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  Matthew 21:1-46  The Fruit of Glory

(message transcript)

INTRODUCTION:

I want to thank everybody for who showed up for our workday and those who have been praying for our workday because it was such a blessing just to see how many people pitched in to to just serve this facility that the Lord has so graciously given us. Now I don't know how many looked at the list that we had, our list was a little bit ambitious. We did not accomplish everything we hoped to have accomplished yesterday. 

This morning, I'm going to be a little bit ambitious. I'm not sure I'm going to accomplish everything I would like to accomplish, but we are going to be looking at the whole of Matthew 21. Now, I'm attempting this because most of this should be familiar to almost everyone who is in here. Matthew 21 is a very familiar chapter. So we're going to look at this whole chapter not once, not twice, but three times. And we're going to look at it through three lenses. 

First, we're going to look at it through the idea of humble authority. Then we're going to look at it through the lens of clearing the way. And third, we're going to look at it through the fruit of faith. And so just so you have it on the front end to prepare you for what we're looking at is I'm going to give you my summary statement. Jesus comes as the humble authority who clears the way for the fruit of faith. 

READ (Matthew 21)

HUMBLE AUTHORITY

Over the past three months, you've likely noticed that the headlines have been saturated. with the latest findings and cuts from DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. Likewise, a week has not gone by in which some appeals court hasn't issued a ruling as to the legitimacy of such cuts and layoffs. 

Well, to ease some of you as to where we're going, Jesus is not riding into Jerusalem to bring about better government efficiency. I don't think efficiency is ever on God's list of priorities. But Jesus is coming in to make some job cuts. Not for the sake of saving the taxpayers some dollars. Not to offer a reduction on your tithe. Jeremy will go through that this morning and he'll... no. Jesus has come to cut out the corruption. 

And as far as appeals court are concerned, Jesus comes as the final court of appeals. The religious leaders and elders have been in business for themselves rather than attending the needs of the people and rather than serving the Lord. And Jesus is riding into town to take care of it. 

Now, as one who bears such authority, we might expect Jesus to have commandeered a chariot with a team of stallions. I mean today, you're not going to see kings or presidents or prime ministers go anywhere, especially among a full capacity crowd, where they are not sitting in the backseat of a bulletproof, 500-horsepowered limousine of some sort. 

But here, this great military figure, the king of all the universe, doesn't climb in the back of a bulletproof limousine with however many hundred horsepower. He stoops down to a vehicle of but one, a lowly donkey. Why? 

Well, first, the Lord says he's in need of it. He recruits two of his disciples to round up this cult. Why? Because the Lord is in need of it. That's kind of ironic to think that the king, the Lord of all the universe, the God who made everything, is in need. But he is in need. He's in need to make a statement to the people. And it's going to take this donkey to do it. 

I picture Jesus here sending James and John, who we've looked at for the past couple weeks, sending maybe these two as the recruits, you know, those who were seeking positions of prestige and power. A donkey, Jesus? Are you certain that's what you want? Don't you want someone with a little bit more giddy-up? No, a donkey and its colt will do just fine. That's what I need. 

And so we have this full-grown man riding this lowly colt of a donkey. And the crowd is going wild. They are celebrating, they are rolling out the green carpet, as it were, proclaiming, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. 

I just wondered, did the crowd miss it? Often the crowd does, often we do. With all the hype, all the stories, did they completely miss what Jesus was doing in this moment? Well, the crowd might have missed it, but Matthew records it so that hopefully you and I won't miss it. 

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, verse 5. Now there's no doubt Jesus is riding in as a humble king. And yet, he's also making the boldest of statements. Jesus is doing exactly what the prophet Zechariah said the Messianic king would do. Here, in this act of coming in on the donkey, Jesus is proclaiming himself to be none less than the Messiah. And notice, He doesn't hush the crowd's acknowledgement that He is the Son of David. They pay homage to Him. Now, but for how long? 

Jesus may have rode in on a donkey, meek and mild. But the rest of this chapter, Jesus will appear anything but. 

Note, humble authority doesn't suggest that Jesus is a pushover. It doesn't mean denying one's rightful authority. Humility does not mean to think more lowly of oneself than what they truly are, but not to think more highly of oneself than what they truly are. Humility doesn't deny the truth of who one is. That is what we call false humility.

So when Jesus enters the temple and he overthrows the tables, he's not some arrogant glory seeker. I'll show you who's in charge. He comes with the full authority of heaven itself to execute justice and to set things right. He has authority over what takes place in the temple. 

He also has authority over the fig tree, verse 19. And if it fails to bear fruit, he has authority to wither that same fig tree. In fact, Jesus has authority even over the mountains (which we'll return to). 

He has authority over those who would question him. That's verse 23. So when the religious authorities press Jesus to explain himself as if God answers to man, Jesus turns the tables on them and tells them, Tell you what, I'll ask the questions. You answer me. 

So many people think that God owes them an explanation. That's not humility, that's arrogance. And yet, in incomprehensible humility, God condescends to our level and answers genuine questions asked in faith, questions asked from a pure heart. But get this, He has no obligation to do so. And yet He stoops, He kneels as before children. He doesn't turn them away. 

But as for the religious elite, with all their study, the seminary students of Jesus' day, they couldn't even answer Jesus' simple question. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man? So, rather than answer their question directly, Jesus tells them two parables. 

The first concerning two sons, verse 28. A father says to his first son, Go, work in the vineyard. And the son initially refuses, but later he repents and changes his mind and goes. The second son said he would go, and yet he never went. Which of the sons honored their father by doing what the father commanded? The existing authorities are like the son who promised to do the work of their father, yet never went. 

Where the first parable concerns the authority of a father over his two sons, the second concerns the authority of a landowner over the tenants. Verse 33. So when the owner sends emissaries to collect his fruit, the tenants disregard their authority as the owner's ambassadors. Mistreating some, killing others to the point where they even killed the landowner's own son. 

But that's what sin does. Sin rebels against authority. Like the two sons, sin rebels against God's loving, fatherly authority. Either by flat out telling him no, or by merely giving lip service to what the Father requests. And like the tenants, sin denies God's rightful authority as the owner of all things. Jeremy even made that clear in our prayer for the offering. All things belong to Him. We're but stewards. 

Like a loving Father, God makes no demands of His people that are not for our good. And as the owner of the vineyard, He didn't send ambassadors to collect the fruit because He was somehow in need of what they could give to Him. 

Rather, Israel was given dominion as stewards to expand the dominion of this vineyard for the good of the nations. Not to be inwardly focused, not to hoard everything for themselves, Israel was to be a replanting of Eden, as it were, where the people were to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with the reign of God's righteousness, God's righteous reign, but instead they became as corrupt as the nations around them. bearing thorns of idolatry, thorns that would soon crown this humble king's righteous brow. 

Listen, the owner of the vineyard has the authority to lease this vineyard to every he wants. He leased it to a people who refused to produce its fruits. This owner also has the authority to take it away, which is exactly what he is about to do. Verse 43, Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing its fruits. 

CLEARING THE WAY

Now the reason we're looking at this chapter as a whole is because it all comes together as one meaning, one message, one thing that's going on here. Each of these snippets point to the same thing. The old system has become corrupt to the point it's time to do away with it completely. 

Now, it's not like God didn't know that the old system was deficient from the beginning. It was always deficient, but not because of some failure on God's part, but because of our sin, because of the people's sin. It was never intended to be permanent. Rather, it was intended to point to what was to come. It was intended to point to the coming one. It was intended to expose our need for something better, something more glorious. 

But even though the system was intentionally temporary, that doesn't excuse man's responsibility. Man was still responsible to offer right sacrifices, acceptable worship, faithful obedience. To be a son who willingly works for his father. To be tenants who give the owner the fruit of the vineyard. 

But in himself, man is completely incapable. Not because what God demands is physically impossible or physically too hard, but because we're morally unwilling. Left to ourselves, we are unwilling to submit to the authority of others. including God. We're unwilling to work for another's joy or for another's glory. Our sinful bent refuses to be content as tenants, or as sons, as priests, or as doorkeepers. Whether we admit it or not, our natural fallen inclinations inward. We are self-focused. That's why we so desperately need God's Spirit in us. 

So what does this clearing the way look like? Well, the first step in clearing the way is found in the donkey passage, if I can call it that. The donkey passage. Jesus comes offering peace. That's what he's portraying coming in on a colt instead of a warhorse. The warhorse is going to come, but not now. 

First he comes to offer terms of peace. The reason a donkey and not a warhorse is because the greatest obstacle in our way is not Rome, it's not any enemies, but our sin. And our sin must be dealt with decisively. The crowd here is shouting, Hosanna!  meaning, Lord, save us!  Well, that's exactly what Jesus has come to do. But not in the way they expected. He's come to save us from our sin. I think of Charlotte's prayer, Lord, forgive us our sins. Thank you, Jesus, dying on the cross to forgive us our sins. 

Jesus has come fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy to bring peace. by satisfying the penalty of our rebellion in full, bringing peace not just to Israel but to the nations. This is the salvation Zechariah's humble king brings. 

And because Jesus himself is going to deal with our sin, there's no need to retain the old corrupt system any longer. It has served its purpose. 

Now when I say the whole system was corrupted, it's important to note that none of what was taking place that Jesus encountered in the temple, none of it was God's system, but man's perversion of what God had set up. This was not the system that God installed. 

When Jesus entered the temple complex, what did he see? He saw worship, but not the worship of God. He saw religion, but not the religion that is pure and undefiled. He saw a festival, I mean it was Passover, but not Passover as God had intended it. He saw trade, a first century stock exchange selling pigeons and doves. 

In fact, this stock exchange was part of the Great Exchange. where mankind had exchanged the glory of the immortal God for birds. That's what it says in Romans 1, for images of birds among other things. This pigeon, it can save me, right? I'll pay my own way, this little sacrifice, I'll give a little bit of money for a pigeon or a dove. And then I can go about my own merry way, doing whatever I want. As if a dove can save anyone. But there's only one who can save, and that is the one on whom the Spirit descended like a dove. 

For this people, there was no fruit of repentance. This is why Jesus quotes Isaiah and Jeremiah in verse 13. It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.' 

We'll start with the second half of that. You make it a den of robbers. It comes from Jeremiah 7. And I know it's been a while since we looked at that. Where the people, they trusted that simply going through the motions of worship was sufficient. Going through the religious rituals. Somehow, supposedly made them right with God. “No repentance required!” at least in their minds. The temple had become nothing more than a hideout. So long as the temple was in their midst, we were fine. This is the temple of the Lord. This is the temple of the Lord. This is the temple of the Lord. Nothing to worry about. 

Well, the temple is going out of business. Why? Because the people have made a mockery of God's temple. And if we're not careful, we can be guilty of the same. We can go through religious motions thinking that such can somehow appease God. You know, doing your church thing on Sunday and then turn around Monday, you know, the rest of the week it belongs to me. 

But the temple was never intended for Israel alone. The first half of verse 13, it comes from Isaiah. Isaiah 56, I believe. The Gospel writers, they rarely quote the passages in full, but the readers are expected to know the passage. My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus makes clear the meaning. For all nations, for all ethnos. 

Where were these abominations taking place? If you read any commentary, they're going to tell you this exchanging, the money changers, and the exchanging money for doves and pigeons, it was taking place in what would be called the court of the Gentiles. The outermost court. This whole corrupted religious system that the people had set up, it squeezed out the nations, squeezed out any place for the nations. among God's people? Well, no longer. 

The Fig Tree. Now the Fig Tree goes hand in hand with the temple. The Fig Tree is representative of Israel as the stewards of God's promises. You can see it in several places throughout the Old Testament, but one good place to look at is Hosea 9. Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree, I saw your fathers. 

So when Jesus curses the fig tree, it's not due to some fit of rage because he is hangry. He didn't smell those resurrection rolls baking in the kitchen this morning. And I know it's pushing lunchtime and some of you are probably getting hangry too. Jesus wasn't abusing his divine authority. How dare this fig tree fail to you know offer fruit for me to eat and satisfy my appetite. 

Remember, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted without eating a single crumb. resisting the temptation to turn a stone to bread. This is the same Jesus who fed the multitudes in the wilderness, multiplying fishes and loaves for the multitude, not once, but twice. So Jesus is certainly not venting his appetite disappointments over some barren fig tree. 

What we need is a lesson in horticulture. Now, I had heard of this, but I mean with our fig tree over the last few years that we've had it, I've never experienced it so I doubted it. And And you know reading commentaries, they talk about these little fruits that appear on a early spring fig tree when it first leaves, but I didn't really believe it. And then I had somebody like R.C. Sproul who doubted it too, so I felt like I was kind of in good company there. Well, I guess we were both wrong. 

In the spring, when the fig tree leaves, it also puts out these little unripe fruits that, well, I don't know how tasty they are, but they're edible. Jesus uses the fig tree here as an object lesson for Israel. Well, it wasn't the season for harvesting figs. There should have at least been these little tiny nubs of fruit on the tree. The sign of future fruit. 

The fig tree, though, it had all the signs of fruitfulness, but it was barren. That was a portrait of the temple. There was lots of activity going on. On the inside, Fig leaves were sprouting and covering the naked branches, but the whole thing was fruitless. And as we know from Genesis 3, you can't hide nakedness or barrenness with fig leaves. No fig leaves can provide sanctuary or a hiding place. And fig leaves, not fruit, was all that Israel had to show. 

Israel was to be the stewards of God's vineyard, entrusted with the oracles of God so to be a blessing to the nations. But they were fruitless, barren, providing no benefit to anyone. Yet they were using up God's good resources. So when Jesus curses the fig tree, the disciples are amazed that it withers at once. How does Jesus respond? Not only will He do to this fig tree, but even to this mountain. 

What mountain? Well, there's a couple possible answers, but most likely it either is the Temple Mount or Jerusalem, physical Jerusalem itself. I want to be careful here. But the whole of the New Testament points to this, and even our current chapter. 

You see, what's the point of the Parable of the Tenants? Well, I guess first we need to ask, who are the tenants? If you're not sure who the tenants are, the chief priests and the scribes, the Pharisees, they make it pretty clear Jesus was speaking about them. Now if they got it right, I hope we can at least get it right. The kingdom would be taken away from them, the current tenants, and given to those producing fruit. 

So back to the mountain. This mountain is earthly Jerusalem, and it is out of business. As Jesus states in John 4, no longer on this mountain, here in Jerusalem, or in Samaria, will you worship the Father. True worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. And as Samuel read in Galatians 4, physical Jerusalem had become equivalent to Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. The true people of God belonged to the Jerusalem that is above the Mount Zion that is above the heavenly Jerusalem. 

So Jesus is here clearing the way, removing the authority of the priests and the elders who question His. Why? Because they're worthless shepherds. They're the blind leading the blind. And He's removing the sons who merely gave lip service to the Father's commands. He's removing the current tenants of the vineyard. 

And he's going to give it to those who produce its fruits. The question is, who would that be? And what does this fruit look like? Well, we're going to start at the end and we're going to go backwards. 

FRUIT OF FAITH

First, it's the fruit of faith. The faith of those who don't reject the cornerstone, but find their refuge. in this cornerstone. You see, Jesus is clearing the way by tearing down the old system due to its deficiency. But he's not leaving the whole thing void of nothing. He's building or setting up a new system in its place. Jesus is tearing down one temple and he is raising up another, laying himself down as the cornerstone, as the very foundation. 

Access to God is no longer through some religious system, but through Christ. When Jesus died and breathed his last, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, stating very loudly that the physical temple was closed for business permanently. Now access to God is through the torn curtain of Jesus's flesh. 

If you just back up to Psalm 18 that Josiah read, Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. What's the gate? Well, Jesus is the gate. How is it opened? It's opened by his flesh being flayed open, paying for our sins. That is the gate of righteousness that we enter through. You enter through Christ, and only through Christ, where you don't enter the kingdom. And you enter by faith, and only by faith. You seek to come in any other way, this stone will crush you. 

The fruit of faith, it recognizes our rightful place as stewards, not as owners, in humility, not entitlement. That all is a gift of grace. And such changes the way how we think. It changes how we approach everything else in life. When you recognize that you're a steward, you can live with your hands open. It all belongs to God anyway. And with open hands, you'll bear fruit. You'll be a benefit to your neighbors, those God has placed along the roadside that you pass by. We work as unto the Lord, not man, and definitely not self. We work as for a loving father, not a demanding slave master. 

The fruit of faith is that of repentance. Like the parable of the two sons who told their father no, they later changed their mind. This included who? Tax collectors and prostitutes. How did they become obedient sons and daughters? Well, verse 32, they believed. When the message came to them, they believed. We've all been tax collectors and prostitutes. We've all turned against the kingdom of God and sought to serve the enemy. We've all prostituted ourselves to foreign gods, but God His mercy calls us. He calls prostitutes to be daughters, tax collectors to be sons. When they heard the message, they believed. What about you? Have you believed the message? Has it led you to repent of your old ways, your old rebellious habits, and obey your Heavenly Father as the loving Heavenly Father that He is? 

The fruit of faith, it recognizes Jesus' rightful authority over all things. Unlike the chief priests and the elders who challenged Jesus' authority, do you recognize Jesus as the supreme authority over all things, including you? Including your life? Do you trust His Word? Do you keep His commands? 

The fruit of faith, it worships Jesus. not on some particular mountain, but in spirit and truth. Those who have been grafted into a new tree, as it were. You see Jesus, he cursed the fig tree, Israel's fig tree, but a new shoot sprouted up. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it will bear no fruit, Jesus says. But a new shoot from the stump of Jesse, has sprouted. And those grafted in are those who have the faith that moves mountains, not those who set up Pharisaical barriers, like the religious leaders of Jesus' day. 

The fruit of faith also it worships like a child, that's verse 16, who come to Jesus for healing, like the blind and the lame, recognizing that something much greater than the temple is now here. 

Lastly, the fruit of faith belongs to those who genuinely desire peace between them and God. While much of this current crowd would later shout Crucify Him, we would be wrong to assume that there was now no salvation available for them. Such would be to fail to recognize the Savior who is mighty to save. You see, in the opening chapters of Acts, Peter will declare, This Jesus whom you crucified. And to be honest, if we were there, we would be guilty of the same. This Jesus whom you crucified would certainly include many who were among the crowd that day when Jesus was put on the cross and the crowd was cut to the heart. Luke records in Acts. And three thousand souls were saved that day. And from there the number only grew. 

You see the fruit of faith that enters the kingdom through a humility that recognizes the humility of Christ. who overturned everyone's expectations of the kingdom by overturning tables and overturning hearts, displaying to all that his kingdom is a humble kingdom, established in humility by a humble king who rides in on a lowly donkey, who takes a seat on the throne of cross, who wears a crown laced with thorns, the thorns of our sin. 

All this to clear the way, to clear the way of our pride, so that our hearts would no longer be hardened, fallow, barren, ground, but broken, fertile soil. that bears not merely the fruit of faith and repentance, but the fruit of love for the one who came to save. 

Hosanna!  Blessed is He who came, and blessed is He who is coming again. 

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for stooping down in such utter humility. But we also thank you for your incredible authority as Lord over all. The Lord who has the authority. to forgive. Produce in us the fruit of faith. Tear down every stumbling block, every obstacle, every hindrance that lays in our way. Break up this hardened fallow ground around our hearts. And plant your seed of love, your seed of gospel love. And may it bear fruit, and may we be those who give you the fruits in their seasons. In Jesus' name, Amen.

https://youtu.be/D_8PJU-xxgE

   Matthew 20:29-34 Seeing Glory: Open Our Eyes 

As I was preparing for this week, I considered how often I take for granted basic realities such as light. I’m guessing the Lord wanted to hammer that home, because with yesterday’s storms, we spent our entire afternoon and evening without electricity. Thankfully, my lovely wife rounded up some candles and placed them throughout the house and around the kitchen table, so I could attempt to put my dozen pages of handwritten notes into some discernable format for you to digest. You can judge whether I succeeded.

Speaking of light, some of you have reached the point where it's not safe for you to drive at night anymore. Some of us take that for granted. We don’t often think about the gift of eyesight.

Others of us tend to take for granted, if I leave my vision assistance—my spectacles—on a table somewhere or in the car or wherever, I can still get by fairly well. If my wife leaves her visual assistance somewhere, she's not going to find her way through the house.

But what about more serious visual impairments? You know, most of us look around at all this beauty around us that others will never be able to fix their eyes on. You ever think about that? What God has so graciously gifted you the ability to see, others can only imagine.

A week ago last Friday, a few in here, they made a trip to Cheekwood. [And Haley, can you put up one of those pictures?] And they went and took some photos of the Cheekwood Manor and garden. What if this was the extent of what you could see? Just a blur of the manor, when the rest of the world sees this. [Go ahead with the next one, Haley.] Or, what about flowers? If you saw flowers and this is what they look like, instead of this. Or we have one more.

Now, the young lady responsible for these amazing photos, she has a vision impairment of her own. Haley, these pictures are quite stunning. But Haley only has one good eye. She sees the world a little bit differently than most of us, but I mean just look, look at that beauty.

We're in Matthew chapter 20. And we're going to be looking at two groups with a different sort of visual impairment. One is a crowd with perfectly good eyesight, but they're blind. Another is two blind men. Their eyes do not function at all, but they see what the rest of the crowd does not.

READ (Matthew 20:29-34)

Now Matthew’s narratives are often more concise than Mark’s. So while we could compare the two accounts, Matthew has penned his gospel to stand on its own. Matthew has particular theological empheses he is aiming at.

So, here, Matthew lumps the crowd into one people for a reason. In part, he does so to warn us about the crowd, to warn us about following the masses, to warn us about following that which is popular.

