“The Lord Comes in Humility” John 12.12-19 Palm Sunday B, March ‘21

1.                Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this Palm Sunday is taken from John 12:12-19, and is entitled, “The Lord Comes in Humility,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                As we gather for Palm Sunday, John invites us to simply experience the wonder of Jesus, the Lord of all, who does His work in humility. I have participated in many different Palm Sunday processions. I’ve been at churches where we gathered in the parking lot. Palms were distributed and blessed and then the crucifer led us around the property and up to the doors of the church. There, the crucifer lifted the processional cross like a javelin and pounded the bottom of the cross on the middle of the doors, calling for the gates to be opened that the king might come in. As the doors were opened, we processed into the church, singing, and waving our palms.

3.                I have been at churches where the children bring all the excitement. The congregation is gathered in the church singing, “All Glory Laud and Honor,” and then the children come down the aisle. They are waving their palms as they gather at the front of the church. When the account of Jesus’ entry is read from John, the children burst into singing, “Hosanna,” as they wave their palms.

4.                Different churches have different entrance rites on Palm Sunday. But, with most of them I have felt a strained desire to take us back to the time of Jesus, to ask us to stand with the crowds and somehow recapture the moment, to help us experience the entry into Jerusalem, as if we were there.

5.                This is why I appreciate John’s account of the entry into Jerusalem. Notice how John differs from the other gospel writers. In all the other gospels, the evangelists record the event as it unfolds. There is the direction of Jesus to bring the colt, the response of the disciples, the record of prophecy fulfilled, the actions of the people, and the response of the rulers. Only in John do we find this account punctuated by a moment of recollection. After the prophecy is reported, John writes in chapter 12:16, “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him” (12:16).

6.                John does not ask us to step into the moment and to experience it. No, John actually asks us to step out of the moment and to reflect on it. For John, the entry into Jerusalem isn’t something we need to enter into. Instead, it is something we reflect on. Why? Because John knows that, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, things look different. After we have seen Jesus bear the burden of our punishment for our sins, after we have watched Jesus offer His life for our salvation, after we have witnessed His resurrection from the dead, and after we see He now rules over all things... after all that, this moment in His ministry takes on deeper meaning.

7.                In our world, people expect God to do great things. If you can heal the sick or predict the future or bring health, wealth, and happiness, you can gather a crowd and make claims about God. But, if you are a small church, struggling to keep the doors open... if you are an aging church ethnically undiversified... if you are a poor church renting out your building to survive... people wonder about you. “How dare you speak for God?” “Wouldn’t God be present with more fanfare?” “Wouldn’t his work be more obvious?” But, Jesus chooses to come among His people in humble ways, in bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, in plain water all connected with God’s Word. Today, we remember that reality: When Jesus approached His greatest work, He did it without fanfare.

8.                In our reading, John has brought us to the edge of the Passion, the hour of glory, and yet it is strangely anticlimactic. Jesus isn’t part of a royal procession. He comes to sinners unarmed. Only in recollection do the disciples realize what has happened. John tells us they, “...remembered that these things had been written about Him.” That is, they remembered God had promised to come into His Kingdom, not riding on a horse in military power but riding on a colt in divine humility. Years later, as they reflected on this moment, they began to glimpse the wonder of Jesus, a wonder He had then and a wonder He retains now. As Jesus goes about His work in the world, He does so through the way of humility.

9.                This is important because just as in our day people expect God to do great things, so in Jesus’ day it was the same thing. Consider this. Here in John 12 throngs of eager crowds arrive to meet Jesus, palm branches in hand, hailing Him with a song, quoted from Psalm 118: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel” (v. 13)! That the crowds wave palms while they sing is no small thing. The Jews had celebrated with palms centuries earlier after the Jewish commander Judas Maccabaeus crushed the Greek tyrant Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the rebellion of 164 BC, sealing their Jewish independence. And now, palm branches appear again. Their symbolism is thick: even as Simon Maccabaeus crushed the Greeks, Jesus will soon crush the Romans. At least, that is the hope of the crowd. And so, they break out the palms. Along with the palms, their quoting of Psalm 118 also betrays an attitude of nationalism. They use this psalm as a battle cry.

