israel. So as we come to Mark 13, we're looking at one of the most contested, the most controversial passages in the New Testament. It and its parallels in Matthew and Luke are called the Olivet Discourse. And as many commentaries as you read, you will find twice that many opinions on what this text is talking about.And I want to be clear that there are disagreements over this passage between Christians who love the Lord, love His Word, and genuinely want to understand it. Some of the imagery in this text is just hard to understand and to make it all fit together. And these details can be disagreed upon by Christians in good faith. And while I won't say that it doesn't matter what you believe about it, I think we can disagree sometimes about the details and still agree on the main point that Jesus is trying to drive home. I hope I'll show that as we go through the sermon.We don't have the time and you probably don't have the interest—at least most of you—for me to walk through all of the different ways you could interpret each of these different images and pictures that Jesus gives in this text. That would turn into an entire sermon series. So what we're going to do is this.We're covering Mark 13 over the next two weeks. This week, I'm going to read through the whole chapter and make big overview comments on how I think it fits together. And then we'll zoom back in on verses 3 through 23, which is what the bulletin says we're paying attention to this week. And I'll give what I think are the most plausible, best ways to understand those verses. And then at the end of the sermon, we'll conclude by really zooming in on what I think is Jesus' main point in the text—what He's trying to do as He gives this information to His disciples.And that's this: I'll give you it ahead of time. The disciples need to have their eyes wide open as they face. They need to be on guard as they face hardship and trial in this life.So let's read Mark chapter 3, beginning in verse 13. It says this. Not beginning in verse 13—Mark 13, beginning in verse 1.As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings." And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?"And Jesus began to say to them, "See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything out, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not happen in winter.For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."This is God's word.So we need to remember where this text is picking up from. Chapters 11 and 12, we have essentially two full chapters of Jesus condemning the religious hypocrisy of first-century Jewish worship. And last week we saw him talking to his disciples and warning the crowds about the dangers of self-righteous religious leaders, self-righteous religious attitudes, and self-righteous religious infrastructure. And that culminated with the prophecy here in chapter 13, verse 2, where Jesus says one day the temple itself would be brought down—not one stone left upon another.Now, considering that the stones of the temple—at least the foundation stones—weighed literally millions of pounds, they were about 37 feet by 12 feet by 18 feet. These stones are enormous. It would be pretty hard to believe that such a grand structure is going to be torn down stone by stone.As Jesus and the disciples then exited the city, they would have walked across the Kidron Valley. And the entire time, this grand temple would have been visible to them. And there were parts of it that were plated in gold. And so as they're walking down through the Kidron Valley in the evening, they're looking up. The sun's glistening off the gold. And they come and they sit up on the Mount of Olives opposite, looking back towards the temple. And the disciples—Jesus' first four disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew—they pull him aside and ask, "When is this going to be?" Like, this is hard to even picture. "When is this going to happen, Jesus? What will be the sign that these things are going to be accomplished?"We've got to remember, these men are first-century Jews. They're waiting for the Messiah to come and restore Israel's glory. And they see Jesus as that Messiah, that one who's going to come and restore glory. And now he's talking about tearing down the temple. And that would be just confusing for them. They would see it in connection with essentially the end of the world—some epoch-changing, world-shaking event.The temple isn't just a building. It's the place where God meets with man. That's where the sacrificial system takes place. It's got the Holy of Holies in it. For it to come down would mean the end of the world—or something very near to the end of the world.This end of the world thing is about to be accomplished. The disciples are looking for a sign. They're looking for all the things that would be accomplished before Jesus inaugurated his earthly kingdom, before he came back in power and in glory.Jesus says—before he talks about his return in verses 24 to 27—that in verse 23, he has told them all things beforehand. So I think what Jesus is saying is that in verses 3 through 23, he's giving all of the signs. In those verses, we have everything that happens that has to happen before he comes back in power and in glory. Then in verse 30, when Jesus says that all these things will be accomplished, he's talking about all the signs. He's not talking about the return itself. I think that's how the logic of the passage fits together. Again, there are different opinions on that, but that's the way I think makes the most sense of Jesus' words.So what are the signs? Beginning in verse 6, Jesus gives a complex of signs, which he collectively refers to as the beginning of the birth pains. These are commonly cited verses when people look at our current world and say, “This has got to be talking about today.”Verse 6: Jesus talks about many people being led astray from the truth.Verse 7: wars and rumors of wars.Verse 6 again: false Christs.Verse 8: nations rising against one another, kingdoms rising against one another, natural disasters like earthquakes and famine.We look out at the world and we go, “Yeah, all that stuff is happening today,” and that’s true—those things do characterize our day. But remember, the first audience for these words are the disciples in AD 33. They would have been reminded of these words when they heard about wars and rumors of wars in their time.False Christs—or as 1 John says, antichrists—were going out into the world, deceiving people. Many of the New Testament letters were written to combat falsehoods already present in the churches. They were already in the first centuries of Christianity. We often think about the early churches as this primitive era where Christians had everything right and were so much closer to Jesus. But almost all of the New Testament letters are written to combat false teaching and errors that are already pulling people away from Jesus.What about famines? In the year 45, Egypt experienced extra-high floodwaters on the Nile. They counted on floodwaters every year as part of how they planted their crops. But if they had too much, it would destroy a lot—something we’re familiar with here in Iowa. It set Egypt back to the point where it started a decade-long series of bad harvests, which then affected other parts of the empire. In the year 57, there was such a bad famine around Jerusalem that the Apostle Paul was collecting money to help the famine-stricken Jewish church.What about earthquakes? The Roman historian Tacitus records that in the year 50, there was a whole series of earthquakes that seemed unusual. In the year 62, the city that would later be destroyed in 79 by the eruption of Vesuvius had already been heavily damaged by an earthquake. That earthquake is estimated to be between 5 and 6 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes were all around. These things were happening in the world of the disciples in the first century—they would have been on their radar.The second thing we see in this passage is persecutions. Verses 9 through 13 talk about this. Jesus warns in verse 9: they will deliver you over to councils, you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them. This is essentially the story of the book of Acts.In Acts 4, Peter and John are dragged before the council of the ruling elders—the Sanhedrin. In Acts 6, men from the synagogue of the Freedmen dispute with Stephen. He’s dragged before the council and eventually stoned to death. In Acts 24, Paul stands before the governor Felix. In chapter 26, he stands before King Agrippa, appealing his case all the way to Caesar. In chapter 28 of Acts, Paul ends up in Rome bearing witness to the truth for at least two years.The history of the early church was one of persecution beginning in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the Roman world. Jesus sent them with his message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth—persecution followed them the whole way. By the time Paul's life ends (between AD 64 and 68), the gospel had covered the known world. Disciples had gone down into India, up into Europe, all over the Roman world. It had been proclaimed among the nations, among the Gentiles—and all the while, God's people were hated.Jesus told his disciples that families would turn against one another and all would hate them because they hated him first. That’s what Jesus said in John 15: “Know that if the world hates you, it hated me first.” Jesus is saying the same thing here: you're going to take my message out, and persecution will come. The disciples must be hated before he returns in glory to save them. They could say, “Check, that happened to us.” They're being beaten, imprisoned, and killed.Maybe the most perplexing part of this passage begins in verse 14: “When you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” That language, “abomination of desolation,” comes from Daniel’s prophecy, chapter 9, verses 26–27. Many Jews considered this already fulfilled in their time because in 168 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes—the Seleucid ruler—had conquered Jerusalem. He saw himself as Zeus incarnate, set up an altar to himself in the temple, and began slaughtering pigs on that altar.Many Jews considered that an abomination that made desolate the worship in the temple. But Jesus takes that language and puts it into the future. Yes, what Antiochus did was bad, but something else is still coming.Mark apparently inserts the phrase “let the reader understand,” suggesting his first-century readers should recognize what’s happening. I think the most likely way to understand this is to look at the actions of the Jewish zealots during their war with Rome in the AD 60s. The zealots were fighting to become independent from Rome. They set up shop in the temple. Thieves and murderers were allowed to roam. Murders took place in the temple itself. They even installed a new high priest—a man named Phanni (or Fanny), who was essentially a clown by trade. They made a mockery of worship in the temple.This is right before the destruction of the temple in AD 70 when the Romans came in. One retired priest lamented, “It would have been far better for me to have died before I had seen the house of God laden with such abominations.”There are two main reasons I think this fits Jesus' description of the abomination of desolation: (1) what the zealots did was abominable, horrendous, sacrilegious; and (2) it fits perfectly with what Jesus says to do next: flee.When they see this abomination, Jesus says let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Make all haste in getting out of town. Pray these things don’t happen in inclement weather. Pity the nursing mothers or pregnant women, for whom travel would be difficult. In winter, not necessarily because of snow, but because water levels would rise, making it harder to cross rivers for safety.If you’re on your rooftop—remember, they had outdoor staircases—don’t even go back inside to get anything. Just run straight for the hills.This fits well, because during the Jewish rebellion against Rome, there was opportunity when people heard what was happening, to escape the city and to escape with their lives, many Christians actually did so. They formed another community outside of town, but once it was too late, it was too late. The city was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and over a million Jews were slaughtered in that war. For Jews, this would have been worse than anything else in the history of all creation.Now, one difficulty with this understanding is the universal language in verses 19 and 20: "Such tribulation has never been, never will be. If the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would have been saved." The best way to answer that challenge is the fact that prophetic language sometimes universalizes. If there’s an intensely horrible circumstance, sometimes what you’ll read in the prophets—even in the Old Testament—is language that says that the ears of all the earth will tingle when they hear of it. Well, when the prophet in Israel says that, that doesn’t mean that somebody in South America’s ears are tingling, but it does mean that anybody who comes in contact with this news is absolutely going to tremble. And there was never before anything like that intense period of destruction in Jerusalem as there was in the days leading up to the destruction of the temple.So hopefully that clears up some of the most perplexing elements of the passage—or maybe it just leaves you even