In the next chapter, we’ll see that this crow follows Jesus all the way into Jerusalem. They’ll shout, Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna meaning please save. Please save us Son of David. This is quite similar to the cry of the two blind men. Lord, have mercy on us Son of David.

So in one sense, the crowd and the blind men both recognize this man, Jesus, to be the promised Son of David. But the crowd only partially saw what that meant. They saw the Son of David to be the warrior king who would come crush their enemies — crush Rome — and reign forever. And that’s true in a sense. But that’s a partial truth. And partial truths are most often distorted truths. And that is the case with how the crowd sees Jesus.

Also, it’s important to note that this crowd doesn’t share the same the same merciful disposition of the One they are supposedly following. 

Later Matthew records what becomes of this crowd. If you turn a few pages to Matthew 27, we see that when it becomes apparent that this Jesus isn’t the warrior king they had hoped for, that this Son of David hasn’t come to crush the Roman empire, when this mighty king is displayed in the meekness and weakness of human flesh, the crowd will no longer find it fitting to follow Jesus.

When given the choice between releasing  Barabbas, a famous criminal, and Jesus, the King of the Jews, this crowd will call for the release of Barabbas, not Jesus. You see, in their eyes, Barabbas at least took a stand against the Roman empire, against their enemies. Where Jesus seemed to have surrendered himself to their enemies. He is not a king they wish to follow. 

So, Pilate asks, What then should I do with the King of the Jews?  And the crowd cries out, Let him be crucified. And Pilate asks, Why? What wrong has he done? But —now listen to these words — they cried out all the more! That’s the same thing these blind men did. They cried out all the more, Let him be crucified.

You see, in verse 31 of our text, the blind men, they cry out all the more for mercy. But this crowd will later cry out all the more to have the Merciful One crucified. 

What are some take aways? Not every following of Jesus is the same. Many follow Jesus; they follow the hype, the excitement, the crowd, what’s popular. And they’ll follow Jesus for a spell. But they won’t follow Jesus to the cross.

Being among the crowd that follows Jesus doesn’t make one a follower of Jesus. Crowds are filling pews this morning around the globe. But sitting in a church building isn’t following Jesus.

Following Jesus’ whereabouts isn’t the same as following Jesus with your heart. The reason Caleb read Numbers 9 for us is because it shows how a people can follow God in location without following with their heart. 

That first generation the came out of Egypt in the Exodus, they flowed the Shekinah glory, the fire cloud, God’s tabernacling presence. That’s what Shekinah means. It comes from the word for tabernacle. They followed God’s tabernacling presence among them. The cloud lifted, and the people set out and followed the cloud. The cloud settled down, and the people camped. However long the cloud remained, the people remained. They followed God in location, but they didn’t follow with their hearts. 

Later you can read about what happens to that first generation that came out of Egypt. You can read about it in Jude 5, or 1 Corinthians 10, or Hebrews 3, or Deuteronomy 1, or many places throughout God’s Word.  They all describe how God was not pleased with most of them. And all of them but Joshua and Caleb perished in the wilderness. They never entered the Promised Land. Following God’s Shekinah glory, His tabernacling presence saved none of them.  

In the same way, when the crowd followed Jesus, they were following God’s Shekinah glory, His tabernacling presence in the person of Jeus Christ. As Jeremy read for us from John 1: And the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That word dwelt is tabernacled. He tabernacled among us. 

The crowd followed God’s Shekinah glory in the face of Jesus Christ. But for many, it wouldn’t save them. The crowd followed God’s Shekinah glory, but they followed only so long as they saw such as glorious. 

Following Jesus for a time is not the same as persevering to the end. Only those who persevere to the end will be saved. If you don’t persevere to the cross, you’re not following Jesus, at least not with saving faith. The occasional or temporary following of Jesus doesn’t make one crucified with Christ.

Last one. Waling on the road Jesus once walked doesn’t put you on the road to glory. I know many people who have taken trips to see the Holy Land. Perhaps some of you have visited the Holy Land, or hope to do so some day. Walking the roads Jesus once walked. Seeing the sights Jesus saw.  Listen. So did this crowd. They walked the same road as Jesus. They walked in Jesus’ very footsteps. But walking the road Jesus once walked doesn’t put you on the road to glory. 

The only legitimate following of Jesus is a cross-bearing following of Jesus. The crowd had no place in their theology for the cross. And many churches and denominations have no place in their theology for the cross. To them the cross is nothing more than an unfortunate tragedy at best. They refuse to define the cross biblically. Why? Because they don’t actually like what the cross stands for — Jesus’ substitutionary atonement — His death in the place of sinners, bearing God’s holy wrath in our stead, and His righteousness granted to us who have no righteousness of our own. 

Take care before jumping in with the crowd. For you just might find it leading you away from the Jesus who saves. And you might find yourself with countless others who follow an entirely different Jesus than the One portrayed in the Scriptures.

Well that’s the visually impaired crowd. What about the two blind men?

If we can say anything at all about these two blind men, it’s that they see before they see. The crowd failed to see Jesus for who he is. But these blind men see Jesus rightly. They see Jesus as the Son of David, the MERCIFUL SHEPHERD KING. 

You hear it in their plea. “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David.” So simple yet so telling. Their plea demonstrated what they believed. Our faith, our pleas, will likewise reveal what we believe.

Their understanding of who the Son of David is was far better informed than the crowd’s. 

[Here’s the thing. We believe, not primarily what we see with our eyes but what we see with our hearts. We believe what the eyes of our hearts see regardless of what our physical eyes may see. If our hearts suppress the truth, we’ll believe our own version of the truth. But one’s version of the truth doesn’t make it true. 

Now, if we believe only what we see with our hearts, you and I have a serious problem. Because as Scripture makes clear in Jeremiah 17, the human heart is deceitful. So, if we are to believe rightly, we need God to open the eyes of our hearts. That’s what differentiates the seeing of the blind men from the seeing of the crowd.]

The crowd believed one thing about Jesus, they saw one thing about Jesus, that Jesus had no time to concern himself with the needs of the weak and infirmed, that Jesus was too high to deal directly with the poor and lowly, that Jesus’ mission was too big to involve himself with the trivial, such as what ever these two blind nobodies wanted from him.

But the blind saw something different. They believed something different. In Jesus, they saw a merciful shepherd like King David who not only cared about the destitution and pitiable state of others but that he cared about them! That he cared enough to enter their brokenness. And they saw that Jesus was powerful to help.

This is nothing less than the faith that calls on the name of the Lord and is saved! (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13.) “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord,” that’s exactly what these two blind men were doing. They were calling specifically on one of the many true names for Jesus of Nazareth: The Son of David.  

You see. Faith in Jesus believes Jesus can and that Jesus has a merciful disposition toward the meek. It’s not enough to have faith in some powerful Son of David (like the crowd did), if that Son of David has no inclination to care for your current welfare. It’s also not enough to have faith in some merciful shepherd king who is inclined to do good for you but has no power to help. These two blind men believed Jesus to be both Mighty and Merciful.

But where did such faith come from? The men may have been blind but their faith wasn’t. Genuine faith is never blind. 

Now, we know from reading our Bibles that faith is a gift from God. Yet, we also know that God uses means. 

First, He uses means to get the information to us. We need the truth revealed to us. That’s the Word—God’s Word proclaimed through God’s messengers. Right now, I want you to know that God’s Word is being proclaimed to you. 

I'm hoping to help you see just who the son of David is. So you may see the son of David as the blind men saw the son of David. 

But information alone, truth alone is not enough to save anyone. If it was, everyone would be saved. If truth was sufficient everyone would call upon the name of the Lord. 

But along with truth, the Spirit needs to illuminate that truth to the eyes of our heart,  not only so that we understand the truth rightly,  but that we would see that truth as glorious,  so that we would no longer suppress the truth.

Thes blind men (who likely weren’t always blind. Verse 34, they recovered their sight.) Their idea of the Son of David wasn’t fashioned out of whole cloth; it didn’t come from nowhere. They knew the Scriptures, either from reading them before they lost their sight or from hearing them read in synagogue Sabbath by Sabbath.

They likely recalled passages, not only from 2 Samuel 7 (where we read of the Davidic Covenant) but also from the Psalms and the Prophets. 

Take Psalm 72, penned by King Solomon. While Solomon was a Son of David, this psalm anticipated a greater king and a surpassing reign—a King before whom all other kings would fall and all nations serve. This idea of the Son of David, the crowd rallied behind. 

But Psalm 72 continues. This King delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy. In other words, this King would be both powerful and compassionate.

And in Isaiah 11, they’d have heard of the shoot from the stump of Jessee. Now who is that if not the Son of David? This shoot would not judge by what he sees or hears but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. 

They anticipated a time of restoration when, in Isaiah 35, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped. Yet, never before had the blind been healed of their blindness. Yes, there was a time in the days of Elisha when the Lord struck the Syrians with blindness, Elisha led them to Samaria, and then the Lord opened their eyes (2 Kings 6). But no prophet, priest, or king had ever healed the blind. And yet, these blind men believed that Jesus could do what no man had ever don in the history of the world!

They saw! The blind men saw that there must be some connection between the promised Son of David and Isaiah’s Servant of the Lord—the Servant who would no break a bruised reed or quench a fainting wick.

Yesterday, as our power was out, and I was working at the kitchen table surrounded by the candles Jenny spread around the table, one of these candles, its wick was fainting. It kept flickering in and out, barely holding on, barely putting out any light. It appeared utterly useless, unable to serve the purpose I thought needed to serve. That’s how the crowd viewed these blind men. Our Lord Jesus looks at the fainting wick differently than we tend to. He doesn’t quench the light that’s waning. Instead, He gives it light.

This servant would be given as a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, and to bring out of prison those who sit in darkness. You realize that was these two men. Being blind, they weren’t able to enjoy the light that you and I so often take for granted. They sat on the roadside in darkness … but not for long. Why? Because the Son of David had come!

So, when the crowd rebukes them and tells them to be silent, of course they cry out all the more! Wouldn’t you?

You will seek me and find me … when? When you seek me with all your heart, not your eyes! No one needs 2020 vision to see Jesus clearly. If anything, our physical eyes can distract and distort. You don’t even need functioning eyeballs to see truth! What you need, what we need, is a faith that cries out desperately to Jesus, “Lord, have mercy on us!”

And what did they want to see? They wanted to see Jesus. Where do I get that? Well, let’s back up.

If you recall last week, we looked at a request from another pair of men. And here, Matthew is juxtaposing the two pairs. Rather than a request to sit on thrones like the two sons of Zebedee who wanted to sit at Jesus’ right and left, these two blind men are sitting by the roadside as beggars. Rather than some secret request for places of honor, these two blind men cry out publicly for mercy. And just as Jesus asked the two sons of Zebedee, “What do you want?” here, Jesus asks the blindmen the same thing. But rather than a request for glory like the sons of Zebedee, the blind men ask to see glory! “Lord, let our eyes be opened!”

Now, I understand there were likely many reasons they would want their vision restored. I mean, who wants to remain blind? But I’m convinced, given the faith they exhibited in who Jesus is, the reason they wanted their sight restored more than any other reason was to see Jesus. This is their Moses moment. “Lord, show me your glory!”

They recognized Jesus without needing to see his shekinah glory … but that didn’t mean they didn’t long to see it!

And in pity, Jesus touched their eyes and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. That phrase, “recovered their sight” is the Greek word “to look up.” The first thing they did when their eyes were opened was to look up into the face of God! O what a sight those merciful eyes of Jesus must have been!

And they followed him! These blind men had known suffering for who knows how long. Now they could run off to a “good life,” a care-free life in comparison to what they had endured. No more begging. No more missing out on all the beautiful sights this world has to offer. They could go see the world in all its beauty! Bucket List!

But instead, they chose to follow Jesus on His road to glory … where, perhaps, they didn’t know yet, but where they would witness the most beautiful sight of all: the Son of God dripping with blood, nailed to a splintery beam of wood, paying for their sins. Loved ones, what sights can the world offer compared to that!

This Jesus, who gives his life as a ransom for the many, is not too busy to stop for the two, to show compassion to the two. Is every infirmity healed in this age? No. But the Light of the World’s restoring sight to these two blind men points to the restoration to come. 

Understand, it was the two blind men, and not the crowd, who glorified this Son of David … who magnified His name. The Light of the World was glorified in these two blind men in a way that He wasn’t by the rest of the crowd. So, whatever your present weakness, disability, infirmity is, the Lord has divinely allowed and appointed such so that you might glorify Him in it.

You see, it’s a beautiful thing that our Lord doesn’t rush — that He allows time for us to seek Him desperately. Our desperate pursuit of Jesus only serves to further glorify Him. Now, some don’t like this idea of desperately pursuing the Son of God. But we may want to ask why? 

Listen. These two blind men, shamed by the crowd, could have given up their plea; they could have stopped crying out. And why might they have been tempted to do so? Because of pride and nothing else. And that pride could have sabotaged their faith. And listen. They would not have been healed. 

Scripture doesn’t portray such desperation to suggest, “Well, yeah, but there’s no expectation for you and me to be this desperate.” Their faith triumphed over their pride. Their hope triumphed over their shame. Let us look weak and helpless before the watching world. Why? Because we are! Why put up a front and pretend otherwise. That’s whom the gospel is for!

Cry out and receive the mercy you so desperately need from the only One who can give it! And by doing so, you will glorify the Deliverer. That’s Psalm 50:15. Call on me in the day of trouble, says the Lord. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me!

Jesus’ mission — His main mission — is not at odds with our daily needs. In fact, Jesus’ mission, atoning for sin to restore us to God, in turn restores EVERYTHING else. 

Jesus came to touch what was unwell, to make it whole. And touching their eyes, they were immediately healed of their physical blindness. What surgery have you ever had that went so smooth?

In pity. The word is “σπλαγχνίζομαι.” It comes from the word many guts, or innards, or we sometimes say heart. Out of the overflow of His heart, Jesus was moved to touch. His heart preceded His hands. But it’s important to recognize that Jesus’ hands followed. He didn’t respond from afar, though He could have. He came near and touched them in their infirmity.

And just so you know, God’s hands moved with pity to respond to our desperate condition. God’s hands followed His heart. That’s why He stretched them out on the cross!

By stopping, Jesus was not sidetracked from His mission. He was fulfilling His mission. Application: Don’t think that mercy ministry isn’t a part of the church’s mission to make and be disciples. We are to stop and show compassion for our neighbors, the near ones of you, those by the roadside, as we follow Jesus to the cross.

What the blind men immediately saw upon Jesus opening their eyes, we also look forward to seeing. When their eyes were opened, everything was suddenly new and fresh. When we receive our new resurrected eyes, it shall be even more glorious than that! Where now, we see Jesus through the pages of His Word, through a glass darkly, soon, like those blind men, we’ll see Him face-to-face — but in the fullness of His glory, no longer veiled in the likeness of our fallen flesh.

And that’s just the physical. We’ll also see Him in the fullness of all His attributes, perfectly and rightly. And we’ll worship like never before. 

Are you looking forward to that day? I hope so. It’s coming. The fullness of the glory of salvation in coming. But such will only be enjoyed — not by those who followed the crowd — but by those who have had the eyes of their hearts opened to see glory … those who in seeing Jesus, follow Jesus on His road to glory, to the cross.

Is your faith in the Jesus these blind men saw? The Jesus of Scripture? Or like the crowd, is your faith in a partial Jesus, a distorted version of Jesus? 

Have your physical eyes betrayed you as you look on the delights and wares of this world … those things that the crowd esteems? Or have the eyes of your heart been opened to see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ?

Is your faith a faith that acknowledges your desperate need for mercy?

What if the blind men didn’t cry out when Jesus passed by? What if the shame they received from the crowd silenced them? Jesus passed that way from Jericho to Jerusalem but once as recorded in Scripture.

In the reading of this Word, in the proclamation of the gospel, Jesus is passing by right now. There’s no guarantee that He’s going to again. If you haven’t cried out in mercy to the Lord of Glory, today is the day. 

But if you delay, if you are somehow ashamed of this gospel, ashamed of this Jesus, you may miss your chance to see His unveiled glory. 

Today is the day of salvation. May the Lord open blind eyes and grant fresh sight to the eyes of our hearts that we may gaze upon His glory. Amen.

https://youtu.be/kS84tIasyx4

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    Jeremiah 39:1-18 Surrendered to the King, part 3 – Recompense!

He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. (Proverbs 29:1)

For most, God’s promises never seem attractive enough, and His warnings always too severe to take seriously.

Why? We cover it often, but we never escape the context of Genesis 1-3, and what transpired in the Garden. 

Dissatisfied with the terms God set for our enjoying the Garden Paradise He so graciously provided, we forfeited our stay in the Garden. And ever since, mankind has sought to establish his own little Gardens without God.

But what’s the problem? There’s no such thing. God is what made the Garden paradise. Without God, the Garden is no paradise at all.

Why do I bring up Genesis? Our first parents failed to take God’s warning seriously, and then it was too late. Paradise was lost.

But with the call of Abraham, down through the people of Israel, God’s plan of redemption prepared a new people to dwell with Him in a new Paradise, a land flowing with milk and honey. 

But like our first parents, Israel and Judah failed to take God’s warnings seriously and forfeited their stay in the land the Lord had given them.

Like our first parents, they thought they could have paradise without God. So they forsook the Lord their God and worshiped the gods of the nations. Dissatisfied with God’s promises and casual about God’s warnings led to one of Israel’s lowest moments in all of redemption history — the Fall of Jerusalem.

READ (Jeremiah 39:1-18)

How lonely sits the city that was full of people!
How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations!
She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. (Lam 1:1)

That is the first verse of Lamentations… the first of 154 verses of lament that Jeremiah will pen concerning the Fall of Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem is tragic event in redemptive history. Historians recount the reason for the Fall to be Zedekiah’s rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. Scripture, however, had long warned and prophesied of a more fundamental reason — not rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, but rebellion against God.

The Fall of Jerusalem serves as a historical reminder that all of God’s promises prove true — both his promises of welfare and His promises of judgment.

For 18 months, with a brief respite, the Babylonian army laid siege to Jerusalem. Notice the precise dating. Verse 1. In the ninth year of Zedekiah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. And in the eleventh year, on the ninth day of the fourth month, a breach was made in the city. 

For nearly 40 years Jeremiah prophesied about this coming destruction. And every word proved true. Disaster would come from the North. An ancient, enduring nation from afar, whose language you do not know, nor can you understand, will come against you. This nation would pitch its tents around the city, besiege it, and devour it until the city would was laid waste and torn down. 

Jeremiah even prophesied that kings would come and set their thrones at the entrance of the city’s gates. Listen to this from chapter 1. Behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.

Now look at verse 3 of our text four decades later. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate. These officials came and set up their thrones (as it were), at the epicenter of the city’s economy, where leaders would publicly perform official business. 

Jeremiah even records the strange names of three of these officials as a reminder of the truthfulness of God’s Word.
Because this people refused to heed God’s clear instruction as found in His Word, He sent a people that spoke a language they couldn’t understand.

Israel was to be a light and a blessing to the nations, but Israel had become just like the nations. They were to reflect God’s image. Instead, they reflected the nations around them. God’s Garden, this paradise, this land of milk and honey, had become anything but. 

The city and house God had chosen for His name to dwell, rather than being a haven of righteousness, it had become a den of robbers, a hideout for criminals. 

God could not turn a blind eye to such evil. God promised justice.
Now justice had come.

Why does this matter? Because the Fall of Jerusalem is a picture, a shadow, of God’s promised final judgment.

We don’t like to talk about it. And I get it. I seriously doubt that Jeremiah liked talking about it. As mentioned last week, Jeremiah probably would have preferred being wrong and thought to be a false prophet than for judgment to have finally come.

We don’t talk about this because we somehow enjoy the idea of final judgment. We talk about these things because they are true … we talk about God’s judgment because God has cared enough to warn us that we might flee from the wrath to come. We talk about it because countless millions are in danger of perishing if they don’t repent. We talk about it because it’s the judgment we rightly deserve. 

And we talk about it because, as believers, it’s the horror our Lord Jesus has saved us from by paying the ultimate price of enduring this judgment we deserve in our place. Without knowing this, we can’t know Christ’s love.

UNAWARES

Yet, this very morning, most people in Lebanon TN didn’t crawl out of bed with plans to worship this God who has given them life. Most of them woke up with little to no desire concerning the things of God at all. Some rose early so they might enjoy a morning walk or a brisk jog, breathing in the fresh air that God provides, the beautiful landscape God sculpted, listening to the melody of birds chirping, leaves rattling, all the sounds that God orchestrates. 

Some sat down to tasty breakfasts that grew from God’s gracious provision for our sustenance — and He even makes it flavorful. Some slept in, never acknowledging that rest is God’s design. O how kind and gracious He is … yet so seldom acknowledged. They just move about with their own plans and agendas. 

And most didn’t once consider the imminence of Jesus’ return, that the day is fast approaching when He comes to judge the world in righteousness. 

What does that day look like? Jesus refers to this day of judgment in many ways. In one place, Matthew 25, he compares it as a shepherd separating sheep from goats. The sheep, that is the righteous, will enter into eternal life. But the goats, the wicked, will enter everlasting punishment.

Regardless of where you stand on the timing of these events, we can all agree that the Bible expressly states that the Day is coming. Likewise, the Bible plainly answers the question of what will happen on that day. 

WHICH GROUP?

But there’s an equally important question that we each need to answer in addition to what will happen on that day.
And that is, “What will happen to me on that Day?” 

That question matters every bit as much. Why? Because not everyone will meet the same end. There are two very different destinies held out. There are sheep who hear Jesus’ voice and surrender to Him and His will. And there are goats. And just so you know, the goats in Jesus’ parable didn’t see any issue with their way of life. They failed to recognize any neglect on their part. They went about life thinking they were perfectly safe from judgment. 

