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[Matt's Messages] "The Wisdom of the King"

“The Wisdom of the King”
The King of Kings in the Books of Kings
April 10, 2016 :: 1 Kings 3:1-4:34  

Last week, we started our new sermon series called, “The King of Kings in the Books of Kings” and we looked the rise of King Solomon in chapters 1 and 2.

Solomon became king of Israel after David. There was a bit of a political intrigue and potential coup, but Solomon rose above it and was crowned king, sat on the throne, received David’s instructions on what a good king would do and then shrewdly secured his throne after David died.

And the question we ended with last week was:

“What kind of a king will Solomon be?”

According to David, a king of Israel has just one job: walk with the one true God leading others to do so too.

There are other duties, of course, but whether or not you are a thumbs-up king or a thumbs-down king boil down to that one central job. Keep the covenant and lead Israel to do it, as well.

So what kind of a king will Solomon be?

It’s complicated.

In many ways, Solomon is a two-thumbs-up king. We’re going to see that this morning. He had an amazing rule and reign!

But at the risk of spoiling the story to come, Solomon also turned out to be a huge disappointment.

And I think we can a learn a lot by looking closely at his life.

The title for today’s message is on the back of your bulletin, and it’s probably no surprise if you’ve ever read this chapter before:

“The Wisdom of the King”

Because, as we’ll see, Solomon is absolutely famous for his wisdom. We’re going to see how he got, how he used it, and what difference it made for his kingdom.

But chapter 3 begins with Solomon doing something that I think is decidedly un-wise. Chapter 3, verse 1.

“Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.”

Now, that verse tells you a lot, but it’s pretty surprising, isn’t it?

Solomon is going to build an amazing palace and an amazing temple. We’re going to learn about those amazing building projects the next time I get to preach here.

And he’s going to bring his new bride to live in the City of David until those building projects are done. And his new bride reflects how important a figure he has become as the king of Israel in the middle East.

He marries Pharaoh’s daughter. Yes, that Pharaoh. As in, the king of Egypt.

Now, I don’t think he was supposed to do that. I seriously doubt that “Pharaohina” had converted to worshiping the LORD. It seems to be a mostly political marriage. An alliance with Pharaoh which would bring Solomon prestige and power on the world stage.

But I don’t think it was probably a wise move. And we’ll see how that plays out in Solomon’s life by the time we get to chapter 11.

It doesn’t appear to be a problem yet, however. Because we’re going to find out that Solomon loves the LORD. V.2

Solomon’s temple has not yet been built, so worship is still scattered around the country. V.2

“The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the statutes of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.”

Do you see what I mean by “complicated?”

Listen to this. Solomon is the only person that the Old Testament uses this language for as in: “Solomon loved the Lord.”

I’m sure that other people in the Old Testament loved the Lord. One of the psalmists says it of himself.

But Solomon is the only person that the Old Testament says, “‘So and so’ loved the LORD.”

That’s a thumbs-up!

He walked “according to the statutes of his father David.” He did what David said in chapter 2!

Thumbs-up!

Except! “He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.”

Now, at this point in his life, he’s doing that worship to the LORD, to the one true God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To the Great I Am. Yahweh.

And it’s kind of excusable that he did it at the high places because verse 2 says there wasn’t a temple yet.

But still...!

“Complicated.” Aren’t we all?

And it’s actually at one of those high places, that Solomon asks for the wisdom that he needs. V.4

“The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. [And the LORD overlooked the place and looked at his heart. V.5] At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’”

Okay. Just stop there for a second and truthfully answer that question for yourself.

What would you have said?

“...and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’”

Blank check from God. What do you put in there?

What you ask for at that moment says a lot about who you really are.

Of course, this is also says even more about who God is. Doesn’t it?

The LORD is a generous God. He loves to give good gifts to His children.

Who took the initiative here? Did you notice that?

God comes to Solomon and not the other way around.

And Solomon answers well. He asks for wisdom. He starts by thanking God for what He’s already given him. V.6 “What do I want?”

“Solomon answered, ‘You have shown great kindness [hesed] to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness [hesed, covenant loyalty] to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

‘Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?’”

That’s one good prayer!

Do you see how humble Solomon is?

He calls himself a “little child” though he’s already a man married to Pharaoh’s daughter.

He says he doesn’t know how to carry out his duties. Literally, he doesn’t know “how to go out or how to come in.”

And the work of being the king, in charge of all Israel, caring for and shepherding Israel is too big a job for him. He needs help. He needs...wisdom.

V.9 again. “So give your servant a discerning (literally, “a listening” “attentive” “obedient” “hearing”) heart to govern your people and to “do justly and to love mercy, and walk humbly with my God.”

And verse 10 is the most amazing verse.

“The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.”

Good job, Solomon! That’s the right heart. That’s the right thing to ask for.

The wisdom of the king.

Wouldn’t just love to hear that about your prayers?  “The Lord was pleased that you prayed for that.” “The Lord was pleased that you asked for that wisdom.” v.11

“So God said to him, ‘Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for [bonus!]–both riches and honor–so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.’ Then Solomon awoke–and he realized it had been a dream [a revelatory dream]. He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his court.”

Here’s point number one of three.

It’s so obvious, but we can so often miss it.

#1. WISDOM IS A GIFT FROM GOD.

Sometimes, we talk about the “wisdom of Solomon” as if it was something he came up with on his own.

He did good to ask for it, but Kings stresses that his wisdom was a gracious gift from a generous God.

If God didn’t give it, he wouldn’t have it.

On his own, Solomon was needy. He was in over his head. He was going to get buried by this task of ruling Israel.

And he knew it. So he asked!

“I need wisdom.”

Do you ask for wisdom from God?

The key New Testament verse that correlates with 1 Kings 3 is James chapter 1, verse 5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

You and I may not be the Kings of Israel, but we have the same God that Solomon did.

A generous God who loves to hand out wisdom. Liberally. Bounteously. Freely.

But do we ask?

I think that I am asking for wisdom in prayer more now that I ever have been in my life.

I, so often, just don’t know what to do.

As a husband, a father, a leader in the church.

I say to my wife, “I think I have more wisdom now than I ever have and yet I feel so  inadequate. I feel like the demands of today are so far beyond what I know what to do. I need wisdom so much more than I ever have.”

I feel like I should know a lot more, that I should know a lot more of what I should I do.

You know that’s what wisdom is, right?

Wisdom is skill in living rightly.

I tell the youth boys just about every Wednesday during Family Bible Nights that “Wisdom is the ability to know the right thing to do in a given situation.”

Not just a good thing but a right thing, a righteous thing.

Do you need that?

Moms?
Dads?
Grandparents?
Kids?
Singles?
Workers?

One of the reasons why I love that song we sing, W-I-S-D-O-M is not just that we get to yell in church. It’s that we sing a declaration of our neediness.

“I need it! I need it!”

I think that so often we act like we’ve got it all together. “I’m good, thanks!”

Have you ever been asked if you have any prayer requests and you’ve answered, “I think I’m good!” I sure have.

What a joke!

I’m planning from this day onward so say, if nothing else comes to mind, “Pray for wisdom for me. I need it!”

Solomon humbled himself. Called himself a child. The king of all Israel admitted that he was simple and foolish on his own.

And it became his number one prayer request.

“Give [me] a discerning heart!”

Pray it.

Learn to pray that.

Because wisdom is a gift from God.

And God gave it to Solomon. In spades. Verses 16 through 28 tell one story of how he used it. V.16

“Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, ‘My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us. [No witnesses.]

‘During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son–and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne.’

The other woman said, ‘No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.’ But the first one insisted, ‘No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.’ And so they argued before the king.”

Have you heard this story before?

When I was a child, our family Bible had a colorful picture of this tragic story in it.

It always stood out to me.

Solomon has a hard choice to make. Which one of these ladies of the night is the true mother of this child?

Solomon has an idea to cut right through the lies to the truth. V.23

“The king said, ‘This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.'’ Then the king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’

So they brought a sword for the king.

He then gave an order: ‘Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.’ [Just a threat? Nobody knows because it works.] The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, ‘Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!’

But the other said, ‘Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!’

Then the king gave his ruling: ‘Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.’ When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.”

Wisdom is a gift from God.

If you have it, then thank God for it.

I you don’t, then ask God for it.

Because, number two:

#2. WISDOM BRINGS BLESSING.

Here wisdom restore a child to its rightful mother.

It also brings awe among the nation.

And it brings justice.

In chapter 4, Solomon’s wisdom (which is a gift) brings blessing on his entire kingdom. Verse 1.