more confused. In either case, we should be asking, what do I do with this?Jesus gives us these words. He gives us these instructions for a purpose. And thankfully, Jesus does not leave us hanging with what he wants us to do. I wonder if you noticed, as we went through these signs, that each of them comes in the form of a warning. Jesus is warning his disciples, standing before him in the first century, of the things that would surely take place before the destruction of the temple in AD 70, which would have to take place before the second coming as described in verses 24 to 27. And he warns them because he wants them to know how to respond when these events surely do come.Now, as I said, I think that the conditions of all of those things were fulfilled prior to AD 70. Nonetheless, the same circumstances abound today and Christ has not come back. So in that sense, we’re still living in the same world that those apostles were. There are still wars and rumors of wars, and false prophets and teachers, and Christians are still persecuted. And so the lessons for the disciples there apply to us as well.I think Jesus’ warning can be summarized in three words: Be on guard.Be on guard. Be on guard, first of all, against alarmist fear. Verse 5, the phrase that here in the English Standard Version is translated “see that,” is the same phrase as “be on guard” in verses 9, 23, and 33. Jesus is first of all saying to be on guard that no one leads you astray. Verse 5: “See that no one leads you astray.” Be on guard that no one leads you astray.Like we talked about last week, any religious leader, any movement that’s trying to take you away from Jesus—where the focus is not pulling you back to Christ, to Christ, to the real Christ—and is trying to lead you away with some new teaching or something that is kind of like Jesus but not as he’s revealed in Scripture, that’s something we must be on guard against.Well, what’s one method that people use to do that? Fear. Alarmist fear. Fear is one of the most powerful motivators for human beings. This is one of my main critiques of a lot of the prophecy-focused media and literature. There’s this tone of fear and terror: the bad guys are coming, the bad days are coming. And that kind of fear sells books. It motivates people to keep spending their money and find out more and keep clicking through the YouTube videos. But it doesn’t motivate Christian obedience.As Jesus says in verse 7, “Do not be alarmed.” That’s a hard one for us when we see crazy things in the world. But Jesus says, “Do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.” When you look at the chaos in the world, yeah, you’ve got to have eyes in your head. Don’t pretend it’s not there. We don’t live in a Pollyanna. The trouble is real, but do not be alarmed or afraid because you know the one who reigns over history. And he is not confused or baffled or helpless when he sees all of the wars and rumors of wars. This is all part of his plan and purpose for human history. So be on guard against alarmist fear.Second, be on guard against the fear of persecution. Jesus’ disciples in the first century, and we in the 21st, must be on guard against the fear of persecution. Jesus predicted that they would be dragged before civil and religious authorities for their belief and proclamation that Jesus is Lord. But he told them, number one, that this should not prevent them from preaching the gospel. Verse 10 says, “The gospel must be proclaimed in all nations.” So he’s saying you’re going to be persecuted for this, but you’ve still got to do it. You’ve still got the job in front of you.How much of the world around us does not have a strong gospel witness? There are languages and people groups who don’t have any witness. They don’t have the scriptures. They don’t have missionaries. Even places that we would consider Christianized or formerly Christian are increasingly less and less so. Much of what we consider the developed Western world—there’s a Christian heritage, but it does not seem to be exercising much influence at this point. France was once a Christian country, and we saw the beginning of the Olympics. We need to continue pursuing to bring the light of the gospel—the good news of Jesus’ death in the place of sinners, and his resurrection promise of eternal life for everyone who believes in him—the forgiveness of their sins, even if bringing that message is risky or costly.For some, that cost might be physical harm. For us here, it’s probably going to be more emotional, relational harm. The risks of witnessing to Jesus, though—whatever they are—are absolutely worth it.Second, he told them they don’t need to be anxious, and therefore we do not need to be anxious over exactly what to say when witnessing for Christ. The Holy Spirit will give you the words when you need them.Jesus endured the cross, and he rose victorious from the grave in your place. We serve a God who, as G.K. Chesterton put it, “knows the way out of the grave.” So share the gospel with that friend or that family member even if you don’t think your words are perfect. Your words aren’t perfect. You will say things that are wrong. You will make mistakes. That’s not going to hinder God. He just wants you to pursue faithfulness.Confidently live for Christ, even if you think it might cost you socially. Don’t be afraid of who’s watching. Their watching you is part of the point—that they too might come to know and love Christ, that they would see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. That’s what Peter says in 1 Peter. Be on guard against the fear of persecution.Third, be on guard against those who would lead you astray. The first two are about not fearing, but then you’ve got to be on guard against those who would lead you away from the right fear. The third section of our text, verses 14 to 23, is where Jesus discusses the need to flee from the destruction of Jerusalem. And there he warns against false Christs and prophets who would lead many astray.This had happened in Israel’s history before—like in the time of Jeremiah. God sent the prophet Jeremiah to tell the people: this place will be destroyed. You need to, for them, go willingly to Babylon and live for Christ there. But then there were false prophets who were saying, “Peace, peace,” where there was no peace. And they said, “It’s all going to be okay. God’s judgment isn’t coming. It’s all going to turn around.” It wasn’t going to turn around. God’s judgment was falling.1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins in God’s house. First of all, he judged the house of Israel. The church too, at times, faces periods of purging. Beware of anyone who says that following God means smooth seas and easy sailing—who, in the words of Jeremiah 6, say “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace. Following Christ guarantees a good life, an abundant life with meaning and purpose. It does not promise an easy life.Even in the midst of hard days, though, we can and we must cling to Christ. Verse 13 says, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Friends, Jesus wants us to live on our guard, to be on guard against fear. Do not fear your circumstances. Do not fear the circumstances out there in the world. Do not fear disapproval from mere human beings, no matter how close to you or how important to you they may be. Fear the Lord, and let that holy and righteous fear order your thinking.Proverbs 1:9 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Trust in Christ to save you both from the eternal judgment of God, but also to preserve you and carry you through hard days on earth.Let us, as Peter says in 1 Peter 4:18, entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.Let’s pray.Father God, thank you that we can entrust our souls to you who are faithful, while we pursue obedience to you, while we pursue honoring our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we do live in a crazy world—a world full of sin, a world full of consequences for that sin, a world that’s often chaotic and full of false teaching and false teachers and those who would lead us away from you. And Father, we just ask for your Holy Spirit to keep us close to Christ. Keep us in your word. Keep us submitted to you and seeking to live in a way that reflects you to those around us. We pray in Jesus’ name,Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Initial transcription generated by Substack, paragraphing and summary generated by ChatGPT. Sermon Summary: "Beware of Self-Righteousness"Main Passage: Mark 12:38–13:21. Beware of Self-Righteous Religious Leaders* Key Idea: Some leaders crave recognition, titles, and power rather than humbly serving God’s people.* Warning: Jesus explicitly condemns such behavior, promising greater condemnation for those who misuse their role for self-glorification or personal gain (e.g., “devouring widows’ houses”).* Application: Don't follow leaders who aren’t following Christ. If they’re not leading you to Jesus, they’re leading you away from Him.2. Beware of Self-Righteous Religious Attitudes* Illustration: The widow's offering (Mark 12:41–44).* Contrast: Rich people give from their abundance (externally impressive), but the poor widow gives everything she had—a demonstration of genuine faith.* Condemnation: Jesus not only honors her, He indirectly rebukes the system that left her impoverished—a religious culture that demanded from the vulnerable while flattering the wealthy.* Modern Parallels: The prosperity gospel and manipulative church practices prey on both the desperate and the self-satisfied.* Application: Examine your heart—is your giving or religious activity about true devotion, or about checking boxes and feeling good about yourself?3. Beware of Self-Righteous Religious Infrastructure* Event: Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple (Mark 13:1–2).* Point: The temple, though majestic, had become an idol. The people trusted the system rather than the Savior it was meant to point to.* Fulfillment: Within 40 years (AD 70), the temple was destroyed, validating Jesus' prophecy and God's judgment.* Application: Don’t trust in buildings, systems, rituals, or tradition. They are not the source of salvation. Christ is.Final Exhortation: Look to Christ Alone* Righteousness is not earned by external behavior or association with religious structures.* Jesus alone—His perfect life, atoning death, resurrection, and ascension—is sufficient.* Salvation is a gift, not a reward.* The core question to continually ask: “Am I being pointed to Christ?”Conclusion Prayer:The sermon ends with a prayer acknowledging our human tendency toward self-righteousness and asking God to fix our eyes on Jesus—our only hope for salvation and the source of true righteousness.Sermon TranscriptMark chapter 12.In the old Disney Winnie the Pooh movie, there is a song about Heffalumps and Woozles. This song takes place in a dream of Pooh's, and if you remember it—if you don't remember it, it's on YouTube, and you're going to go watch it and be creeped out—but if you do remember it, you will remember that in this dream, the animation is absolutely terrifying. It makes you wonder, like, what Pooh ate in his honey that day. But throughout the song, there's this warning, this theme that bounces over and over: "Beware, beware, beware, beware."And what Pooh is supposed to beware of are these Heffalumps and Woozles. But in our text today, Jesus is actually going to be singing that same "beware" tune. The word only occurs once in the first part of the passage, but the tone of "beware" pulses through the entire passage. However, unlike the honey-thieving Heffalumps and Woozles that Pooh is worried about, the dangers Jesus addresses—that he tells his disciples and us today to beware of—are not imaginary. Jesus warns about the very real threats of self-righteous religious leaders, self-righteous religious practice, and self-righteous religious infrastructure.So Mark chapter 12, beginning in verse 38, we'll read on down through chapter 13 and verse 2. It says this:And in his teaching, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!" And Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."So it's in this first warning, the first section here, verses 38 through 40, that we find Jesus using our theme word of "beware." And what does he tell the people who are gathered around him in the temple? What does he tell them to beware of? He says, "Beware of the scribes."The scribes were the experts in the law. They were the teachers of the law. In fact, if you've got an NIV in front of you, they actually translate that term "scribe" as "teachers of the law." That was their role in Israel. Of course, in the ancient world, there's only a certain number of people who are taught to read at all, but then to read complex legal documents. These guys would have had a civil function, but then also a religious function as those who understood the law of Moses and could teach it.Some of these teachers were associated primarily with groups like the Sadducees. And so they were experts in just the five books of the law, the Torah of Moses. And then some had a broader understanding of the scriptures—they were experts in the whole Bible. And so in the Old Testament, you hear about Ezra being a scribe. He was a scribe who, in fact, probably wrote a good portion of the Old Testament. He knew the whole thing. There were those in the New Testament times who lined up with the Pharisees, and they were experts in all of the Old Testament law.But here Jesus doesn't