Which group will you be in? What group will your loved ones, your neighbors, your co-workers be in? Have you warned them?

Are you among the group awaiting this Day that is fast approaching? having believed God’s Word heeded His voice, have sought mercy and refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ? 

Or are will you find yourself in the group that sought to downplay this judgment … if there even is one … believing such a day will never come. And if by chance it should come, you expect to somehow escape it. 

Let me ask. What are you basing that on? 

Zedekiah thought that he might escape judgment.

Verse 4. When Zedekiah and the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah.

ESCAPE ROOM

How many of you have done one of those Escape Rooms? You know, the game where you gather with a group, and you go in your little room, and they give you a 60-minutes to solve the clues before the clock runs out. You succeed, you escape. You don’t succeed, I’m not too sure.

How many of you go in with the expectation you’re going to solve it? How many go in with the expectation that even if you don’t solve it, the game master isn’t going to keep you locked in there forever? I mean, whether you win or lose, you plan on escaping, the escape room.

Win or lose, Zedekiah was determined to escape.

Zedekiah was forced to flee his own little garden under cover of night. From Garden paradise to the Arabah, or desert.  It’s a sad reminder that whatever Eden we try to establish for ourselves will not only fail to provide the happiness we’re looking for apart from God, but it will fail to provide any security either. What good is a paradise that you have to flee from. And that… to a desert. 

And notice that the king fled with soldiers, not his family, not the people destined to perish. And why were they destined to perish? If you recall, from last week, Zedekiah’s surrender would have spared the entire city … including his own family. Instead, Zedekiah abandons even his own family. 

When it came down to it, Zedekiah followed the world’s number one rule: look out for number one. Forget that whole love your neighbor as yourself … self is what ultimately matters. Self-care has even become a big deal in the church. But here’s the thing. We have no problem loving ourselves. People might fail to love themselves well by not seeking their greatest good by surrendering to the King. But no one fails to love themselves. 

The issue is that we tend to love ourselves at the expense of others. That’s Zedekiah, and if we’re honest, that’s sometimes us.

Zedekiah refused to surrender, thinking that if judgment eve did come, he’d just escape through the Garden gate. But there’s only one gate of escape … one door … Jesus is the gate of the sheep; He is the gate of escape. If you want to escape judgment, you’ll do so through the walls of His ripped flesh.

You may seek to flee one Garden for another, but you can’t outrun God’s judgment. The only safe place from God’s judgment is not running from God but running to God. Flee to God Himself and find just how great His mercy is.

Verse 5. But the Chaldeans pursued and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they brought him to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah. And there, Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him, slaughtering the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, along with all the nobles of Judah. And then Nebuchadnezzar put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon.

The Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained.

For Zedekiah, the Day of Judgment was far worse than he could have imagined. The last thing he ever saw was the slaughtering of his sons, as well as all the nobles, some of his trusted advisors, likely many friends. Then his eyes were gouged out.

But Zedekiah wasn’t put to death. No. He was left to a living death, a nightmare, a perpetual hell of vivid horrific scenes to torment him day and night. He would never look on anything lovely or good or hopeful ever again. His life was sustained in endless suffering and grief.

AS A GAME

O how many tend to think that hell is at most an exaggeration … if there even is such a thing. 

The world treats life like a game – like an escape room game, with the hope of escape just before the clock runs out. But they will fail to escape, not because the clues aren’t sufficient enough, not because they don’t know the right answer in order win the victory, but because they don’t like the answer … because it’s an answer that rather than giving them the glory for figuring it out and conquering on their own, another gets the glory. 

So, in their pride, they’ll refuse to acknowledge the answer. They’d rather lose! O but it will come at such a horrifying price … a price they think they’re willing to pay. 

But the same people who refuse to give God the glory are the same people who presume on the riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead them to repentance.

TRAGIC

You know what’s most tragic about this picture of Zedekiah? Judgment didn’t have to be the final word. O how many times did Jeremiah plead with Zedekiah to surrender and it would be well with him and his family and the city. God held out His mercy until that final hour. And even then, Zedekiah rejected it. He refused to surrender all the way up to the moment he was taken.

The most tragic thing about hell is that nobody need go there. I understand that for our gospel tenets Sherif read regarding the doctrine of election. And while we both wholeheartedly agree with the Canons of Dort on this matter, we also both firmly believe John 3:16. Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish! There is no contradiction! 

GOSPEL PROCLAMATION

And yet many will hear this message or a message like this preached around the globe this very morning and close their ears to the plea to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. 

Through the proclamation of the gospel, God gives everyone the same opportunity as Zedekiah. But how many will refuse to take it because they seek to hold on to their life’s as they know them rather than surrendering to the King.

And get this. In many cultures, surrendering to the King can cost you your life, your livelihood … the costs can be quite high. But Zedekiah is the perfect illustration that worldly security and physical safety are futile goals to live for. For Zedekiah it was fatal. He sought to retain his life and lost everything. But we’re not yet done with our chapter. There were those who surrendered their lives in this age to gain everything in the age to come. Not all was lost.

While Zedekiah and countless others didn’t escape the Judgment of this day, God’s mercy in saving a remnant is a beautiful reminder amid a horrific backdrop that God not only keeps His promises of judgment, He also keeps his promises of mercy. Throughout redemption history, God has promised to spare a remnant. And He does.

Verse 10. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor who owned nothing and gave them vineyards and fields. 

Even when destruction came, and all seemed lost, God continued to spare a remnant. This is meant to be a picture of a new planting of the Lord’s people … a portrait of salvation … another chance to establish Eden. The poor were made rich. Those with nothing in this age were given fields and vineyards to tend to. 

God never forgets His promises. 

Which takes us to Jeremiah, who had been left in prison. God promised Jeremaih at his call to ministry that this people will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. Why? Because I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.

Verse 11. Nebuchadnezzar gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, “Take Jeremaih and look after him well. Do him no harm but deal with him as he tells you.” So Nebuzaradan, Nebushazban, and Nergal-sar-ezer, and all the chief officers of Babylon sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard and entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to take him home. So, Jeremiah lived among the people.

The Lord hadn’t forgotten His word to Jeremiah. Jeremiah even received a royal escort from the Babylonian officials. What’s more, Jeremiah was entrusted into the care of a righteous ruler, Gedaliah. 

LEFT IN PRISON

You recall the story of Joseph. He was in prison for crimes he didn’t commit. After more than 2 years, it seemed as if God had forgotten him. But instead, God was sustaining him in prison because his work wasn’t finished. He had another assignment God was preparing for him. Save his family and the world from seven years of harsh famine.

It’s difficult to be certain how long Jeremiah spent in prison. With all the chaos, the fighting, tearing down the walls, burning houses, carting people off into exile, it’s easy to see how Jeremiah could have been forgotten or lost in the shuffle. Sorry Jeremiah. This kind of thing just happens! 

Well, from a human perspective it might seem that way at times.

OVERLOOKED

Think of how many people are overlooked every day. So and so was acknowledged but I wasn’t. Birthdays are forgotten, commitments aren’t kept, calls and messages aren’t returned or responded to. 

I know people have forgotten you. I know that so much of what you do will never be recognized or acknowledged by anyone. I know there are times you have felt forsaken. But in Christ, you are not forgotten! No one, not a single person who has surrendered to the king, will be misplaced, or unaccounted for, or left behind on the Day of Judgment. 

God did not forget Jeremiah on the Day of Judgment. Zedekiah sought to save his life, and he wound up losing everything on the Day of Judgment. Jeremiah let go of all he had, surrendered his life to the Lord, and when the Day of Judgment came, he was saved.

There is nothing you can give up to serve the Lord that will ever not be worth it. Sadly, most will cling to this life … cling to their own little paradise here, and when the Day comes, they will lose it all. Don’t let that be you. Surrender to Christ. Open your metaphorical hands and let it all go and give yourself to Him.

In fact, I’ll challenge you to go so far as to become a slave like Ebed-melech, a Servant of the King, a slave of Christ Jesus.… (Paul’s self-designation).

Final verses. Verse 15. The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was still shut up in the court of the guard. “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. BUT! I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as plunder because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

Our friend, Ebed-melech, who rescued Jeremiah from the cistern receives the same glorious promise God’s prophet received. Ebed-melech … a foreigner … an outsider … a slave … one cut off from the covenant promises of God, or so, many seemed to think.

NOT ULTIMATE

But Ebed-melech’s status wasn’t ultimate … his skin color, his ancestry, his nationality wasn’t ultimate … his fear of those who would harm him, likely the men who threw Jeremiah into the cistern to die, before this foreigner rescued him … his fear wasn’t ultimate. Not even his works, his courage in rescuing Jeremiah, showing compassion and tenderness in how he handled the rescue operation … none of these things ultimately defined Ebed-melech. None of these things earned him favor before God on the Day of Judgment. 

The text makes explicit that there is one thing that ultimately defines Ebed-melech … there is ultimately one reason why Ebed-melech would be saved on the Day of Judgment. Do you see it? (It’s at the very end of verse 18.)
Because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.

Ebed-melech is saved by God’s grace through FAITH alone.
Not because he rescued Jeremiah.
Not because he interceded on Jeremiah’s behalf.
Not on account of his courage.
He was not saved due to a single good work … or even all of his good works.
All of these things are an overflow of something far more fundamental: FAITH. 

Faith is trusting in the Lord. That means believing who He is and believing His Word, which includes His severe promises of judgment and His precious promises of salvation.

Jeremiah 39 stands as a severe warning against every false hope.
But it also stands as an assurance of the sure hope of FAITH we have in the Lord — a faith that surrenders to the King.

WHERE THE BATTLE LIES

Ebed-melech received his life as plunder — a prize of war. That was the reward for his faith. This is a helpful reminder to us all as to where the battle ultimately lies. 

The battle isn’t in trying to gain or maintain or sustain your Garden here. Although that’s what most of the world fights for. That’s where the world pursues the battle. For them the battle is financial, physical, medical, relational, political.

Whatever financial struggle you may be experiencing, the battle isn’t financial.
Whatever health issue, the battle isn’t medical.
Are you struggling in a relationship? The battle isn’t relational.
Do you struggle with the political turmoil? The battle isn’t political.
Whatever physical struggle you may find yourself in, the battle isn’t physical.
Do you struggle with a lack of freedom? Remember, Ebed-melech was a slave! Listen. The battle isn’t primarily a battle for freedom.
The battlefield is spiritual, and the battle is the battle for faith — a battle to trust God and not allow the deceptive forces of the enemy, the world, and your own flesh trip you up.

Relentless marches the Day of Judgment. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise. He’s patient, not willing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance. 

Jesus marched relentlessly to the cross to secure salvation for His people.

How do we escape from this coming Judgment? Well, in our tenets, Sherif read how the Sovereign Lord calls and draws people effectively into Christ’s fellowship through His Word — which is being proclaimed to you this morning — and through His Spirit who applies this Word to your heart — so that you heed His voice, trusting Him with a true faith.

All those who respond with a true faith will be justified, sanctified, and finally glorified on the Day of Christ. Is this you? Have you responded in faith?

You know, it’s not accidental that it was in a Garden where Jesus exuded the greatest example of faith, surrendering his will for the Father’s will.

Where there was a failure of faith in the Garden, a failure of faith that led to the Fall of Jerusalem, Jesus came as the true and better Adam, as the true Israel in perfect faith surrendering to His Father’s perfect will.

Where one king — Zedekiah — sought to escape through the Garden gate, another King — Jesus — laid down His life in surrender so that He might save His people … spare a city … He surrendered that He might save even you.

It’s not accidental that Jesus’ dead body was laid in a garden tomb … a tomb that wasn’t His but belonged to another.

It was in the Garden where we first died. That was our garden tomb. And every garden sanctuary we seek to establish for ourselves in this age is nothing more than a grave. 

It’s not accidental that the risen Jesus was first encountered in a Garden and mistaken for the Gardener. 

On the cross, it seemed as if the Son of God was forgotten. Buried in the garden tomb, it seemed the Son of God was forgotten. The entire Sabbath it seemed the Son of God was forgotten. But Sunday came! And the ground shook. And the stone rolled away from that Garden tomb. And Jesus rose.

He didn’t seek to save His life from death. He surrendered it and defeated death.

Seek to preserve your lives here … preserve your own personal gardens here … you will eventually perish.

But lose your life in this age, and you will gain life. 

Like Jesus you will be raised. You will not be forgotten. You will soon be ushered into the Garden City — the New Jerusalem — the place Jesus has gone to prepare for those who are His — those surrendered to Him.

https://youtu.be/XESsB70rPlY

   Jeremiah 38:14-28 Surrendered to the King, part 2, The Fear of Man

INTRODUCTION:

Last week we looked at the courageous example of Ebed-melech in confronting the king and rescuing Jeremiah from the cistern. This week, we’ll be looking closer at the cowardly example of King Zedekiah — and the fear of man that keeps us from surrendering to the Lord.

READ: Jeremiah 38:14-17

SECRET AUDIENCE: (v.14)

Not sure if you’ve ever been in a position where the job wasn’t going so well. So, you kind of want to test the water to see what’s up, without raising any unnecessary attention. So, maybe you go to that guy who has the bosses ear … privately… of course, and try to get him to disclose what he knows.
Tell me, just how bad is it? 

Now, you do it privately, of course, because, well, we don’t want others to hear. We want to try and save as much face as possible. Why? Because saving face is what’s important. If I’m getting fired, I want to at least preserve a little dignity while I’m still on the job… while I still need to look these people in the eye.

That’s where are text picks up. Zedekiah recognizes his position … his job performance hasn’t gone all that well. So, he seeks a private audience with Jeremaih. Look at verse 14.

Notice, when Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah, he receives him at the third entrance to the temple of the LORD. Not the main entrance… not even the second entrance. This third entrance reveals the secrecy behind the meeting.

Why another meeting with Jeremiah? Well, Jeremiah was just rescued. And the king did, even if somewhat forced to, have a hand in this rescue operation. I mean, look Jeremiah, I was the one who commanded Ebed-melech to take 30 men and lift you out of the muddy cistern. So, just maybe, the Lord will look on this good deed of mine and respond a bit more favorably than previously.
But what Zedekiah fails to grasp, and sometimes us too, is that Grace isn’t earned… ever!

In fact, secrecy of this meeting recalls the same cowardice that led to Jeremiah being cast in the cistern to begin with. Zedekiah was afraid to stand up for justice. So, he gave Jeremiah into the hands of those who sought his life.

Now that Jeremiah’s cleaned up and dry, perhaps even enjoyed a better night’s sleep than the night before, the king says to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.”

EXPOSING A KING’S HEART: (v. 15)

We’re never actually given the question. But Jeremiah clearly knew what the king was asking. Verse 15. Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.”

Many suggest that after his stint in the cistern, Jeremiah is a little more fearful than previously. So, he’s holding out for some assurances before giving the king the LORD’s word on the matter.

That’s possible. But the same God who had just delivered Jeremiah from the miry bog can surely deliver him from whatever the king might threaten. 

What’s likely going on, and hopefully, you’ll be able to see it in light of the whole of our text, is that Jeremiah is exposing the king’s heart.

Jeremiah preps Zedekiah for what will no doubt be an unfavorable message in the king’s eyes, drawing attention to his heart issue. Listen, Zed, you won’t listen to me if I tell you. So, why do you want to hear it?

Jeremiah is also setting up Zedekiah to offer some assurances. But these assurances aren’t so much for Jeremiah’s sake. They are to expose Zedekiah’s irrational refusal to heed God’s word. 

How? Because Zedekiah is about to offer Jeremiah the same assurances that the LORD will give Zedekiah in verse 20. You will not be handed over to those who seek your life. Your life shall be spared!
If Zedekiah expects Jeremiah to trust this compromising king’s word, how much more should the king trust the Divine Word?

IRONIC ASSURANCE: (v. 16)

Verse 16. Then King Zedekiah swore secretly — notice the secrecy — “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”

Zedekiah invokes the LORD’s name. He even acknowledges the LORD as Creator. But knowledge about God and some degree of belief in who He is, is not the same as trusting God and obeying Him. Invoking the LORD’s covenant name is not the same as submitting to the LORD of the covenant. Recognizing the Giver of life is not the same as entrusting oneself to the Sustainer of life.

TERMS OF SALVATION: (v.17)

Zedekiah has revealed — like the rest of us — that he is without excuse. As such, the terms of salvation don’t change. In fact, the king receives the same conditions of salvation that was offered to the people back in verse 2. Surrender and live. Resist and perish.

Verse 17. Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.

Even in this late hour … the city on the brink of destruction … Zedekiah’s fate seems all but sealed … mercy is still held out. Sadly, rather than being amazed at the mercy of God to even offer us salvation, we tend to find fault that the Almighty would demand the terms … that He would demand our surrender or submission to another.

SURRENDER AS SUBMISSION TO THE LORD

The thing is, and we need to grasp this, surrendering to the king of Babylon is not so much a surrender to Babylon as it is to the LORD. Submission to God’s chosen officials is submission to Him.

This does not mean that those who surrendered to Babylon are to heed the king of Babylon without question. All we need is to look at the examples of Daniel and his three friends: (What were their names?) Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.

Heeding the voice of the LORD by surrendering to the Chaldeans would be to entrust oneself to the LORD’s sovereign care. This isn’t just an Old Testament idea. We see the same in New Testament texts like Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2. 

CONSEQUENCES FOR RESISTANCE: (v.18)

While the terms of salvation are the same for Zedekiah as they were for the people, the stakes, however, are somewhat higher being that Zedekiah was the head of the people. Not only would Zedekiah’s surrender spare his own life, but the city would also be spared. 

The reverse is also true. Zedekiah’s refusal to surrender would spell unnecessary doom for the city.

The reason for this is that the king is a type of federal head. Like Adam was the representative for the entire human race in the Garden, kings are the representative of the people. When kings go astray, often the nation follows suit.

Loved ones, regardless of your sphere of influence, though most of us are not kings over nations, our surrender, as well as our refusal to surrender bears consequences for others. Our surrender might not spare an entire city. But it just might spare an entire household. How often do we read in Acts, “you and your household.” 

READY TO LISTEN OR READY TO NEGOTIATE?

Just as we tend to find fault with God’s terms of salvation, our flesh tends to find His consequences too severe. I mean, instead of surrendering, can’t I just stay in the city and tidy up my behavior here? I’m ready to listen here!

Here’s the problem with that. If you’re truly ready to listen, if you’re truly ready to heed God’s word, then do so. Surrender to the king as you have been instructed.

We might think of conversations we sometimes have with our kids after they lose a special privilege. Suddenly, they’re ready to listen. I’ll listen, just let me… The problem is they aren’t ready to listen; they’re ready to negotiate.  And before we give the kids a hard time… that’s us! 

We think we can negotiate with God. But get this. God doesn’t negotiate. He’s the all-wise all-knowing One. He doesn’t need our input. His terms are always the best. Why? Because He’s merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

But for those who refuse His terms, He will not let the guilty go unpunished.

FEAR OF MAN:  (v.19)

Verse 19. Even with these elevated stakes, even with the additional extension of mercy, the fear of man wins out in Zedekiah’s life. I’m afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.

Zedekiah is more anxious over the severity of those who had deserted to the Chaldeans — those who actually heeded Jeremiah’s word and surrendered — than he is the severity of God’s judgment.

How many will choose the severity of divine wrath because of the fear of man who can at most kill the body? As Samuel read for us, the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. 

What lies at the heart of the fear of man? They might take something from me … something I love, something I value, something I enjoy … those things that we esteem most in life. 

We fear man because we fear the physical harm they might inflict on us. We fear man because we fear the financial harm they might cause. We fear man because of the relational harm and the reputational harm that could ensue.  

Listen loved ones. The fear of man is an awful burden to bear… a burden that you and I were never intended to carry.

There’s only one remedy for this fear of man and that’s the fear of the Lord.  Zedekiah lacked the fear of the LORD, which is simply another way of saying he lacked biblical faith. How? Well, the fear of the Lord is believing who God is — believing God as He has disclosed Himself — and believing what He has said.

A FINAL PLEA – TRUE ASSURANCE: (v.20)

But Jeremiah makes one final plea to this king. Verse 20. King Zedekiah, you shall not be given into their hands. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.

That’s the plea of every faithful proclaimer of God’s Word. That’s the plea of biblical preaching. Obey NOW the voice of the Lord! As the text is exposited, as God’s Word is proclaimed, we appeal to every hearer, “Heed God’s voice, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.” Are you currently following the Lord? The proclamation for you is to do so more and more, and it shall be well with you. Are you caught up in some sinful pattern? The call for you is to surrender … repent … and it shall be well with you.

The proclamation of every message is a call for obedience to God’s voice, proclaimed through the lips of mere men, as they faithfully expound God’s Word. And for those who obey His voice, you have nothing at all to fear. No enemy’s threat need concern you. Though Satan should buffet, those trials may come, it shall be well with your soul. 

PLEADING WITH OUR ENEMIES

It shouldn’t be overlooked that Jeremiah here is pleading with one who initially gave him over to those who sought to kill him. Jeremiah is seeking the salvation of one who has proven his enemy.

Yet Jeremiah recognizes the good that will come from the king’s surrender… that the king’s salvation will lead to the salvation and good of others. Conversely, the king’s resistance will lead to great harm for not just him but for others also.

A VISION TO DREAD: (v.21)

But if you refuse… verse 21. This is the vision the Lord has shown me. Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon saying, ”Your trusted friends have deceived you and prevailed against you. Now that your feet are sunk in the mud, they turn away from you.” All your wives, Zedekiah, and all your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon. And this city shall be burned with fire.