“So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. [Not just north, not just south. King Solomon ruled over all Israel. And he did it wisely.] And these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok–the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha–secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud–recorder; Benaiah son of Jehoiada–commander in chief; Zadok and Abiathar–  priests; Azariah son of Nathan–in charge of the district officers; Zabud son of Nathan–a priest and personal adviser to the king; Ahishar–in charge of the palace; Adoniram son of Abda–in charge of forced labor.”

Here’s his royal cabinet. And the point of the names is that Solomon knew whom to put where. Surprisingly verse 4 says that Abiathar still was a priest, on the same level again as Zadok. Perhaps that’s grace and mercy or maybe it’s just his official position on the list. Either way, it’s wisdom.

The point here is that Solomon knows what he’s doing. V.7

“Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel [twelve tribes, twelve governors], who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. These are their names: Ben-Hur [not the guy in the movie]–in the hill country of Ephraim; Ben-Deker– in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan; Ben-Hesed–in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher were his);  Ben-Abinadab–in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon); Baana son of Ahilud–in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across to Jokmeam; Ben-Geber–in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the district of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with bronze gate bars); Ahinadab son of Iddo–in Mahanaim; Ahimaaz–in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon); Baana son of Hushai–in Asher and in Aloth; Jehoshaphat son of Paruah–in Issachar; Shimei son of Ela–Benjamin; Geber son of Uri–in Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.”

Here’s the point. V.20

“The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.”

Solomon knows what he’s doing. He’s ruling in the wisdom.

These were the right guys in the right places to govern wisely.

These guys were collecting the taxes and everybody was happy.

Can you imagine?  Verses 7-19 tell us who was collecting the taxes, and verse 20 says that everybody was happy!

There was prosperity everywhere, everybody had enough, and people were genuinely happy. “The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.”

What is that?

It’s a fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, isn’t it?

Whenever you hear those words “as the sand on the seashore” in your Bible, your mind should go directly back to Genesis.

God always keeps His promises, right?

But it’s also an answer to Solomon’s prayer for wisdom.

Wisdom brings blessing.

If you know the right things to do and do it, then you will experience a measure of blessing.

Even in our broken world where things don’t always work the way they should (read the book of Job, read Psalm 73, read Ecclesiastes, even in our broken world) when you live out God’s wisdom, you and the people connected to you experience God’s blessing.

Or another way of saying it is that wisdom works.

The next paragraph tell us that Solomon ruled wisely, not just over Israel, but also over their neighbors. V.21

“And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life.”

The kingdom of Israel had never been and has never been since as big as it was under Solomon. V.22

“Solomon's daily provisions were thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River [that’s the Euphrates!], from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides.

During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree.”

That’s blessing!

That’s the land promise of the Abrahamic Covenant fulfilled like never before! And really, never yet since!

Think about what we learned in Genesis about the promise of Land to Abraham.

How long has it taken for that land to finally come to Abraham’s children?

This is blessing.

“During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba [top to bottom], lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree. Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses. The district officers, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.”

This is about as good as it gets. “They saw to it that nothing was lacking.”

It doesn’t get any better than that.

And it’s all the blessing of wisdom.

These are blessings Moses talked about in Deuteronomy 27 and 28.

And it’s all the blessing of wisdom.

Do you want wisdom?

There are few things more valuable in life than wisdom, but what we do?

We spurn it. We run from it. We devalue it.

It content ourselves with ignorance and foolishness.

We don’t dig for it like we’re digging for gold.

But look what comes when you pray for and practice wisdom!  V.29

“God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite (who wrote psalm 89)–wiser than Heman (who wrote psalm 88), Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. [Many are here in our Bibles!] He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.”

And he’s going to use his wisdom to build some amazing buildings, too.

Wisdom is a gift from God. Verse 29 said it again. And wisdom brings blessing. The blessings here of prosperity, safety, popularity, fame and flourishing.

Of course, not all of the blessings of wisdom will be temporal and earthly like that. Many of the most important blessings are spiritual and heavenly and even greater. But these are illustrations of what God can do when we pray for and practice the wisdom that He so graciously sends.

Sometimes I wish the story ended here.

We have offspring, land, and blessing.

It almost seems like the Abrahamic covenant has been fully fulfilled and the kingdom has come in all of its fullness.

But actually, this kingdom has cracks.

As good as it is, it’s not as good as it can get.

And it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.

Not yet.

And that’s because there are cracks in the king.

As much as it seems like Solomon was just about the Messiah–and I think he’s a true picture of Him!–Solomon was definitely not the Messiah.

Did you catch it verse 26 and verse 28?

Probably not because I didn’t point it out. And I’ve never preached Deuteronomy 17. You might not know what’s in there.

And those verses, 26 and 28, just sound like blessings. Especially with verse 27 in the middle, “nothing was lacking.”

But there was something off about those verses, too.

The book of Deuteronomy says that the king of Israel “must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.”

Hmmm.  And the very next verse in Deuteronomy says one more thing that the King should not accumulate very many of. Anybody know?

“He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.”

He’s good right now. But there’s storm clouds brewing on the horizon.

And you know what that means?

Solomon is not the Messiah. Solomon is not the Christ.

Somebody else is.

#3. WISDOM IS HIDDEN IN JESUS.

As wise as Solomon was, Jesus is so much more.

Colossians 2, verse 3 says, “in [Jesus] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Jesus is the treasure chest of wisdom.

Solomon was just a shadow of the One to come.

Jesus is the King of Kings with all of the true Wisdom of the King hidden within Him.

If you want wisdom, then what you really want is Jesus Christ.

He will never let you down.
He will never go sour on you.
He will never repeat the mistakes of the kings of Israel.

And if you pursue Him, you will find all of the wisdom that you need for life and godliness.

Wisdom is hidden in King Jesus.


***
Messages in this Series
01. Who Will Be King?

Baby Oak Tree

[Matt's Messages] "Who Will Be King?"

“Who Will Be King?”
The King of Kings in the Books of Kings
April 3, 2016 :: 1 Kings 1:1-2:46  

If you have a bookmark that you use for Sunday morning sermon series, this is the place to stick it. Today begins our newest sermon series together which I’m going to call, “The King of Kings in the Books of Kings.”

My plan is for us to study both First and Second Kings over the next....I don’t know how many weeks!  I thought Romans could be done in a year, so I don’t want to predict how long it might take us to get through these two Old Testament books together. But it will be a while.

There is a lot of ground to cover in these two books. Now, most scholars believe that they used to be one big book, but at some point they got divided into two to make it easier to find things in them.

So, we use the designation “First Kings” and “Second Kings,” but it’s really one long continuous story.

I say, “long,” but I realized during my study this week that for all that the author leaves in about the history of the kings of Israel, he leaves a lot more out.

Anyone want to guess how many years this big book covers?  It’s about 400 years. From King David to King Jehoiachin. And the author covers that history (of two different monarchies!) in just around 50,000 words or 47 chapters of scripture.

Do you know how old our country is? The USA? If you count from 1776, it’s 240 years old. How would you like to write the history of the United States of America in only 50,000 words? And this is about twice that many years.

So the author had to leave a lot of things out. But he gets all of the most important things in. The Holy Spirit made sure that he did. And all of the most important things tell us something important about God.

The Books of Kings are not just history books. They contain history, but they are revelatory books. They reveal God.

What we are going to read in Kings is theological history. It’s history that tells us the story of God so that we know Who God Is, What God Has Done, and What God wants for us and from us.

Does that sound familiar?  It’s the outline from last week. It’s something that runs throughout the Bible.

As we read the Books of Kings, we can’t get lost in the history. We’ve got delve into the history to get a better picture of our Lord.

That’s why I’m calling our series, “The King of Kings in the Books of Kings.”

Because God is the main character of the story.

For those of you who have been with us for the last dozen or so years that shouldn’t come as a surprise. We’ve learned before that the Lord is the main character of the story.

This is the next book in our multi-decade series of series on the Big Story of the Bible.

In 2003, we studied the book of Genesis. Anybody remember that?
In 2005, we did Exodus.
In 2007, we did Numbers. Life in the Wilderness.
In 2009, we did Joshua. Possessing the Promises.
In 2012, we made it to Judges. The Downward Spiral. And also the book of Ruth.
In 2013 and 2014, we met King David in the books of Samuel. A heart for the heart of God. The Lord is My Rock.

And now we’ve reached the books of kings.

And we’ve seen all along that it’s not Adam, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, or David who is the main character of this story.

Our God, Yahweh, the LORD is the main character of the story.