draw distinctions between the groups. He just lumps them all together. All the scribes—they're all the same, he says. And he says to the people who are gathered around him, "Beware of those crooks."What is the basis of Jesus' warning against these religious leaders? He says these men are lovers of long robes, official titles, and the best seats. What's wrong with that? I'd ask. Those sound like pretty nice things—fancy clothes, nice titles, good seats. Nothing in and of themselves, right? There's nothing inherently wrong with robes or titles or seats. The trouble enters because these men are lovers of these things. More than the things, they love what these things represent. They love the praise of men. They like their religious roles because of the benefits for their egos.They love to wear long robes because then when they go out in public, people will see them. They'll see them and recognize that, oh, that's somebody important. And that leads to the next thing that they really like. They love to be greeted with their official titles. "Oh, most wise scribe. Hello, greetings, rabbi." And when you make sure to wear your important-looking clothes out in public so that people know who you are, then they're really apt to do the other thing that you like, which is to give you the best seats.You'll get to sit up front in the synagogue meeting. The more important you were in those meetings, the closer you could sit to the front. So women and children had to sit clear at the back, and then men of increasing importance could move closer to the front. And if you were one of the very most important, you got to sit in there. Well, the teacher got to sit in Moses's seat. But then back behind that, there was a bench, and the elders could sit on the seat that faced back out to the congregation. You actually still see this in some churches, where there will be a group of people who get to sit on the stage and look back at the rest of the congregation.Or at feasts, the host would sit at the head of the table, right? They're the one putting the feast on. But then the most prominent seats would be right up there next to the host. And these guys liked to sit up there next to him. And of course, the host of the feast—if you are an important-looking religious figure—he's going to look good if he puts you up at the head. So just keep on wearing your robes, keep on carrying your title around so that people will treat you with deference and honor.The scribes loved their religious role—but did this come from a sincere love for God? Apparently not, Jesus says. Because they devour widows' houses. They have long prayers. Oh, they like to pray for a long time. They like to pray in public. But Jesus says that this is for a pretense—it's a show. They were not praying to God; they were praying for the audience.Jesus warns his disciples about the scribes in particular, but we need to realize that these same characteristics are all over religious leadership today. Many men who end up in ministry do so because they have a deep desire to be seen as significant, important, valuable, worthy—like they're just in it for their own egos. Sometimes that's conscious. Sometimes it's not. They don't even realize that's what they're doing. They clamor for men's applause. But they've discovered a way that seems a lot more holy than climbing the business ladder or moving through the political system. They're going to do all of this "for the Lord." How noble.I said earlier that there's nothing necessarily wrong with long robes. I'll lay my cards on the table here, though, and say that this passage is part of why I'm suspicious of any kind of clergy vestments. In some traditions, it's the fancy robes. In other traditions, it's the expectation that the pastor is going to wear a fancy suit with diamond cuff links—better dressed than anybody else there.When I stand here, I want to look like an adult, maybe even a respectable adult for the most part. I don't want to look like a slob. I want to honor the role of "I'm bringing God's word," right? I'm the pastor, the preacher here. But I don't ever want to be dressed in such a way that suggests that as pastor, I'm anything more important than anyone else in this room.Same thing with titles. If someone demands to be called by a title, that ought to give you automatic suspicion of them. Jesus says in Matthew 23:8–9, "You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers." Now, I think we have to be careful about absolutizing Jesus' statement there, because he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. And the law includes things like "honor your father and your mother." If you have a father—like a literal father—it’s still right to call him dad or father. And if you have someone who's teaching you—you've got a teacher in school or somebody who's teaching you God's word—I don't think it's wrong to say, "Hello, teacher," especially if you don't know their name. It's probably nicer than saying, "Hey, you."However, you need to be careful about titles. I'm not going to be offended if you call me Pastor Will, Pastor, Elder—those are biblical words for the office that I have. But you don't need to. My name is Will. And while I have a certain role in our congregation and it has an associated title, the more important connection between me and you is that we're all human beings made in the image of God.We're all sinners, marked by our rebellion against Him. And if you've trusted in Christ, then we're both redeemed people who are now brothers and sisters in His family. We are God's children. And in that sense, titles really don't have a place. I'm not your father. I'm not your priest. God is our Father, and Christ is our priest. I am your brother in Christ.There's a double warning here. The warning for the religious leaders who love the trappings of office, title, and men's praise is this: their condemnation is coming. That's what Jesus says: "They will receive the greater condemnation." James says in James 3: "Let not many of you become teachers." So again, he's acknowledging that there is such a role as a teacher, right? And it's okay for that title to be associated with it—we’ve got to call it something. But don't let many of you be teachers, because with that role comes a greater condemnation.So if you are in the place of the scribe and you are not incredibly careful in how you represent Christ—if you are in the place of teaching His Word to His people—you are heaping up condemnation for yourself. If you ever use religious office as a means of advancing yourself, Jesus says, you will lose your soul. That's evidenced clearly in the fact that these men have already lost their soul. They're happy to devour widows’ houses.James 1:27 says that true religion—undefiled religion—is this: that you visit orphans and widows in their distress and keep yourself unstained from the world. These men? They're not helping the widows; they're devouring their houses. This would happen sometimes literally—in the sense that because scribes were trained legally, they would sometimes handle estates. And they would just siphon the money out of a widow’s livelihood to “support the Lord's work” in the synagogue or in the temple. And it would benefit them. It would line their pockets.Sometimes it would just be allowing the expectation to persist: “You keep giving.” Even after your husband dies, you’ve got to keep giving at the same level. These men who were happy to soak widows dry so long as it kept their ministry going and financially solvent—God cut them down. He promised He would, and He did. And for those who are in similar positions of religious authority today—if they are willing to devour widows' houses—God will cut them down.That's the direct warning. But why would Jesus warn those listening to beware of such leaders? Because leaders who are not headed towards Christ will lead you away from Christ. If your religious leaders are not taking you to Jesus, they are taking you away from Him.You see that in the next section. Again, verses 41–44 say this:"He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And He called His disciples to Him and said to them, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had—all she had to live on.'"After warning about self-righteous religious leaders, Jesus sat down to people-watch. But He didn't sit down at the mall. He didn't sit down on the beach. He sat down in the treasury in the temple. And the treasury had these 13 trumpet-shaped receptacles for money—a place where people would put in their offerings.As He’s sitting there, Jesus observes many people coming to drop their money in. I don’t know if you ever remember as a kid putting money in the offering plate as it went by. I remember when I was a kid, when our church changed from wooden offering plates to metal ones that matched our communion set. And if you’re a kid, the sound of the penny or the quarter hitting that metal—that was great. That was very satisfying.Now, imagine: instead of being a little kid with some pocket change, you are a rich person in a society where all the money is coins. A large sum of money that you’ve brought to the temple treasury is going to go into that metal trumpet, basically. How are you going to strategize this? Are you going to dump it all in at once so everybody hears it? Or are you going to go one at a time—stand there for a day and a half with the smallest denomination of money you can find so you can just keep dropping it in? Or maybe you’ll try to do a steady pour—lots of sound for a long time. It’s not hard to see how this could go very, very wrong, depending on your heart.But while rich person after rich person comes and deposits their loads of coins into the treasury, in walks a poor widow. Quiet. She only has two small copper coins, which the ESV says make a penny. Literally, the denomination of coin referred to would be 1/64th of a denarius. A denarius was a day’s wage. So this is maybe the equivalent of two or three bucks. That’s all she has, and she’s going to drop it in the trumpet.Jesus sees this. He’s been watching the rich put in all this money out of their abundance. But He calls His disciples over and says, “See this woman? She is the one who has truly given more than everybody else here today. She’s given everything she had to live on.”With this statement, Jesus is doing two things. The first and most obvious is that He is commending the poor widow. Her religious practice of giving is absolutely genuine and heartfelt. She’s not looking for fanfare or applause. She’s putting in two tiny coins—no one’s applauding that. She’s not getting a plaque or anything named after her in the temple. That’s not what she’s looking for. She doesn’t have much, but she still wants to give to the Lord and to His work. And He honors that gift.Friends, the Lord does not measure the value of your giving in dollars and cents. He commands you to love Him with your whole self. It’s really easy to give a little off the top or to give what’s left over after everything else. For some people, what’s left over or off the top can add up to a pretty sizable chunk of change. But Jesus isn’t looking for leftovers. The kind of giving He recognizes as valuable is both cheerful and generous. That’s what 1 Corinthians tells us. That’s what we see exemplified in this woman.She gave everything she had, in confidence that the Lord who had provided her with those couple of dollars could still provide her with daily bread and anything else she needed. Do you have that same confidence in the Lord? And does it come through in how you budget your money? That’s a question each of us ought to ask.And yet, while that’s important, I think Jesus is actually making a bigger point in this text. Because embedded in His statement that this poor widow has given all she had to live on is a reminder of what He just said about the scribes: they devour widows' houses. Why is this woman down to her last dime? Why is she at the point of having to choose whether to give her money to God or to the grocer? Because the religious authorities have already bled her dry.And this too is something we sadly see in our day. If you’re familiar with the prosperity gospel—or even if you're not—it’s as close as any Christian television station or YouTube channel. They’ll ask you to send money in, promising to pray for you, sometimes assuring you of healing if you’ll just “have enough faith” and send that check or call in with your credit card.There are traveling evangelists and healers who operate by that same principle: if you give money, God will bless you. If you give money, you’ll get better. If you give money, little Johnny who walked away from the Lord will surely come back—just don’t forget that check. You’re making it possible for us to continue this ministry with your finances.These people should be trying to help the widow—to minister to her in her distress. As we already saw in James 1:27. But they don’t see a soul in need of ministry. They see one more pocket they can pick clean. It was true in first-century Jerusalem, and it’s true today. And sadly, it's not just people on TV or traveling preachers. It can be true of local pastors and local congregations.These types of schemers always prey upon the most vulnerable people in churches and societies—and God hates that hypocrisy. He will, again, cut them down.Now, you might agree with all that and ask: What does this have to do with self-righteousness? You said this point was about self-righteousness.Well, friends, the same people who are happy to empty the