SUNK IN THE MUD AND DESERTED: (v. 22)

Where you, o king, had no problem allowing me to be cast into the cistern to sink in the mud, my God rescued me. But should you refuse this door of salvation that is currently open to you, you shall find yourself sunk in the mud. But there’ll be no Ebed-melech — no servant of the King — to rescue you.

Listen Zedekiah… listen, you who are given over to the fear of man (of which none of us are immune). Those people you’re seeking so desperately to gain and maintain the favor of — those who flatter you with their affirmations and agreeable counsel now — once your feet are sunk in the mud, and you have nothing to offer them, they will desert you. You won’t be able to find them.
So why fear them now?!

SACRIFICING OF OTHERS: (v.23)

What’s more… your refusal to surrender due to your fear of man, will not only bring harm to you. It will bear devastating consequences for countless others, including your own family. 

At the beginning, Jeremiah was accused of not seeking the welfare of his own people. Let me ask. Who do you think is seeking the greater welfare of the people? The one who calls for his people to surrender and live? Or those who keep sacrificing brothers, and fathers, and sons, and friends, and neighbors to the front line? 

Zedekiah sought to retain his crown as long as he could. He refused to relinquish his crown, even though it would cost the lives of his wives and children. But, if we’re honest, we do the same things. No, we might not be kings and queens of nations. But how often do we seek to retain the crown of our own puny kingdoms … our own tiny towers with their tops in the heavens. And that at the expense and sacrifice of others.

If you recall the words of Jesus, that Josiah read from Matthew 16. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake, Jesus says, will find it. If we seek to hold on to our lives in this age, seeking to retain our crowns here, we will ultimately lose them. Surrender, however, and you’ll receive your life as a prize of war.  And that prize is more glorious than any of us can begin to imagine.

DON’T TELL ON ME: (v. 24)

Sadly, even after this final plea, what Zedekiah cares about most at the moment is others finding out about their little conversation. Verse 24. Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.”

The king pretty much says, “Don’t tell on me.” Zedekiah is still more concerned regarding his political standing … his reputation … than for the lives of his family, than for the welfare of the people, and more importantly than for obedience to God. He might as well be saying, I’ll concern myself with my spiritual condition sometime later. Right now, I have a reputation to maintain. 

Listen loved ones. The fear of man will only lead to an increase of sin and destruction that need not ever take place. How many will continue to allow their current trajectory of sin to play out because we fear others finding out.

HIDING SIN

I’m reminded of a fairly prominent pastor who was caught up in a grievous sin involving a woman who was not his wife. I wonder how that sin must have ate at him. But the fear of man, the fear of the immediate consequences that he’d have to face in confessing his sin, kept him from getting immediate help, and allowed the hurt and suffering to unnecessarily increase. 

Pain and heartache could have been minimized if only he had the courage to confess immediately and surrender himself to the King’s officials (as it were), the elders of the church, as a way of surrendering himself to the merciful judgment of Christ. Instead, there’s a wake of destruction that can’t be undone.

O but even in this hour, the gospel of grace calls! For while the gospel doesn’t undo the destruction, it does bring about restoration. This pastor recently publicly confessed his sin and grieved over the hurt it has caused. It’s a reminder, that though we are weak, though we fall short, God’s mercy is so much greater than our sins.

Loved ones — it’s better, eternally better that your sins are exposed now — one this side of judgment — that you might repent. And the sooner the better, so that the damage might be lessened and the bleeding stopped.

A CLEVER SCHEME: (v. 25-26)

Last few verses. Zedekiah concocts a clever scheme. Verse 25. If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say, “Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,” then you shall say to them, “I made a humble plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.”

Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So, they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

LITTLE WHITE LIE or DON’T GIVE TO DOGS? (v. 27)

Commentaries are divided on Jeremiah’s faithfulness at this point. Respectable theologians whom I often agree with will say, “There’s no way getting around the fact that Jeremiah lied. He had one more opportunity to share the gospel, and he blew it. Perhaps Zedekiah wasn’t the only one in this scene who caved to the fear of man.” But is that what’s going on here?

First, Jeremiah has no additional news he’s obligated to tell these officials that he hasn’t already told them. Surrender and live. Resist and perish. And they cast him into the cistern because of his message. 

Second, he’s not under any obligation to disclose the full account of his conversation with the king. Rules of warfare are not the same as rules of court.

While it doesn’t excuse us from sharing the gospel and our obligation as watchmen to warn others to flee the coming wrath, Scripture does free us from certain obligation to what it refers to as scoffers. Proverbs 9:8 – Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you. Proverbs 23:9 - Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. Or consider Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and then turn and tear you to pieces. 

KEPT IN PRISON UNTIL THE CITY IS TAKEN (v. 28)

Jeremiah had already said what needed to be said. The overwhelming majority refused to heed his words. His ministry isn’t over, but for now, he has nothing more to say until after the city is taken. What’s more, the biblical narrative gives no hint of Jeremiah acting unfaithfully in this situation. If nothing else, the opposite is the case, as we’ll see in the next chapter.

Finally, the fact that the city was taken confirms Jeremiah’s words and his faithful proclamation. But it needs to be said that there is no joy in Jeremiah being right. Jeremiah himself will lament this fact. Sometimes it must have felt like it would be preferrable to be found a false prophet and to see the city spared. Proclaiming God’s full counsel is hard, it weighs on the heart, especially when we consider all those who refuse to surrender, knowing the judgment that awaits them. But… there are those who hear the voice of the Lord and heed His Word. And that helps strengthen us to press on.

CONCLUSION –

Where the fear of man is a snare, the fear of the Lord releases us from that snare. But you have to surrender to the King to know this freedom. 

I mentioned scoffers. Let me tell you, there’s hope for scoffers. I don’t have time to share my testimony, but less than 14 years ago, I was one who scoffed at the terms of God’s salvation. Trust the Son and you’ll be saved; otherwise perish. 

Well, in case there’s someone here, who like me questioned God’s terms of salvation, let me point you to the high-cost God Himself paid to even offer you these terms.

CHRIST –

You see, God doesn’t call us to anything He wasn’t willing to subject Himself to. I mentioned Romans 13 earlier. Let every person be subject — or we might say, surrender himself — to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Jesus surrendered himself to the governing authorities of his day. And he did so, even knowing they would take his life… knowing they would crucify him… knowing they would put him to open shame… beaten and stripped naked before the watching world… before those who would mock him and spit on him.

The governing authorities, however, weren’t able to arrest Jesus without Jesus giving himself over to them. When the soldiers came to arrest him, they drew back and fell to the ground before him. 

Now listen. In surrendering himself to the authorities, the Son of God knew he was entrusting himself to His Father’s loving care. When we surrender to the authorities, we are entrusting ourselves to our heavenly Father’s loving care.

Whereas Zedekiah failed to capitalize on the opportunity to save others by surrendering himself … Jesus actually did. We are saved only because Jesus surrendered his life rather than seeking to preserve it.
Does that not move you to surrender to this King.

APPLICATION / HOPE – 

Last point. Do you recall how Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount? Everyone who hears my words and does them will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. Those who don’t will be like the fool who built his house on the sand.

Many will suggest Jesus’ sermon was a call to a higher morality. While there’s some truth to that, Jesus is actually calling us to something infinitely more important than “do better.” He’s calling us to trust Him.

Every heart will be exposed by God’s soul piercing Word. Every king’s heart, who has set him or herself upon thrones of their own making. 

You see, we have all built castles for ourselves. Everyone of us, at some point in our lives, and some of us even now, continue to erect or maintain or salvage our own puny kingdoms. But the footing of these castles is on sand. 

The difference between castles that fall and houses that stand is whom our faith is in. Outside of Christ, your little castle in the sand will eventually fall. But in Christ, you are brought in as a fellow laborer to build upon the Rock. And upon this Rock, this one foundation, Jesus’ house, the church is built. And in this house, there is rest … rest for your souls… and rest from the fear of man. 

And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. 

Surrender to the King and know this rest.

https://youtu.be/H5DAJDNMHig

   JEREMIAH 37:1-21 THE RESOLUTE PROPHET

In case you haven’t noticed, the Book of Jeremiah doesn’t follow a strict chronological order. What we have here in chapter 37, takes us back to chapter 34 with Zedekiah and Judah’s display of false repentance.

In chapter 34, we’re at the end of Zedekiah’s reign. But in chapters 35 and 36, we’re two decades earlier, near the beginning of King Jehoiakim’s reign.
And this disruption of chronology takes place more than a couple of times. Which should cause us to ask, “Why?”

The best I can come up with is that we’re given a series of vignettes meant to contrast that of the faithful and the unfaithful. In chapters 34 and 35 we have Covenant Breakers and Covenant Keepers. In chapter 36 we have the portrait of what makes for a Legacy and what leaves one Disinherited. In chapter 38 will be given the contrast between Faithful Outsiders and Unfaithful Insiders. Today, we’re looking at the contrast between the Resolute and the Irresolute.

READ: (Jeremiah 37:1-21)

ILLUSTRATION:

Pray that I would know God’s will in my life…
I hear this request often
So, my next step is to probe a little.
Where do you go to church?
What does your prayer life look like? Your Bible reading?
If they are disobedient in the most basic things, then I’m going to pray for them to discern God’s will for them to be obedient in these things—that those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much, and those who are unfaithful with little will be unfaithful with much.

I’m not too sure they notice the disconnect.
Lord, I don’t want to obey You in these basic things, but please just tell me what job to take, what guy to date, how to deal with this financial situation, what to do regarding this relationship.
Lord, I don’t want to listen to what You have to say, but could you please bless me anyway.

That’s what’s going on here.
Verse 2. Neither Zedekiah, his servants, nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

But guess what.
That didn’t keep them from requesting the Lord’s protection and provision
But the Lord’s favor isn’t found in disregarding Him, but in trusting Him,
which means listening to Him and heeding His word.

DADDY PLAY WITH ME

Zedekiah is like the child who refuses to clean her room
and in the very next breath asks, “Daddy, will you play with me.”
But there’s a problem.
Disobedience has stepped in between the sweet fellowship.
It’s not that Mommy or Daddy don’t want to play and spend time with little Suzie.
But so long as she’s in rebellion, the joy of communion is broken.

God wants nothing more than that sweet communion restored.
That’s why He calls for repentance.
But God cannot set aside justice and still be truly loving.
Genuine love never negates justice, because love cannot compromise truth.
To do so, leaves the wall of disobedience between the parties,
leaving communion impossible.

PLURALISM

The world has no problem requesting the prayers and blessing of God’s people.
But here’s the disconnect. They request the favor of every possible source of so-called “divine” help—asking for the favor and blessing of every so-called “god.”
The unbeliever is simply hedging his bet, playing both sides.
What’s to differentiate the answering of such requests?
They’ll simply attribute the outcome to which ever “god” they want.
It brings God no glory to play such a game.

MANIPULATIVE PRAYER

Such prayer requests, while in abject rebellion,
is nothing other than an attempt to manipulate the Sovereign of the universe.
It treats God as nothing more than a genie or a cosmic Santa Clause.

Jeremiah will not entertain such games, because God won’t play such games.
Any other time, Jeremiah’s words, his warnings, his exhortations, and even his prayers are despised.
But Jeremiah, we’re having a bit of trouble with this Babylonian army.
Could you possibly throw up a prayer to God on our behalf.

Verse 4. Jeremiah was not yet thrown in prison.
We’re given this information here to show that
Jeremiah is the same prophet
with the same message
on both sides of his prison sentence.

So, how should God’s messenger respond to such a request?
Or better, how does the Lord answer such requests?

A BRIEF REPREIVE

Verse 5. Well, Zedekiah, it might seem that there’s been a bit of reprieve, that your prayer request has been answered. The Chaldeans have withdrawn because Pharoah’s army had come out of Egypt, so they retreated.
This takes us back to the false repentance of chapter 34.
As soon as the Chaldeans retreated, Zedekiah and Judah turned right beack to their sin. They had released their fellow Hebrew slaves, and then they took them back.

Don’t be fooled by this brief respite.
The Chaldeans are coming back to finish the job.

Verse 10. Even should you defeat the whole Babylonian army, and there were left only wounded soldiers—literally, men who had been pierced through—
Those pierced soldiers would rise from their tent and burn this city with fire.
Which is exactly what Jesus, the pierced warrior will do!

The Lord’s execution of justice doesn’t depend on the strength of the Chaldean army, any more than Israel’s conquest of the promised land depended on the strength of Israel’s army.

COVENANT BLESSINGS AND CURSES

We haven’t visited it for a while, but this is simply the outworking of the covenant blessings and curses as pronounced in Leviticus 26 an Deuteronomy 28.

So long as Israel obeyed the covenant, five of you would be able to chase down a hundred, and a hundred would be able to chase down ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall by the sword. (Lev. 26:7-8)

But the Lord warned that covenant unfaithfulness would lead to the reverse.
How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to fligh, unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up?(Deut 32:30)

Any reprieve, any patience concerning the Lord’s enacting justice is for the sake of the people’s repentance. This reprieve was not an answer to Zedekiah’s prayer at all!

DOES NOT ANSWER

While it’s an unpopular concept, the Bible is fairly clear that the Lord does not in general answer the prayers of the rebellious.
Psalm 66:18 – If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Proverbs 1:24 – Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently by will not find me.

Zechariah 7:13 – “”As I called, and they would not hear,
so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts.

O but someone might say, that’s the Old Testament. Okay, how about:
John 9:31 – We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

James 4:3 – You ask but do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Or 1 Peter 5:5 – God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

It’s not that the Lord’s arm is shortened to where He cannot save,
or that His ear is dull and He cannot hear, as He says in Isaiah 59:1.
The problem is that your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
It’s not that He cannot, it’s that He does not listen to the prayers of the rebellious.

PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

But there is one prayer that the rebellious can make that will surely be heard by God, and that is the prayer of repentance.
When Ninevah repented at the preaching of Jonah, God heard; He saw; and He turned away His wrath.
When King Ahab repented and put on sackcloth, God heard; He saw; and He turned away His wrath.

What Zedekiah needed to pray for was pardon!
not for peace, not for protection, not for provision, not for prosperity, not for physical health!
Repentance must come first.
Prayer for pardon recognizes the need for forgiveness. It recognizes the wrong one has done, and turns from that wrong.
And guess what. God stands ready to forgive.
He's always ready to answer such prayer… when prayed in faith.
Such a prayer seeks first the kingdom of God.
And when we are realigned with God and His kingdom,
all our other prayer requests will fall in line with His will,
meaning, they will indeed be answered.

UNCOMFORTABLE PRAYER

More than once Jeremiah was told not to pray for the welfare of this
people due to their rebellious posture.
Why? Because their continued physical welfare
only served their wandering farther from the Lord.

It makes me wonder how we might pray for such requests from those who are in direct rebellion towards God.
Well, many of us were present Wednesday night for our time of prayer,
and if you weren’t there, one of our members offered up a truly remarkable prayer for a particular individual living in disobedience, praying for the individual to feel uncomfortable in their current situation.
Now, that’s a bold and godly prayer. One that few would pray, especially out loud before others. But it was the right prayer.
O how often we pray for comfort and the easing of burdens, when comfort is the absolute last thing someone needs so long as they are in rebellion.

When I think of the prayer requests that fill the average prayer gathering,
many of them deal with health, financial, and relational burdens.
And we pray God’s mercy over these situations.
But I wonder if there are times when, concerning our unbelieving friends, neighbors, and family members, that blanket prayers of relief and comfort for those in rebellion might not be the best prayers, because they miss the greatest mercy—a restored relationship with God Himself.

Perhaps there are times to pray:
Lord, if it takes this health issue, this financial struggle, this relational turmoil, or whatever hardship Johnny’s experiencing right now to drive him to his knees in repentance, then so long as he’s  in rebellion against you, do just that.
Because obviously health and prosperity have done nothing to draw him closer to God. If anything, we see and read that it often has the opposite effect.

Lord, grant them a heart of brokenness… whatever the earthly cost.
Why? Because a broken and contrite heart, God will not despise.
Because, while as believers we care about all suffering,
we care infinitely more about eternal suffering.
Lord, don’t allow them to feel comfortable in their rebellion against you.

NO PEACE WITH SIN

And let me just say. If by chance that’s you… if you have a hard time making peace with your sin… with any of your ways that aren’t fully aligned to God’s revealed will… thank Him! Take that as a blessing. That’s likely the Holy Spirit convicting you so that you turn and repent.

Zedekiah, so long as you’re in rebellion, the prayer is, judgment is coming, be concerned, be gravely concerned, be so concerned that it drives you to your knees in repentance.

I don’t know. I don’t have the answers. I can just share with you what I see in this book. Your job is to test all things and hold fast what is good.

When we seek to remain faithful—resolute in our message—which includes how we pray, we will make others uncomfortable, and we should expect hostility.

One way hostility is often expressed is through the spinning of truth.

ILLUSTRATION:

IF you turn on your news feed. You’ll find no shortage of disinformation—
Political opponents with their war of words
seeking to tarnish the other party by spinning the truth just a little.
And this tactic has been around since the Garden.
“So, God said you can’t eat from any of the trees, did He?”

PORTION OF LAND

In verses 11-12, we have Jeremiah heading out of the city to receive his portion,
likely the field he was told to purchase in chapter 32 from his cousin Hanamel.
Chapter 32 chronologically takes place after our account here.
But Jeremiah never made it to purchase the property,
so Hanamel, his cousin, comes to Jeremiah while he’s imprisoned in the court of the guard.

TRAITOR

Now, it’s no surprise that the people thought Jeremiah was a traitor.
So, they looked for any excuse to accuse him of defection.
There idea of a traitor was anyone who wasn’t in full support of their practices.
In their eyes, Jeremiah was against his own nation.
But such couldn’t be further from the truth.

Jeremiah was not only faithful to the Lord,
such faithfulness made him resolute in his faithfulness to his people,

HANANIAH – FALSE PROPHET

Such was not the case with Irijah’s grandfather Hananiah.
We met Hananiah back in chapter 28.
He’s a false prophet who prophesies what the people want to hear.
Peace, peace, when there is no peace. Don’t worry about old Nebuchadnezzar.
The Lord will break his yoke and bring back all the vessels and exiles within two years.

As we saw with Shaphan’s legacy last week, well, it goes both ways.
Faithfulness often begets faithfulness, while unfaithfulness begets unfaithfulness. Genesis 5:3. Adam had a son in his own likeness.

Hananiah was a false prophet who spread lies.
It’s no wonder that his grandson Irijah does the same.
in fact, the lie is that these me are the complete opposite of their names.
Irijah – fear YH – Shelemiah – peace with YH – Hananiah – favor of YH

After 40 years of faithful ministry, pleading, weeping, calling the people to repent and receive forgiveness,
Jeremiah was considered an enemy of the state, a traitor.
But far from being a traitor, Jeremiah loves his people.
He’s willing to be imprisoned and even die for his people.
He loves them too much not to warn them of their greatest threat,
their greatest harm, their greatest suffering.
And as such, Jeremiah is will to suffer.

This is Jeremiah’s cross, his passion.
Verse 14. Irijah and the officials refuse to believe Jeremiah.
Instead, they struck him and threw him in the dungeon.

AVOIDING HOSTILITY

Listen loved ones, you have no need to concern yourself with any hostility towards you…none at all… so long as you’re willing to compromise the gospel.
Those willing to compromise the message,
will likely never suffer the persecution that Jeremiah faced.

There is no hostility where the gospel is compromised.
… where a half gospel is proclaimed
… a gospel that only makes promises and avoids warnings
… a gospel that offers peace, protection, prosperity, provision,
without any expectation attached to the recipients of such awesome promises.
… a gospel message that calls one to belong to the holy people of God
without calling anyone to be holy
… a gospel that offers forgiveness without calling for repentance.

HALF GOSPEL

And a half gospel will fill pews! But it won’t fill heaven.
A half gospel invites no harm, no cost to its messengers,
and no push back from society.
You can see why it’s so popular.

FAITHFUL SUFFER

But get this. Faithful messengers have suffered throughout history
and throughout the globe.
As Stephen proclaims to the Jews in Acts 7 right before they stoned him,
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced before hand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered.

What got Jeremiah in so much trouble?
Jeremiah, like the apostle Paul, preached on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment.
And because he did, he was beaten and thrown in prison.

END UP LIKE JEREMIAH

As Francis Shaeffer so aptly put it,
If one really preaches the Word of God to a post-Christian world, he must understand that he is likely to end up like Jeremiah.

Remain resolute in proclaiming the whole counsel of God’s truth like Jeremiah, like Paul, like Jesus… and you’ll likely end up like them.
But guess what? That puts you in some really good company.

THE LORD HIDES AND DELIVERS

In our last chapter, we saw that the Lord had hidden Jeremiah and Baruch from harm. Why? Because Jeremiah’s time had not yet come.
Just as we see the Lord Jesus slip away from his persecutors,
because his time had not yet come.

But there also comes the time when the Lord does deliver His faithful servants into the hands of their adversaries… to prove the resolve of their faithfulness.

So, does Jeremiah remain resolute in the face of such circumstances?
I think we already know the answer.

Verse 16. (Read 16-21)

Notice the context in which Zedekiah calls Jeremiah.
Verse 16. After he’s in prison for many days.
And verse 17. He calls Jeremiah secretly.

Zedekiah fears his own people, hence the secrecy.
And by leaving him in prison for many days,
he might just be more prone to giving a favorable word.

LIE TO ME

There’s a part of me that’s baffled by the fact that we seek to promote such an environment in which people will lie to us by telling us what we want to hear.
As if the lie can benefit anything other than our ego.
Wouldn’t you rather know the truth, even if it’s hard,
so you can at least respond accordingly?

