Luke 24:1-12: Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, Easter, 21 April 2019[1] by Captain Michael Ramsay

Now I must admit that when I was a kid I used to be quite good at hide-and-seek: I had a great way to not get caught – it also worked very well with my own kids when they were little – when I was hiding and they were looking for me, I kept my eyes open and watched to see where they were and listened to discover where they were looking and as soon as they had looked in a particular spot, I would move from where I was hiding to that exact spot where they just were, knowing that they won’t look there again. This worked really well in a house with an upstairs and a downstairs because as soon as the kids came upstairs, I would make a beeline straight downstairs.

Hide and seek: Did you ever play hide and seek? There is one thing that you notice playing ‘hide and seek’ with mostly little kids but sometimes with older ones as well.  It is really quite neat. Most of them when they are hiding, they close their eyes. So when you call out, ‘1-2-3, I see you’ – you will sometimes hear – ‘no you don’t! …I have my eyes closed’ or ‘1-2-3, I see you’ - ‘you can’t; I’m invisible still…I still have my eyes closed.’  This is not totally unrelated from our text today, as people are wondering why they can’t see Jesus.

In our pericope today the disciples and specifically the women are convinced that they know where Jesus is and what is happening. They look in the spot where they know he went, the tomb for the dead, but Jesus has moved. He is back in the land of the living. And so the angels ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

The people in our story today have no expectation that Jesus will rise from the dead. Even though he alluded to the fact that he will rise from the dead (Luke 9:22, 44; 18:32-33) and even though he himself raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11), no one had ever been raised from the dead like this before so they did not expect it – and really can we blame them? When is the last time you went to a funeral and the funeral home director or the minister opens the coffin and says, now where did your uncle John get to? Did anyone see John? Hmm, I wonder if he has just become alive again and walked out the door. I hate it when that happens…

Actually in Toronto we did run into something like that. The only time I have ever seen anything like that: We had a funeral bulletin board on the wall where we would put funeral cards and pictures of people who had been promoted to Glory. And we did have to actually take one down as the person was verified to be walking around and actually spoke with a couple of members of the congregation. But this is the only time I have ever seen anything like that: dead people walking around alive is the exception rather than the rule of course…

The women, in our text today, aren't expecting to see him alive at the grave. They head out to the tomb it says with spices in hand. Luke 23:56 tells us that the women in Jesus life prepared these spices before the Sabbath began but waited until after to anoint the body;[2] so what is the purpose of anointing the body? Some have suggested that it has to do with an embalming practice of sorts but, of course, the Jewish people never practiced embalming;[3] however, it does still have to do with a burial rite of first century Palestine (cf. Shabbath 23:4,5).[4] The women are preparing to see a dead man. They don’t believe yet in the imminent resurrection.

Mark – in his gospel - lets us listen to the women’s conversation en route to the tomb. On the way to the grave, what are they talking about? What’s on their minds? Are they discussing the possibility of the resurrection? Are they wondering if…maybe…could he have risen from the dead? No. What Mark records in his gospel is that they are concerned with the rock in front of tomb. Who’ll roll it away they wonder? They think they are going to see a dead man sealed in a tomb. They don’t know he’s alive.

It must to them then seem like everything that the women and the other disciples had pinned their hopes and dreams on was for nothing. Do we ever get like that? Do we ever get disillusioned? This must be what it feels like for the women at first, seeing as they head out with these spices. They are in mourning going out to pay respect to a dead leader rather than a risen saviour. They are out there looking for the living among the dead.

Do we ever get like that? Do we ever look for the living among the dead? Do we ever come here to church as if we are headed out to a funeral rather than a victory party? Do we ever come here on Sunday morning to pay tribute to a dead historical figure and read scriptures as if they are eulogies? Sunday Meeting – do we sometimes treat it like a funeral service?

Look – church services have some of the same trappings as funerals / memorial services. In a funeral we sing some favourite songs; in church we sing some favourite songs. In a funeral we read some favourite scriptures and at church we read some favourite scriptures. At a funeral we often have flowers and pictures of the deceased. There are often flowers and pictures, depictions of Christ at church. At a funeral we talk about the life of the person who has passed away. In church we speak about Jesus; do we do it as if he has passed away? Do we ever come here as if we are looking for the living among the dead?