pockets of the vulnerable are also happy to take those off-the-top gifts from the more well-off—in exchange for not stepping on their toes. You can’t actually fund a ministry just with poor widows’ leftovers, right?You've got to get people who will really give, and the way you do that is by speaking and teaching in such a way that pleases them—tickling their ears. That same prosperity gospel that appeals to someone in desperate need sounds pretty good to someone who's doing well. If faith and trusting God and giving a little bit is what makes you successful, and I'm doing pretty well, then that must mean God really likes me. That must mean I'm okay with God. It must mean I don't have sin I need to repent of.The same teaching that devours widows' houses makes the proverbially fat and happy feel very at ease. Jesus taught to cut at the heart. But these teachers and religious leaders will happily let you slide in, slide out, maybe give you a list of rules now and then—because we all need a few rules to keep. And thank you for leaving that extra abundance on your way out the door. God bless. Now go live your best life now.The same religious environment that breeds widow-devouring practices also breeds self-righteous and heartless worship. "I checked the boxes and I dropped the check in the box. Look how wonderful I am." Jesus is not impressed by merely external religion. He commends the heartfelt faith of the poor widow, and he recognizes that her trust is in God. And in commending her, he is issuing a subtle damnation of the self-righteous religiosity that was happy to let her suffer.Which brings us to our final point: beware of self-righteous religious infrastructure. After Jesus has made his controversial statements and, once again, condemned the religious establishment inside the temple, he and the disciples take a walk outside the temple complex (Mark 13:1–2). As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings." It's merciful that particular disciple wasn’t named. Which one said that? Because Jesus looks at him—perhaps shaking his head—and says, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”That would have been a shocking statement. We'll see later that four of the disciples are so stunned by it that they feel the need to ask follow-up questions. "What are you talking about, Jesus? How could this happen? When will this happen?" What Jesus promises is impossible for them to imagine. Though Solomon’s original temple had been destroyed over 600 years earlier, the building of the second temple had begun about 500 years before this conversation. About 40 years before Jesus’ statement, during the reign of King Herod, an expansion project for the temple complex had begun—and was still ongoing in Jesus’ day. It truly was a magnificent and marvelous sight, filled with wonderful stones and buildings.The idea that it would be torn down was unthinkable, especially because they believed Jesus was the Messiah who would bring restoration, not destruction. But as we've seen throughout Passion Week, most of Jesus' teaching during this time was a sustained condemnation of the Jewish religious and social leadership of his day. God's judgment, he said, would be visited upon them.This happened spiritually to those who did not trust in Jesus—those who rejected him were cut off from the olive tree, Christ himself (as Romans 11 says). Though they had the covenant of circumcision, the law of Moses, and the temple, they believed these structures secured them. They thought they had all the religious infrastructure they needed.But they missed the point. The covenant with Abraham, including circumcision, pointed to a coming Savior. The law given to Moses revealed their need for a Savior every time they broke it. The temple and its sacrificial system visibly portrayed the cost of sin—blood. And the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin. It pointed forward to the need for a better temple and a better sacrifice. Jesus came as both. He is the better temple. He is the better sacrifice. He is the one who perfectly kept the law.But when the people rejected him and trusted instead in their traditions, their customs, and their buildings—rather than in the shed blood of the Messiah—they earned his just condemnation. Less than 40 years later, the Romans would come and literally level the temple complex. The incredible building and its surrounding structures were destroyed to such a degree that not one stone was left upon another. The only remnants were foundation stones in a wall not even part of the main temple. All the rest was torn to the ground.In AD 70, Titus led the Roman army to destroy the temple. But while Titus was the one who physically destroyed Jerusalem, it was actually the hand of God fulfilling Jesus’ words. Titus was simply God's instrument of judgment. God took the infrastructure that had become a source of self-righteous confidence—and he leveled it.Beautiful buildings and religious forms can be good things. But they will not save you from God’s judgment. Friends, are you trusting in an external form of religion to save you? Are you trusting in church attendance, public acts of religiosity, baptism, family heritage, or anything you’ve done or are doing as the source of your salvation?If so, God will cut you down, just as he did the scribes and the temple. There will not be one stone left in the edifice of your self-righteousness when you stand before the judgment seat of God. There is only one who is righteous, and only one who can save.Jesus’ warnings to the Jews of the first century—to beware of self-righteous religious systems, attitudes, and leaders who lead people away from salvation—are warnings we still need today. The question you must ask, over and over again, of any religious leader, any church, and your own heart, is this: Am I being pointed to Christ? Am I being told to look away from myself, away from my works, and to the finished work of Christ in my place?Look to Jesus’ perfect life as your righteousness. Look to his substitutionary, atoning death as your forgiveness. Look to his bodily resurrection as your life. Look to his ascension to the Father’s right hand as your confidence before God in prayer. Look to his glorious return as your future hope.Your works cannot save you. No religious system can save you. No religious leader can save you—except the one who points you to the only Savior, Jesus Christ.1 Corinthians 1:23–24 says: “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”Friends, we must beware of self-righteousness. Beware of the temptation in your own heart. Beware of it in religious systems that encourage it. And beware of religious leaders who display it. Put your hope, your trust, your life in the powerful, wise, and righteous hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.Would you pray?Father God, we need your help and your protection from the self-righteousness that stirs within us. We want to believe that we're good enough on our own—but we are not. We are tempted to follow people and systems that seem impressive, that make us feel like we’re good enough. Lord, point us back again and again to our need for Christ and his absolute sufficiency for all we need.Thank you that in him, we can pursue righteousness—not a righteousness of our own, but one given as a gift through your Holy Spirit, by the work of Christ in us.It is in his name that we pray,Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

Transcript and outline prepared by AI—please comment if you notice any errors. Outline and SummaryI. Introduction: When Good Deeds Bring Suffering* Common experience: suffering for doing good ("no good deed goes unpunished").* Key question: How should we respond to undeserved suffering?* 1 Peter 4:19 — “Entrust your soul to a faithful Creator while doing good.”* Ultimate example: Jesus on the cross—greatest moment of undeserved suffering.II. Jesus’ Last Word from the Cross (Luke 23:44–49)* Darkness over the land: a sign of judgment.* Tearing of the temple curtain: signifying direct access to God through Jesus’ finished work.* Jesus’ final cry: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”* A declaration of trust.* Contrast with earlier cry of abandonment (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” from Psalm 22).* Jesus voluntarily gives up his life (John 10:17–18).* Jesus entrusts himself not to people but to God.* Reference: John 2 — Jesus didn’t entrust himself to men, for he knew what was in them.III. Jesus’ Death and Burial (Luke 23:50–56)* Joseph of Arimathea: a member of the council who dissented from the decision to crucify Jesus.* Requests Jesus' body, gives him an honorable burial.* Women disciples prepare spices to anoint the body.* Sabbath intervenes—pause in activity and expectation.IV. The Empty Tomb and Angelic Message (Luke 24:1–12)* Women come to the tomb expecting to anoint a dead body.* The stone is rolled away, the body is gone.* Angelic rebuke: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”* Reminder: Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection multiple times.* Women believe and report to the apostles.* Apostles are slow to believe—skeptical of the women's report.* Peter goes to investigate, leaves marveling.V. The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35)* Two disciples walking in sadness and confusion.* Jesus joins them but is unrecognized.* They express disappointment: “We had hoped he would redeem Israel.”* Jesus rebukes them: “O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe…”* He gives them a Bible study:* Shows from Moses and all the prophets that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer before entering glory.* Traces themes: Genesis 3:15, Exodus, David’s path to kingship, Isaiah’s suffering servant.* Pattern: suffering → glory.* At dinner, Jesus breaks bread—their eyes are opened.* Immediate response: return to Jerusalem to tell others.VI. Resurrection and Exaltation of Jesus* Romans 1:4 — Jesus declared Son of God by his resurrection.* Philippians 2 — exalted and given the name above every name.* Daniel 7 — Son of Man receives dominion and glory from the Ancient of Days.* Hebrews 2 — Jesus fulfills Psalm 8, regaining dominion as the true man.* The second Adam who succeeds where the first failed.* Crowned with glory as both God and man.VII. Application: Trusting God Through Suffering* Jesus entrusted himself to the Father—and was vindicated.* Pattern for us:* 1 Peter 5 — Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, and in due time, he will exalt you.* Christ’s path is our path: humble suffering, then eternal glory.* Challenge: Do we live like Jesus is still in the tomb (Holy Saturday), or do we live in the power of resurrection Sunday?VIII. Closing Call and Prayer* Do you know the burning joy of walking with Jesus?* Trust in Christ’s death and resurrection—receive forgiveness and new life.* Live in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5).* Invitation to repent, believe, and follow the risen Christ.📌 SERMON SUMMARYThis sermon walks through the final word of Jesus from the cross—“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”—and continues through the burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearance on the road to Emmaus (Luke 23–24). It frames Jesus’ death not as a tragedy but as the ultimate act of trusting God amidst suffering.Jesus models perfect faith: in the face of betrayal, abandonment, and unjust suffering, he entrusts his spirit to the Father. His death is not the end but the turning point, vindicated by his resurrection and exaltation as both Son of God and Son of Man.Through this lens, the sermon challenges us: Are we slow of heart to believe? Do we respect Jesus but live like he’s still in the tomb? The call is to believe his words, embrace the pattern of suffering before glory, and trust that God will exalt the humble—just as he exalted Jesus.The message ends with a passionate appeal to respond in faith: trust Christ’s finished work, walk in resurrection life, and know the burning joy of a heart awakened to the living Christ.TranscriptThis morning we're going to be in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke will start in chapter 23.Have you ever done something good and suffered for it? There's an old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished," and I've thought that many times as I've tried to do something good and it blows up in my face. How do you respond? In those times of mistreatment, you've done something kind for someone and they respond angrily in return, or you feel like you're being mistreated. You have undeserved suffering as a result of doing something good.In the book of 1 Peter 4:19, Peter tells his readers that we ought to entrust our souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. That even in the midst of suffering, even in the midst of trial, our hope, our trust should be in God.Well, there was no greater moment in the history of the world, no greater moment of undeserved suffering than what our Savior, Jesus Christ, faced on the cross. So as we conclude our series on the seven words—the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross—we come to this last one here. It's found in Luke chapter 23. I'm going to read verses 44 to 49:It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, when the sun's light faded, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And having said this, he breathed his last.Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And all the crowds that had assembled for the spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.Over the past several weeks, we've discussed the importance of the things that are mentioned there in verses 44 and 45. The three hours of darkness were representative of God's judgment, as the wrath of God the Father was poured out on the Son, who became sin for us. The sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice is symbolized in the tearing of the temple curtain—the curtain that hung between the holy place where the priest would go in and minister, and the Holy of Holies, where only once a year the high priest was allowed to go and offer up blood for his sins and for the unintentional sins of the people. That veil symbolized a separation between God and his people, and it was torn in two at the death of Christ.At the completion of his work there on the cross, Jesus cried out to the Father. It's interesting here in verse 46, the shift in language. A few weeks ago, we talked about both in Mark 15 and in Matthew 27, we hear Jesus quote Psalm 22, where he says, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He's speaking there as he's finishing his suffering for sin on the cross. He cries out to the Father asking, “Why have you abandoned me? Why are you punishing me?” And we know the reason is because he had taken on our sin. And Jesus himself knew that. In quoting Psalm 22—which begins with that cry of desperation but finishes with a declaration of trust in the Father—he’s pointing to a bigger truth.Here, a similar thing happens. Jesus' language shifts from referring to God as “God” to now referring to him again as “Father.” He says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” We see again the control of Jesus, as we've discussed multiple times in recent weeks. In John 10:17–18, Jesus had said, “No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.” He laid down his life voluntarily, willingly, happily for the sheep—for his people.He commits his soul to the Father. It's the language of trust. Jesus, having gone through all the suffering that he went through in bearing our sin and God's wrath against that sin, comes to the end of that time there on the cross and he says, “Father, I am trusting you with the results of this action.” Jesus entrusted himself to God and God alone.That would seem to be a pretty wise thing to do, considering how unfaithful people are. In John 2, Jesus, after he had cleared the temple initially in his ministry—he had come into the temple and found people selling and buying and said, “You’ve turned this place into a den of robbers.” He fashions a cord of whips and drives them all out. Afterwards, people are amazed and say, “I'm going to follow you.” But it says, Jesus, for his part, did not entrust himself to men, for he knew the hearts of men and needed no one to tell him what was in man.Jesus did not entrust himself to men. That would have led to a lot of heartache. Judas had betrayed him. Peter, who had sworn his allegiance, had just denied him three times. And all of the disciples who, right along with Peter, had said, “Yes, Lord, we'll never leave you,” fled from him in the garden. All those closest to him either outright betrayed him or abandoned him in his hour of need. He did not entrust himself to men.Here in the hour of his death, Jesus entrusts himself to the Father. He does this because they had planned this moment before the world began. Ephesians 1 tells us that this was the plan of God since before the foundation of the world.And yet, nonetheless, for Jesus' followers, this surely looked like the hour of greatest defeat—not like the thing they had planned. We see in the verses that follow that Jesus' followers loved him and they honored him—but that's not really enough.In verse 50, we read: There was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He was looking for the kingdom of God. The council—the Sanhedrin—was the group that had initially condemned Jesus and then sent him to Pilate to try to get him killed. Joseph was a member of that council, but he didn’t agree with what had happened.This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.In verses 47 and following, we see those who were around. The centurion sees what happened to Jesus and proclaims, “Certainly this man was innocent.” The crowd that had gathered for the spectacle went home beating their breasts—they realized something had gone terribly wrong. Joseph asks for the body of Jesus to give him an honorable grave. The women follow him, see where Jesus is laid, and prepare to anoint the body. But with Sabbath coming, they had to wait until Sunday morning.Chapter 24 continues: On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. I always find this scene kind of hilarious. It's sad and somber, but it's also humorous—the things we do in grief that we don’t think through. A rich man's tomb would have been cut into a hillside with a large stone set in place. It would have taken multiple strong men to move it. And here come these women with spices, apparently having made no plan for moving that massive stone. But when they arrive, the stone is already rolled away. They don't have to figure it out.They go in, but the body is gone. While they’re perplexed, two men appear in dazzling apparel. Frightened, they bow their faces, and the men say, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise?” Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women who told these things to the apostles.But their words seemed like nonsense to the apostles, and they did not believe them. Peter rose and ran to the tomb. He stooped in, saw the linen cloths by themselves, and went home marveling at what had happened.Again, we see this deep love and admiration that Joseph and the women had for Jesus. They cared deeply about him and wanted to honor him in death. But in this whole story, we see a good reason why Jesus didn’t entrust himself to people: they didn’t listen to what he said.Three times in Luke’s Gospel Jesus told them what was going to happen. In Luke 9:22, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and on the third day be raised.” In verse 44: “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” And in Luke 18:31–33, he says they are going to Jerusalem and everything written about the Son of Man will be accomplished: he will be mocked, shamefully treated, flogged, killed, and on the third day rise. But they understood none of these things. It was hidden from them—they didn’t grasp it.We should hear the sermon of the angels: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” He told you what was going to happen. This is exactly what you should have expected—to show up to an empty tomb.The first time Jesus tells the disciples this is right after Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ. Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” and then “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Christ.” Jesus affirms him and says this was revealed to him by the Father. Then Jesus begins to tell them what it means: betrayal, suffering, death, and resurrection. But Peter rebukes Jesus. “This will never happen to you.” And Jesus responds, “Get behind me, Satan.” He accuses Peter of thinking from a worldly point of view—not from the mind of God.God’s plan was counterintuitive. That the Son of God would come, suffer, and die for sin was hard for them to grasp. But it was necessary. The angels say, “Remember what he told you.” The empty tomb proves Jesus was telling the truth.We should ask ourselves, as we think about these women, Joseph, and the disciples: is attachment to Jesus enough? Is respecting Jesus enough? No. You need to believe the words he said. Feeling a warm affection or admiration toward Jesus is not enough. You must believe his words—especially the most important ones concerning what he came to do: to die in our place and to rise, giving life to those who trust in him.The women, when they hear the angelic message, do remember and believe. They take that message to the apostles, who are slower to accept it. This is one of the remarkable evidences of authenticity in the gospel accounts. If these were legends written much later, you wouldn't have women as the first eyewitnesses—because in both Jewish and Roman society, their testimony wasn’t legally accepted. Even the disciples didn’t believe them at first. But the Gospel writers faithfully record what actually happened: the women were the first to believe, while the apostles were skeptical.Two of Jesus’ disciples were then given a personal Bible study from Jesus himself. Beginning in Luke 24:13, we read about two men walking to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking about all that had happened, and Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, though they didn’t recognize him. He asked them what they were discussing, and they stopped, looking sad. One of them, Cleopas, responded, “Are you the only one who doesn’t know what happened in Jerusalem these last few days?” Jesus plays along: “What things?”They tell him about Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in deed and word, delivered up and crucified. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel,” they say. They recount how it’s now the third day, and some women amazed them with reports of angels saying he’s alive. But no one had seen him.Jesus replies, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interprets to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.These disciples were devastated. All their hopes had seemed crushed by the cross. Despite the women’s report, they couldn’t grasp the idea of resurrection. They were still living in the mindset of despair, like it was still Holy Saturday. And that’s a challenge to us: do we live like Jesus is still in the tomb? Do we respect him, admire him, but not live as though he is risen, reigning, and walking beside us?Jesus teaches them that suffering before glory is the pattern of Scripture. From Genesis 3:15, the promise was there: the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head—even as the serpent bruised his heel. That bruised heel was the cross. But in so doing, the head of the enemy was crushed.This pattern is everywhere. Israel passes through the waters of death (the Red Sea) into life. David suffers exile before reigning as king. The servant in Isaiah suffers for the sins of many before being exalted. The whole Old Testament laid out this truth, but people didn’t see it—because no one wants to believe that suffering must come before glory. We want the crown without the cross.But Jesus says it was necessary. Necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering his glory.They reach Emmaus. Jesus acts as if he's going farther, but they beg him to stay. At dinner, he breaks the bread—and suddenly, their eyes are opened. They recognize him. And then, just like that, he vanishes.They say to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” That very hour, they return to Jerusalem and tell the others what happened and how Jesus was revealed in the breaking of the bread.Jesus, on the cross, entrusted his soul to the Father. And the Father vindicated him. Romans 1:4 says he was declared to be the Son of God in power by the resurrection. But God didn’t stop there. Philippians 2 says he gave Jesus the name that is above every name—so that every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.This is the trajectory of Christ: suffering committed to the Father, and then vindication, glory, honor. Daniel 7 speaks of one like a Son of Man being presented before the Ancient of Days and receiving authority and dominion over all peoples. That’s Jesus.He reigns not only as God—but as true man. In 1 Corinthians 15, he is the second Adam. Where the first Adam failed to rule under God’s authority, Jesus succeeded. Psalm 8 asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” and declares that man is crowned with glory and given dominion. The author of Hebrews sees in Psalm 8 a deeper meaning: Jesus took on flesh, became lower than the angels for a little while, and is now crowned with glory and honor—ruling at the right hand of God.Jesus trusted the Father with the results of the cross because he knew greater glory awaited. And now he holds that glory as both God and man.So how do we respond when we are mistreated? When we suffer unjustly? 1 Peter 5 tells us: humble yourselves under God's mighty hand, and in due time, he will exalt you. How do we know that's true? Because it's the pattern of our Savior.He humbled himself. God exalted him. And we, following him, embrace whatever the cost—because glory awaits on the other side. Glory of eternal life with him.The disciples said their hearts burned within them as they walked with Jesus. Do you know that burning joy—the joy of trusting the Risen One, who died and rose for your sins?He committed his spirit to the Father and was crowned with glory. And you too can walk in that resurrection life—not sinless, but forgiven. Walking with God, keeping in step with the Spirit.This is something you can know. If you repent of your sins and trust in Christ's death and resurrection in your place—he is risen. He reigns. Trust in him and follow him.Let’s pray.Father God, we thank you that you did not spare your own Son but gave him up for us all. How will you not, with him, graciously give us all things?In Romans 8, Paul lists so many terrifying things—death, powers, evil, famine, sword—and declares that in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.Lord Jesus, we thank you that you died for our sins, but more than that, that you were raised. You walked out of the grave victorious—over sin, death, hell, and the wrath of God. You bore the punishment we deserve and offer us your righteousness and your life.We praise you for it. And we worship you in your precious name.Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