Now, there are going to be a lot of characters to meet in these 47 chapters. There are so many prophets, priests, and kings with really strange and hard to pronounce names that it will be very difficult to keep track of all of the people that we meet.

But if we keep our eyes on the main character, the Great King of all Kings, we’re going to get the most important part of the story.

Now, I’d like to spend a lot of time telling you all about how exciting this series is going to be and all of the things we’re going to learn about. The action and adventures, the plots and intrigues, the miracles and wonders. All of the crazy stories about guys like Elijah and Elisha. The heroes of the Old Testament and the villains –some of the most wicked kings and queens ever. (Have you heard of Jezebel?)

But instead of introducing our series any more, I just want to dive in and get this story started.

Because the sooner we do, the sooner we know our God better.

The big question in the first two chapters is “Who Will Be King?”

That’s actually a question that comes up a lot in these two books, as you might imagine.

But it’s the big question that confronts the nation of Israel as this book begins.

There is a king in Israel. He’s not the first king. That was Saul.

But he is the first king whom God had truly wanted the people of Israel to have.

What is his name?  King David. That’s right.

Do you remember all that we learned about him in 2013 and 2014?

Well, King David has not gotten old. And not just old but “old and cold.” In fact, he’s getting very weak and apparently dying. 1 Kings chapter 1, verse 1.

“When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his servants said to him, ‘Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.’ Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful girl and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. The girl was very beautiful; she took care of the king and waited on him, but the king had no intimate relations with her.”

Now, why is this story in the Bible?

Well, for one, because it happened. There are a lot of stories in the Bible that I’d rather not know about including this one about a human-hot-water bottle named Abishag. But it really did happen for better or worse and the Bible doesn’t sugar coat the history of our heroes of the faith.

But there are a couple of other reasons why it’s in here. One is because this beautiful young lady, Abishag, is going to come up again in the story real soon and play a part in the downfall of a potential king.

But the other reason is that we need to know in no uncertain terms that David is really old, really weak, and just about dead.

And here’s the scary part, it’s not clear right now who his successor is going to be.

Who will be king?

#1. ADONIJAH?

David has a son who decides that he himself will be the next king of Israel. Problem solved. V.5

“Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, ‘I will be king.’ So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. (His father had never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’ He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)” Stop there for a second.

Is Adonijah going to be king?

It certainly looks like it. He’s got the stuff. He’s got the entourage. He’s got the ambition. We’ll see in a second that he’s got the connections. And he’s apparently the oldest living son of David.

The others have all died. We’re not sure how Kileah died, but we know how Amnon died and Absalom.

This son sounds a lot like Absalom doesn’t he?

Anything else he sounds like?

He sounds like Saul, too. Doesn’t he? I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he was tall.

This guy looks really good on paper.  Adonijah looks really good on the outside.

But what question does that raise?

What does he look like on the inside?

What is his heart?

Remember what we learned in 1 Samuel 16?  “ The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Let’s not forget that life lesson.

It’s so easy to judge other people by appearances.

In choosing a spouse for example. Guys want a looker. Ladies want a hunk.

And, there is nothing wrong with beauty. I happen to have found the most beautiful woman on the planet and tricked her into marrying me. But if she wasn’t beautiful on the inside, too, I’d be in big trouble.

Or in choosing a leader or a employee. Who looks the best on paper, who has the most gifting, the most popularity, the most clout?

Don’t forget to find out what’s on the inside. What do they care about? What do they worship? To whom or what are they loyal?

Don’t forget that God looks on the heart.

And especially remember it when it comes to you and me. We can look good on the outside and be a total mess on the inside.

Remember what we said at the Good News Cruise? It’s what’s under the hood that counts.

What’s going on under your hood?

Are you allowing God to work on you? And give you the engine overhaul that you need?

I don’t think that Adonijah was interested in a heart overhaul. But he was interested in being the king. V.7

“Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. [Those are some familiar names there from David’s early history as king.] But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David's special guard did not join Adonijah.

Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah who were royal officials, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.”

Or his dad either.

This is what we call a “coup.” Adonijah is taking the reigns of power to himself.

And it looks like most of the key leaders are with him.

But the LORD has other plans.

Did you notice that there was brother that he didn’t invite to the royal party?

Solomon. And that probably means that most people knew that Solomon was supposed to be king but David had apparently never made it official. Not enough, at least. But he’s also apparently too weak to do it now.

Or is he?  V.11

“Then Nathan [remember him? He’s a a truth teller! Nathan...] asked Bathsheba, Solomon's mother [remember her?], ‘Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king without our lord David's knowing it?

Now then, let me advise you how you can save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in to King David and say to him, 'My lord the king, did you not swear to me your servant: ‘Surely Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne’? Why then has Adonijah become king?'

While you are still there talking to the king, I will come in and confirm what you have said.’  [Two witnesses.] So Bathsheba went to see the aged king in his room, where Abishag the Shunammite was attending him. [Awkward. Ironic. Necessary.]

Bathsheba bowed low and knelt before the king. ‘What is it you want?’ the king asked. [Remember, he’s really weak.]

She said to him, ‘My lord, you yourself swore to me your servant by the LORD your God: 'Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.' But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant.

My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.  Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.’ [And probably die. We weren’t invited to the party. That’s a very bad sign.]

While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet arrived. And they told the king, ‘Nathan the prophet is here.’ So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground. Nathan said, ‘Have you, my lord the king, declared that Adonijah shall be king after you, and that he will sit on your throne? Today he has gone down and sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep. He has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest. Right now they are eating and drinking with him and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!'

But me your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he did not invite. Is this something my lord the king has done without letting his servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?’  [Who will be king? And King David springs to life! V.28]

Then King David said, ‘Call in Bathsheba.’ So she came into the king's presence and stood before him. The king then took an oath: ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who has delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.’ Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said, ‘May my lord King David live forever!’

King David said, ‘Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.’ When they came before the king, he said to them: ‘Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!'

Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.’

Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, ‘Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!’ [What a prayer!]

So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David's mule and escorted him to Gihon.  Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

[And they heard it at the other party. V.41]

Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, ‘What's the meaning of all the noise in the city?’ Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, ‘Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.’

‘Not at all!’ Jonathan answered. ‘Our lord King David has made Solomon king. The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king's mule, and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds with it. That's the noise you hear. Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat on the royal throne. Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, 'May your God make Solomon's name more famous than yours and his throne greater than yours!' And the king bowed in worship on his bed and said, 'Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor on my throne today.'’ At this, all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and dispersed.”

I love that party of the story! Everybody found somewhere else to be. Slink, slink, slink.

“But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. [He knows that he’s in trouble so he seeks asylum.] Then Solomon was told, ‘Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, 'Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.'’

Solomon replied, ‘If he shows himself to be a worthy man, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.’ Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, ‘Go to your home.’”

Who will be king?

#2. SOLOMON.

Solomon will be king.

That was the Lord’s plan all along.

The question is, will he be a good one or a bad one?

As we go together through the Books of Kings, we’re going ask this question over and over again. Was this particular king a thumbs up generally or a thumbs down?

Good or bad.

Now, I’ll tell you secret right up front. They all have some bad in them.

Every single one. Look at King David. He was the standard. A man after God’s own heart.

A thumbs up. But he’s failed in so many ways.

He failed back in 1st and (especially) 2nd Samuel, but he’s not done perfectly already in this book. Verse 6 told us that Adonijah’s arrogance and pride were at least partially David’s fault.

He’s left a lot of things undone. Up till now, he’s not made Solomon’s future as king  secure. And he’s about to die with some business unfinished.

But he was, on the whole, a good king. A great king, really. A thumbs up.

And that’s because he did the one thing that every one of God’s kings must do. He walked with God and led Israel to keep the covenant with God.

You see, that’s what the Lord judges as success in a king for Israel. Not whether or not the king leads his armies to victory or whether or not the king brings economic prosperity to the kingdom or whether or not the king establishes peaceful treaties with the nations around them.

The one big question that the Lord cares about is whether or not the king walks with God, worships the Lord alone, and leads the people of God to do the same.

That’s what are going to see again and again and again and again as we go through this book together.

It’s how the kings are evaluated.

And it’s what David tells Solomon to do in chapter 2.

These are David’s dying instructions to Solomon as he becomes king not just co-regent with David but king on his own. Chapter 2, verse 1.

“When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. ‘I am about to go the way of all the earth,’ he said.

‘So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'”

There is the thesis statement for our whole sermon series.

In effect, David says to Solomon, “You have one job.”

Walk with God and lead Israel to do it, too.

“So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires. Walk in his ways...”