10.             The word Hosanna is Hebrew for “save now!” Their request of Jesus, then, is for Him to save them now from their oppressive Roman rulers. But even as they quote the psalmist’s words, they misunderstand the psalmist’s intent. Psalm 118 isn’t about conquering Rome in order to achieve salvation. Rather, it’s about Divine love so great that it moves people to receive salvation. The psalmist opens and closes his song: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1, 29). It’s God’s steadfast love, not a people’s nationalistic pride, which effects salvation. This is why Palm Sunday introduces Good Friday. It is at that cross that our salvation is won.

11.             Here in John 12, we see the reaction of the crowds to Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem and the very purpose for his coming are misunderstood (v 16). The crowds misunderstand Christ’s mission; they expect him to be a military leader. The disciples misunderstand Christ’s mission; they expect him to be an earthly ruler. And we misunderstand Christ’s mission; we want Jesus to serve our own sinful self-determined needs and wants.

12.             But, Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem leads to his ultimate glorification—his death on the cross (v 16). Jesus’ ultimate glory didn’t occur on Palm Sunday, but on Good Friday. Jesus identifies his glory with his death (Jn 12:23–33). This glorification through suffering is a paradox that the world can’t understand, but it’s revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ death is his most glorious moment because it is the accomplishment of his mission to redeem sinners. Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfill God’s plan of salvation, revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures, John 12:16 says, “That these things had been written about him.” God’s plan of salvation is that his Son bears the curse of sin so that sinners are forgiven. Because of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, you are reconciled to God (Jn 12:32; 2 Cor 5:19–20). We now glorify the Crucified One as our ultimate King. Here in John 12, we see the disciples recognized Christ’s true glory after his death and resurrection (v 16). We affirm Jesus to be our King who was glorified in his suffering and death.

13.             Today, as we gather for Palm Sunday, John invites us to join the disciples in faithful reflection. We don’t necessarily need to have a procession with palms. We do not need to enter the excitement of the crowds. We do not need to replay the children singing His praises or the tension of religious leaders despising the celebration. No, we are invited to simply experience the wonder of Jesus, the Lord of all, who does His work in humility.

14.             Today, you may hear the Word preached by a preacher who mumbles, I’ve been known to do that at times. Today, you may find your church is just a faint shadow of its former self in days of glory... but... take heart. Rejoice. Sing. Praise. Why? Because the Lord comes to you in humility. Jesus comes today to bring you salvation, but He chooses to be here in humble ways. In John’s gospel, Jesus approaches His greatest work without fanfare. In our lives, God comes in ways which are humble and quiet.

15.             Today, on Palm Sunday, we do not need to create a “were you there” experience. Why? Because God is already here: In words that are spoken announcing to you that your sins are forgiven, in bread that is broken for you and your salvation. Today, John encourages us to join the disciples, not in the mesmerizing mess that is the entry into Jerusalem, but in the clearer contemplation that follows. John encourages us to remember how God comes to us. God is here, in the humblest of ways through His means of grace. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

“The Promise of a Cosmopolitan Exodus,” Isaiah 11.11–16, Lent Mid. # 6, March ‘21

 1.      Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word in our Lenten Midweek series, “Coming Home from Exile: The Exoduses of the Scriptures,” is taken from Isaiah 11:11-16 and is entitled, “The Promise of a Cosmopolitan Exodus.”  Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.      Sometimes it sounds as if God has promised more than he can deliver. We might even wonder whether he’s just joking around with us. I mean, what military planner wouldn’t have to stop his laughter upon being told that the walls of Jericho would be blown down by lung power alone? Did God laugh when he gave that order? Or, what doctor wouldn’t chuckle at heaven when Moses bid dying Israelites gaze up at a bronze snake to be cured of their snakebites? There’s no way he could be serious, is there? And we’re even told that Lot’s sons-in-law thought he was merely joking when he informed them that God was going to reduce Sodom to one big ashtray by sunrise. It sounded far too far-fetched. But as we know, the Lord was not speaking tongue in cheek to Joshua, Moses, or Lot. He was serious, dead serious.