Do you really want the doctor to lie about your health condition
just so you can feel better for the next few months
until it’s obvious that such was a lie,
and that such a lie sealed your death sentence
because you failed to get the treatment you so desperately needed?
But at least you had a few months of wishful thinking!

Now, I said, there’s a part of me that’s baffled by this.
But truth be known, I’m guilty of this very thing.
I don’t always want to hear the truth… and neither do you.
Why? Because the truth can prove painful and uncomfortable.
But only the truth can save, heal, and restore.

Zedekiah’s fickleness, his vacillating between wanting a word from the Lord and actually heeding the word of the Lord will lead to his destruction.
His fear of man keeps him from obedience to the Lord.

In contrast, even after many days in prison,
even with the prospect that the king could release him,
Jeremiah doesn’t compromise his calling.
He doesn’t compromise who it is he serves.
He faithfully delivers the message regardless of what it might cost him.

Jeremiah’s message didn’t change based on his circumstances.

WHO WRONGED YOU?

Zedekiah, you will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.
Now, let me ask you a question.
Verse 18. What wrong have I done?
Verse 19. Where are the prophets who prophesied to you saying,
the king of Babylon won’t come against you or against this land?
They’re the ones who have actually wronged you and this people,
speaking peace, peace, when there is no peace.
How? Because there can be no peace so long as you’re in rebellion against the Lord.

In fact, Hananiah, Irijah’s grandfather, in no longer on the scene
precisely because he was a false prophet.
The Lord removed him because he had spoken rebellion against the Lord
with his lies.

The world has no shortage of prophets,
no shortage of those who will proclaim what you want to hear,
no shortage of those who will prophesy, “Peace,”
when there is no peace,
peace without the need for repentance.
But I assure you, when judgment comes, they won’t be found.

BREAD THAT IS NEEDFUL

Verse 20.
Only after boldly proclaiming the uncompromised message
does Jeremiah address his own case.
This is instructive to us… to first seek His kingdom.
Verse 21.
And as the Lord always does, He sustains His faithful for ministry
until their mission, their service is complete.
The Lord provides them with the bread that is needful
in order for them to carry out their assigned task.

And the same is true for you and me.
There is nothing the Lord won’t provide you that you need
in order to serve Him faithfully. 

How about you?
Are you resolute like Jeremiah?
Or are you more fickle like Zedekiah?

Let me offer a word of encouragement,
for those of us whose resolve has come up short.

I’m not so convinced that at times, I might be more like Zedekiah.
O I like to think some days, for a fleeting moment,
I have faith to move mountains.
And then, in the very next breath,
I find myself grumbling over some petty thing,
or I snap at one of the kids, like I did this past Friday,
or I sulk in my discouragement that I’m not further along in my walk.
O the temptations to discontentment,
the fear of man, the worldly lusts, the boastful pride.
The model Jeremiah sets forth seems utterly out of reach.
How much more so conformity to Christ.

And the truth is, only the resolute will finish the race.
So what do we do when we fall short,
when we fail in our resolve?
ENEMY:

Well, the enemy wants you to despair.
Micah 7:8 – Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness,
the Lord shall be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him,
… until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

We don’t walk this walk alone.
We’ve been empowered by Christ’s very Spirit.

Perhaps it’s helpful to remind us that Jeremiah’s walk had some lapses.
He faced doubts and discouragement.
But God fashioned him into the resolute prophet he became.
Jeremiah, who I believe also penned Lamentations,
needed those same new morning mercies,
every bit as much as you and I do. 

So when you come up short in your resolve,
you turn, you repent, and you resolve again,
leaning into the grace we have in the Lord Jesus,
who has already executed judgment for us.

CHRIST
No one is more resolute than our Lord Jesus
who set his face like flint to go to Jerusalem, to the cross,
in order to save his own—not partially, but completely.

We must be resolute to finish this race.
But where our resolve is insufficient,
Jesus’ is more than sufficient.
He resolved to save,
so you can rest assured that he most definitely will.
Our resolute Savior will not fail.

https://youtu.be/nmEeIE-K_4E

  Jeremiah 36 Word on Fire

ADDED TO THEM:

Many of the chapters in this second half of Jeremiah, are not as much about giving a new word from the Lord, as much as giving the responses to the Word of the Lord, and the consequences that follow. 

At the end of our chapter (verse 32), we’ll read:
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned in the fire.
And many similar words were added to them. 

What we have here in chapter 36
 are the words added to them.
 We have the various responses to the Word.
We have the indifference of those
 who chose not to respond,
 as well as those who simply stood by
 thinking that they could remain neutral.
We have the faithful response of those
 who took the Word to heart,
 who listened intently,
 and then shared it with others.
And we have the hostility of one
 who thought he could so easily dispose of the Word
 by burning it in the fire.

As we read in several places in the New Testament: Whatever was written in former days
 — that being the whole of the Old Testament —
 was written for our instructions,
on whom the end of the ages has come.

My question for each of us,
 those on whom the end of the ages have come,
 what’s your response look like?
Before you answer that too quickly,
 we’d do well to dig into these responses.

READ: (Jeremiah 36:1-8)

ILLUSTRATION:

Many roads were closed due to flooding
 across several states earlier this week.
 I believe Kentucky got hit the worst.
In some of these areas, signs were put up.
 Bridge out due to flooding. 

What’s the purpose of the sign?
 It’s to warn you!
 There’s a flood ahead.
 Your current path isn’t safe.
Turn around so that
 the flood doesn’t sweep you away. 

The words the Lord has Jeremiah write
 are just that — a bridge out sign.
The flood of God’s wrath
 threatens to sweep you away.
But you don’t h{ave to drown.
 You can turn around.
There’s still time.

INTENT OF GOD’S WORD

Notice the intent of God’s Word in verse 3.
It may be that the house of Judah will hear
 all the disaster that I intend to do to them,
so that every one may turn from his evil way,
and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

And like the Lord,
his prophet shares the Word with the same intent.
Verse 7.
 It may be that their plea for mercy
 will come before the Lord,
and that every one will turn from his evil way…

Now, it’s clear that the words are indeed
 words of judgment.
But they aren’t given for the purpose of judgment. They are given as a warning
 so that the people might turn. 

REPENTANCE REQUIRED

The fact that God calls us to repent,
 rather than immediately enacting judgment,
 shows something of God’s heart.

Our God longs to forgive.
 He wants to forgive.
 He’s willing to forgive.
 He’s waiting to forgive.
But… forgiveness
 cannot take place
 apart from repentance.
Forgiveness requires repentance.

GOAL OF RECONCILATION

But do we understand why?
 Well. What’s the point of forgiveness?
Reconciliation. Reconciliation of what?
 Reconciliation of a relationship.

Okay. So what’s the point of repentance?
The exact same thing. Reconciling a relationship. 

It’s impossible to restore any relationship
 where both sides of this equation,
 haven’t taken place.
Yet… out of an overflow of grace and mercy,
 the gospel message,
 the offer of forgiveness
 which stands behind all the warnings,
 is extended first.
It’s here in out text.
The Lord offers forgiveness
 to everyone who turns,
 to everyone who repents.

The purpose of these words of warning
 is not to bring the people crushing news
 that leaves them in despair
but to crush their hearts and pride
 that they might repent
 and receive forgiveness.

WORDS ON THE SCROLL

Now let me be clear.
The dominant message on this scroll
 that Jeremiah will dictate to Baruch,
 is one of judgment and warning
The bridge is out! Turn around!
 There’s a flood of judgment up ahead.
But it’s important that we don’t lose sight
 of the purpose behind these words.

The message is intended to excite fear,
 that leads to repentance,
 that grants forgiveness,
 that the people might be spared
 the flood of judgment,
 and be reconciled to God.

ALL THE WORDS

Verse 2.
 The Lord commands Jeremiah to record
 ALL THE WORDS.
 Let me say that again. ALL THE WORDS.
that the Lord has spoken against Israel and Judah
from the day the Lord first spoke to him until now.
 

That is just over 20 years of ministry.
It includes all of chapters 1-20,
 plus chapters 25 and 26.
 and the bulk of chapters 46-49.

Now, listen. Just to read chapters 1-20 out loud
 takes a good hour and a half.
And as I already noted,
 these were predominantly words of judgment.

This phrase, ALL THE WORDS,
 is used 11 times in our passage,
 plus 5 times in which it’s implied,
 each time referring to
writing, reading, hearing, or reporting,
 the Word of God as recorded on this scroll.
 20 some chapters!

NOT THE PROPHET’S

Verse 4.
Baruch writes at the dictation of Jeremiah
 ALL THE WORDS!
not a mere selection
 not a paraphrase
 not the prophet’s views or commentary
but all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah
 over his thus far 20 year ministry.

Why?
Because Baruch’s nor Jeremiah’s
 cleverly devised articulation
 won’t save anyone.
Why?
Well, for one, God doesn’t share His glory.
 And if it takes their eloquence or skill
 to save people,
 then guess who gets the glory?
Only the double-edge, soul-piercing Word of God
 exposes the heart.
His Word alone can save.

Jeremiah and Baruch’s hope was not in their gifting
 but in the power of God’s Word
 to bring sinners to repentance.
This isn’t Jeremiah’s words
 so much as it’s God’s Word.

Since Jeremiah is banned from the house of the Lord
 —verse 6—
Jeremiah orders Baruch to go
 and read from the scroll
which you have written from my mouth
 the words of the Lord
 in the ears of the people
 in the house of the Lord
 on a day of fasting.

And Baruch does all that Jeremiah ordered him.
 About a year later, the people proclaim a fast,
 and Baruch reads this rather large scroll.

OUTWARD ZEAL, INNER INDIFFERENCE

VERSES 9-10 (read 9-10)

Here you have a people that exalted
 the external acts of piety,
 flocking to the house of the Lord,
 going through religious rituals,
But had little interest in God’s proclaimed Word.
 They had outward zeal
 but inwardly, they were indifferent.

All the people in Jerusalem and Judah who came
 supposedly before the Lord
 before the Lord’s house
were unaffected by Baruch’s reading…
 all … but … one
 a man named Micaiah

FAITHFUL RECEIVING OF GOD’S WORD

VERSES 11-12 (read 11-12) 

Where most were indifferent to Baruch’s reading,
 Micaiah demonstrates what a faithful response
 to God’s Word looks like.
HEARING – FEARING - SHARING

HEARING

First, Micaiah hears the Word.
 Notice in verse 11.
 Micaiah heard ALL THE WORDS

I don’t often quote others,
 but here’s what Philip Ryken,
 President of Wheaten College,
 had to say regarding these verses.
“Micaiah demonstrates the proper receiving of the Word of God. First comes the hearing of the Word… He listened to God’s Word in its entirety. He did not doze off in the middle of the reading… or leave before Baruch was finished. Micaiah listened to Jeremiah’s prophecies from beginning to end.”

And because Micaiah listened to the Word,
 he was moved by the Word
 to share the word
He immediately went to his father Gemariah
 and the officials who were with him.
But Micaiah also had to listen intently to the Word
 in order to fully and faithfully share it.
 Which he did!

SHARING

Verse 13.
And Micaiah told them ALL THE WORDS
 that he had heard,
when Baruch read the scroll
 in the hearing of the people.

This was not a popular message.
As we have seen throughout our study in Jeremiah,
 kings, priests, and prophets
 have sought to silence this message.
Speak to us pleasant things!
 Don’t speak to us about this Holy One of Israel!

And that is no less true today.
 As we saw in 2 Timothy just a few weeks ago:
 A time is coming when people
 will accumulate teachers
 to suit their own passions.

Why would Micaiah want to relay this message?
 The same reason Jeremiah and Baruch did.
 He believed the Word.
 He saw the peril.
 Now, he must warn others.
 The bridge is out!

And honestly, what better place to begin
 than with one’s own family.
That’s where Micaiah began.
 Now, that doesn’t mean they’ll listen.
 But I’ll tell you what won’t happen.

 

They will never respond to a message they never hear.
 And there’s only one way to ensure that they do.
You tell them.
 And tell them before it’s too late.

The faithful receiving of God’s Word
 makes one an evangelist.

RETURN VOID?

Now, I mentioned,
out of all the people who were in earshot of Baruch
 reading from the scroll earlier that morning,
 it seemed the vast majority showed no concern.
(I believe that’s implied in the text,
 and throughout the Book of Jeremiah.)

Does this mean that God’s Word had returned void?
 Not at all!
God’s Word never promises to save every individual.
 But consider this.
Because Jeremiah and Baruch put their lives
 and reputations on the line,
If but a single person is moved to repentance
 —saving repentance—
 —repentance that leads to life—
then it was worth it… eternally worth it…
 whatever the cost.

And now Micaiah is sharing with others…
 his dad and the other officials.
 What’s their response?

Verses 14-18 (read 14-18)

GOOD BEREANS

Micaiah passed along the message
 as it was passed on to him.
And now, some were moved like good Bereans
 to look closer at the message,
 get back to the source.
 Is the message authentic?
Tell us, Baruch. How did you write all these words?

Notice.
 It’s not enough to accept the Word secondhand.
They have Baruch sit down and read
 [guess what?]
 ALL THE WORDS.
And they listened … to ALL THE WORDS.

And they were moved with fear.
 We must report ALL THESE WORDS to the king.

But… verse 19.
Before we report to this king
 Baruch, you and Jeremiah need to hide.
Why?
 Because we know not everyone
 is going to be receptive
 to this word!
But just the opposite.
 There will be those who are hostile,
 those who will want to silence this word.

In fact, knowing this
 we better seek to preserve this word.
 So, we’ll put it in safe keeping
 before we take the news to the king.

Verses 20.
 So they went into the court to the king,
 having put the scroll in the chamber
 of Elishama the secretary,
and they reported ALL THE WORDS to the king.

EXPOSITION

Whatever these officials reported—notice—
 it was sufficient for the inspired author to say:
They reported ALL THE WORDS.

I hope you understand,
 that’s what we seek to do up here.
 It’s what we call: expository preaching.
We seek to report ALL THE WORDS of the text.

Now, I know, it’s not very popular,
 not when you consider
 just how many churches there are
 and what’s often proclaimed from the pulpits.

I’m very capable of standing up here,
and share a few brief nuggets of life application,
 and then we could all move on
 in our own merry way.
But that is not the preaching found in Scripture.

What application
 could possibly be transformative
 if we circumvent the text
 by skipping over the exegesis, the exposition,
 or to make is simpler,
 the explanation of the text.

To do so, fails to do justice to God’s Word,
 And it rids God’s Word of its power.
 Why?
Because to do such isn’t to share God’s Word
 but mine!

My task, is to proclaim this Word in such a way
 that it can rightly be said,
 I reported ALL THE WORDS.
Because my words have no power whatsoever.
 God’s Word alone is able to save.
And only to the degree
 I faithfully share His Word,
 do I have any standing up here.
My job is to be a faithful messenger.

Verse 21.
Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary.
And Jehudi read it to the king,
 and all the officials who stood beside the king.

Now, it seems King Jehoiakim
 is following the same response as the officials
 who received the Word from Micaiah.
He hears the word as relayed through the officials.
 And he immediately sends for the source file,
 the written scroll.
But the king has other plans.

THE EDITS

Verses 22-23 (Read 22-23)

Rather than receive God’s Word as authoritative,
 the king has some edits he would like to make.

As Jehudi reads,
 Jehoiakim performs his own,
 uninspired edits to God’s Word,
 redacting and cutting as he sees fit,
 removing the portions he doesn’t like,
 leaving none of it, as far as he’s concerned,
 as authoritative for him
or the people he was to shepherd.

How many, like Jehoiakim,
 take upon themselves the same task
 of editing God’s Word?
Now most won’t show their hostility
 as crudely and guilelessly as Jehoiakim.
Most won’t be found burning the scroll in a firepot.

Some exact their edits with a scholars knife,
 some by interpreting the Word to fit their fancy,
 some by ripping the Word from its context,
 some by avoiding certain portions as irrelevant,
some by promoting traditions and teachings
 of men as equal in authority,
some by raising suspicions concerning the source.

Each of these edits are no less an attack
 against God’s infallible Word
 than the serpent who asked, “Did God really say?”

 

Each of these edits seek to diminish its authority,
 calling into question whether God’s Word,
 as passed down and delivered
 once and all to the saints
 can or should be trusted.

Anytime one seeks to explain away
 any part of God’s Revelation,
it’s no different than Jehoiakim
 Taking a knife to God’s Word
 and casting it into the fire.

Why does this matter?
 Because this is the only Word that can save.
 It’s the only Word that can bring about repentance,
 so that people might receive forgiveness.

Lord, you have exalted above all things,
 your name and your Word.

Yes, much of this Book is hard,
 It shares hard things that aren’t pleasant
 to our fallen ears.

But this Word, the whole counsel of this Word,
 is given with the intent of sparing people
 from the coming flood of judgment.

[New Covenant Difference]

PLEADING

Verse 24-26 (Read 24-26)

While Jehudi and the king’s servants
 sought to remain neutral
—and let’s be clear, there’s no such thing
 as neutrality towards God’s Word—
A few faithful men
 three to be precise
 urged the king not to do such a blasphemous act
 not to burn the scroll
 that contained the Word of the Lord.
But their plea fell on deaf ears.

Loved ones, I don’t have to tell you,
 but many of our pleas will fall on deaf ears.

While we plead with others,
 O please don’t disregard God’s Word like this!
 Heaven and Hell hang in the balance!
 This Word is intended to save you!
Remember, their response
 isn’t up to you. It isn’t up to me.
O let them hear your constant pleas.
 Let them see you tears.
But it’s the Lord who softens hearts.
 It’s the Lord who grants repentance.
So pray! Pray that the Lord would do just that!

Rather than being moved to fear,
 rather than heeding the warning,
THE BRIDGE IS OUT and turning around,
 rather than tearing his garments,
 Jehoiakim tears down the sign,
 and sets it on fire.
And then he seeks to arrest those
 who would put up such a sign,
 a sign intended to save lives.

But the Lord hid Baruch and Jeremiah.
 And the same Lord
who preserves His faithful messengers
 preserves His Word.

NAÏVE 

Verses 26-31 (Read 26-31)

The world thinks us Christians naïve
to believe this book, to believe its Author,
to submit to the authority of God’s Word.

But what’s naïve are those like Jehoiakim
 who think they can escape this living and active
 razor sharp Word of the Lord
 by slicing it up and casting into the fire,
as if this Word is somehow bound
 to the scroll it’s penned on.

What’s naïve is that millennia after millennia
 of trying to escape the authorityof God’s Word
 —going all the way back to the Garden—
 the authority of God’s Word still stands!

What’s naïve is that our society,
 after 2000 years of trying
 and coming up short time and again
 continues to try to discredit this Book.
They enlist their brightest minds
 with the largest budgets.
But they can’t quench
 the purifying fire of the Word of the Lord.

Jehoiakim can set it on fire, and watch it burn.
 But what he can’t do is quench it.

Jehoiakim's efforts to burn God's Word were futile,
 because God's Word is fire.

NO LEGACY FOR JEHOIAKIM

Because Jehoiakim sought to cut off this Word
 from the people’s hearing,
 any hope of legacy will be cut off from him.
He will have none to sit on the throne of David.

For our New Testament reading,
 I strongly considered either
 Luke’s or Matthew’s genealogy.
Instead,
 I’ll leave you to read through them on your own.
But I bet you can guess who isn’t there.
 Jehoiakim. He’s not in either of them.
 He’s been completely passed over.
He sought to erase God’s Word
 So, he was erased
 from the greatest genealogical record ever.
Jehoiakim was left without a legacy.

THE LEGACY OF SHAPHAN

But there’s another man who is mentioned
 a few times in our text,
 who, while he’s not an active participant
 in this particular account,
 his offspring are.
His name is Shaphan. 

It was in the chamber of Gemariah,
 the son of Shaphan,
 that Baruch read this famous scroll.
It was Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan (verse 11),
 who listened intently to Baruch’s reading
 of the scroll,
 who afterwards,
 went to share the news with his father, Gemariah.

Gemariah, Shaphan’s son, was one of the officials
 who was moved with fear at the reading of the scroll,
 who insisted on reporting ALL THESE WORDS
 to the king,
who also pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll.

Whereas Jehoiakim tore up the scroll
 rather than tearing his clothes,
 Gemariah likely recalled the time
 when the king in his father’s day
 had an entirely different response.

King Josiah had sent Shaphan
 to the house of the Lord.
And while Shaphan was there,
 Hilkiah the high priest told him,
I have found the Book of the Law
 in the house of the Lord.
And you know what Shaphan did?
 He read it.
 And after reading it, he reported it to the king.
 And Shaphan read it before the king.
And upon hearing the words of the Book of the Law,
 Shaphan witnessed a king who tore his clothes.

Shaphan’s legacy goes beyond
 his son and grandson mentioned here.
A few years earlier
 (you can read about it in chapter 26)
It was Shaphan’s son, Ahikam,
 who saved Jeremiah from being put to death
 when he gave his famous temple sermon.
A few years later, Shaphan’s son, Elasah,
 would carry Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon.
And after Jerusalem falls to Babylon,
 another one of Shaphan’s grandsons, Gedaliah,
 would rescue Jeremiah, take him into his house,
 and eventually become governor
 over the Jewish remnant.

YOUR LEGACY

What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
You know what led to Shaphan’s legacy?
 It was his response to God’s Word.

O the world has its own idea
 of what makes for a legacy.
 But all of those legacies will one day be forgotten.
But a legacy like Shaphan’s
 will be remembered for eternity.

Unlike Jehoiakim, Shaphan’s legacy continues.
O his name isn’t found in Jesus’ genealogical record,
 at least not his physical or biological record.
It’s found in a far more important document:
 The Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain.

That legacy can be yours.
 If you respond to this Word like Shaphan did,
 If you instill this Word in your kids and grandkids
 like Shaphan did.

