1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly
Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen. In the middle of this
Lenten season, it’s easy to see similarities between Jeremiah and our Savior on
Good Friday. Both Jeremiah & Jesus
came with God’s message (v. 8), both were met with opposition (vv. 8–11), and
yet both Jesus & Jeremiah trusted the Lord (vv. 15), and carried out their
mission (vv. 12–15). The message from
God’s Word this morning is taken from Jeremiah 26:8-15 and it’s entitled, “Like Savior, Like Servant,” dear
brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
In the 1920s it was the Scopes trial, when William
Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow squared off to debate creation versus
evolution. In the 1930s it was the Lindbergh case, which tried to convict the
kidnapper and killer of Charles Lindbergh’s young son. In the 1970s it was
Watergate, and the American presidency was on trial. In the 1990s it was O. J.
Simpson. Every generation has its “Trial
of the Century” to capture the public imagination. The same was true during Biblical times. One
famous case began with a true prophet preaching an unpopular message in the city
of Jerusalem. Among other things, the prophet Jeremiah predicted that God’s
temple would be destroyed. The citizens of the city were so hostile to his
message that they angrily formed a mob, hastily put him on trial, and eagerly
demanded the death penalty. Because the man was a true prophet, putting him to
death would have brought the guilt of shedding innocent blood on every
inhabitant of the city.
3.
Hear again what Jeremiah 26:8–15 says, “8And
when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to
speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people
laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9Why have you prophesied in the name
of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be
desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in
the house of the LORD. 10When the
officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to
the house of the LORD and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the
house of the LORD. 11Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials
and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has
prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” 12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials
and all the people, saying, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house
and this city all the words you have heard. 13Now therefore mend your ways and
your deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, and the LORD will relent of
the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14But as for me, behold, I am
in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15Only know for
certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon
yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent
me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”
4.
Not every sermon is worth repeating, but since a new
king was on the throne, the Lord instructed his prophet to deliver a message
first heard during the reign of Josiah (Jer 7). The Lord knew how tempting it
would be to soften the message. This is the only time in Jeremiah’s ministry
we’re told God specifically commands, “Do
not omit a word” (26:2). God insisted that Jeremiah proclaim his message in
a high traffic area of the temple, where “the
priests, the prophets and all the people” (v. 7) would hear him. No one was
to miss this message. The crowds did listen. They listened to make sure they
had all the evidence they needed. Then they “seized him and said, ‘You must
die!’ ” The Lord’s evaluation of his people hit the bull’s-eye: “You do not listen to the words of my
servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again” (v. 5). Our
Epistle reading for this Sunday describes such “enemies of the cross” (Php 3:18).
“Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is
in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things” (v. 19).
5.
The sermon was a good one. It had the two elements
every faithful sermon must have—law and gospel. Good preaching both explains
the Law of God, which exposes sin, and proclaims the grace of God, which
forgives sin. Jeremiah began with the
Law. He followed the instructions he was given.
He preached nearly every one of the Ten Commandments, how the people had
failed to love God with all of their heart, soul, and strength and how they had
not loved their neighbors as themselves. He explained in detail how the people
were failing to keep covenant with their God.
Jeremiah did not preach the Law to condemn, but to convict. God hoped
that this preaching of the Law would turn people away from sin.
6.
Jeremiah was just trying to preach law and grace the
way God told him to preach it. But his congregation didn’t see it that way.
They made him a victim. By way of contrast
consider the cartoon that depicts a seminarian sitting at a desk piled high
with books and papers. He is not studying. He is daydreaming about what it will
be like to be a pastor. He fantasizes about preaching the best of all possible
sermons. In his imagination he can hear the congregation shout his praises and
see the elders hoist him on their shoulders and carry him out of the sanctuary
in triumph. Yeah right.
7.