3.      So also, as impossible, even laughable, as it seemed, the Lord wasn’t kidding when he told old childless Abraham that through him would arise descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. God meant what he said. Through this one man, Christ would bless all the nations of the earth. It sounded as if God had bitten off more than he could chew. Why, Abraham was—if you’ll pardon the expression—a prime candidate for Viagra! And Sarah, his wife, dazzling though she was, would’ve been cashing Social Security checks! In fact, when eavesdropping on her husband’s visit with God, Mrs. Abraham began to giggle when she overheard that she, at her age, was to be a mother. So, about a year later, when Sarah, at the youthful age of—ahem—90 years, held a baby boy in her arms, Abraham gave him the name Isaac, which means laughter (Gen 21:3). You see, it was God who had the last laugh, as he always does. While his skeptical people chuckle and shake their heads, he comes through and does what he says, without fail.

4.      But always without fail? What about this promise preached by Isaiah, that Abraham’s descendants, scattered here and there and everywhere, would be gathered once more to Jerusalem? Sure, in days of old the Lord brought the Israelites out of one nation, Egypt. But the prophet says here that another exodus is coming, one in which God will extend his hand to recover the remnant of his people not only from Egypt, but from Assyria, Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coastlands of the sea. Hey, Isaiah, while you’re at it, why not tack on America and Australia, Germany and Mexico, Russia and Japan? And why limit it to just the Israelites? Why not include the Gentiles as well in this cosmopolitan exodus? “That’s exactly what I’ve done,” Isaiah might well respond, for he goes on to preach that “[God] will raise a banner for the [Gentile] nations and gather the exiles of Israel . . . from the four quarters of the earth” (11:12 NIV).

5.      But how could these things be? How could the heavenly Father rescue his captive children from all over the globe, remove every barrier that stands in their way, build a highway for them to travel upon, and lead them safe and sound to the holy city? How could men and women, Jews and Gentiles, young and old, be so closely linked together that jealousy departs and harassment ceases? How is it possible that these folks could overcome every enemy, represented by Isaiah as Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites? Stand beside giggling Sarah if you’re so inclined, laugh at the seeming impossibility of it all, but remember who it is that always has the last laugh.

6.      But hold back your laughter, all you Sarahs, long enough to enter with quiet awe into that rustic birthing room in David’s hometown. There in a feed trough lies an infant like all other babies, yet also unlike any other. For here is God in the flesh, come down to reign over a nation whose citizens are scattered over the 4 corners of the world.

7.      Hold back your laughter, all you Sarahs, long enough to listen to what this One preaches, that when he is lifted up on the crucifix, he “will draw all people to [himself]” (Jn 12:32). Hear him when he says that he will be a shepherd not only over the flock of the Jews, but the flock of Gentiles as well, so there will be one flock and one shepherd (Jn 10:16). Give ear to the words by which he sends out his apostles, that they go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to observe all that he has commanded them (Mt 28:20).

8.      And all you Sarahs, zip shut your lips, stifle every hint of laughter, when the Seed of Abraham undergoes his own bloody exodus from the city of Jerusalem, up the mount called Golgotha, onto the tree of the knowledge that God loves you. Let the demons laugh, but you keep silent at the sound of Roman hammers driving Roman steel through royal flesh; at the sound of his preaching, even while dying, from the pulpit of the cross; at the sound of his final breath, as those lungs, which breathed life into Adam, now breathe life back into all of us creatures of dust. Keep silent, all you Sarahs, laugh no more, as his holy corpse is laid to rest. Wait one day. Wait two. Wait three.