JESUS DIDN’T TEAR HIS CLOTHES

Unlike King Josiah, Jesus didn’t tear his clothes.
 But it wasn’t because he wasn’t grieved
 over the judgment His people faced.
Rather, as our Great High Priest,
 He was forbidden to tear his clothes.
 So, he allowed his flesh to be torn open instead.

For so long, we had failed to heed
 the Bridge Out! sign.
 And get this.
The bridge was out
 because we had burned the bridge.
 We had burned our relationship with our Maker.
Rather than heed the sign, mankind has treated God’s warnings the same way Jehoiakim treated the scroll.
The flood of God’s judgment was all but certain.
 
Out of sheer mercy,
 God laid down a New Bridge,
 a wooden cross that spanned across the entire flood of God’s judgment.
0 to cross this bridge still requires no less repentance.
 You see, the flood of God’s wrath had surrounded us.
But Jesus laid down His life as a bridge
 that not only provides a way home,
 but as a bridge laid down at such a cost
 so as to display the immense love of God
 and His desire for reconciliation.

Jesus came as the Word made flesh.
The Word that kings and priests, governors and the people sought to silence by destroying Him,
 cutting Him off from the land of the living.
But just as God’s Word isn’t bound,
 Neither was this Word bound to mere flesh and bone.
For He is the eternal Word.
Death could never hold Him.

This Word, whose eyes are like flames of fire,
 seeing into the deepest recesses of every soul,
 This Word is fire, and it cannot be quenched!

This Word that the Lord so faithfully preserves
 it will preserve you…
 … but only if you respond to it faithfully,
 like the faithful men we read about today.

Will you be like Micaiah and Gemariah
 who intently listened to all the words,
 who responded with reverence to all the words,
 who were moved to share all the words,
 who pleaded with others concerning all the words?

Because ALL THESE WORDS are the Word of God.
 

https://youtu.be/h9G1wtPh2AU  

ADDED TO THEM:

Many of the chapters in this second half of Jeremiah, are not as much about giving a new word from the Lord, as much as giving the responses to the Word of the Lord, and the consequences that follow. 

At the end of our chapter (verse 32), we’ll read:
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned in the fire.
And many similar words were added to them. 

What we have here in chapter 36
 are the words added to them.
 We have the various responses to the Word.
We have the indifference of those
 who chose not to respond,
 as well as those who simply stood by
 thinking that they could remain neutral.
We have the faithful response of those
 who took the Word to heart,
 who listened intently,
 and then shared it with others.
And we have the hostility of one
 who thought he could so easily dispose of the Word
 by burning it in the fire.

As we read in several places in the New Testament: Whatever was written in former days
 — that being the whole of the Old Testament —
 was written for our instructions,
on whom the end of the ages has come.

My question for each of us,
 those on whom the end of the ages have come,
 what’s your response look like?
Before you answer that too quickly,
 we’d do well to dig into these responses.

READ: (Jeremiah 36:1-8)

ILLUSTRATION:

Many roads were closed due to flooding
 across several states earlier this week.
 I believe Kentucky got hit the worst.
In some of these areas, signs were put up.
 Bridge out due to flooding. 

What’s the purpose of the sign?
 It’s to warn you!
 There’s a flood ahead.
 Your current path isn’t safe.
Turn around so that
 the flood doesn’t sweep you away. 

The words the Lord has Jeremiah write
 are just that — a bridge out sign.
The flood of God’s wrath
 threatens to sweep you away.
But you don’t h{ave to drown.
 You can turn around.
There’s still time.

INTENT OF GOD’S WORD

Notice the intent of God’s Word in verse 3.
It may be that the house of Judah will hear
 all the disaster that I intend to do to them,
so that every one may turn from his evil way,
and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

And like the Lord,
his prophet shares the Word with the same intent.
Verse 7.
 It may be that their plea for mercy
 will come before the Lord,
and that every one will turn from his evil way…

Now, it’s clear that the words are indeed
 words of judgment.
But they aren’t given for the purpose of judgment. They are given as a warning
 so that the people might turn. 

REPENTANCE REQUIRED

The fact that God calls us to repent,
 rather than immediately enacting judgment,
 shows something of God’s heart.

Our God longs to forgive.
 He wants to forgive.
 He’s willing to forgive.
 He’s waiting to forgive.
But… forgiveness
 cannot take place
 apart from repentance.
Forgiveness requires repentance.

GOAL OF RECONCILATION

But do we understand why?
 Well. What’s the point of forgiveness?
Reconciliation. Reconciliation of what?
 Reconciliation of a relationship.

Okay. So what’s the point of repentance?
The exact same thing. Reconciling a relationship. 

It’s impossible to restore any relationship
 where both sides of this equation,
 haven’t taken place.
Yet… out of an overflow of grace and mercy,
 the gospel message,
 the offer of forgiveness
 which stands behind all the warnings,
 is extended first.
It’s here in out text.
The Lord offers forgiveness
 to everyone who turns,
 to everyone who repents.

The purpose of these words of warning
 is not to bring the people crushing news
 that leaves them in despair
but to crush their hearts and pride
 that they might repent
 and receive forgiveness.

WORDS ON THE SCROLL

Now let me be clear.
The dominant message on this scroll
 that Jeremiah will dictate to Baruch,
 is one of judgment and warning
The bridge is out! Turn around!
 There’s a flood of judgment up ahead.
But it’s important that we don’t lose sight
 of the purpose behind these words.

The message is intended to excite fear,
 that leads to repentance,
 that grants forgiveness,
 that the people might be spared
 the flood of judgment,
 and be reconciled to God.

ALL THE WORDS

Verse 2.
 The Lord commands Jeremiah to record
 ALL THE WORDS.
 Let me say that again. ALL THE WORDS.
that the Lord has spoken against Israel and Judah
from the day the Lord first spoke to him until now.
 

That is just over 20 years of ministry.
It includes all of chapters 1-20,
 plus chapters 25 and 26.
 and the bulk of chapters 46-49.

Now, listen. Just to read chapters 1-20 out loud
 takes a good hour and a half.
And as I already noted,
 these were predominantly words of judgment.

This phrase, ALL THE WORDS,
 is used 11 times in our passage,
 plus 5 times in which it’s implied,
 each time referring to
writing, reading, hearing, or reporting,
 the Word of God as recorded on this scroll.
 20 some chapters!

NOT THE PROPHET’S

Verse 4.
Baruch writes at the dictation of Jeremiah
 ALL THE WORDS!
not a mere selection
 not a paraphrase
 not the prophet’s views or commentary
but all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah
 over his thus far 20 year ministry.

Why?
Because Baruch’s nor Jeremiah’s
 cleverly devised articulation
 won’t save anyone.
Why?
Well, for one, God doesn’t share His glory.
 And if it takes their eloquence or skill
 to save people,
 then guess who gets the glory?
Only the double-edge, soul-piercing Word of God
 exposes the heart.
His Word alone can save.

Jeremiah and Baruch’s hope was not in their gifting
 but in the power of God’s Word
 to bring sinners to repentance.
This isn’t Jeremiah’s words
 so much as it’s God’s Word.

Since Jeremiah is banned from the house of the Lord
 —verse 6—
Jeremiah orders Baruch to go
 and read from the scroll
which you have written from my mouth
 the words of the Lord
 in the ears of the people
 in the house of the Lord
 on a day of fasting.

And Baruch does all that Jeremiah ordered him.
 About a year later, the people proclaim a fast,
 and Baruch reads this rather large scroll.

OUTWARD ZEAL, INNER INDIFFERENCE

VERSES 9-10 (read 9-10)

Here you have a people that exalted
 the external acts of piety,
 flocking to the house of the Lord,
 going through religious rituals,
But had little interest in God’s proclaimed Word.
 They had outward zeal
 but inwardly, they were indifferent.

All the people in Jerusalem and Judah who came
 supposedly before the Lord
 before the Lord’s house
were unaffected by Baruch’s reading…
 all … but … one
 a man named Micaiah

FAITHFUL RECEIVING OF GOD’S WORD

VERSES 11-12 (read 11-12) 

Where most were indifferent to Baruch’s reading,
 Micaiah demonstrates what a faithful response
 to God’s Word looks like.
HEARING – FEARING - SHARING

HEARING

First, Micaiah hears the Word.
 Notice in verse 11.
 Micaiah heard ALL THE WORDS

I don’t often quote others,
 but here’s what Philip Ryken,
 President of Wheaten College,
 had to say regarding these verses.
“Micaiah demonstrates the proper receiving of the Word of God. First comes the hearing of the Word… He listened to God’s Word in its entirety. He did not doze off in the middle of the reading… or leave before Baruch was finished. Micaiah listened to Jeremiah’s prophecies from beginning to end.”

And because Micaiah listened to the Word,
 he was moved by the Word
 to share the word
He immediately went to his father Gemariah
 and the officials who were with him.
But Micaiah also had to listen intently to the Word
 in order to fully and faithfully share it.
 Which he did!

SHARING

Verse 13.
And Micaiah told them ALL THE WORDS
 that he had heard,
when Baruch read the scroll
 in the hearing of the people.

This was not a popular message.
As we have seen throughout our study in Jeremiah,
 kings, priests, and prophets
 have sought to silence this message.
Speak to us pleasant things!
 Don’t speak to us about this Holy One of Israel!

And that is no less true today.
 As we saw in 2 Timothy just a few weeks ago:
 A time is coming when people
 will accumulate teachers
 to suit their own passions.

Why would Micaiah want to relay this message?
 The same reason Jeremiah and Baruch did.
 He believed the Word.
 He saw the peril.
 Now, he must warn others.
 The bridge is out!

And honestly, what better place to begin
 than with one’s own family.
That’s where Micaiah began.
 Now, that doesn’t mean they’ll listen.
 But I’ll tell you what won’t happen.

 

They will never respond to a message they never hear.
 And there’s only one way to ensure that they do.
You tell them.
 And tell them before it’s too late.

The faithful receiving of God’s Word
 makes one an evangelist.

RETURN VOID?

Now, I mentioned,
out of all the people who were in earshot of Baruch
 reading from the scroll earlier that morning,
 it seemed the vast majority showed no concern.
(I believe that’s implied in the text,
 and throughout the Book of Jeremiah.)

Does this mean that God’s Word had returned void?
 Not at all!
God’s Word never promises to save every individual.
 But consider this.
Because Jeremiah and Baruch put their lives
 and reputations on the line,
If but a single person is moved to repentance
 —saving repentance—
 —repentance that leads to life—
then it was worth it… eternally worth it…
 whatever the cost.

And now Micaiah is sharing with others…
 his dad and the other officials.
 What’s their response?

Verses 14-18 (read 14-18)

GOOD BEREANS

Micaiah passed along the message
 as it was passed on to him.
And now, some were moved like good Bereans
 to look closer at the message,
 get back to the source.
 Is the message authentic?
Tell us, Baruch. How did you write all these words?

Notice.
 It’s not enough to accept the Word secondhand.
They have Baruch sit down and read
 [guess what?]
 ALL THE WORDS.
And they listened … to ALL THE WORDS.

And they were moved with fear.
 We must report ALL THESE WORDS to the king.

But… verse 19.
Before we report to this king
 Baruch, you and Jeremiah need to hide.
Why?
 Because we know not everyone
 is going to be receptive
 to this word!
But just the opposite.
 There will be those who are hostile,
 those who will want to silence this word.

In fact, knowing this
 we better seek to preserve this word.
 So, we’ll put it in safe keeping
 before we take the news to the king.

Verses 20.
 So they went into the court to the king,
 having put the scroll in the chamber
 of Elishama the secretary,
and they reported ALL THE WORDS to the king.

EXPOSITION

Whatever these officials reported—notice—
 it was sufficient for the inspired author to say:
They reported ALL THE WORDS.

I hope you understand,
 that’s what we seek to do up here.
 It’s what we call: expository preaching.
We seek to report ALL THE WORDS of the text.

Now, I know, it’s not very popular,
 not when you consider
 just how many churches there are
 and what’s often proclaimed from the pulpits.

I’m very capable of standing up here,
and share a few brief nuggets of life application,
 and then we could all move on
 in our own merry way.
But that is not the preaching found in Scripture.

What application
 could possibly be transformative
 if we circumvent the text
 by skipping over the exegesis, the exposition,
 or to make is simpler,
 the explanation of the text.

To do so, fails to do justice to God’s Word,
 And it rids God’s Word of its power.
 Why?
Because to do such isn’t to share God’s Word
 but mine!

My task, is to proclaim this Word in such a way
 that it can rightly be said,
 I reported ALL THE WORDS.
Because my words have no power whatsoever.
 God’s Word alone is able to save.
And only to the degree
 I faithfully share His Word,
 do I have any standing up here.
My job is to be a faithful messenger.

Verse 21.
Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary.
And Jehudi read it to the king,
 and all the officials who stood beside the king.

Now, it seems King Jehoiakim
 is following the same response as the officials
 who received the Word from Micaiah.
He hears the word as relayed through the officials.
 And he immediately sends for the source file,
 the written scroll.
But the king has other plans.

THE EDITS

Verses 22-23 (Read 22-23)

Rather than receive God’s Word as authoritative,
 the king has some edits he would like to make.

As Jehudi reads,
 Jehoiakim performs his own,
 uninspired edits to God’s Word,
 redacting and cutting as he sees fit,
 removing the portions he doesn’t like,
 leaving none of it, as far as he’s concerned,
 as authoritative for him
or the people he was to shepherd.

How many, like Jehoiakim,
 take upon themselves the same task
 of editing God’s Word?
Now most won’t show their hostility
 as crudely and guilelessly as Jehoiakim.
Most won’t be found burning the scroll in a firepot.

Some exact their edits with a scholars knife,
 some by interpreting the Word to fit their fancy,
 some by ripping the Word from its context,
 some by avoiding certain portions as irrelevant,
some by promoting traditions and teachings
 of men as equal in authority,
some by raising suspicions concerning the source.

Each of these edits are no less an attack
 against God’s infallible Word
 than the serpent who asked, “Did God really say?”

 

Each of these edits seek to diminish its authority,
 calling into question whether God’s Word,
 as passed down and delivered
 once and all to the saints
 can or should be trusted.

Anytime one seeks to explain away
 any part of God’s Revelation,
it’s no different than Jehoiakim
 Taking a knife to God’s Word
 and casting it into the fire.

Why does this matter?
 Because this is the only Word that can save.
 It’s the only Word that can bring about repentance,
 so that people might receive forgiveness.

Lord, you have exalted above all things,
 your name and your Word.

Yes, much of this Book is hard,
 It shares hard things that aren’t pleasant
 to our fallen ears.

But this Word, the whole counsel of this Word,
 is given with the intent of sparing people
 from the coming flood of judgment.

[New Covenant Difference]

PLEADING

Verse 24-26 (Read 24-26)

While Jehudi and the king’s servants
 sought to remain neutral
—and let’s be clear, there’s no such thing
 as neutrality towards God’s Word—
A few faithful men
 three to be precise
 urged the king not to do such a blasphemous act
 not to burn the scroll
 that contained the Word of the Lord.
But their plea fell on deaf ears.

Loved ones, I don’t have to tell you,
 but many of our pleas will fall on deaf ears.

While we plead with others,
 O please don’t disregard God’s Word like this!
 Heaven and Hell hang in the balance!
 This Word is intended to save you!
Remember, their response
 isn’t up to you. It isn’t up to me.
O let them hear your constant pleas.
 Let them see you tears.
But it’s the Lord who softens hearts.
 It’s the Lord who grants repentance.
So pray! Pray that the Lord would do just that!

Rather than being moved to fear,
 rather than heeding the warning,
THE BRIDGE IS OUT and turning around,
 rather than tearing his garments,
 Jehoiakim tears down the sign,
 and sets it on fire.
And then he seeks to arrest those
 who would put up such a sign,
 a sign intended to save lives.

But the Lord hid Baruch and Jeremiah.
 And the same Lord
who preserves His faithful messengers
 preserves His Word.

NAÏVE 

Verses 26-31 (Read 26-31)

The world thinks us Christians naïve
to believe this book, to believe its Author,
to submit to the authority of God’s Word.

But what’s naïve are those like Jehoiakim
 who think they can escape this living and active
 razor sharp Word of the Lord
 by slicing it up and casting into the fire,
as if this Word is somehow bound
 to the scroll it’s penned on.

What’s naïve is that millennia after millennia
 of trying to escape the authorityof God’s Word
 —going all the way back to the Garden—
 the authority of God’s Word still stands!

What’s naïve is that our society,
 after 2000 years of trying
 and coming up short time and again
 continues to try to discredit this Book.
They enlist their brightest minds
 with the largest budgets.
But they can’t quench
 the purifying fire of the Word of the Lord.

Jehoiakim can set it on fire, and watch it burn.
 But what he can’t do is quench it.

Jehoiakim's efforts to burn God's Word were futile,
 because God's Word is fire.

NO LEGACY FOR JEHOIAKIM

Because Jehoiakim sought to cut off this Word
 from the people’s hearing,
 any hope of legacy will be cut off from him.
He will have none to sit on the throne of David.

For our New Testament reading,
 I strongly considered either
 Luke’s or Matthew’s genealogy.
Instead,
 I’ll leave you to read through them on your own.
But I bet you can guess who isn’t there.
 Jehoiakim. He’s not in either of them.
 He’s been completely passed over.
He sought to erase God’s Word
 So, he was erased
 from the greatest genealogical record ever.
Jehoiakim was left without a legacy.

THE LEGACY OF SHAPHAN

But there’s another man who is mentioned
 a few times in our text,
 who, while he’s not an active participant
 in this particular account,
 his offspring are.
His name is Shaphan. 

It was in the chamber of Gemariah,
 the son of Shaphan,
 that Baruch read this famous scroll.
It was Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan (verse 11),
 who listened intently to Baruch’s reading
 of the scroll,
 who afterwards,
 went to share the news with his father, Gemariah.

Gemariah, Shaphan’s son, was one of the officials
 who was moved with fear at the reading of the scroll,
 who insisted on reporting ALL THESE WORDS
 to the king,
who also pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll.

Whereas Jehoiakim tore up the scroll
 rather than tearing his clothes,
 Gemariah likely recalled the time
 when the king in his father’s day
 had an entirely different response.

King Josiah had sent Shaphan
 to the house of the Lord.
And while Shaphan was there,
 Hilkiah the high priest told him,
I have found the Book of the Law
 in the house of the Lord.
And you know what Shaphan did?
 He read it.
 And after reading it, he reported it to the king.
 And Shaphan read it before the king.
And upon hearing the words of the Book of the Law,
 Shaphan witnessed a king who tore his clothes.

Shaphan’s legacy goes beyond
 his son and grandson mentioned here.
A few years earlier
 (you can read about it in chapter 26)
It was Shaphan’s son, Ahikam,
 who saved Jeremiah from being put to death
 when he gave his famous temple sermon.
A few years later, Shaphan’s son, Elasah,
 would carry Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles in Babylon.
And after Jerusalem falls to Babylon,
 another one of Shaphan’s grandsons, Gedaliah,
 would rescue Jeremiah, take him into his house,
 and eventually become governor
 over the Jewish remnant.

YOUR LEGACY

What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
You know what led to Shaphan’s legacy?
 It was his response to God’s Word.

O the world has its own idea
 of what makes for a legacy.
 But all of those legacies will one day be forgotten.
But a legacy like Shaphan’s
 will be remembered for eternity.

Unlike Jehoiakim, Shaphan’s legacy continues.
O his name isn’t found in Jesus’ genealogical record,
 at least not his physical or biological record.
It’s found in a far more important document:
 The Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain.

That legacy can be yours.
 If you respond to this Word like Shaphan did,
 If you instill this Word in your kids and grandkids
 like Shaphan did.

JESUS DIDN’T TEAR HIS CLOTHES

Unlike King Josiah, Jesus didn’t tear his clothes.
 But it wasn’t because he wasn’t grieved
 over the judgment His people faced.
Rather, as our Great High Priest,
 He was forbidden to tear his clothes.
 So, he allowed his flesh to be torn open instead.

For so long, we had failed to heed
 the Bridge Out! sign.
 And get this.
The bridge was out
 because we had burned the bridge.
 We had burned our relationship with our Maker.
Rather than heed the sign, mankind has treated God’s warnings the same way Jehoiakim treated the scroll.
The flood of God’s judgment was all but certain.
 
Out of sheer mercy,
 God laid down a New Bridge,
 a wooden cross that spanned across the entire flood of God’s judgment.
0 to cross this bridge still requires no less repentance.
 You see, the flood of God’s wrath had surrounded us.
But Jesus laid down His life as a bridge
 that not only provides a way home,
 but as a bridge laid down at such a cost
 so as to display the immense love of God
 and His desire for reconciliation.

Jesus came as the Word made flesh.
The Word that kings and priests, governors and the people sought to silence by destroying Him,
 cutting Him off from the land of the living.
But just as God’s Word isn’t bound,
 Neither was this Word bound to mere flesh and bone.
For He is the eternal Word.
Death could never hold Him.

This Word, whose eyes are like flames of fire,
 seeing into the deepest recesses of every soul,
 This Word is fire, and it cannot be quenched!

This Word that the Lord so faithfully preserves
 it will preserve you…
 … but only if you respond to it faithfully,
 like the faithful men we read about today.

Will you be like Micaiah and Gemariah
 who intently listened to all the words,
 who responded with reverence to all the words,
 who were moved to share all the words,
 who pleaded with others concerning all the words?

Because ALL THESE WORDS are the Word of God.
 

https://youtu.be/h9G1wtPh2AU

  Jeremiah 34:1-22 Covenant Breakers, Covenant Keepers, part 1

INTRODUCTION:

As we move back into Jeremiah, it’s important to note that we aren’t moving away from our January theme on the Word of God. If nothing else, we’re moving deeper into specific facets of this Word. 