Walk with God and lead Israel to do it, too.

“...keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses...”

There is this thing called the covenant. Your job as king is to know it and lead Israel to keep it.

And the Lord says, “And if you do, I’ll do my part.”

I’ll prosper you. I’ll give you blessings. And I’ll keep a Davidic king on the throne.

V.3 “...so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go, and that the LORD may keep his promise to me: [2 Samuel 7] 'If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'"

Solomon, you have just one job.

Now, church, we are not Solomon. We are not the king of Israel.

But I think we could probably apply this to ourselves as well.

Do we walk with God and lead others to do it, too?

That’s what it’s all about.

Remember what God told the prophet Micah?  “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? [You’ve got one job.] To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

It’s not about how successful we are at our business.
It’s not about how beautiful our houses are.
It’s not about how many cars we have.
It’s not even about how big or happy our families are.
Or how healthy we are.
Or how smart or popular or funny.

It’s about do we walk with God and lead others to do so, too?

“What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Now, what if you don’t?

What if you turn out to be a thumbs-down kind of person?

We know that with obedience comes blessing.

But we also need to know that with disobedience comes danger.

The kings that fail at their one job will lose their job.

There are consequences for failing to keep the covenant.

And yet there is also grace.

God’s people don’t always get what they deserve.

And God always keeps His promises. Even to people who don’t deserve it.

There is no karma in the books of Kings. There is justice. And there is grace. And they are both found in our Lord.

Which is good. Because we need them both.

In verse 5, David’s instructions turn personal and political. He lays out some unfinished business that he wants Solomon to finish for him.

And in doing so, Solomon will secure and establish his kingdom. V.5

“‘Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me–what he did to the two commanders of Israel's armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. Deal with him according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.”

Do you remember all that from 2 Samuel?  General Joab and his murders of Abner and Amasa?

David had let Joab live. And even stay the leader of the army.

But that doesn’t mean that he’d forgotten.

And Joab had gone with Adonijah not Solomon in chapter 1. So, he needed to neutralized.

Now, is this personal vendetta, political maneuvering, or godly execution of justice?

I’m not sure. My guess is that it’s a little of all three.

Life is messy. And so is King David. He’s not perfect. He doesn’t have a halo.

But he did just finish telling Solomon to walk with God. So, I don’t think he’s intentionally just settling old scores. He’s instructing Solomon to meet out the justice that the king should meet out and that he has failed up till now to do. V.7

“‘But show kindness [hesed, covenant loyalty] to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table. They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

‘And remember, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: 'I will not put you to death by the sword.' But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.’

Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. He had reigned forty years over Israel–seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.”

That’s the first successful transfer of power in the Davidic Dynasty. We’re going to read a lot of statements like verse 10 and 11 as we go through Kings. So and so rested with his fathers and had reigned so many years.

That formula reminds us how short our lives are and how important it is to make them count.

Forty years David reigned.

What did he do with them?

What are you doing with your years?

Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.

The rest of the chapter just explains how Solomon’s rule was firmly established.

It took some bloodshed. V.13

“Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked him, ‘Do you come peacefully?’ He answered, ‘Yes, peacefully.’ Then he added, ‘I have something to say to you.’ ‘You may say it,’ she replied.

[Isn’t this interesting? Adonijah and Bathsheba? They were enemies in the last chapter. I think they are still here. V.15]

‘As you know,’ he said, ‘the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD. [It’s good that he recognizes that.] Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.’ ‘You may make it,’ she said.

So he continued, ‘Please ask King Solomon–he will not refuse you–to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.’

‘Very well,’ Bathsheba replied, ‘I will speak to the king for you.’

[Now, we don’t know if Bathsheba was clueless or shrewd here. I tend to think shrewd. She knows that Adonijah has made a tactical mistake and all she needs to do it is report it. V.19]

When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. [Wow! That’s honor.] He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand.

‘I have one small request to make of you,’ she said. ‘Do not refuse me.’ The king replied, ‘Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.’

So she said, ‘Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.’

King Solomon answered his mother, [Are you out of your mind?!] ‘Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him–  after all, he is my older brother–yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!’

[Abishag was as good as a wife or at least a concubine to King David. Giving her to Adonijah would be like saying that he’s the true king. I don’t think so. V.23]

“Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: ‘May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! And now, as surely as the LORD lives–he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised– Adonijah shall be put to death today!’

So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

[Next, the traitorous priest Abiathar. V.26]

“To Abiathar the priest the king said, ‘Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father's hardships.’

So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD, fulfilling the word the LORD had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli. [God always keeps His promises, including His threats. Notice that Solomon tempers all of this bloodshed with mercy where he can. V.28]

“When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, ‘Go, strike him down!’ So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, ‘The king says, 'Come out!'’ But he answered, ‘No, I will die here.’ Benaiah reported to the king, ‘This is how Joab answered me.’

Then the king commanded Benaiah, ‘Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my father's house of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without the knowledge of my father David he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them–Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army–  were better men and more upright than he. May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD's peace forever.’

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own land in the desert. The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab's position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.

[Next on the list is Shimei. I’m sure he also cared for the sons of Barzillai. V.37]

Then the king sent for Shimei and said to him, ‘Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley, you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.’

Shimei answered the king, ‘What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.’ [He knows that he is in trouble and promises to keep his nose clean.] And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

But three years later, two of Shimei's slaves ran off to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, ‘Your slaves are in Gath.’ At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, the king summoned Shimei and said to him, ‘Did I not make you swear by the LORD and warn you, 'On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die'? At that time you said to me, 'What you say is good. I will obey.' Why then did you not keep your oath to the LORD and obey the command I gave you?’ The king also said to Shimei, ‘You know in your heart all the wrong you did to my father David. Now the LORD will repay you for your wrongdoing. But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will remain secure before the LORD forever.’ Then the king gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down and killed him. The kingdom was now firmly established in Solomon's hands.”

Who will be king?

Solomon. And we’ll learn more over the next few weeks what kind of a king he was.

But I’ll tell you what kind of a king all of these guys are.

They’re all disappointing.

I’ll give you a glimpse into the whole rest of this series. It’s not as depressing as the book of Judges was, but almost.

Because there is, if not a downward spiral, a downward slide.

And every single king, every single anointed one, is disappointing on some level.

Even the best of the best who are two thumbs up in general are nothing like they really should be.

You know I wanted to really be proud of David or Solomon in these first two chapters.

And I think overall they do well.

But it’s messy, isn’t it?
It’s not a pretty picture.

David disappoints, and if hasn’t already, Solomon will. I promise you.

And they all die. Every single one of them.

There is no perfect king in these books.

But you know what that means?

It means that each one of them points to the king of kings that we all so desperately need.

#3. JESUS!

Every king that we will read about will show us how desperately we need the king of kings. Because every one of them will disappoint us, but Jesus will not.

Because, as we learned last week, Jesus has come back from the dead.

In the book of Acts, Peter preaches this famous statement. Acts 2:29

“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.” [1 Kings 2:10 tells us that.] But [King David was also] a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.

Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.... Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

And when they heard that, about 3,000 people got saved!

Who will be king?

Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead.

***

Group Discussion Questions

1. Are you looking forward to this new sermon series on the Books of Kings? Why or why not?

2. Why is it important to remember that God is the main character in the books of Kings? Why might that be hard to do? What other things about the books of Kings make it difficult to read, interpret, and study?

3. Review 1 Kings 1 and discuss Adonijah’s bid for the throne. Why did it look like he might be the next king? What went wrong (hint: remember 1 Samuel 16:7)? What can we learn from this for our own lives?

4. Review 1 Kings 2 and discuss the establishment of Solomon’s kingship. What is the king’s “one job?” What can we learn from this as believers today?

5. In what ways are all of these kings disappointing? How does this point to our need for the King of Kings? What are ways that you can express your love, trust, and loyalty to Him this coming week?

Narcissi

[Matt's Messages] "Brought Back from the Dead"

“Brought Back from the Dead”
Jesus Paid It All :: Resurrection Sunday
March 27, 2016 :: Hebrews 13:20-21

I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the Benediction of the Book of Hebrews.

It’s almost the very last few verses of this letter, and it is a blessing. A prayer from the writer, to God, reported to the readers.

The author of this letter writes this blessing as a prayerful exclamation mark for his epistle, and I want us to dwell on it a little bit together this morning.

Now, I know that on a Sunday that we have baptisms, I’m just the opening band for the main act. We’re all excited to hear Aspen and Hunter tell us their stories and see them get dunked in this tank back here for the glory of Jesus Christ!