I think of some comments that I read on-line. I often scan news sites and such quickly on the computer to see what is going on in our world. I was reading this one story. It was a horrible story actually. The CBC headline said ‘Christians celebrate Palm Sunday’ or something like that and when you clicked on the article it had nothing much to do with that at all.[5] It was just an open attack on the Roman Catholic Church, highlighting some of the sex abuse scandals that the press likes to report ad nauseam. The headline said ‘Christians celebrate Palm Sunday’ and then the article just attacked the church. It was the same with a lot of the coverage of the Notre Dame tragedy. This is certainly a sign of the times in our country as we move further and further away from our Lord and Saviour. I was particularly struck by some of the comments posted about the article. There were a number of commentators who were upset. There were a lot of anti-Christian comments and people attacking religion in general and Christians in specific. One comment someone made caught my attention. This person wrote that with all of this fighting going on about the church, Christ is probably ‘rolling over in his grave’…now I don’t know if you catch the significance to this comment or not – Christ is probably ‘rolling over in his grave’- but someone did because the reply to that comment went like this: Jesus won’t be rolling over in his grave because he is no longer in the grave. He has risen from the grave. This is an important distinction. He’s not dead; he is alive. We should not look for the living among the dead.

In our story today, we are told that the women who go to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body are perplexed by all this (Luke 24:4) because Jesus isn’t lying in his grave like their other friends and relatives that have passed away. They are perplexed and while they are staring at where is body is supposed to be … suddenly these two men (Luke 24:4), angels (cf. 24:23, Matthew 28:2-5; Mark 16:5), appear beside them! Can you imagine? It says that the ladies are frightened – no kidding – can you imagine? Again, you arrive at a viewing before a funeral. Uncle John, or whoever, isn’t in his coffin where he is expected to be, and the room that he is supposed to be kept in for safekeeping is wide open and while you are standing there with your cards and flowers in hand - suddenly two brightly shining angles appear beside you. This would be quite a thing. Is it any wonder that the women were afraid? Who wouldn’t be just a little bit startled at all this? Is it any wonder too that when the women told their friends this story that their friends didn’t believe them (NIV); it says that they thought the women were talking nonsense (NIV) or making up some idle tale (ESV, Luke 23:10-11). And really what would you think? Would you think that an executed person – a person that you may have seen executed yourself - would be found among the living or the dead?

The women go on, of course, to tell the disciples all that these two angels, these two men in shining clothes, told them[6]:  “‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again’” (Luke 24:5-7; but cf. Matthew 28:7, Mark 16:7; cf. also Luke 9:30-31) It is after that that they remember Jesus words and begin to realize the truth of the resurrection and what exactly Jesus had been talking about all along (cf. 9:22, 44; 18:32-33). You see they had come to the tomb looking for Jesus – who is alive – among the dead. Now even in the midst of all this unbelief, Peter runs out to the tomb to take a look for himself, Verse 12, and he takes a look and he sees Jesus' burial clothes, the linen strips lying there and he doesn’t quite know what to think (cf. John 20:3ff.). It says he left there wondering exactly what had happened.[7]

Now – of course – 2000 years later, we know what happened (cf. Mark 16, Luke 24:36ff., John 20:19ff., John 21; Acts 2-4, 10,13). We have a mass of eyewitness accounts and historical documents explaining to us that Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus rose from the dead (cf. Mark 16:9ff., Luke 24:13ff., John 20-21, Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-20; cf. also Gospel of Peter 35-42). Even in our Bibles here, all four Gospel accounts relate how Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of the World rose from the grave (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20). Historically, legally, theologically there is no compelling evidence to direct us to any other conclusion than that he rose from the grave,[8] defeating death but that doesn’t make it any less surprising when you are in the midst of it; the good news is of course that they all do get it – and I invite you to read the end of the book of Luke in your Bible this week. Depending, there is only one more page to Luke’s Gospel. We are studying Luke in our Tuesday night Bible study. And even if you read the whole book of Luke from cover to cover, I can’t imagine that it would take you much more than an hour to read. The end of this gospel is exciting too because as the days and weeks unfold, a number of the disciples – hundreds of them – actually do see Jesus (cf. Luke 24:12-29). They see that he rose from the dead and they get it. They understand that what they thought on Palm Sunday was right: Jesus is the King of Kings and he is the Prince of Peace. He isn’t just a dead good moral leader or a failed revolutionary; he really is not only King of the Jews, as was written on his cross (cf. Mark 15:26; John 19:19-21; Luke 23:38; cf. also Matthew 2:2, 27:12; Mark 15:2-12; Luke 23:3); but indeed he is Lord of heaven and earth. He has risen from the dead.  He is real and we have a real access to God today.[9]

I am reminded of an object lesson that I saw from an Officer – Captain Gord Taylor – when he was posted in Maple Creek a few years ago. It made an impression on me. Do you remember those bracelets that were once so popular? They said WWJD or What Would Jesus Do? Now these are good for a couple of reasons: 1) when we see them we hopefully think of Christ and 2) Hopefully they can be a wonderful tool for evangelism as people see them and ask us about them we can share our faith. Gord made a very good point about those bracelets though: He said that instead of WWJD, What Would Jesus Do, they should say, Jesus what should I do?