9.      And then, if you want to laugh, then by all means, when our resurrected Jesus climbs out of the grave on day three, then laugh with all the joy you can muster as the soldiers guarding his tomb faint like dead men. As demons shriek in astonished horror, as the world strips off her garment of mourning to greet the Creator and Savior of all, alive once more, never to die again! Laugh, Sarah! Laugh, Abraham! And laugh, all of you, their sons and daughters! Laugh joyfully and triumphantly, for God has accomplished the impossible. And all of it, every last bit of it, he has done for you!

10.   Now is fulfilled all that Isaiah foretold. Lift up your eyes and behold all the nations turned upside down.  See spilling out of them men and women, boys and girls, every color of the rainbow, spilling out and streaming to Jesus. From Assyria to America, from Egypt to Japan, from the 4 corners of the globe, those once fettered in sin are freed in Jesus. In his own bloody exodus from the city of Jerusalem, the Son of God has paved the way for all of you to enter the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of the living God. The demons are demolished; hell is vanquished. All our enemies tuck their tails between their legs and head for the hills when our new and greater David marches before us with the decapitated head of the devil, hell’s Goliath raised high in his hand.

11.   You join them, you children of Abraham; no matter who you are or what you’ve done, you are a member of this pilgrim throng. Sin, death, shame, regret, failure—all of you, be gone! You have no power, no claim over the children of God. You are drowned in the waters of the Sea reddened by heaven’s blood. Sin, accuse no more! Death, die! Satan, burn in hell! For our new and greater Moses has rescued us from the deepest depths of the deepest dungeons in the deepest, darkest, most depraved Egypts of the world. It is done. It is finished. The exodus of exoduses has been accomplished by the Lord of lords, all to bring you into the Holy of Holies above.

12.   Without fail, Jesus has done it all. And he who sits in the heavens, at the Father’s right hand, he laughs. And we laugh with him. Yes, even in Lent! For he has kept his promise. The last laugh is his, as well as ours, for God has kept his Word, now as always.  Though we laugh to ourselves at God’s promises, we laugh with God as He keeps His promises through Jesus.  Amen.

“A Case of Mistaken Identity” Mark 10.32-45, Lent 5B, March ‘21

 

1.                Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The message from God’s word on this Fifth Sunday in Lent, historically known as “Judica,” meaning “Judge me,” is taken from Mark 10:32-45. It’s entitled, “A Case of Mistaken Identity,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                The season of Lent turns our attention to judgment, especially God’s judgment against his own Son, instead of the world. But what does our world today think of judgment, and who in his right mind would invite it? Maybe the answer is found in the identity of the one calling out for judgment. Some are able to drink that cup; some are not. Jesus knows his identity; the disciples mistake theirs. Fortunately, in the dialogue that results, Jesus’ Identity Exposes Our Mistaken Identities but Also Restores Us in the Identity of Our Savior.

3.                Jesus knows very well his own identity. Mark 10:32-34 says, “³²And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, ³³saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

4.                Jesus knows that he’s going up to Jerusalem. We have positive impressions of the phrase “going up.” We think of rising to a place of power & prestige, even as King David once did in this very city. But King David, like every other ruler who conquered Jerusalem, did so by the blood and at the risk of the lives of others. Now the descendant of David is going up to Jerusalem in order to suffer under the consequences of our self-exaltation. The Lord Jesus will conquer much more than Jerusalem and will do it only at the cost of his own life.

5.                Jesus knows he’s going down the path of humility.  While Jesus is going up physically to Jerusalem, he is going down the path to suffering and death, both physically and spiritually, as he describes in clear language to his disciples. Our Epistle lesson for today from Hebrews 5 also describes this beautifully and clearly.

6.                Consider, then, the relationship between the upwardly mobile and the downtrodden. We can’t make ourselves higher except by making others lower and putting them under us. We have it in our minds that life consists of ruling over others while they support us. Jesus demonstrates what dominion really means by submitting himself to the support and restoration of the life of the world.