So I promise to hurry up with this and not go long. I know also that we have no children’s church today, so attention spans will be shorter than usual.

And that’s another reason why I’ve picked just these two short verses at the end of the book of Hebrews.

But there’s gold in these hills, and I want us to dig a little bit today to discover some awesome treasure.

Question: Why would you tell somebody what you are praying for them?

It’s good to pray for somebody and to pray for somebody in private and secret.

People don’t always have to know that you are praying for them for those prayers to be good and loving.

But it’s also a very good thing to tell somebody that you are praying for them and even to tell them what you are praying for them.

And even to pray in front of them so that they can hear you pray those things for them.  Do you see what I mean?

Every night at bedtime, Heather prays with and for Robin, and I pray with and for our three sons.

I also pray for my kids at other times. Times they don’t know about. But at beditime, that’s one moment every day that they hear me pray for them. And they know what I pray. They are listening and agreeing with me in prayer.

And that’s important isn’t it? When I pray for you here at Lanse Free Church before I preach, I could do that silently. But I pray out loud for you right here before we get into the meat of the message, and you hear what I pray, and you pray it along with me.

Well, that’s, at heart, what a blessing is. What a benediction is.

It’s a prayer to God, reported to the people being prayed for. Why? So that they are encouraged and strengthened and reminded Who God Is, What God Has Done, and What God Wants for Them.

Who God Is
What God Has Done
What God Wants for Us.

That’s what we will find in this benediction. And I hope that we will be encouraged to pray it, too.

Here’s what it says: “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

#1. WHO GOD IS: THE GOD OF PEACE.

First, who is God?

He is the God of Peace.

And that’s a good thing because we live in a world at war.

Ever since our first parents Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the human race has lived in a world at conflict.

Conflict between God and humanity.
Which leads to conflict between humans, one with another.
And also conflict within humans. War in our own hearts.

Humanity is in desperate need of peace because we live in a world at war.

Do you feel that?

I think we all feel that the world is broken right now.

There is so little peace.

It’s in every headline in every newspaper. Brussells?!

And we’re all ready to point the finger at someone else for breaking the peace.

But the fact is, we are all responsible. It’s the curse on our world due to sin.

And we need the God of peace to restore it, to restore shalom to our world.

And the good news is that He has done it! And is doing it. And will finish the job.

#2. WHAT GOD HAS DONE: BROUGHT JESUS BACK FROM THE DEAD!

What has the God of peace done?

He has brought back Jesus from the dead.

Here’s where I want to spend most of our little time this morning.

The God of peace has done the miracle of miracles.

He has taken a dead man, the man named Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified on a wooden cross in the first century during the rule of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and who was buried in a garden tomb [The God of peace has taken this dead man], and brought him back from the dead!

That is the miracle of miracles.

And it’s why we are here today.

It’s what we are celebrating this Sunday and, really, every Sunday.

The God of peace has brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ.

That means that Jesus went into death.

We believe in a crucified Savior. If Jesus didn’t die, then all is lost.

But we also believe that He has risen. He didn’t stay dead.

God brought Him back.

And if that’s not true, if that’s not history, if that didn’t actually factually happen, then we are wasting our time here this morning. Hunter and Aspen are wasting their time in this tank.

How utterly silly to get baptized if Jesus has not risen from the dead!

But we believe.  We believe that the God of peace has brought Jesus back from the dead.

He was dead, and now He is alive again.

And the God of peace has done it.

Now, I want you to notice something strange in verse 20. Have you ever noticed this before?

HOW did the God of peace bring back the Lord Jesus from the dead?

What does it say?

He did it, “through the blood of the eternal covenant...”

Isn’t that a little strange?

It says that God brought Jesus back from the dead through or by means of the blood of the eternal covenant. What does that mean?

How did the blood bring Jesus back?  The blood refers to His death. That’s the wrong direction, right? Doesn’t the blood take Jesus into His death?

What this guy saying?

He’s saying that JESUS PAID IT ALL.

Jesus’ sacrificial death was sufficient and acceptable for our sin debt.

And because that debt was fully 100% paid, God would raise Jesus from the dead.

Jesus would be vindicated because the innocent had perfectly died for the guilty.

Do you see what I’m saying?

When Jesus died on the Cross, He took on our debt with Him.

He took my debt. He took Aspen’s debt. He took Hunter’s debt. He took your debt.

You could not pay it.

And the blood of bulls and goats and rams and lambs could not pay it. Not fully.

But Jesus paid it all. Once and for all.

Hebrews 10:14 says, “by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

And catch this. Because of that, Jesus could not stay dead.

His death was too good to last.

When that blood was shed so perfectly, so beautifully, so sufficiently, it would have been an injustice for Jesus to remain in the grave!

I think that’s why it was through the blood of the eternal covenant that Jesus was brought back from the dead.

Jesus paid it all. Therefore He could not stay dead.

And now He lives forever.

It’s the blood of the eternal covenant. The everlasting one. What that blood did then will stay true for all eternity (Ezekiel 37:26)!

And you’ve got to see this, too. He has been brought back from the dead to be our Great Shepherd. Look against at verse 20.

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus...that great Shepherd of the sheep,”

We’re the sheep, and Jesus is the shepherd.

And that’s not very flattering for us because sheep are dumb.

But it’s good news for us because sheep need caring for.

And here we have the Greatest Shepherd ever who is going to live forever.

Isn’t that good news?

I sat at the bedside of Jane Fox this Wednesday. Edie Sipe’s mom. Jane was in her 90's and at the very end of her life. She died two days later, on Friday.

And it was my privilege to share the gospel with her at her bedside.

And you know what I told her?  What I read to her in the Bible?

John chapter 10. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep....The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full...I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–  and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

I said to Mrs. Fox, “Jesus is the good Shepherd. He laid down His life for us, the sheep. And He took it back up again to give us abundant life. You can trust Him.”

And Mrs. Fox indicated very clearly that she was trusting in Jesus as her good shepherd. Praise God!

How about you? Have you trusted in Jesus as your own Shepherd?

We all need one. All the time. And He’s the greatest that ever was.

And in fact, He’s come back from the dead to Shepherd His people!

Turn to Him. Trust in Him. Put yourself in His hands.

Return to Him. Repent and trust in Jesus.

The Apostle Peter echoed Isaiah 53 when he said, “For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25).

Have you done that? Everyone has gone astray. Have you returned to the Great Shepherd of your soul?

He has returned from the dead. I urge you to put yourself in His caring hands.

So that you can say, “Jesus is my Shepherd. I shall not want.”

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

That’s what the God of peace did. He brought Jesus back from the dead through the blood of the eternal covenant to be our Great Shepherd forever.

You know the best thing about that tomb over there? It’s empty!

Jesus has been brought back from the dead by the God of peace.

That how we have peace with God.

And it’s only IN Him that we will find our peace with others and our peace within.

#3. WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US: TO EMPOWER US TO PLEASE HIM. 

One more thing to say and that’s to see what God wants for us.

We’ve been reminded of Who God is and what God has done.

But the writer has one more thing to pray for his readers and that is that we would be empowered to please God. V.21

“[May this God of peace that we’ve been talking about] ... equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

That’s actually the prayer request of this benediction.

The request is that God would empower us with everything we need to know and do what He wants and to make Him happy.

Do you want to do what God wants?
Do you want to make Him happy?
Do you want to please God?

Good.

Because that’s what God wants for us, too.

God wants to empower us “to equip” us with “everything good for doing his will” and to “work in us what is pleasing to him.”

What pleases God most of all?  FAITH. (Hebrews 11:6).

He wants to work faith into us. He wants us to believe. To trust Him. And to obey Him.

And He wants to empower us to do just that.

And here’s the best news.

He’s got the power to do it.

That’s how the logic of this benediction works.

Does God have the power to equip you with everything good for doing his will and work in you what is pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ? That’s verse 21.

Verse 20 has already supplied the answer.

The God of peace has brought Jesus Christ back from the dead, so I’m thinking, “Yes” he can do it.

Yes, he can pull this off!

Do you see why the author of this letter might include this prayer request, this blessing at the end of his epistle?

He wants to encourage his readers that he isn’t praying something far off or nearly impossible for them.

He’s praying something that God wants to do in them and can most certainly do in them.

God wants to empower us to please Him.

And He’s brought Jesus back from the dead to accomplish it.

Are you encouraged?

Sometimes we get to thinking that we can’t please God.

That God is constantly unhappy with us and disappointed.

"Oh, there they go again."

But this benediction tells us another story.