It is FinishedRemsen Bible Fellowship, 04/17/2025, Good FridayWhy is Good Friday called “good”? How could the day of the history’s greatest crime—the unjust execution of the only innocent man to ever live—be a “good” day? The answer is found in three simple words which Jesus uttered from the cross: “It is finished.” We find those words in the nineteenth chapter of the gospel according to John.In John 19:28-30 we read,After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of the sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”I want to meditate for a few minutes this evening on those words in verse 30—“It is finished.” To what, exactly, was Jesus referring?Public MinistryWe can see, first of all, a reference to his earthly ministry. Jesus’ outward, crowd-facing, ministry was completed at the cross. Though Paul mentions Jesus appearing to over 500 people at one time after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15), this seems to primarily be as evidence of his victorious resurrection from the dead, not a continuation of the teaching and healing ministry which he had initiated some three years earlier.Even before the cross, Jesus’ focus had shifted from the crowds and onto his immediate followers. John 17:9, “I am praying for them [his disciples]. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” Just before this, in John 17:6-8, we read: “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”Jesus had come to make the Father known, both through his actions and his words. Though no one had ever seen God the Father, Jesus made him known—one of the great themes of John’s gospel (John 1:18). He did this, to be sure, through his powerful actions, but those actions were generally meant to illustrate and validate the authority of his words. Thus we read in John 5:19-20,“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.”At the point Jesus spoke those words in John 5, he had turned water into wine, healed a man’s sick son, restored a man’s ability to walk after he had been lame for 38 years. And Jesus would multiply signs of power over the physical realm: feeding the five thousand, walking on water, healing a man born blind, and raising Lazarus from the dead. John tells us that these are but a small part of a list so long that, were it all written down, the whole world could not contain the books (John 21:25). But all of these mighty works, all of this powerful, authoritative, and God-revealing teaching, were but the tip of the iceberg. There was greater power to show, greater love to demonstrate, more of God’s character to be revealed.Jesus’ public ministry was completed before the cross. His public teaching, which had led to this moment, was finished before he hung there. His public miracles of healing and provision, these, too, were completed before the cross. Something else was completed—finished—as he hung there on that tree.Lifted and PlantedIn John chapter three, Jesus makes a cryptic-seeming statement to Nicodemus. In a reference to Numbers 21, Jesus reminds Nicodemus of the time that God sent fiery serpents into the midst of the people of Israel. He judged them for their complaining spirit when they grumbled against God and his servant, Moses. After many of the people died, and those who lived began to repent, God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent, and that all who looked upon that serpent—lifted up—would live. Jesus told Nicodemus that the Son of Man would be lifted up in the same way. Lifted up on a pole, a staff: a tree. As the serpent, the source of death, was lifted high, so sin would be lifted high as the Son of Man was raised on a cross.Jesus uses another metaphor when speaking to Andrew and Peter in chapter 12. After telling them it was his time to be glorified, Jesus said in John 12:24, “Truly truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Does a kernel of wheat, or a grain of corn, sitting in a silo or a seed bag do anything? No. But if you put that seed in the ground and it dies—it ceases to be a seed and is utterly transformed—it produces much fruit.What connection does the lifted serpent have with a planted seed? And in what way is either image glorious? In the image of the serpent lifted up, what we see is the source of death lifted up so that all who looked upon it would be saved. And in the analogy of the grain of wheat we find a life buried in death: hidden from sight, that it might produce abundant life. This is a strange kind of glory. Death lifted high, life buried in the ground.And as perplexing as it is to us, it was that troubling to Jesus. So we read in John 12:27, “Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” What Jesus was about to endure was apparently so troubling that he considered asking for it to be removed. In fact, Luke records Jesus doing just that. “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)But the Father’s will, and ultimately that of Jesus himself, was to follow through with their eternal plan. Indeed, as we read, for this purpose Jesus had come to the hour of his betrayal and crucifixion. He came to be lifted up and then planted, to be crucified and buried, that the Father might display his glory. So we read in John 12:28, “Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”The crowd didn’t recognize the voice of God, but I imagine it must have been reassuring to Jesus in that moment to have God’s voice audibly confirm the truth of everything he said.How was God glorified in the death of Christ? A key component, one we can’t overlook, is the glory God receives when sin is judged. And there, on the cross, Jesus cries out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). The Son forsaken by the Father as the Son was made sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and judged. In a very real sense, the cross became the full expression of hell.But why would Jesus be the one who bore this wrath of God, his judgment against sin? Shouldn’t God give that punishment to us, the creatures who deserve it? Here we find help from the words of Jesus in John 15:13, “Greater love has no man than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” God is love (1 John 4:8). And that love comes to full display when Jesus lays down his life for his friends.We each are under a death sentence for our sins, but if we will become Jesus’ friends, if we will trust in him for the forgiveness of our sins, the pardon of our guilt, and embrace him as our only access to eternal life with the Father, then that death on Good Friday transforms from being the worst tragedy in human history to being the greatest gift ever given. The glory of Jesus, and thus the glory of his Father, is on full display at the cross because there is no clearer picture of God’s love for you. And when Jesus had paid the full price, fulfilled the prophecies, absorbed the wrath of God against human guilt, he had three simple words: “it is finished.” And with that, he gave up his spirit.As we’ve noted a couple of times in recent weeks, it’s important that Jesus “gave up” his spirit. He said in John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” Jesus voluntarily laid down his life for his sheep. Are you one of his sheep? Have you listened to his voice calling you to accept the gift of his death in the place of your sin? Will you give up on loving sin and calling your own shots - a path that Jesus calls darkness, and that leads to eternal separation from God? Hear the words of the Good Shepherd - “it is finished.” He’s paid for your sins, you can lay them down. He has provided perfect righteousness, having died to sin so that you might walk in newness of life. Your old life can be finished. Is the shame of your past too much for you to bear? “It is finished”—he takes the shame away. His death was for you. And he calls us to embrace his death as our own.One writer put it this way,He hell in hell laid low;Made sin, he sin o’erthrew;Bowed to the grave, destroyed it so,And death, by dying, slew.Jesus died for you. He did it for his own Joy: the joy he experiences by having purchased sons and daughters for God. He did it for his Father’s glory: for on the cross the justice and love of God were on full display. And he did it for you, that you might be forgiven, and reconciled to God. Jesus paid it all. “It is finished.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

I Thirst7 Words, John 19:28, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 04/13/2025TextJohn 19:28, ‘After this, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”’IntroductionWhat do you think of when you think of Jesus? When you consider the person and work of the man from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, what comes to mind? Do you imagine god coming to earth, but his humanity being a sort of super-humanity, impervious to the difficulties that face us as mere mortals? Or perhaps you think of a Jewish carpenter, who lived an exemplary life, and thus came to be thought of as divine by those who followed. A great example figure.Establishing and teaching the correct biblical understanding of who Jesus is and what he did was the central concern of the early church, and it should remain our central concern today. The teaching of the Bible on this subject is helpfully summarized in the three so-called Ecumenical Creeds. These are the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Chalcedonian definition. They are referred to as Ecumenical because they are considered by all three major branches of Christianity - Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant - to be accurate summaries and statements of the faith once of all delivered to the saints. The brother of Jesus, Jude, teaches us in his brief letter (v3) that we must contend for this faith which has been handed down. But how can we contend for that which we do not know?The short answer is, we can’t. So if you are ever wondering “why does Will talk so much about Jesus being truly God and truly man”, here is your answer: the church has always talked a lot about this. To the extent that we fail to emphasize either the true divinity, the Godness, of Jesus; or his humanity, his likeness to us in both body and nature: to that extent we are failing to be truly Christian. True Christianity always gives full weight to both realities.So we’re clear, this sermon is going to be doctrine heavy. I try to bring doctrinal themes into the sermons on a regular basis, especially as they arise from the text. But this morning that is going to be overt and explicit. I will conclude the sermon with the Chalecodonian definition I just mentioned, as well as a section from the Athanasian Creed, which also has its origins in the early church. But before we go anywhere, I want to read the section on Jesus from the Nicene Creed:We believe…in one Lord Jesus Christ,the only Son of God,begotten from the Father before all ages,God from God,Light from Light,true God from true God,begotten, not made;of the same essence as the Father.Through him all things were made.For us and for our salvationhe came down from heaven;he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,and was made human.He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;he suffered and was buried.The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.He ascended to heavenand is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again with gloryto judge the living and the dead.His kingdom will never end.That, to my mind, is well worth reading at the front end of this sermon, for two reasons: 1) it is gloriously true, and is always worth reading, pondering, and rejoicing in. 2) It serves as a good segue into the meat of the sermon today.I. John shows Jesus as the Divine Word made FleshSome of the most famous words in the Bible are found at the front of John’s gospel.