Jeremiah was not carried out like a champion. Instead, the people grabbed him, but not in
triumph. Jeremiah was a victim of mob violence. They weren’t crowding around
him to get his autograph. They were out to get him. This ugly scene would have ended in murder
had not the authorities rushed in to break things up. They followed all the
proper legal procedures. They took Jeremiah from God’s house to the courthouse.
8.
Jeremiah’s trial began with a reading of the
charges. The murderous intentions of the plaintiffs were revealed when they
called for the death penalty, even before they stated their charge or made
their case! The prosecution hardly saw the need to present any evidence.
According to them, all the people had heard Jeremiah’s sermon with their own
ears. The prophets and the priests were
not interested in repentance. They completely ignored Jeremiah’s message of law
and grace. They were more concerned with what he had said about the temple.
Speaking against the temple seemed like treason. It had become a national
shrine. They were offended when Jeremiah warned that God was going to destroy
their precious temple.
9.
Once the charges had been read, it was up to the
defendant to make his plea. In effect Jeremiah pled “not guilty by reason of
obedience.” Jeremiah explained that he had not been preaching on his own behalf.
The people of Jerusalem were blaming the messenger, but their real complaint
was with the message. Human nature being
what it is, ministers often come under criticism. Sometimes criticism is
justified, in which case a minister must receive correction with all humility. But
many complaints a faithful pastor receives are not complaints against him at
all—they are complaints against God. That was certainly the case in this trial,
and Jeremiah was not afraid to point it out. The people thought they were
contending with Jeremiah, but actually they were contending with God. If they
had a grievance they would have to take it up with God himself, for he was the
one warning them about judgment and calling them to repentance. Jeremiah submitted to the jurisdiction of the
court. His chief concern—his only concern—was to be God’s faithful messenger.
He would not lift a finger to save his life. But he would defend God to the
death.
10.
Jeremiah did not lose his life. He found it. He
found his life not by delivering himself from death, but with the help of
advocates who took up his case. In the
end, Jeremiah was delivered from death. He was acquitted of all the charges
against him. But, the words of the
verdict in Jeremiah’s case remind us of another prophet who was handed over to
the people to be put to death. Like Jeremiah, Jesus Christ was tried in the
city of Jerusalem. Like Jeremiah, he was seized by a band of angry men who
crowded him on every side. And like Jeremiah, he was charged with treason
against the temple. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was innocent of the charges brought
against him. Jesus was without sin. Yet, like Jeremiah, he did not defend
himself. When the trial of Jeremiah is placed beside the trial of Jesus Christ,
one finds obvious similarities in the charge, arrest, accusation, and defense.
When some people said the Son of Man was the second coming of Jeremiah (Matthew
16:14), they were more accurate than they realized.
11.
There is one great difference between the trial of
Jeremiah and the trial of Jesus Christ—the verdict. At the trial of Jesus, no
one observed the warning that his death would bring the guilt of innocent blood
upon them. Jesus was not delivered from death—he was delivered unto death. He was handed over to be
executed (Matthew 27:26). Jesus Christ was arrested, charged, convicted, and
crucified for your sins and mine. And, there
is one other difference between the trial of Jeremiah and the trial of Jesus. The
verdict against Jesus Christ was overturned on appeal. In his dying moments
Jesus appealed to the highest court in the whole universe. “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit’ ” (Luke 23:46). He not only
appealed his own case—he appealed our case as well. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing” (v. 34).
12.
And God the Father accepted those appeals. The
guilty verdict given to Jesus by sinful men was overruled by God the Father.
The proof of the success of that appeal is the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. The
Resurrection proves that Jesus Christ was innocent. Since Jesus was wrongly
executed, the law of the highest court in the universe demanded that he be
returned back to life. The Resurrection
proves that the sacrifice Jesus offered for sin was accepted by God. The appeal
Jesus made for God to overturn the verdict against you has been just as
successful as his own appeal. Once he paid for your crimes, the verdict against
you was no longer able to stand. If you trust that Jesus died on the cross for
your sins, and if you believe that he was raised from the dead, then you too
will be delivered from death. Amen.
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