It tells us of a God of peace who brought back our great Shepherd from the dead through a perfect sacrifice of His own blood. Jesus paid it all.

So that now as that blood is applied to us, we can please Him.

We can do His will. We can do what He wants and make Him happy.

And live for his glory. V.21

to Jesus “be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”


Messages in This Series
Jesus Paid It All
What If Jesus Had Not Paid It All?
Freed from Debt

Short-Winged Blister Beetle

[Matt's Messages] "Freed from Debt"

“Freed from Debt”
Jesus Paid It All :: Palm Sunday
March 20, 2016 :: 1 Peter 2:24

Our series this month has been named after song:

Jesus Paid It All
All to Him I Owe
Sin Had Left a Crimson Stain
He Washed It White As Snow

The first Sunday of March, we meditated on the Suffering Servant predicted in Isaiah 53–“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (v.6).

Jesus Paid It All.

And then last Sunday, we read about the fulfillment of that prophecy in the gospel of John chapter 19. We read about how our Lord Jesus was tortured, mocked, and killed for us with the dying cry, “It is finished. Tetelestai. It is completed.”

Jesus Paid It ALL.

And we even thought for awhile about what it would mean if Jesus’ death was not sufficient to pay for our full sin debt. We’d still have unending work to do and unending punishment to suffer.

But our debt is paid in full.

Jesus Paid It All.

Today, I want us to go one step further and think about how being freed from that debt frees us to live in a new way.

Our title for today’s message is “Freed from Debt.”

If Jesus has paid it all, then we are free.

We are no longer under debt.

We no longer have a sinful liability to our names.

We are no longer in “in the hole.”

We are free.

What does that mean?

I’ve only two points to share this morning, but they are big ones.

And the first point comes from 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 24.

Speaking of Jesus. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

#1. WE ARE FREED FROM DEBT TO LIVE FREE FROM MORE DEBT.

Here’s what I mean.

By the way, did you catch what Bible passage Peter was referencing here?

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

Where’s that from?

It’s Isaiah 53, isn’t it?

Peter has been riffing off of Isaiah 53 since verse 22 in this chapter.

He’s writing to Christians who are suffering, unjustly. They have gotten a raw deal. They have gotten a beating when they had done something good instead of something bad. It’s totally unjust.

And Peter is telling them to follow the example of our Lord when injustice comes. He’s teaching them how to endure unfairness and inequity. V.20

“... if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ [That’s Isaiah 53, verse 9.]  When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

And then our verse.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray [Isaiah 53 again!], but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Now, I want you to see a few things from this passage.

First, it’s Jesus that paid it all and nobody else.

“He HIMSELF bore our sins in his body on the tree.”

Jesus paid it all. Nobody else.

I talked to the teens in the FCA Bible Club on Thursday about this passage, and I emphasized that point.

Jesus didn’t delegate this responsibility.

Jesus didn’t send Moses or Aaron or David or Isaiah or John the Baptist.

Jesus didn’t send an angel to take our place on the Cross.

Jesus did it Himself.

This task was too much to assign to another person.

No other person, no other entity could do what Jesus did.

He had to do it himself.

He had to bear those sins.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree...”

Jesus paid it all.

We couldn’t do it!

Notice again how important are the pronouns here.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree...”

That’s what we’ve been celebrating this whole month.

We are freed from debt.

If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, you are freed from debt.

My sin–O the bless of this glorious thought,
My sin–not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the Cross and I bear it no more, 
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Freed from debt.

Now. What difference does that make?

Last week, we thought about what difference it would make if it wasn’t true.

What difference does it make that it’s true. What does Peter say? Look again at verse 24.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness...”

Isn’t that interesting?!

Here’s how I say it: we are freed from debt to live from free from more debt.

Last week, my friend Pastor Dan Ledford and his family were visiting us and worshiped with us.

And while I was preaching, I gave the illustration of being freed from my school loans. Do you remember that?

The amazing feeling of no longer being in debt financially.

I could burn the paperwork. I didn’t owe Sallie Mae even one more red cent!

And my friend Dan said to me afterwards that he remembered that same moment in his life of being freed from his school loans, and his first thought was, “I’m never going to borrow another dime ever again!”

Can you relate?

Now, that’s financial debt.

And it’s not necessarily wrong to incur it.

But what about sin debt?

What about the hole we get ourselves into when we sin against God?

Some people think that if they are freed from debt, that they’d just run out and sin some more.

Like we said last week and in Romans 6, why not sin all the more so that grace may abound?

May it never be.

That’s not where Peter went was it?  “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins.”

We are freed from debt to live free from more debt.

We are freed so we could stop sinning!
So we could stop doing the things that offend God.

Jesus' death wasn't just so that we could be forgiven.

It was also so we could be empowered to repent.

Die and live.
Die to sin and live for righteousness.

Those are powerful words.

That's what baptism is a picture of.

Next week, when Hunter and Aspen go down into the water, there will be a picture of death, of burial.

Dying to sins.

Jesus' death means the death of our sins.

And when Hunter and Apsen come up out of the water, it will be a picture of new life, of resurrection.

Living now for righteousness.

What sins in your life need to die?

What do you need to repent of?

To live free of?

The death of Jesus means that we need to consider ourselves dead to sin. No longer enslaved. No longer do we have to live in sin.

We can say no.

We can resist gossip.
We can resist pornography.
We can resist hating our enemies.
We can die to sexual immorality, to sex outside of the covenant of marriage.
Living with our boyfriend or our girlfriend outside of marriage.
We can die to gluttony.
We can die to greed.
We can die to being anxious about the future.
We can die to cussing and lying and boasting.
We can die to getting drunk or stoned.
We can die to taking the Lord's name in vain.
We can die to envying what someone else has.

And not only CAN we die to sins, but Jesus CALL US to die to those sins.

He died for them, so we can die to them.

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins..."

To live free from more debt.

What sins do you need to repent of right now?
What sins are you holding onto?
What sins are you hiding from others?

Jesus is calling you to die to them.

And more than that, to (v.24) “live for righteousness.”

That means that we are freed from debt to live free from more debt.

Not just to NOT sin but to live well, to live good, to live for righteousness.

Jesus Himself bore our sins so that we could live for righteousness.

So it’s not enough to just resist gossip, we get build others up with our words.

It’s not enough to not just sleep around or sleep with your boyfriend or your girlfriend.

We get to, outside of marriage to “treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

And, within the covenant of marriage, we get to bless our spouse with the gift of our bodies.

It’s not enough to just not steal. We’ve get to work to earn to care for our families and to get to others.

“Die to sins and live for righteousness.”

Are you living for righteousness?

That’s what the Cross was all about.

That’s what I told the teens on Thursday.

If you think of the Cross as just a get-out-of-jail-free card, you are missing so much.

The Cross frees us to live a new way.

To live lives of love.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

You are no longer sin-sick.
You are no longer diseased by sin.
You are no longer under the curse.

You are healed.

His wounds have done it.

His stripes. His bruises. His lashings. His beatings.

His wounds have healed your sin.

You are freed from debt to live free from more debt.

And to live free to love!

Isn’t that great?

What difference will that make for you today, this week, this month, this year?

Do you feel free? Do feel freed?

I remember when I realized that I no longer have to sin.

I don’t have to sin any longer.

I will still sin because I’ve yet arrived. I’m not perfect yet.

But the power of sin has been broken in my life.

I don’t have to sin. I’m free.

And not just free from debt, but free to live for righteousness.

I only have two points today, but they are both really big.

And for this second one, I want to take you to a whole other passage of Scripture.

It’s Matthew chapter 18, starting in verse 21.

This is a story that Jesus told Peter.

Peter had come to Jesus and asked him (v.21), “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Do you see where this is going?

Peter wants to know what the limit is on forgiveness.

And he suggests something pretty high.

Many of the rabbis had said that the magic number was 3.

Three times to forgive. So Peter is being generous.

Have you ever been sinned against 7 times and had to forgive 7 times?  It's hard to do.

But (v.22), “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Again and again and again. And let me tell you a story. V.23

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. [That's over one billion dollars in today's money.]  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt [and even that wouldn't have done it.].

The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'  The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.”

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii [Now, that’s not a small amount of money–a hundred days' wages  a considerable sum – say $14,000 – It's a real debt but nothing compared to what he's just been forgiven].

[This fool] grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' [Sound familiar?] But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

#2. WE ARE FREED FROM DEBT TO FREE OTHERS FROM THEIR DEBTS.

Not just so that we can be free, but so that we can free other people.