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)This eternal Word, present in the beginning with God the Father, one with him and yet distinct from him—he is, as the Nicene Creed puts it, of one essence with the Father, though distinct in his person. This is true with the Holy Spirit as well, who shares in the One Divine Essence, and yet is identifiably unique from the Father and the Son. But here is what is most unique about the Son, about the eternal Word of the Father: verse 14 tells us that he “took on flesh, and dwelt among us.”Some people think of John’s gospel as having a particularly large emphasis on the divinity of Christ. And John does take us back further in history: he doesn’t open with Jesus’ ministry of preaching, like Mark, or with a birth narrative, like Matthew or Luke. Instead, John is intentionally echoing the language of Genesis in these opening verses, and firmly starting with the fact of Jesus’ divine nature. However, this is never to the neglect or diminishment of that glorious reality in verse 14: he - the Divine Word - became flesh. The Divine Word took on real humanity. The humanity of Jesus is not downplayed by John, it is drawn in shown to be all the more striking because of the emphasis which is laid on his Divine nature.John 1:18 speaks again to the divinity of Christ, as he is the only one to truly reveal God the Father: “no one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”The disciple Nathaniel proclaims Jesus’ divinity in John 1:49, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of Israel!” Jesus, rather than rebuking this attribution of divine status, ups the ante: “Truly truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). In that statement Jesus:* Calls himself “the Son of Man”, a title which actually carried more divine weight in ancient Israel than “son of God” would have. And,* Calls himself the way to God. That might seem obscure, but the statement about angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man makes reference to the dream of Jacob in Genesis 28. There, Jacob, on the run from his brother Esau, sees what is sometimes called a ladder, but is probably best translated as a flight of steps—like what would be on an ancient ziggurat, or pyramid shaped temple. The top of this ziggurat is in the heaves, and Jacob sees angels going up and down. When he awakes from this dream, he calls the place the house of God, the gate of heaven. And Jesus says to Nathaniel, I am that gate.Because Jesus is the only man to himself be God, to have his origin in heaven, he is the only one who can take men to heaven. So he says in John 10:7, “I am the door of the sheep”, and in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”Jesus is truly God, and he is truly from God. He demonstrates this fact throughout the gospel of John. The first half of John’s gospel is structured around the seven sign miracles: turning the water into wine (chapter 2), healing the official’s son (chapter 4), healing the man at the pool of Bethesda (chapter 5), feeding the five thousand and walking on water (chapter 6), healing the man born blind (chapter 9), and raising Lazarus from the dead (chapter 11). Jesus shows himself in these miracles to be the Lord of healing, provision, and joy, who has all of material creation underneath his authority.Yet, at the same time, when he took on flesh, he really did take it on. So in chapter four, and verse six we read: “Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well.” Jesus was tired from walking. Ponder that for a moment. The eternal Word who spoke the Milky Way galaxy into existence, the same Jesus who commanded 130 gallons of water to become wine - and it obeyed - this same Divine Word, the Lord Jesus, was weary from a long walk.Do not miss the significance of this fact. Jesus’ humanity is every bit as real as yours and mine.II. The Divine Word Physically SufferedThat’s how we know that, during his passion, the Lord Jesus was really suffering. The physical body of the Divine Word made flesh was being brutally broken for you and for me. Mark 15:23 tells us that Jesus had been offered wine mixed with myrrh while he was being led to the place of crucifixion. The myrrh would have acted as something of an analgesic, to relieve the pain. Jesus refused the painkillers. He dealt with the full brunt of the brutality.Then, as the end of his time on the cross came, he spoke: “I thirst.” Now, the reason I have labored the real humanity of Jesus up to this point in the sermon is that I do not want John’s (very important) explanatory note to confuse you: Jesus spoke conscious of the scripture he would be fulfilling, and we’ll get there in a moment. But he wasn’t just saying words to check boxes. He spoke from the genuine experience of a man who had undergone a brutal day. Up all night, first in urgent prayer, and then being dragged before his accusers. Then beaten brutally with a whip. Made to carry his 80-100 pound rough-cut cross beam on his flayed back until he no longer could. And then crucified, nails driven through hands and feet. He then hung there for six hours. Jesus’ thirst is real thirst.So, he calls out for a drink. And this time, when they bring him what the text calls “sour wine”, he receives the drink. The first wine offered had been to kill the pain. He refused that. But this wine, sometimes called wine vinegar, was what the soldiers would have had as their common drink. It was more effective for quenching thirst (and probably safer) than water. And Jesus asks for and receives a drink of this sour wine. Our Lord, the giver of Living Water, suffered real thirst at the cross. And, probably, not kindness but sadism from the soldiers, who knew that to give hydration to a crucified man would only prolong his pain.III. The Divine Word Fulfilled ScriptureBut now, we’ll turn and look at the note John the gospel writer gives to us: Jesus makes his request for a drink, he makes known his thirst, in order “to fulfill the Scripture.”I’ve noted over the past couple of weeks how important it is that, though he is suffering in unspeakable ways, Jesus nonetheless remains in control, both of his own mind and the narrative arc of all history.So, when John makes this claim, that Jesus spoke “to fulfill the Scripture”, what does he mean? What is fulfillment, after all? That’s one of those churchy-sounding words that gets thrown around sort of willy-nilly.When we think of fulfillment, what often comes to mind is the accurate execution of an action or event that was specifically predicted in advance. So, for example, we’ve looked a lot at Isaiah 53 the past month or so, because there Isaiah is speaking of the suffering servant of the Lord, and that whole passage reads like a description of the physical reality and spiritual significance of Jesus’ work on the cross, penned 700 years in advance. We saw something similar last week in Psalm 22. Though David was writing from his own experience in Psalm 22, many of the things he says seem like exaggerated statements for him—but they almost exactly describe Jesus’ on the cross.Here in Psalm 69, it is similar, but a little different. The Scripture to which John refers is Psalm 69:21: “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” This Psalm isn’t one where the broad sweep is full of Messianic themes: for example, David says, “O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you” (v5). Well, folly and wrong-doing certainly can’t refer to Jesus. So here we need a little broader understanding of “fulfill.” The word John uses in 19:28 can mean to accomplish, to fulfill, to complete, or to perfect. And while not every aspect of Jesus’ life maps onto King David’s, one of the themes in the gospels is that Jesus is the Son of David. The messiah whom the Jews expected had to be a descendant of King David, and the prophets foretold a time when the Messiah would reign on David’s throne eternally.The gospel writers Luke and Matthew establish Jesus’ physical descent from David early in their gospels by means of genealogies. John doesn’t do that. Instead, he points to the fulfillment of a messianic pattern in Jesus’ life. And Psalm 69 plays a key role in that. In chapter two, Jesus enters the temple and finds the temple courts being treated as a place of commerce. So he makes a whip of cords, and drives out the merchants, tossing over tables and driving out the livestock. His disciples, in trying to understand the significance of this, remember Psalm 69:9—”zeal for your house will consume me.”David had zeal for the house of the Lord. But it was imperfect. He wanted to build a temple so that the ark of God wouldn’t reside in a tent. But God wouldn’t allow it. His zeal was stifled. But in Jesus’ that zeal is consummate, completed—even as the old temple system gives way to the church, where the gathered people of God are now a living temple, entering the heavenly places as we gather to worship and praise the Father through Jesus who is himself the doorway to heaven.So, here, later in Psalm 69, we have a fulfillment of a messianic pattern. David cries out in Psalm 69:20 that he had looked for pity and there was none, for comforters, but found none. And in verse 21 he continues, “for my thirst they gave me sour wine.” As mentioned earlier, the sour wine of the soldiers was simply what they had on hand. But it was hardly fit for a king. When the king, the ruler, the Savior, the Messiah appears, the response of the people should be to bring forth their very best. Instead, they brought forward a common drink for a common man.Jesus, like David, was mistreated by those in authority. His place as the anointed-by-God Savior of his people was not recognized. He had to suffer before he could enter into his glory (Luke 24:26). Jesus fulfills, not just specific predictive prophecies, but broad patterns which God puts forward throughout the Old Testament histories. The most important of which is the pattern of death and resurrection. Of God’s saving work coming through the suffering of his servants.IV. The Divine Word Finished His WorkJesus’ suffering on the cross accomplished everything that was necessary for salvation. This will be our focus on Friday evening as we consider Jesus’ sixth cry from the cross: “It is finished!” It’s enough for today to note that Jesus spoke those words, according to John, immediately after receiving this drink. Jesus had completed the work set out for him by the Father in eternity past. Everything necessary for you salvation and mine, all of the payment for sin, had been completed by Jesus. He didn’t need to do anymore—and neither do you. His work really is complete.ConclusionLet us wonder again at this mystery: the Divine Word was made flesh in order to die for our sins. I said earlier that I was going to conclude with a couple of readings from church history which put theological language on this reality, so here is the Chalcedonian definition on the two natures - and one person -of Christ:Chalcedonian Definition:Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.I’m also going to read the conclusion of the Athaniasin Creed. This creed is quite a bit longer, and is our clearest early definition of the doctrine of the Trinity. But the conclusion shifts from simply defining terms to what it means to believe in the faith once for all delivered to the saints.Athanasian Creed:But it is necessary for eternal salvationthat one also believe in the incarnationof our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.Now this is the true faith:That we believe and confessthat our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,is both God and human, equally.He is God from the essence of the Father,begotten before time;and he is human from the essence of his mother,born in time;completely God, completely human,with a rational soul and human flesh;equal to the Father as regards divinity,less than the Father as regards humanity.Although he is God and human,yet Christ is not two, but one.He is one, however,not by his divinity being turned into flesh,but by God's taking humanity to himself.He is one,certainly not by the blending of his essence,but by the unity of his person.For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,so too the one Christ is both God and human.He suffered for our salvation;he descended to hell;he arose from the dead;he ascended to heaven;he is seated at the Father's right hand;from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.At his coming all people will arise bodilyand give an accounting of their own deeds.Those who have done good will enter eternal life,and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.This is the catholic faith:one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.Brothers and sisters, the incorruptible and invincible eternal Son took on flesh to be our Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. His suffering was real human suffering. And his real humanity and real suffering means that for all who believe in him there is real salvation. Jesus’ finished work means that all who look to him in faith - who believe in the sufficiency of his cross-work - will not perish, but have everlasting life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com