7.                Jesus knows that the resurrection is the final piece of what is to come (v 34b). He’s plainly said it. The Gospel begins and ends with God’s gracious gift of life: the life of his incarnate Son and the restoration of that life given for ours. So, knowing his identity and what that ultimately means, Jesus welcomes judgment. He will rise because he is the source of all life. He simply can’t perish forever by either the execution of men or the judgment of God, since sacrificing his own life for ours out of love is the essential characteristic of life.

8.                The disciples badly mistake their identities. Two disciples, James and John, have mistaken their identity. Mark 10:35-39a says, “³⁵And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to [Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹And they said to him, “We are able.”

9.                In contrast to the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught them, “Thy will be done,” these two ask that Jesus would grant them whatever they ask. At times we feel entitled to seek our own way. At other times we might have a sense of excitement or anticipation in getting whatever we ask (as children do composing a Christmas or birthday list).

10.             But we ought to consider the results of a world full of people all trying to get what they want while ignoring what God’s will is. A great illustration of this is in the 2003 movie starring Jim Carrey called, “Bruce Almighty.” It’s the tale of Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey), a down on his luck news reporter who gets frustrated with God. Bruce accuses God of being cruel and not doing His job, so God (Morgan Freeman) gives Bruce His powers for one week to show him that he can’t do it any better. In one particular scene, Bruce tries to figure out how to answer the prayers of the world and decides to create a computerized system called YAHWEH email. He realizes that the more prayers he answers, the more prayers come in. Frustrated, he decides to answer “yes” to all prayers. The results of Bruce’s action cause extreme chaos in the world when everyone in the world gets what they want. If left to our sinful wants and desires, we would be led to destroy ourselves and each other in our greed, our desire for power, and control. In fact, even when we do get our way, our own way keeps changing and the world is forever telling us we are behind or out of step or on the wrong side of history. The world and our own passions demand that we keep up by our own efforts, while Jesus is fulfilling the real demands of life for us.

11.             Sitting at the right hand means a position of honor or power. But that position, in this case, seeks to use selfishly the power and honor that were earned selflessly by another. What is glory, anyway? Glory means to do what no one else can do or would do. In the case of James and John, there is no genuine glory in this for them since they are doing what everyone else does, acting selfishly.

12.             And do the disciples really want Jesus’ cup and baptism? Cup in the Bible has to do with what one’s life is full of; baptism means “to be washed” or, more important, “awash” in something. Jesus is going to drink down all that life requires of a person; perfect obedience to divine Law and absolute condemnation for failure. James and John don’t really want to drink that cup! They have mistaken their identities!

13.             The other ten are just as mistaken about their identities as are the two. Mark 10:41 says, “⁴¹And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.” The selfish character of our nature since the fall is shocking and evident as the other disciples have not learned from James’s and John’s mistake. Are we making the same mistake as well? Are you ever angry at the selfish behavior of others while unaware of your own? All twelve disciples are taking their lead from the world rather than from Jesus. The process of discipleship always has in view the fact that our human nature can’t be separated from the selfish orientation that it has inherited from Adam.

14.             That being their identity, the disciples are foolish to invite judgment. Here’s the sad truth of humanity since the fall: the harder people try to make a life for themselves at the expense of others, the less they experience the real life they are seeking. How rewarding or fulfilling is it to buy things for yourself that you don’t really need? What genuine and lasting pleasure does a person have for taking affection selfishly from another? Do children have a better life because they disobey curfew set by their parents on the weekends?

15.             But Jesus’ identity restores us to our identity in him. Jesus says in Mark 10:38-40, “38Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Jesus’ matter-of-fact explanation to James and John is remarkable, but consistent with his love for his disciples since that love requires patience in order to reach its goal. The cup and baptism that were more than the disciples understood Jesus would take. Jesus would drink down all that life requires of us, be completely awash in the burden of our condemnation and the weight of restoring our lives. This love is his glory and what he properly effects from the right hand of the Father.