In other words, so that we can learn to forgive.

Uh oh. Now he’s “gone to meddlin’.”

Have you been sinned against?

Of course you have. Maybe not in a major ways, but all of us have been sinned against in minor ways.

Some of you have been sinned against in terrible terrible ways.

And there is no excuse for them.

But there is forgiveness.

Because we have had our sin debt canceled, we can free others from their sin debt against us.

We can be forgiving people.

Now, I know that raises a whole lot of questions.

And I’m not going to answer them all this morning.

The best book I’ve ever read on the subject of forgiveness is called Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns.

He answers a lot of the tough questions that come along with the topic of forgiveness.

For example, do you forgive somebody who is not yet repentant?

If they haven’t asked for forgiveness, do you still grant it?

And the answer is both “yes” and “no.”

“Yes” to a kind of forgiveness that takes place in the heart, an attitudinal forgiveness or a releasing of bitterness. But, also “No,” for forgiveness to go the full way to reconciliation, there needs to be a measure of repentance first on the part of the offender.

And there are a lot of other questions you might ask about forgiveness.

But the main point I want to make today is the one Jesus makes here in this parable.

If you have been forgiven, then you will be forgiving.

If you have experienced the canceling of your sin debt, then you will be ready to forgive the sin debt of others.

Does that make sense?

Do you feel it?

So often we feel how others have sinned against us MORE than we feel how we have sinned against God.

But that’s totally backwards.

We have a hard time seeing our own sin.

But we feel the pain being sinned against.

That’s why Jesus tells this story. So that we understand just how audacious grace is and let it change our hearts to become gracious ourselves.

Who is the King in the story?

Who does he stand for?

It’s God, right?

And our sin is the millions probably billions of dollars.

We’re the forgiven servant.

But are we forgiving?

When we are wronged–and we are genuinely wronged. Those 100 denarii are a real debt. When we are wronged–are we merciful to others?

That ending of this story is so scary, isn’t it?

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

We need to believe that.

Jesus is not teaching that we can earn our forgiveness by being forgiving.

And He’s also not teaching that we can lose our salvation by being unforgiving either.

Jesus is teaching that grace changes us.

And that if we are not changed then we have not been graced.

If we are not merciful, then we have not yet known mercy.

And that if we have been freed from debt, then we are now able and expected to free others from their debts against us.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Flipped around, we can forgive our debtors because we have been forgiven our debts.

Is that hard to do?

It’s so hard to forgive people. To cancel a debt.

We’ve been wronged!
We’ve been hurt!
We’ve been cheated!

We have every right to be angry.
We have every right to demand satisfaction.
We have every right to make them pay.

But so did the Lord.

So did our heavenly Father.

And that’s not what He did.

He sent Jesus to pay it all.

Jesus Paid It All
All to Him I Owe
Sin Had Left a Crimson Stain
He Washed It White As Snow

But I’m going to keep holding a grudge????

I’m going to stay bitter????

I’m going to demand satisfaction and make them pay????

Colossians 3:13, says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Is there someone you need to forgive?

I remember a few years ago I preached this on that verse and one of you took it to heart and forgave a friend who you had been estranged from for several years.

And the relationship was perfectly restored.

It’s better now than it has ever been.

I love it when I see the two of you together today because I know that it was hard to do.

But it’s so good to forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Freed from debt.

Because Jesus paid it all.

So that now we are able to live free from making more debt. We can die to sins and live for righteousness. We our healed of sin sickness.

And free to free others from their debts against us.

Isn’t that wonderful?

The gospel so powerful, friends.

Let’s believe it and live out of its truth.


***

Messages in This Series

Jesus Paid It All
What If Jesus Had Not Paid It All?
Freed from Debt

***


Questions for Group Discussion

1. Recap and Review the previous sermons in this series. Thinking back over both Isaiah 53 and John 19, what have you learned so far about “Jesus Paid It All?” What has meant the most to you personally?

2. Read 1 Peter 2:13-25 and discuss it. Why does Peter quote from Isaiah 53? How should Christians follow Jesus’ example in the face of injustice?

3. Re-read 1 Peter 2:24. How does our being freed from debt enable us “to live free from more debt?” What does it mean to “die to sins and live for righteousness?” What does that look like in your life right now?

4. Read Matthew 18:21-35 and discuss it. How does our being freed from debt enable us to free others from their debts? Have you forgiven someone it was hard to forgive because you realized that you have been forgiven an even greater debt? Do you have a story you can tell the group (without gossiping about the one who sinned against you)?

5. What has been your biggest “takeaway” from this sermon series on “Jesus Paid It All?”  How do you hope to live differently because you have taken it to heart?

Loblolly Bay

[Matt's Messages] "What If Jesus Had Not Paid It All?"

“What If Jesus Had Not Paid It All?”
Jesus Paid It All
March 13, 2016 :: John 19:30 

Last week, we started a short sermon series that focuses our attention this month on the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Every Sunday this month, we are singing “Jesus Paid It All. All to Him I Owe. Sin Had Left a Crimson Stain. He washed it white as snow.”

Last week, the words up here were red. Now, they’re white as snow.

Last Sunday, we started this series in the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah. We read Isaiah chapter 53 and heard the prediction of the Submissive Suffering Servant who sacrificed Himself for our sins. A prophecy made over 700 years before Jesus fulfilled it.

“...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (vv.5-6).

Jesus Paid It All.

Now, this week, I want us to begin by reading a New Testament account of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. John chapter 19 tells us the story of the crucifixion of Jesus.

The older I get, the harder it is for me to read the story of the crucifixion.

It’s just more real. More terrible. More awful.

But also more precious.

This chapter begins with a flogging. V.1

“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.”

Just that sentence should make us wince and weep.

I’ve never seen a real flogging, I think that I’d throw up if I did.

“...by his wounds [by his stripes] we are healed.” But it was much more than that. V.2

“The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. [A mocking crown that hurt. That made his scalp bleed.] They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they struck him in the face.”

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” v.4

“Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.’ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ But Pilate answered, ‘You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.’ The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.’ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.”

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” v.10

“‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ [Judas. But it’s all part of God’s plan. “It was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer...”]

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, ‘If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.’ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. ‘Here is your king,’ Pilate said to the Jews.”

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?’ Not these people. V.15

“But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!’ ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked. ‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.”

And then the unthinkable occurs. V.17

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”

We can’t really understand what that means. Nailed to a Cross. How many times have we sung our song, hymns, and spiritual songs about the Cross? About this cruel instrument of torture and asphyxiated death. V.19

“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.

The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, ‘Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ‘Let's not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let's decide by lot who will get it.’ This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, ‘They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.’ So this is what the soldiers did.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”

Now he’s coming to the end. V.28

“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ [I’m not sure how many passages of Scripture were being fulfilled here but Isaiah 53 is in the mix. Jesus knew that He was fulfilling Scripture.]

A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [Now listen.] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

“It is finished.”

Those are three words in English, but in Greek, it’s just one word. “Tetelestai” “It is finished.” Or “It is accomplished.”

That’s not a cry of desperation. Jesus does not say, “I am finished. I am done for.”

No, he says, “It is finished.”  It’s a cry of triumph and victory and accomplishment.

He has done it. He has done what He set out to do.

He had fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53.

He had born “the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

“It is finished!”

Jesus paid it all.

John used the same word in verse 28 to say that “all was now completed.” It’s “tetelestai.” Jesus knew that it was finished so he took one last drink and one last breath and yelled it out for all to hear.

“It is finished!”

Jesus paid it all.

History tells us that this word “tetelestai” was often written on a business document or a receipt to indicate that a bill had been paid in full.

There was no more payment required.

Like that red stamp we put on a bill today.

“Paid in Full.”

“Tetelestai!”

Jesus said, “It is finished. With that he, bowed his head and gave ups his spirit.”

He died.

These words on his lips.

“It is finished.”

But what if it wasn’t?

Today, I want us do a little thought-experiment together.

And think some truly terrible thoughts so that we can truly appreciate what is true.

I want us to ask the question, “What if Jesus had not paid it all?”

Now, I don’t mean what if Jesus had never come or if Jesus had never died.

I mean what if Jesus’ death was not enough? Not sufficient?

What if Jesus’ death was a partial payment for our sin and not a full one?

Last week, we emphasized the word “paid” in “Jesus paid it all.”

This week, I want us to really meditate on that last word “all.”

Jesus paid it ALL.

What if he only paid it some?

Why would we think that way? Why would we do that thought-experiment?

I believe it helps to know and appreciate what you have when you realize what you would lose if you didn’t have it.