ForsakenMatthew 27:46, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 7 Words, 4/6/2025When you think, “God-forsaken”, what comes to mind?Do you think a desert, those patches of the world seemingly inhospitable to life? Or does your mind run to situations in war-torn countries where it seems any sign of God - or even his image in man - has disappeared? Or perhaps you think of a time in your own life, when you felt particularly desolate and cried out, “where are you, God?”That kind of cry can come in a couple of different ways. It can come with a tone of despisal, anger, and bitterness. I know I mentioned this recently, but I’ve heard one pastor describe an atheist as someone who doesn’t believe that God exists—and is mad at him for not being there. There’s a real sense in which disbelief in God is the self-defense mechanism of a father-hungry soul: if he isn’t there, he can’t disappoint me.Of course, not many people sitting in church on Sunday morning are among the less than 10% of Americans who claim to be atheist. But we can suffer from the same kind of anger, fist shaking, or silent disappointment that the atheist does. Perhaps it’s even more acute. It really does hurt more when you know God is there, and it still feels like he’s not interested.In a real sense, the sin of the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the other religious leaders of Israel in Jesus day seems to be tied to this kind of disappointment with God. Though Jesus had clearly presented supernatural evidence of his divine Person (Acts 2:22), they rejected the obvious Presence of the Lord. Because they didn’t believe in the reality of a God? No, but because God came—and he didn’t bring in the kingdom they had hoped for. He was there, and he wasn’t what they expected or wanted. So the servants beat the Son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard (see the parable of the tenets, Matthew 21). He who came to lay the foundation of a kingdom not of this world, was rejected by men, smitten, and afflicted.But here is the burning question of our text today: as Jesus hung there on the cross, was he forsaken by the Father, too? After all that he suffered at the hands of men, was Jesus abandoned on the cross?‏Matthew 27:45-50, 45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.Jesus Faced God’s Wrath: so you don’t have to (v45)In verse forty-five it tells us darkness swallowed the land. What did this mean? Why did the darkness take over the land in the middle of the day? The darkness, though surely a literal description of what happened that Friday afternoon, is also highly symbolic.In the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:13, Jesus describes a servant who comes to the wedding feast in inappropriate garments—and is bound hand and foot, and cast out of the king’s presence—into the outer darkness. In the imagery of the parable, the clean wedding garments which the guests are to wear represent the righteousness which is given to them as a gift by the king. He had sent his servants out into the roads to invite guests in place of the previous wicked servants who had spurned his invitation.And on the cross, Jesus was, as it were, taking on all of our filthy garments. All of your sin, all of your wickedness, all of the lies and the murders and the adultery and the hatred and the envy and the fornication and the pornography use and the gossip and the words spoken in rage and the child abuse and the disobedience to parents and the cheating on your taxes and the being lazy at work and the theft and every other kind of evil the word has known: Jesus clothed himself in that sin. He so took it on himself that the apostle Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that he became sin.And he did so for a purpose. That purpose was that he might stand in your place and mine. He took that sin upon himself in order to bear the punishment which his people deserve. He took that sin on himself in order to die for it.But the death he had to endure was not merely physical in nature. He had to face the wrath of God. If a holy God is to look past the sin of wicked people - or people who feel like they're pretty good, but are still objectively wicked in God’s sight - then God must punish a substitute. Someone must bear that guilt away. The OT sacrificial system pointed forward to this reality. Lambs, rams, bulls, goats, pigeons, and doves—all had their blood shed in the place of sinful human beings. But as Hebrews 10:4 teaches us, it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. We not only need a substitute. We need a sufficient and effective substitute.And such a substitute was the Lamb of God. The eternal Son took on human flesh, a real human nature. As a man, Jesus is fit, he is acceptable, as a substitute: he is a true human being, and so can stand in the place of humans, bearing our sin. But as the only man who is also truly God, he is sufficient and able to effectively bear the weight of the sins of the world.And so, for three hours on Golgotha, Jesus was cast into the outer darkness of the wrath of God.Jesus Was Abandoned: so that you need never be (v46)At the end of those three hours, Jesus cried out in a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”—“my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Remember the prayer of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 22:39). Jesus looked ahead and knew what was coming. He knew that on the cross there would be physical suffering, to be sure, but that worst of all tortures would be nothing compared to taking on human sin and bearing the Hell of God’s wrath against that sin. He desperately wanted to avoid that, if at all possible. But, in faith, he prays: “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”Well, what did the Father will? According to Isaiah 53:10, “it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief.” And, on the cross, having been crushed by his Father, Jesus cries out in seeming desperation - my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He is quoting the words of Psalm 22, which continues in Psalm 22:1 with another painful question: “why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”When Jesus hung on the cross, bearing the weight of the sins of the world, he was forsaken by the Father. I want to be clear in my language here. In no way did Jesus ever cease to be God, never was there a rupture in the perfect Divine unity of Father, Son, and Spirit. But on the cross, the Son ceased to feel the pleasure of the Father, a pleasure which had clearly marked his earthly life (see Matthew 3:17, 17:5), t say nothing of the eternal perfection of Divine love within the godhead. But instead of that pleasure, for those three hours on Golgotha, Jesus experienced the absolute torrent of the wrath of God against sin. Against my sin. Against your sin. Against the sin of the world.His prayer had been for the cup to pass. The Father had answered that prayer with a “no.” Instead he handed the cup to the Son, who drank it to the full.People sometimes ask or wonder about the problem of evil. How could an all powerful God who is also loving make a world with sin and pain and suffering. The Bible never tries to answer that question in a neat theological fashion. Instead, we are shown what God did about evil. The second person of the Trinity, God himself, came into human history and took the weight of hell on his own shoulders.Why does he allow evil? We don’t know. What did he do about it? That, we do know. He came down, for us men and for our salvation. He was incarnate, and bore the weight of all the sin and evil upon himself. The Son was forsaken by the Father, so that all those evil sinners - like you and me - could be forgiven and brought into the family of God. Jesus’ answer to the problem of evil has two parts, the second part of which is that he will one day come and put an end to it all. But the first part is this: on the cross, he paid for it all. Do you think no one understands your pain? Do you think God has forgotten you? Do you think no one can sympathize? Jesus can, and then some. He was forsaken by the Father, so that you would never be.Friend, if you don’t know him, I urge you now to put your trust in this One who died for you. He bore your sins in his body on the tree. He took the curse of God’s wrath so that you could joyfully stand in God’s presence without fear.Jesus Endured the Scorn of the Bystanders: for his confidence in God (v47-49)The cry of Jesus, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, is not just a cry of desperation or pain, though. It surely is that, but it is also far more.He is also, as I noted earlier, quoting from Psalm 22. And Psalm 22 begins with that cry of desolation, and then moves into a catalog of David’s sufferings from those who surround him. Psalm 22:7-8 says, “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Note how this maps onto Matthew 27:47-49, ‘And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”’They scoff and they scorn. Perhaps they misheard Jesus when he said “Eli” or, “my God.” They could easily have heard “Eli-jah” or “my God is salvation.” In either case, Jesus is clearly calling out for Divine intervention, and they say, “ha! Let’s see if God actually sends Elijah to fix this mess.” It rings of the words they spoke back in v42, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.”David had described this experience in Psalm 22 as being surrounded by bulls of bashan, wild dogs, and ravening lions. The evil men who mocked our Lord were acting not like image bearers of God, but like predators surrounding a wounded prey animal. And as real as the sufferings of David were when he wrote this, they paled in comparison to what Jesus was going through. Jesus was filling up - fulfilling - the sufferings of David. This Psalm, personal to David though it may have been, is clearly messianic—that is, it points forward to the life and sufferings of Jesus, the Messiah.This is particularly instructive, because it tells us that, even though Jesus had faced the Hell of God’s wrath and had been desolate to the point of crying out for God to answer why he had left, Jesus’ confidence in his Father remained. Psalm 22:3-5, 9-11:3 Yet you are holy,enthroned on the praises of Israel.4 In you our fathers trusted;they trusted, and you delivered them.5 To you they cried and were rescued;in you they trusted and were not put to shame…9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.10 On you was I cast from my birth,and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.11 Be not far from me,for trouble is near,and there is none to help.Jesus was willing and able to suffer the abandonment of his followers, the physical brutality of crucifixion, the mocking scorn of the bystanders, and even endure the wrath of God, for one reason alone: his rock-solid confidence in the Salvation God would bring.Jesus Died Triumphantly: purchasing your access to God (v50-51)What this meant, ultimately, was that when Jesus came to die, he died not in defeat, but in triumph. In verse 50 we are not given any more words of Jesus, Matthew simply tells us that he cried out in a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. We know from the other gospels what he said. “It is finished” and “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.” Jesus knew his work was done, and he laid down his life of his own accord, as we read in John chapter 10 last week.But Matthew has a point in not putting all of that action on screen for us. He wants to simply show us the effect of the triumphant death of Jesus. So in v51, we read, “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” What is going on in this verse?The temple curtain was a massive fabric wall - 60 feet high by 30 feet wide, and four inches thick - which separated the Holy Place (where the priests alone ministered) from the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies. The Most Holy place was where God made his presence known in Israel, and this curtain separated off that area. Only the high priest was allowed to enter beyond the curtain, behind the veil, and he only once a year.Friends, Jesus ripped that curtain in two. It was torn from top to bottom. Part of what this means is that Jesus went into the presence of his Father with a sufficient sacrifice - his own blood of the covenant - and that that sacrifice was enough to open the way to the Father for all who believe in him. No longer do we need a merely human priest to take our sacrifice to God. Jesus, the God-Man, is our priest and he offered up, once and for all, a sacrifice which was enough to atone for all of our sins.Hebrews 9:25-28, “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all. This is why we do not believe the bread and fruit of the vine which we take in communion are literally Jesus’ body and blood. He spoke those words symbolically the night before his crucifixion. But the breaking of his body and shedding of his blood was a one-time event, for which there is no need to repeat. We don’t offer up Christ’s sacrifice to God in the eucharist—he already did that. We partake with grateful hearts for what he has already done. We are given bodily, tangible, reminders of what he did for us—reminders which truly nourish our forgetful hearts.But friends, no more sacrifice is needed. Jesus already opened the way to the Father. Again, this fulfills the words of the last Psalm 22:22-3122 I will tell of your name to my brothers;in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!24 For he has not despised or abhorredthe affliction of the afflicted,and he has not hidden his face from him,but has heard, when he cried to him.25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;my vows I will perform before those who fear him.26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;those who seek him shall praise the LORD!May your hearts live forever!27 All the ends of the earth shall rememberand turn to the LORD,and all the families of the nationsshall worship before you.28 For kingship belongs to the LORD,and he rules over the nations.29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,even the one who could not keep himself alive.30 Posterity shall serve him;it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,that he has done it.We will tell what he has done, because through him, we have been brought near.ConclusionBrothers and sisters, let us marvel at what the Lord has done for us. Do you feel forsaken by God today? Does he feel far from the words of your groaning? He is not. If you have trusted in Jesus, he has paid for all of your sins, and you will never be forsaken. And if you have not trusted in him, then friend, now is the time. Put your hope in Jesus Christ, and he throws open wide the access you need to forgiveness, to eternal security in his presence, and to the gift of his Spirit who knits you into the family of God, enables you to walk in obedience, and is the downpayment of your eternal salvation. Faith in Jesus is the way - the only way - to be right with God and confident of your standing with him. He was forsaken for you, so that you would never be forsaken. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit remsenbible.substack.com