A friend expressed to me recently how they really enjoy our conversations over the Word of God, but that when I start talking about certain books such as Jeremiah and Leviticus they tend to lose interest. I’m not sure this individual noticed the disconnect, but I hope you as a congregation does, because the Book of Jeremiah is the Word of God.

It’s one thing as a church for us to talk about the Bible and how we love the Bible, believe the Bible, heed the Bible. But if you recall from 2 Timothy 4, the Scriptures that Timothy was exhorted to preach were the Old Testament Scriptures. Because that’s what Timothy had!

Loved ones, I hope you understand. We need the whole of God’s Word to come to bear on our lives for us to mature in Christ. We need the razor-sharp edge of the Word of the Lord to prune us—to prune that which is diseased so that we might bear fruit in Christ.

Today, we begin looking at Covenant Breakers and Covenant Keepers. As for Covenant Breakers, we have the example of Zedekiah and the people of Judah. Next week, we’ll look at Covenant Keepers and the example of the Rechabites. 

To give a brief overview of our passage, King Zedekiah has made a covenant, along with the people of Jerusalem, to set their fellow Hebrew slaves free. But after setting them free, the people turned around and took back their slaves. No surprise, the Lord has a word concerning those who are Covenant Breakers.

We’ll be looking at 3 main themes this morning:
I. The Issue of Slavery
II. True and False Repentance
III. Covenant Faithfulness

READ (Jeremiah 34)

EMANCIPATION:

In 1619, a group of about 350 kidnapped Africans from Angola, were marched to the West-African slave-trading port of Luanda and forced aboard the Portuguese ship, the San Juan Bautista. 

20 or so of these kidnapped Africans eventually landed on the shores of colonial Virginia, where they were sold by privateers in exchange for provisions. While not the first people to be sold into slavery in the New World, this date marks the first known sale of kidnapped human beings in what would become the United States mainland.

244 years later, on January 1, 1863, the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all persons held as slaves shall now and henceforward be free… and commended to faithfully labor for reasonable wages.

In our passage, King Zedekiah declares his own Emancipation Proclamation. In verses 8-10, we read that Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, to make a proclamation of liberty, that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave his fellow Jew. And the people obeyed and entered into this covenant to no longer enslave their fellow Hebrew.

SLAVERY LAWS:

Now, it’s important to note that the type of slavery that existed here in the States was expressly forbidden in Scripture. You can read about the slavery laws in books like Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. 

In Exodus 21, immediately following the Ten Commandments, God lays out His laws concerning slavery. This shows the extremely high priority this issue is to God. I mean, it’s at the very front end of the giving of the Law! Verse 16 of Exodus 21 expressly states that whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death. Forced subjugation of innocent civilians is strictly prohibited!

With that said, the law made allowances for slavery. Criminals and prisoners of war could be subjected to servitude, but we can discuss that another time. What concerns us for our passage today: if someone owed a debt he couldn’t pay, or if he simply fell on hard times, he could sell himself to work off that debt and receive basic provisions. 

But there was a limit to their servitude. After 6 years, the slave must be set free. In the 7th year, he was to go free for nothing. That’s it! Debt paid! 

We see that in verse 14 of our text. At the end of seven years each of you must set free your fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years.

In Leviticus 25 we read that slaves were to be treated as hired workers. They are not to be ruled over ruthlessly. 

Deuteronomy 15 further states that when you set your Hebrew slave free—whether man or woman—they shall not be sent away empty handed but be generously provided for.

In fact, let me read this to you from Deuteronomy 15, beginning at verse 13. When you let him go—that is your Hebrew slave—you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you.

What’s the basis for these slavery laws? Verse 13. I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 

The basis for freeing others is because God Himself freed you! 

APPLICATION:

And the same is true for us. Jesus has released us from our slavery to sin by paying off the full penalty of our debt. We have not only been set free but liberally provided for. As such, we release others from their debts to us because our Lord has released us from ours. That’s part of what it means for us to be conformed to Christ’s likeness.

But rather than reflecting the grace and kindness God showed them, obeying God by releasing their fellow brothers from both bondage and debt… end of verse 14—your fathers did not listen.

REPENTANCE:

Along with the issue of slavery, we also have the issue of true versus false repentance.

FORD ESCORT:

As a teen, I was known for what we might call “heavy-foot-syndrome.” I’m not sure if it was due to calcium deposits or too much protein in my diet. What I do know, is that it seemed only to affect my right foot, and that, only when driving. So, after countless warnings and more than a few speeding tickets, I managed to lose my license, not once, but twice before I turned 18, after receiving my second reckless driving ticket, this time for doing 86 in a 55.

So, my dad kindly traded me my 5-speed Volkswagen Jetta—which I had paid $3800 for back in the 90s—and in exchange, he gave me his $500 4-speed, Ford Escort. Let me just say that the Escort may have been a small step up from those cars the Flintstones drove.

In addition to the fine, the judge required me to pay for and complete a driver’s improvement class in order to have my license reinstated. So, 3 months later, I was back on the road; this time in my clunker, and my foot was still every bit as heavy, even if the Escort couldn’t quite do 86… downhill… even if I pushed it.

Now listen. I went through the motions of repentance. I paid the fine. I paid for the class. I completed the class. I acknowledged what was expected of me. I promised to change. But I did so, only so I could have my license restored. And Once the consequence was behind me, I immediately return to my old habits.
Can any of you relate?

JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED

That’s similar to what Zedekiah and the people of Judah did. The Lord has warned His people again and again concerning their oppression and injustice—both of which were an outflow of their idolatry. Oppression and injustice are always the result of idolatry. When we fail to worship anything other than the God whose image we are fashioned after, we will naturally be inclined to mistreat God’s image-bearers in order to serve our idols. 

After countless warnings, the Judge has not only handed down His verdict, the judgment is knocking on the gates. Verses 1-2. The Lord is giving Zedekiah and the entire city into the hand of the king of Babylon. And the Lord follows that up in verse 3 with the certainty of this judgment. You shall not escape! You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall be taken to Babylon.

But… even in light of this judgment, the Lord offers a message of hope—a word of consolation—that even this judgment doesn’t have to be the end. 

Yes, Zedekiah, your license to reign over Judah has been revoked. But even though the Volkswagen Jetta has been taken away, you can at least finish out your days in a Ford Escort. 

Verse 4 and 5. Yet hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah… You shall not die by the sword, but you shall die in peace and with honor, just as the former kings who were before you. And what’s more Zedekiah, you have my word on this matter. For I the Lord have spoken.

In other words, Zedekiah, you have my word on this.

But Zedekiah is aware, and I hope your are too, that both God’s judgments and His promises—His words of assurance and His words of warning—hinge on repentance. 

CONTINGENCY:

I know it’s been a while, but back in Jeremiah 18, we were reminded that there’s an understood contingency tied to God’s declarations. Listen to this from Jeremiah 18:7. 

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended for it.
 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, if that nation does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good I had intended for it.
 Now, therefore, … men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, … Behold, I am shaping disaster against you, and devising a plan against you. Return, every one form his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.

That’s what repentance is; it’s turning around. Zedekiah, I’ve given you my word on this, that you will die in peace and with honor. But understand, you can forfeit with good I intend for you.

PARK EXAMPLE:

Think of it like this. I can tell my girls I’m taking them to the park later today. They get excited and ask, “Really!?” And I reply absolutely. You have my word. But as we’re getting ready to go to the park, they start fighting and misbehaving. Guess what. We’re not going to the park. Now let me ask. Did I lie when I said I would take them, and even more so confirmed that they had my word on the matter? No! They forfeited the promise.

Now of course, I’m not omniscient like God is. God knows those who will forfeit His promises and those who will not. That doesn’t make God unfaithful. It makes those who forfeit the promises unfaithful. Just as the warnings are meant to lead us to reform our lives to God’s ways, so also, the promises are to encourage us to reform our lives and continue to order our lives likewise.

God has no problem relenting from this good He has declared to Zedekiah,
if Zedekiah forfeits God’s good plans for him by continuing in his wickedness. And spoiler alert. Far from peace and honor, Scripture records that when Zedekiah was carted off to Babylon, he indeed saw the king face to face, and he watched his sons slaughtered before his eyes. Then Nebuchadnezzar gouge out his eyes, and we’re told that he died in prison.

APPLICATION:

Loved ones, we have glorious promises given to us in the gospel. But those promise are conditioned to those who are in Christ, those who are genuinely in Christ, meaning that they have repented and have submitted their lives to the lordship of Christ. 

These promises will not come to pass for those who get their license reinstated and continue to speed off into their former ways and former worldviews.

IMMEDIATE SITUATION:

Verses 6 and 7 give the immediate situation. Jeremiah spoke all these words to Zedekiah when Jerusalem was but one of three fortified cities of Judah that remained. The rest had fallen. And now, Babylon is knocking on the door with God’s promised judgment.

It’s with this backdrop, when judgment seems certain, that Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem repent by releasing their fellow Hebrew slaves. And guess what? That was a good thing! And it was good in the sight of the Lord.

Verse 15. You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before ME in the house that is called by MY name.

But sadly, their repentance didn’t last long. Verse 16. But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them back into subjection to be your slaves.

APPLICATION:

Have you ever noticed that when one’s life is threatened, when death comes near, that people suddenly develop a deeper awareness of their sin—whether or not they’d actually call it that? It’s a reminder of the truth that we all inwardly know—the fact that we will all give an account to our Creator. 

As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes. In life and death circumstances, even the ungodly often seek to earn some sort of favor before God, sometimes in doing what they believe to be a good deed, at other times pledging undying devotion to God if He will just deliver them from this situation. But sadly, as soon as the threat is removed—at the first sign of relief—they turn back. They repent of their repentance. 

THREAT REMOVED

In verse 21 we learn that the king of Babylon had withdrawn. Later, in chapter 37, we find out that it was due to an opposing threat from Egypt. 

Zedekiah and company repented while death was knocking on their door, but as soon as the king of Babylon withdraws his army, the people went back on their word, showing that their repentance wasn’t grounded in the fear of the Lord but in the circumstances that threatened them.

Their repentance is what we might call a false repentance versus a genuine repentance, a worldly repentance versus a godly repentance. Or to put it in biblical terms (borrowing from 2 Corinthians 7), their repentance was not a repentance that leads to life and salvation, but to death. They went through the motions of repentance, but there was no change of heart. 

TRUE VERSUS FALSE REPENTANCE:

What are some of the differences between true and false repentance? 

1) False repentance is mostly concerned with consequences, and specifically adverse consequences to oneself. So, when the threat of judgment looms, we’ll reform our ways in order to avoid any adverse consequences for ourselves. That’s what Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem did. They went through the motions of repentance hoping to avert God’s justice. 

2) False repentance excuses oneself for his or her actions. Love ones, this is why we’re so quick to return to our former ways once the threat that led to our repentance is removed. We’ll justify our views and our actions. And when we do, we show that the only thing we’re sorry for is the fact that we got caught and it may cost us. 

Do you know why false repentance doesn’t last long? Because there’s no change of heart. If you find yourself returning to the same sins again and again, that’s because inside, you continue to justify your actions. You haven’t repented in here—in your heart and in your mind. You aren’t fully convinced that your actions were wrong, or at least not as not bad enough to land you in hell for an eternity, and certainly not bad enough for Jesus to have to pay for them on a gruesome bloody cross. 

The issue is that you haven’t found yourself in agreement with God. Rather, you’re still seeking to play God. You’re still seeking to determining what’s good and evil rather than submitting to God’s declaration as to what’s pleasing in His sight and what’s abhorrent. 

And because you have failed to see God’s Law, His commands, His ways as beautiful and glorious, you quickly return to old habits and patterns. 

But listen loved ones—in Christ—you don’t live there anymore! Quit speeding off down that same old dead-end street thinking you’ll find joy there, fulfillment there, satisfying your fleshly desires there. God alone can satisfy. Why? Because that’s how He has designed you. 

When we continue running back to the same sin, we show that there is little to no heart repentance—no true change of mind. 

The people took back their slaves because in their heart, they didn’t truly believe slavery was necessarily all that bad, so long as they weren’t the ones enslaved, and they were the ones who benefitted from the labor.
Ultimately, they refused to recognize their sin for what it was: sin.

3) False repentance calculates the situation. The same heart that excuses itself for its actions, calculates the situation, asking how little must I do to avert or lessen the judgment, and how might I repent in such a way that it actually benefits my unchanged desires. 

Do you not think that Zedekiah calculated the possible benefits of freeing the slaves? You know, freeing these slave just might encourage them to join the war effort. And hey, guess what! With the siege going on, we can’t exactly access our crops. By setting them free, we’ll have less mouths we’re responsible to feed. They can figure out how to feed themselves. 

But that same calculating heart that set the slaves free, is the same calculating heart that subjects them to slavery once again. It’s one thing to proclaim liberty, to announce emancipation, but if the slaves go from freedom right back into forced servitude, what kind of emancipation is that! 

Zedekiah might have proclaimed freedom. But now the threat from Babylon has been dismissed. And guess what? The dishes are piling up. Clothes need washed. Wood needs chopped. Who else is going to do all this work?

One of the reasons we return to our former sins, is because we calculate. We weigh the supposed benefit of temporary gains and worldly pleasures with the possibility or even likelihood that, you know, I can always repent later. And that my friends, if that’s you, it’s a very dangerous place to be. 

You know why I don’t do what many refer to as altar calls. First, I’m not convinced they’re biblical. Two, their focus, for the most part, tends to be on outward repentance, often leading to a false sense of security. 

I get nothing out of seeing people walk an aisle. You know why? Because God never calls anyone to walk an aisle, or raise a hand, or say a sinners prayer. Loved ones, those things don’t save you.

Rather, my desire is for your heart to be torn in two over your sin, and for it to bear the scars of love from where God Himself has sewn it back together making it altogether new. As Joel 2:13 says, rend your hearts and not your garments.If your heart is torn, the world will notice. You don’t have to do anything to parade it around; it will be obvious. But what’s far more important, is that the God who searches hearts, will see it.

If you think you’re safe living in sin, telling yourself you’ll have the opportunity to repent later, let me enlighten you with some hard facts. … You might… and you might not. It is possible, you may find yourself on your deathbed one day, and in that moment, if you haven’t already, genuinely repent. The thief on the cross did.

But realized, the thief on the cross didn’t go through some outward ritual. On the cross, he saw justice and mercy meet. 1) He recognized that he was getting the justice he very well deserved. He didn’t excuse his actions. 2) He looked at the sinless man on the middle cross, who, rather than being concern for his own fate, prayed, Father, forgive them! 3) He accepted the offer of forgiveness for which Jesus prayed and the promise that he would be with Jesus in paradise. 

O he didn’t have all his theology worked out just right. But what he did was repent… not with some outward show… but in here… from the heart.

But if you refuse to repent now, what makes you so confident your heart will be moved to repent later. Today is the day of salvation!

4) False repentance has no concern that their actions and attitudes dishonored the Lord. Going through the motions of repentance, whether that be raising a hand, saying a prayer, getting baptized, partaking of the Lord’s Supper… gain you no favor before God. Rather, if you’re heart isn’t transformed, and you continue living in rebellion to God and His Law, these outward displays only serve to further profane God’s name. 

How many churches, how many professing Christians bring dishonor on God’s name because they claim to be God’s people, but fail to reflect Him. They have no true desire to reflect Him.

The people made a covenant to set the slaves free, and they did so before the Lord in the house that is called by His name. Verse 16. But you turned around and took back your slaves, and in doing so, you profaned my name.

True repentance cares most about honoring the Lord who makes forgiveness even possible, and that at the highest possible price, not to the sinner, but to the Lord Himself, through his death on the cross.

COVENANT FAITHFULNESS

Along with the absence of genuine repentance, there’s the issue of covenant faithfulness, or lack thereof. God’s laws concerning slavery fell under the covenant stipulations given to Israel at Mt. Sinai. 

One thing that is absolutely clear concerning God’s covenant is that it’s conditioned by obedience. As Silas read for us from Exodus 19, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

You will be my people if you obey me… if you keep my covenant.

Now, don’t confuse the requirement for obedience as somehow making this a covenant of works. God freed the people from bondage first, before any covenant faithfulness on their part. But with freedom, comes the responsibility to live free. 

Here’s the thing with not keeping God’s covenant, not obeying His voice. It leaves one as a slave to something or someone else. They might as well still be in bondage in Egypt, because their physical location isn’t what makes one free.

The fact that they had failed to release their fellow Hebrews after 6 years was one of many ways they had been unfaithful to God’s covenant. And it was a sure sign that they themselves were still slaves to sin.

CUT OFF:

There’s also the issue of being cut off from the covenant. Through out the Law, we read numerous times that the person who breaks certain covenant stipulations shall be cut off from his people… which is another way of saying, cut off from the people of God… and more specifically, cut of from God’s covenant people, those who are to receive the covenant promises.
Many time the ultimate form of being cut off was death. 

CUT COVENANTS:

Now Covenants in the Bible—and we’ve covered this before—aren’t simply made; they’re cut. The literal phrase is the Lord cut a covenant, or as we read in verse 8 and verse 15, Zedekiah and the people cut a covenant. The Hebrew word is כָּרַת (karath), meaning to cut.

As such, there is often a sacrifice of sorts involved. We see this most explicitly in Genesis 15 with God’s covenant with Abraham to multiply his descendants and give them the land. Abraham asks, how shall I know. And the Lord has him bring a 3-year-old heifer, a goat, a ram, as well as a turtle dove and a pigeon. And Abraham cuts the innocent animals in half. 

To ratify the covenant, the covenant parties would walk between the divided carcasses as a way of expressing that if I fail to keep my end of the covenant, may I be like these slaughtered beasts.

Throughout the Old Testament you’ve probably run across the phrase, May the Lord do so to me and more also if (dot dot dot). That’s covenant language. Sometimes that phrase is spoken by covenant breakers like King Saul. Sometimes that phrase is spoken by covenant keepers like Ruth. 

Not only was Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem in danger of being cut off from the Lord’s covenant; they have also proven they aren’t even faithful to their own covenants that they initiate, such as the covenant they made to free their fellow Hebrews.

LIBERTY TO THE SWORD:

What’s God’s word to such covenant breakers? He will return to them the same liberty they gave to their fellow Hebrews.

Verse 17. Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty to your brothers… behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine…
 I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men who transgressed my covenant, and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they cut before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts…
 How? Verse 20. By giving them into the hand of their enemies and those who seek their lives. Nebuchadnezzar may have withdrawn, but I will bring him back. 

Covenant breakers, those who are unfaithful to the Lord’s covenant will find themselves cut off from His covenant people, His covenant blessings, His covenant protections. Why? Not because the Lord is somehow unfaithful, but because He is faithful.

CONCLUSION:

So, how do we wrap this up?

Our God is an emancipating God. He liberates us from the harshest of all taskmasters, our sin. And He releases us from our debt of sin so as not to become slaves again. How? Because He Himself paid that debt in full on the cross.

Our God is a relenting God. (That’s simply another word for repent.) God doesn’t sin and He doesn’t err. But God repents in the sense that He relents from bringing disaster; He turns back His fierce wrath. And He does so ultimately because He poured it out in full upon His Son in our place.

And our God is a covenant keeping God. He satisfies every covenant stipulation including paying the penalty for our breaking the covenant. On the cross, Jesus became like the slaughtered calf that was cut in two. In fact, Jesus satisfied the terms of the Old Covenant with the very blood of the New.

You and I, we enter this New Covenant only through the curtain of Jesus’ severed flesh, but also only with genuine repentance, a repentance that turns from going our way and going His—a repentance that forgives others their debts as we have been forgiven ours—a repentance that keeps the New Covenant commands such as Jesus commanded us to … love one another as I have loved you.

Will you be a covenant breaker or a covenant keeper?

Our Lord kept the covenant by being broken. If you want to keep the covenant, you’ll be broken in here, in your heart, allowing Him to put you back together.

https://youtu.be/6cv2CIb2ZB4

  2 Timothy 4:1-5 Preach the Word

INTRODUCTION:

     Well, it’s orientation day. You’ve just been offered a new position, and, well, like any company, it’s important that you’re well briefed as to what’s involved. Eli, you’re likely the most recent to go through the orientation process for a new job. Now, I’m not sure what Chick-fil-a’s process is like. Nor do I know who much owner, Randy Atkins, is involved in the process. I’m guessing, like many companies today, you likely had to sit through a series of orientation videos, highlighting some of the perks you get for working at the company. They want you excited about your new position.

But they also, at least I hope so, lay out their expectations for you regarding your new position. They likely covered who you are to report to, who you’re accountable to. What you primary position is, the scope of that position. Of course, you’ll need to know your schedule, when you should be expected to be available. What your position consists of, and the way you are to carry it out. (With that customary Chick-fil-a smile, and the trademark phrase: “My pleasure.”) What about your work environment. What challenges are you likely to face. Are there any hazards to be aware of? What other responsibilities are involved?

TIMOTHY

     We’re in 2 Timothy. And for a bit of background, Timothy isn’t exactly what we’d call a new hire or a new recruit. He’s been mentored by Paul for some 20 years. Nevertheless, Timothy is indeed stepping into a new position, a position where he’s going to have to carry the torch now. Why? Because Paul’s at the end of his service. He’s finished the race. It’s time for Timothy and others to carry on the work.

Now, Paul didn’t have Timothy sit through a bunch of impersonal cookie-cutter videos. No. Paul sent him a letter, a couple letters actually. 