For example, I never knew what a gift good digestion was until I lost it last Summer.

When you lose something or something is threatened to be lost, that’s when you know how precious is.

So let’s think about how precious it is that Jesus cried, “It is finished.” By thinking what if he said, “Now it begins.”

“Here you go. That’s the first part. Now it’s up to you!”

And He dies.

What would that mean for us?

What if Jesus had not paid it all?

So many ways we could go with that dystopian idea.

Here are two major ones to consider:

#1. UNENDING WORK.

If Jesus’ payment for our sins was only partial, then you and I would still have a lot of work left to do.

Somebody has to earn our salvation, and if Jesus’ death only got us so far, then we’d have to get to work earning our way to God.

And you know what, that’s how lots of people think it works.

People think that Christianity is about doing good works to please God.

“Yeah, Jesus died for our sins. But that can’t be enough. I’ve got to do something to contribute to all of this.”

Do you know what we call that doctrine?

We call it “legalism.” Legalism is the doctrine that we must work to earn our salvation.

It’s a performance mentality. If I perform well, then God will reward me. Really, He’ll owe me.

Maybe Jesus gets me in the door, but I have to keep myself in the room by my good works.

Is that how it works? Well, if Jesus’ death was not enough, then we’d be on the hook for it.

But that’s not how it works.

I got the idea for this message from a parody of “Jesus Paid It All” called “Jesus Paid It Some” by Stephen Altrogge.

Jesus Paid It Some

I hear the Savior say,
You’re not doing enough;
Work your fingers to the bone,
I will save those who are tough.

Jesus paid it some
I will do the rest
Sin had left a crimson stain
Now I will give my best

For now indeed I’ll try
To earn your love and grace
I’ll add the works I have
To complete the price you paid.

REFRAIN

And when before the throne
I’ll give my deeds to you,
I’ll hope I’ve done enough
To make you let me through.

REFRAIN (3x just to be sure)

Isn’t that terrible?

It almost sounds right, and yet it sounds so awful!

How would that affect you if Jesus paid some and you had to pay the rest?

Well, in one way, I think it would foster pride. Wouldn’t it? Pride.

If I was contributing to my salvation, then I would have something to boast about.

I think about the parable Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Look at Luke chapter 18, verse 9.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness [dikaousunai] and [therefore?] looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

[Which one of those is supposed to be the good guys? Two guys went up to pray. One was a preacher named Pastor Matt Mitchell and the other was dirty low down extortionist who worked for the oppressive government.”]

“The Pharisee [Matt] stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. [I contribute to my salvation.] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”

[I do. I do. I do. I work hard for the Lord. I do good deeds. I am confident in my own righteousness.]

‘But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified [dedikaiumenoi] before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’”

That’s what happens when you contribute to your salvation.

When you become confident in your own righteousness, you get proud.

Remember what Dave Learish said about pride two weeks ago?  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Raise your hand if you want God to oppose you?

But, I can see how someone might want Jesus’ death to not be enough for them so that they can get some credit for being good and doing good.

But Paul said in Ephesians 2. “It is by grace [sheer grace!] you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

No one but God.

Jesus said, “It is finished.” Jesus paid it all. So He gets all the glory.

Now, it is true that we have work to do. But we are to do our good works, not to pay our part, but out of gratitude for His grace. Paul goes on to say after saying that salvation is not by works, Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

So, humble yourself and do good works but don’t try to pay your way. Or you’ll only get proud.

AND you’ll get desperate.

I think that legalist who is being honest with themselves will eventually move away for pride and into despair.

Because we’ll see that our good works are never enough.

When we realize that the standard is perfection and that we will never match up to it, then if we come up also against a Savior whose death only gets us into the door but doesn’t get us home, then we’ll despair. We’ll lose hope. We’ll get depressed. We’ll fall apart.

I know I will.

There are a lot of religions out there that tell their followers to be good people and add to what Jesus has done to make it home.

Some of those religions call themselves Christian.

But if they are teaching that we add to our salvation by our works that we make up for what Jesus left undone, then they are preaching a false gospel that does not honor Christ and does not save.

And I worry about folks trapped in those religious systems because it’s got to be depressing. It’s got to wear them down.

Unending work. When will we be good enough? When will I have racked up enough points to be saved, to be secure, to be safe?

Or do I have to get some good works from others, from other people, even dead saints, to go on my account?

Don’t despair.

Jesus did pay it all.

Jesus did say, “It is finished.” Our redemption is paid in full.

Now, some people hear that and they think, well, if it’s already paid then why should I be good? Jesus paid the debt, so why not sin so that grace may abound?

What do we say to that?

“May genoita!” Right?  We learned that from Paul in Romans?  May it never be. I don’t think so. No way, no how!

That’s not how it works. If Jesus paid it all, then I’m going to hate sin and fight against it. My life is fundamentally changed by that full payment.

Why would I want to add to what put Jesus on the Cross?

No.

But don’t despair. Hope in Jesus.

Number two. What would it mean for us if Jesus had only paid it some?

#2. UNENDING PUNISHMENT.

Not only would it mean that we had a lot of work left to do, but it also would mean that we had a lot more punishment to absorb.

Just feel that. Just feel John 19 and Isaiah 53 and say, “If that wasn’t enough, then I deserve to get the rest.”

What Jesus went through is what I deserved.

Do you believe that?

That’s what Christians believe.

There are people out there that don’t think that way. They think that people are pretty good and just need a little push in the direction of being good.

But if we are good, why did Jesus have to be pierced and crushed and cut off?

When we see the wounds of Jesus and the suffering of Jesus on the Cross, we realize how ugly, how blameworthy, how culpable, how shameful is our sin.

As the hymn says:

Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

But what if it isn’t finished?

Then we have some more punishment to absorb!

If it wasn’t for Jesus’ sacrifice, then we would get the punishment that we deserve.

And it would be eternal. It would be unending punishment.

Jesus’ death satisfies the righteous requirement of God’s justice because Jesus was innocent and infinite.

He was able to take our place and basically experience and absorb the infinite wrath of God for the sins of His people.

And because He was innocent and infinite, that payment was sufficient and Jesus was resurrected and vindicated.

But don’t believe that your rebellious sins against an infinitely perfect God would be so “easily” paid for by your finite death. It will take an eternity in conscious eternal torment to pay for any sins which were not covered by the blood of Jesus.

Yes, God’s holiness is that valuable.

No amount of penance. No amount of “purgatory” will pay our remaining debt.

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Two implications of that.

First, we’ve got to trust in the blood of Jesus and Jesus alone.

Remember Romans 3?

“[A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Jesus paid it all.

So trust in Jesus alone.

And tell other people to do that, too.

We’ve got to share this message with others.

Because there is unending punishment for those who do not trust in the blood of Jesus.

His blood is so powerful!  “It is finished!”  “Paid in full!”

But people have to put their faith in that finished work of Christ.

But here’s another implication. I hope it’s encouraging to you today.

Your sufferings today are not punishment for your sins.

Your sufferings today, if you are in Christ, are not punishment for your sins.

Jesus paid it all. He took all the punishment.

Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

No condemnation. No punishment.

Yes, you’re suffering. Your suffering is real. It is real painful! It hurts.

And Jesus understands that. Jesus is the man of sorrows. He gets it. He walks with you through your pain. Whatever it is.

But He took your punishment, so whatever reasons God has for allowing that suffering in your life, none of them are punitive.

Does that help you?

It helps me. “What did I do to deserve this?”

Well, everything! And nothing.

My suffering is for my good. My suffering is for God’s glory. My suffering is evil and wrong and painful and not good or enjoyable. It’s a result of the Fall and the curse. It may even be on some level a consequence of my own sin.

But it is not punitory.

It is not washing away my sin. It is not paying for my sins.

Jesus paid it all.

I’m guessing that some of you. I know that some of you are going through horrendous things.

Let this lighten your load if just a little bit. God is not punishing you.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Why?

Because Jesus paid it all.

Because Jesus said with his last dying breath, “Tetelestai.” It is finished.

We could go on. We could take a part every blessing that the Cross brings us and say that they are also taken away from us.

10,000 reasons for our hearts to sing?

We’d have 10,000 reasons for our hearts to cry.

Because this is everything, friends.

Jesus Paid It ALL.

And if He didn’t then we are in miserable trouble. Unending work and unending punishment.

But He pay it all. He did fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. He did go to the Cross for you and for me.

Let it humble you. Let it give you hope. Let it give you joy.

Rejoice that Jesus paid it all.

Hallelujah, What a Savior!