16.             Submission to the Father is evident with Jesus even in his answer to the two disciples. Jesus doesn’t scold these two nor respond with outrage that they should so lightly seek what belongs to him at such a cost. Jesus defers always to the Father, whom he trusts absolutely. Jesus’ word to the Twelve shows the love that is always his identity. Mark 10:42-45 says, “⁴²And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We simply can’t tear our material passions away from a material world that appeals to us. But the power of God’s Word and grace, demonstrated here in Jesus, is capable of regenerating our soul, setting a very different force to work in our lives.

17.             Jesus turns the pyramid upside down. Since ancient times, people have recognized that the more people you have supporting you, the less you have to do for yourself. Even today, people have made immense fortunes of money by organizing a business on a pyramid scheme. But, Jesus inverts the pyramid, teaching us that real authority and power are demonstrated in putting oneself at the bottom of the heap. The Old Testament Reading from Jeremiah invites us to consider this New Testament of Jesus, in which he provides all that supports our life.

18.             Jesus provides the absolute foundation for identity and for life. Jesus introduces this absolute foundation with the word for. That little word explains to us that everything Jesus is doing and all he has taught is directed by this reality: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (v 45). Into this, Christ’s identity, we are baptized, and this gives us our new identity: in our Baptism, we are in Christ. His identity has become our identity.

19.             Our new identity as Christians? Inviting judgment so that we may honestly repent of our mistakes; inviting the judgment of God that declares under the New Testament as Jeremiah declares, “For I will forgive their iniquity” (Jer 31:34). Being in Christ in light of Jesus’ identity makes us a people who seek to serve others from the abundance God gives each of us, rather than trying to get what we don’t have from others. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.

 

 

 

 

“Exile and Return from Our Babylons,” Ezra 1.1-4 Lenten Midweek #5

 

1.                Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word as we continue our Lenten sermon series, “Coming Home From Exile:  The Exoduses of the Scriptures,” is taken from Ezra 1:1-4 and is entitled, “Exile and Return from Our Babylons,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                God isn’t a cantankerous hothead who’s ready to blow up at the drop of a hat. He’s long-tempered, slow to anger, quick to forgive. In the days of Noah, he gave the world’s population 120 years to repent before drowning them in the worldwide flood. He put up with Nineveh’s murderous ways for many a day before sending Jonah—and even then he gave them 40 more days to repent before He would bring His judgment upon them. And He put up with Jonah’s bellyaching at the same time! He was patient with Jacob’s deceptions, Solomon’s womanizing, and—most amazing of all, the example of divine self-control—he’s patient even with the likes of you and me.

3.                But be warned. There’s a limit. There does come a point when the Heavenly Father puts every kid’s least favorite proverb into practice, namely, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” Just ask His rebellious son Israel; He’ll tell you all about how that rod of fatherly discipline feels across one’s backside. For over 200 years God bombarded his people with prophet after prophet, all preaching variations of the same sermon: “Turn back to the true God, or He will turn His face away from you.” From Amos to Isaiah, Hosea to Jeremiah, they all read Israel’s upcoming obituary, but the hearers by and large either laughed or shrugged the message away. Or they killed the messenger. After all, they’d heard this stuff before. “Yeah, the last prophet preached the same thing and, lo and behold, Rev. Chicken Little, the sky hasn’t fallen yet.”

4.                Oh, but fall it did, with the whole weight of Babylon pressing it down. This superpower, under King Nebuchadnezzar, bulldozed Jerusalem, ground her temple to dust, and reduced even her most powerful, rich, and wealthy citizens to a ragtag band of prisoners of war. Like Lot’s wife, no doubt many of them looked back to see their leveled city, salty tears drenching their once happy faces. To Babylon they were marched, their backs reddened by the rod of discipline, their ears full of the divine words that had gone unheard. Homeless and hopeless into exile they went.