Like a position at Chick-fil-a, Timothy’s position would be one of service, one of providing food and nourishment, but a food and nourishment that far exceed any physical meal. Timothy, however, would not provide his services so much to those who are lining up at the drive-thru, those who by nature have a craving for the meal he’s called to serve. For many, this bread would be bitter and distasteful. 

      As far as Timothy’s ultimate supervisor, the One he will give account to isn’t one who could merely fire him, although fire isn’t altogether absent the consequences for failing to faithfully carry out his duties. Timothy would give account to none other than God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ who is to judge the living and the dead. 

    That’s somewhat an overview of what we’ll be looking at this morning. But before you check out, thinking, well, I’m certainly not Timothy, or called to Timothy’s position, so this obviously doesn’t apply to me, let me assure you, this matters greatly to all of us, regardless of your calling.

READ: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

ACCOUNTABILITY

     As already mentioned, the One to whom Timothy will ultimately answer is God. Look again at verse 1. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:

Before laying out the charge to Timothy to preach the Word, Paul reminds his young protégé that it’s not before Paul that Timothy will answer. Timothy, you will answer to God and Jesus Christ who took the nails of judgment in your place. Paul wants to make very clear the seriousness of this call by pointing Timothy to the authority that he will ultimately answer to. 

     Now, don’t think to yourself: well, I’m not Timothy. I’m not pastor Josh. I’m not even an adult male… so I’m somewhat exempt. Isn’t that what you complementarian reformed types teach. Well, there is certainly a high standard those who serve in the office of pastor and elder are expected to hold to. But if we were to walk through the qualifications, one thing you’d likely see is that most of the expectations, most of the standards are what every believer is called to. Let’s just take Paul’s first letter to Timothy as an example. An overseer is to be trustworthy, above reproach, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, not puffed up with conceit. Let me ask. Which of these expectations is the follower of Jesus exempt from?

     But what’s more, while most of you will not have to worry about giving an account for what you proclaim from up here, we all have a calling to be faithful in whatever our service in the Lord might be. We are to glorify God in all things, not simply church related functions. We are all called to be faithful stewards of the gifts God has given us. And just so we’re clear, neglect lets none of us off the hook.

     Beyond that, as followers of Christ, called to sit under the authority of God’s Word, you will give an account for how you respond to the faithful proclamation of this Word. You won’t give an account to me or Sherif. You will give account to Jesus himself… this Jesus who is to judge.

     We don’t tend to like the idea of Jesus judging. Or perhaps I should put it this way, those who aren’t truly in Christ don’t tend to like the idea of Jesus judging. You see, for those truly in Christ, we are looking forward to that day when Jesus judges the living and the dead. Why? Because it is the day of final vindication, where all of Jesus’ faithful are vindicated before all their enemies, as our King sets the faithful on His right and pronounces blessing over them, giving them the reward of their inheritance before the rest of the watching world. 

     I can’t stress to you enough how important it is that all stand before the great white throne of judgment. Because it is here that God is glorified in the vindication of His servants. All of our persecution, the slandering, the mocking, the disregarding our words of warning, our sufferings, our denying ourselves, while the world watched on thinking, o what fools. Why don’t they just eat, drink, and live it up. Sin all that you can now. All of it will be vindicated. While the unfaithful will be placed on the Lord’s left, will receive justice, the justice that seemed to have been set aside, will finally come upon them in full.

     Why does this matter for Timothy? Because Timothy is about to hear the impossible challenge he faces in carrying out his position. And you and I, in whatever capacity we serve, if we truly serve faithfully, we will face some of the same challenges. Not only will we give an account, but all will… that includes those who oppose our Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus, and His calling on our lives. And knowing that should encourage us to press on in our service faithfully, knowing that justice will prevail, when Jesus returns and brings the fullness of His kingdom.

PREACH THE WORD

     So, what is this call for Timothy? Beginning of verse 2. Preach the Word. The word preach, κηρύσσω, means to proclaim, to preach, to herald a message openly and publicly. So before moving on, let’s address what preaching is not. Preaching is not private counsel. Preaching is a private service hidden from view. Preaching is public proclamation, not just for the church but for all who will hear to hear. In that sense, our doors here are open. We do not hold a closed service for members or believers only. 

SCOPE:

     What’s the scope of what we are to preach? The Word. This Book, the Bible. Which parts? The New Testament? Well, the New Testament was still in the process of being written down and disseminated.  At the time of Paul writing to Timothy, it would have been well understood that Paul wasn’t so much focused on what was currently being penned as he was the sacred writings of what we call the Old Testament. So for those who stick to a primarily New Testament diet, you obviously don’t hold to the New Testament’s teaching, if you even know what it’s teaching. 

     Perhaps many of you have noticed 1) that the Old Testament is four times the size of the New Testament, and 2) that Sherif and I like to spend a lot of time in the Old Testament. Why? Well, three verses earlier Paul points out to Timothy that ALLScripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

     But if we back up one more verse, to 3:15, we see that it is this Word, again, Paul is referring primarily to the Old Testament Scriptures, which do what? They point to Jesus! That’s what Timothy grew up with. Those are the sacred writings that Timothy was acquainted with. And get this. Those are the Scriptures that are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

     Sorry, Josh. I want to understand. But I’m just not sure I get it. How is the Old Testament able to make one wise for salvation through faith in Jesus? Well, that’s a good question and honest question. And one that the church has sadly neglected answering, and worse, set an example that seems to suggest that the Old Testament has little to do with Jesus other than a few prophecies here or there. Shame on us. Jesus himself says the whole of Scripture is about Him. Not a few select prophecies throughout. Even if we’re talking 500 prophecies throughout the whole Old Testament, that’s a very small percentage of this huge codex.

     The Old Testament is not primarily a book of stories from which we are to glean some sort of life lesson. We sat through the half-time devotions for Upwards Basketball, and as is most often the case, the pastor, I believe he was the youth pastor, misused Scripture to teach what amounted to an Aesop’s Fable. When Jesus was twelve, the age of some of you guys in here (pointing to the ball players), he asked good questions. Make sure you go through life asking good questions. It will help you go far. 

     My point is not to single this pastor out. This is the extent in which most of the American church read their Bibles, and especially the Old Testament. But do you know what the apostles did with the Old Testament. They used it to prove that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. They used it to show that the God who doesn’t change, hadn’t forgotten His promises. They revealed that Jesus is Yahweh, the Lord of the Old Covenant now come in the flesh to satisfy the law, pay the penalty of sin through the sacrifice of Himself, and to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel, which includes every sheep who hear and listen to His voice.

     These are the Scriptures, Timothy, that you are to preach, because they are able to make people wise for salvation in Jesus Christ. And this is the preaching Jesus’ church is to sit under.

SCHEDULE:

     Okay. So I get it. Preach the whole Word, the whole counsel of God, as Paul says in Acts 20, which Josiah read for us. What are my hours? What’s this schedule look like? When do I get vacation time? Or, just tell me when I’m supposed to be available. Well, Timothy, stand ready in season and out of season… or more literally, in good times and bad times. Preach during those opportune moments, and during those inopportune moments. Don’t base when to preach on whether it’s the in thing or popular, or whether you’ll be commended or stoned, not just when you see fruit or flocks are showing up in mass. Not when it’s safe, not even when people are receptive to what you have to say. 

     The prophet Isaiah, He was called to preach and immediately told that God Himself was going to close the ears of his hearers. How long? Well, way passed Isaiah’s ministry and the Lord sent his people into exile and only a remnant remained. 

The point here Timothy is for you not to concern yourself with the results. God alone gives the growth. You are simply to faithfully proclaim His Word. 

Now, I get that Paul is exhorting Timothy here. But we can certainly apply this to ourselves. While we’re not all Watchmen, as we Sherif read for us in Ezekiel 3, at least not in the same way, don’t think you and I are welcome to keep silent while droves are marching straight to destruction. As a reminder of our Wednesday night class series, we are all to be ready to give a reason for our the hope that is in us, our hope in Jesus, our hope in His gospel. Well, when are we to be ready? ALWAYS!!! That’s another way of saying, in season and out of season. Not just when it’s politically or socially acceptable. 

     Society will tell you not to bring up politics or religion over Thanksgiving Dinner. Let me ask. Are you going to listen to society, or are you going to listen to God’s Word. If your faith isn’t demonstrated and expressed verbally regarding Thanksgiving, what kind of Thanksgiving are you celebrating? A worldly one with a generic thanks to no one? Thank the Lord of creation who makes all of these blessings possible, and even more so, give public thanks before the entire gathering for what Christ has accomplished. Because only in Jesus being the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world makes it possible for any of the world to enjoy a single Thanksgiving. Because after Adam and Eve ate, that would have been the end of it. Christ was crucified in God’s mind before the first sin, and that’s the only reason why Adam and Eve were able to even walk out of the Garden to breath another day.

     What’s the schedule of the Christian? Always be ready, regardless of the season. So long as people are showing up at Grace, we’ll proclaim the Word here. But if a day comes when no one’s here, I’ll proclaim the Word somewhere else. It might be another church or in my family room or on a street corner. And I pray, you are somewhere either proclaiming or sitting under the proclamation of this Word.

MODE:

So, what does preaching consist of? Still in verse 2. Paul gives Timothy 3 rapid-fire imperatives: reprove, rebuke, and exhort. 

Reprove/Expose:

     The first: reprove, has to do with convicting or exposing sin. The preacher of God’s Word is to proclaim God’s Word in such a way that it exposes our sin. Now let me just say, there is nothing pleasant about this. As the author of Hebrews writes, For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. 

Trina just had open heart surgery, and she’ll tell you, it was painful. She wasn’t looking forward to the pain. She didn’t delight in the pain after the fact. But I’ll tell you what she is looking forward to: the restoration of physical health that surgery is intended to bring about. She wants to be able to walk the farm without being winded. She wants to care for her chicks and goats. But she’s been physically limited. 

     We don’t delight in the painful scalpel of God’s Word. We delight in the restoration the surgery is meant to bring about. And just so we’re clear, I have to work through these messages in my own heart before I ever get up here… and it’s hard. A lot of times, it’s really hard.

    Our neighbors just got married. And as a wedding gift, and I have found it to be a great wedding gift, we gave them a little book titled When Sinners Say I Do. It is by far the best counseling book I’ve yet to come across. You might ask, why on earth would anyone title a book, When Sinners Say I Do. But one of the things the author recognizes and doesn’t hold back on is the fact that we are all sinners. Even more so, he recognizes that like Paul, he is the chief of all sinners. In fact, you know who Paul wrote those words to? Paul wrote them to Timothy. 

     Harvey, the author of this book, points out the great blessing it is to come to terms with this reality. You see. So long as we fail to see our sin for what it is, 1) we can’t truly know the love of Christ, 2) we will never be able to love others well. Preaching is intended to expose our sin so that we repent and turn to Christ and receive His mercy. There is no transformation apart from our sin being exposed. And the God who saves, loves His people to much to leave them untransformed.

Rebuke/Warn:

     The second thing preaching does is rebuke or warn. The next step in the preaching of God’s Word, after exposing our sin is to warn us of sin’s consequences. 

     Now I get it. There is absolutely nothing popular about this. But again, this is meant to be good medicine. It’s one thing to have the MRI done and the cancer exposed. But if the doctor simply tells you what you have, alright Joe, it looks like you have cancer of the heart. Have a good day. But fails to tell you what needs to happen next and the consequences if you neglect suggested treatment, what good does that do? 

     Loved ones, we have cancer of the heart. That’s what sin is. But there’s a treatment regimen far stronger than the best chemotherapies. It’s called the gospel. But get this, one dose of chemotherapy isn’t going to do it. This cancer runs deep. It will take the rest of your life to rid yourself entirely of this disease. But with a steady dose of this gospel treatment, you’ll notice the cancer of sin gradually go into remission, to where it no longer reigns in your members.

     But if we fail to sit under the preaching of God’s Word, how do you expect to fight off the cancer of sin? Do you really think yourself wiser than the great Physician who prescribed this regimen of preaching? Don’t fool yourself.

Exhort:

     The last thing preaching must necessarily do is exhort. Now the word here translated exhortcan mean encourage or comfort. And in many texts it is used in that sense. And it is possible Paul is telling Timothy, after you’ve exposed their sin through the proclamation of God’s Word, and warned them of sin’s consequences through the proclamation of God’s Word, finally, encourage them through the proclamation of God’s Word. 

     While it’s true, the proclamation of God’s word should bring hope and encouragement, that’s likely not the context in which Paul is using exhort here. Rather, exhort here, after exposing and warning, is to plead with one’s hearers to act… respond. Repent and believe the good news. Certainly, there are words of comfort. But only so far as there is a positive response to the message of the gospel. Timothy, urge your hearers strongly and urgently, “Flee from the wrath of God, and flee to the stretched out bloody nail-pierced hands of Jesus that are ready to receive you.

     It's not enough to disclose the MRI results, and warn the patient, it looks terminal, and then walk away. We plead with the sick, “You don’t have to let this thing take you out. You don’t have to allow that cancer, that sin, that addiction, lead you to hell. There’s help. There’s hope. Don’t fight this thing on your own. You aren’t strong enough. But Jesus is.”

     That’s what preaching does. It exposes sin. It warns regarding sin’s consequences. And it pleads for sinners to repent and trust Jesus to heal them.

MANNER:

     But there’s a manner in which this is preaching thing is to be carried out. End of verse 2. With complete, or better, all patience and teaching. These words qualify the three preceding imperatives, with the “all” here applying to both the patience and the teaching. 

All Patience:

     The hard job of ministering this Word is that the fruit isn’t immediate. It’s not like building a custom shed, Josiah, and then you can step back and admire the accomplishment. Nor is it like finally passing a test, Carmen and our students here. 

It’s more like studying and preparing for a test that’s decades off. Or like raising kids. God knows how they’ll turn out, not us. The minister is to do the work, but in the end, he’s got to entrust that work to the Lord.

     Progress and signs of progress come slow. And this doesn’t just apply to preachers, but to parents raising there kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It also applies to those we are called to disciple. And just a reminder, who’s called to make disciples? The church. Not the pastor. Not Sherif. Although we certainly have a role and responsibility in the matter. But making disciples falls to the church. The process is often slow going. 

     Part of the issue is that we all have to start from guess what? Where we are. Were all at different points along the way. Be patient. Remember, you once had to start somewhere. Like a newborn infant there was a time you required milk. But there’s also a time when the child grows up and should be digesting solid food. 

   Patience and Warning aren’t at adds. You warn your child. But you also need to discern where she is. The same is true of God’s flock.

All Teaching:

     Not only does preaching require all patience, it also requires all teaching. Your translation might have the word “complete” or “great” before “patience.” It’s simply the word, “all,” and it applies to both the patience and the teaching.  Just as the apostle Paul, in Acts 20, which Josiah read for us, reminded the Ephesian elders that he didn’t shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God, so too the church is called to preach the whole counsel of God. 

     Which in turn means we are to sit under and receive the whole counsel of God, not just the pastor’s favorite themes or pet peeves, not just what’s in line with the times. Not even simply addresses the most prominent issues the church faces. Why does this matter? Because if we only focus on the current issues and avoid addressing those things that aren’t currently an issue, guess what? Soon enough they will be! 

     The whole counsel of God is required to make the man of God complete. The whole counsel of God is required to make one wise for salvation. That’s why, although we’ll do short series on this or that theme, such as our Word of God series we’re currently in, for the most part we teach and preach through books of the Bible and large sections of Scripture. 

     This is also why, Sherif and I try to make sure your diet at Grace doesn’t consist solely of the most familiar passages, but instead we include books and passages you may not be familiar with, such as Haggai and Leviticus, and yes, we’ll be returning to Jeremiah to finish that up this year. 

     So, while preaching is more than teaching, it’s not less. The Word must be taught and explained in order to truly proclaim its implications and exhort people to respond.

ENVIRONMENT:

     Okay, Timothy, you now know who you are accountable to, what you’re called to do, how you are to do it. Now, I think it’s important you understand the environment, the working conditions, you’re called to minister in. Verse 3.

     For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

   Paul’s words in verse 2, be ready in season and out of season, presupposes that Timothy is going to be facing a time not only where false teaching runs rampant, which Paul addresses multiple times throughout his letters, but where people are actually seeking out these false teachers. And I don’t have to tell you that what was true in Timothy’s day, is every bit as true in ours. 

     There are entire denominations that profess to be the church that have completely rejected the sound doctrine. They have rejected to the point where they can’t stand to listen to God’s authoritative Word. They speak out against what God’s Word clearly commands. And instead they promote worldviews and ideologies that are completely opposed to God’s Word.

     The Episcopal church on Tuesday served as a modern-day example of this turning away from truth and wandering off into myths. Not to mention the supposed bishop who was herself in direct contradiction with the clear teaching of Scripture. Here we have a denomination professing to be the church, professing to proclaim the teachings of Jesus, and yet completely disregarding the teachings of Jesus. What’s more, this false teacher perpetuated the myth of the transgender child. 

     Now, for anyone who listened to her message, she began with Psalm 19, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer. 

     But I assure you that here words were anything but acceptable in God’s sight, for she completely distorted the truth of God’s Word, in order to promote her own agenda and tickling the ears of her flock who sought out such a false teacher to proclaim, not God’s Word, but their own fanciful desires. 

     Bishop  Mariann Budde, rather than exposing sin, warning of sin’s consequence, and exhorting people to flee from God’s just wrath against sin into the merciful arms of Jesus, instead, she affirmed people in their sin and called others to do the same. Rather than pointing people to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, she is leading countless thousands to hell. And she will be called to account by the Lord Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead.

     Here's the thing. And I know there are many who would likely hear her message, and think, I don’t see the problem. I mean, she called for unity and asked everyone to be nice to each other. And this is exactly why we need to sit under the preaching of the whole counsel of God’s Word, so that we can be better discerning when false teachers arise using biblical words, while promoting something altogether contrary to the Bible. As J Gresham Machen, founder of Westminster Theological Seminary, argued, liberalism is not simply a different denomination of Christianity, it’s a different religion. 

     Budde stated in her message that “Jesus said unity is the solid rock upon which to build a nation” and that “unity teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect.” But get this. Unity isn’t the solid rock. Jesus is. And apart from following Jesus and submitting to Jesus as Lord, meaning submitting to His whole counsel, there is not unity, nor can there be unity. To suggest unity teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect, is to try to build unity on disunity. 

     Why do I bring this up and make such a big deal out of it? Because the text demands it. Scripture demands it. God demands it. People are heading for hell. And they are being led astray by false teachers who have blood on their hands. 

     Let me be clear. You can’t willfully disagree with Jesus, with His clear teaching, with His apostles’ clear teaching, and call Him Lord. Because He doesn’t simply demand outward obedience. He demands heart obedience, taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. Don’t fool yourself, thinking it’s safe to hold an opinion different than Jesus. And just to be clear, Jesus affirmed the entirety of Scriptures’ teaching. So don’t think you are somehow safe holding an opinion on any issue that is contrary to Scripture. That is to reject Jesus as Lord. And to reject Jesus as Lord is to reject Him as Savior. If that’s you, the exhortation for you is to repent and receive mercy. 

     One more thing. And I’m pleading with some here. Don’t allow your bitterness towards an individual or a group keep you from submitting to Christ. Bitterness paves the road to hell. 

     A distorted gospel, where we’re all God’s children and He loves you just the way you are, saves no one! The pure unadulterated Word of God alone makes one wise for salvation because is exposes sin, it warns of sin’s consequence, and it pleads for sinners to repent and flee to Christ for refuge.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

     Timothy, rather than being like this false teacher, Verse 5. Always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Let’s look at these four last imperatives briefly. 

Sober minded:

     Being sober minded has to do with being free from influences and intoxicants, and it suggests being alert and watchful so as not to fall under such influences. Timothy, you must be alert so as not to fall into these same deceptive traps. You have one standard, one final source of authority: the Word. The same Word you are called to preach, make sure you are preaching it to yourself. 

Endure suffering:

     Furthermore, you are to endure all suffering. To stand here and proclaim this Word faithfully is to invite suffering, pain, hardship. The easy lifestyle preacher is foreign to biblical Christianity. When the truth of God’s Word is proclaimed, some people are going to be offended, some angry, some indifferent. Doing this Timothy, you’ll watch people wander from the truth. And it will be hard… painful. As much as you long for them to know life, they will choose the deadness of their sin. But your identity isn’t in your hearers. It’s in Jesus. 

Do the Work of an Evangelist:

     Timothy, you aren’t preaching this Word to no ends. You’re calling people to salvation. Remember, preaching isn’t about giving people life lessons on practical living. Preaching is to be gospel-centered with a focus on Jesus’ death for sins, his burial, and resurrection—our hope as believers. 

Fulfill Your Ministry:

     Finally, Timothy. Fulfill your ministry. Preaching is not the only thing Timothy was called to do. There are no doubt many other duties involved. Make preaching the priority, but do not neglect other responsibilities.

CONCLUSION:

     Church, I hope you understand, I can’t stand up here a proclaim to you fluffy messages. Pull up your pillows and relax. I wouldn’t be loving you if I did. I understand the average church wants everyone to feel comfortable, have a lot of laughs. But there’s an edge to God’s Word that’s there for a reason. That’s meant to prune us, removing those areas in our life that aren’t yet conformed to Christ. And there’s only one way you and I will be conformed to Christ, God’s prescribed means, through the faithful preaching of this Word and the Spirit opening our hearts to receive it.

     You see, this sharp double edge sword of God’s Word is what pruned Jesus. Jesus was the tender shoot from the stump of Jesse who came and bore the full penalty of God’s Law in order to fulfill all that was written, including being cut off from the land of the living, not for his transgressions but ours. And Jesus Himself is the Word, who not only prunes you, but prunes that which is dead in you, that you might have life in Him.

https://youtu.be/AFYaLbjA7EY