5.                Well, actually, homeless, yes, but hopeless, no. For as the Lord had informed Abraham how many years Israel would be stuck in Egypt, so he had told Jeremiah how long his nation would call Babylon “home-sour-home.” It would be 70 years, plenty of time to take stock of how much they had invested in idolatry. For the wages of rebellion is exile, but the gift of God is homecoming, in God’s time and in God’s way, but all according to grace.

6.                And so, according to grace, Babylon’s bubble burst as Persia moved up to the number one world power. According to grace, Cyrus, king of Persia, issued an edict that all exiled Israelites were free to head home. And according to grace, men such as Ezra stepped into Moses’ shoes to lead the children of Abraham out of the sewer reeking of idolatry and falsehood back into the land flowing with milk and honey.

7.                That’s the kind of God the Israelites had. And that’s the kind of God you have too. He’s the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, next year, and forever. He provides Noah with an ark for the salvation of his household. He brings Abraham out of exile. He takes Jacob by the hand and brings him back to his fatherland. He escorts Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He pulls his people out of the quicksand of Babylon and sets them on the solid ground of Canaan. And he has done the same for you, no matter what or where your own Babylon may have been.

8.                Is your Babylon the land of addiction, where your whole life revolves around the next drink, the next fix, the next porn site, the next whatever that provides that high you don’t think you can live without? From the Babylonian land of addiction, Jesus has delivered you. He’s the God who welcomes all, from the needle-scarred prostitute to the white-collared CEO. He’s no respecter of persons. He tears down your prisons, keeps the enemy at bay, and carries you out of Babylon. He will do it, and he has done it. For he wants you to be His, and His alone. And He has done and will do what it takes to make that happen.

9.                Or is your Babylon the land of pleasure, where every dime you earn, every free hour you have, is spent in doing whatever makes your skin tingle, feeds your sexual appetite, or just puts a self-satisfied smile on your face? From the Babylonian land of pleasure, Jesus has delivered you. He has come to show you that true and lasting pleasure is found solely in Him and His love. The joy with which He fills you outlasts every passing pleasure that this world holds before your eyes. There’s no greater joy than being able to lay your head down on the pillow every night with a clean conscience—a conscience clean not because you’ve passed the day without sinning, but because you know and believe that your sins are forgiven in Christ. However big they are, the love of Jesus is always bigger.

10.             Or is your Babylon simply the going-through-the-motions life, a sad existence covered by a smile and well-practiced laugh? You have your career, your family, your friends—all of which give the appearance that life is fine and dandy. But under this outward disguise is sheer emptiness, a black hole of despair that sucks into it every single aspect of your life. From this Babylon too, Christ is your deliverer. He’s not content merely to take away your sins and death; He also fills your life with Himself, with His own life. And where He is, there is contentment, no matter what your circumstances, rich or poor, healthy or sick. It is the contentment of knowing that you really do matter to God, that your life, your job, your marriage, your children, your all, really and truly matter to Him. It’s the contentment of knowing that in your actions as spouse, parent, or worker, Christ is active, using what you do, to do good to and for your neighbor.

11.             Whatever your Babylon, whatever that place of captivity and exile, it can’t keep captive you for whom Jesus died. His crucifixion tree is the sledgehammer that pounds away at every wall that bars you in. As Samson once tore the gates of a city from the earth and carried them high on a hill, so has the greater Samson, Jesus, wrecked the gates of every Babylon of addiction, every Babylon of pleasure, every Babylon of a lifeless life to bring you home to himself. He didn’t rest until it was done. As He brought forth His own resurrected body from the tomb, so has He raised you to life in His name and brought you forth alive again into the kingdom of God.

12.             No, God isn’t a cantankerous hothead who’s ready to blow up at the drop of a hat. He’s long-tempered with you, slow to be angry with you, quick to forgive you. And that’s the way He is because, well, that’s just the way He is with you and for you in Christ Jesus. And He won’t change. Not ever. He’s the God who is on your side. And because of that, you need fear no Babylon. The Lord Jesus has conquered them all for you.  According to His Grace, God Delivered Us Home from Babylon.  Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.