Do you see the subtle difference? The difference is that he is alive – so we can actually ask Jesus what we can do. This is the difference that I invite us all to recognize here on this Easter Sunday. Jesus isn’t just a dead leader - moral, political, or otherwise, whose code of ethics or political ethos we should follow; Jesus is Lord whom we should serve. Rather than just talking about what we think he would do in a difficult situation, we can come to him in any situation and ask him, “Jesus, what should I do?” This is important. We don’t just need to talk about a person who lived 2000 years ago, we can speak directly to the ruler of heaven and earth, who is alive, who is here and who is -in essence- standing in our midst.

Let us call upon him now.

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[1] Based on the sermon by the same name presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army on Easter Sunday, 04 April 2010, by Captain Michael Ramsay. Available on-line:

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/luke-241-12-why-do-you-look-for-living.html

[2] CF. RCH Lenski. The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel. P. 737, for a different opinion: he believes that these indeed may be entirely different spices.

[3] Walter Wessel: Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: Mark, The Resurrection (16:1-8), Book Version: 4.0.2 : it was a single act of love and devotion probably meant to reduce the stench of the decomposing body. Palestine's hot climate causes corpses to decay rapidly. Thus the action of the women seems strange. Perhaps they thought that the coolness of the tomb would prevent the decomposition process from taking place as rapidly as it otherwise would.

[4] Leon Morris Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, (TNTC3: Downers Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 1988), note on  Luke 25:53-56, Disc: Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentaries (US) (3.0f) version 2009-10-09T22:50:34Z.

[5] CBC News, 'Christians observe Palm Sunday' Last Updated: Sunday, March 28, 2010 | 11:06 PM ET (cited 28 Mar 2010) Available on-line: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/28/pope-palm-sunday.html#ixzz0jgY29PGv

[6] Luke Timothy Johnson, ‘Luke 24:1-11’ in Interpretation 46 no 1 Jan 1992, p 57:

“Luke's diction in describing their ‘shining clothes’ recalls to the careful reader the "two men" (Moses and Elijah) who conversed with Jesus at the transfiguration (Luke 9:30-31) as well as the "two men" who interpret for the disciples Jesus' ascension (Acts 1:10). We recognize in these intertextual signals an allusion to Luke's presentation of Jesus as "the prophet like Moses" whom God raised up.”

[7]Cf. Walter L. Leifled.The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: Luke/Exposition of Luke/VI. Concluding Events (19:45-24:53)/C. The Resurrection and Ascension (24:1-53)/1. The Resurrection (24:1-12), Book Version: 4.0.2 : “Peter leaves, "wondering" (thaumuzon) to himself about this. In Luke people "wonder" about things that are hard to understand. The word does not in itself imply either belief or unbelief. We conclude that Peter is still incredulous at this point, not because the verb implies it, but because his visit to the empty tomb fails, in spite of the evidence, to evoke a statement of belief from him (cf. John 20:8).”

[8] Cf. NT Wright, ‘The Challenge of Easter’ (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP: 2009), pp. 30-32.

[9] Frank J. Matera, ‘John 20:1-18’, in Interpretation 43 no 4 O 1989, p 406: “Jesus is most present to the church precisely because he has returned to the Father. Although the church no longer experiences Jesus in a physical way as the disciples once did, its experience of him is real and intimate because of the life-giving Spirit he has sent upon it.”

Deuteronomy 6:1-12: Children's Songs

Presented to 614 Warehouse Mission, 30 April 2017, Alberni Valley Ministries, 23 October 2022, by Major Michael Ramsay

 

This is the original 2017 Toronto version. To view the 2022 Alberni Valley version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2017/04/deuteronomy-61-12-childrens-songs.html  


The other week my teenagers and I went to the Bon Jovi concert. It was a great show. Jon Bon Jovi performed in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey the night right after they made the play-offs. It was a lot of fun. Probably the best parts of the concert were the songs that I knew - the old ones. I didn't always care so much for the newer songs; some of these 'newer songs' were over 30 years old, mind you. The encore was especially good because that is when they played most of these old songs I knew. You could tell the band was made up of experienced showmen too because of the way they ran the performance. You could also tell because the original band members all had grey hair. And it was funny: by the time he had finished the encore at about 11pm or so it looked like Jon Bon Jovi just wanted to go to bed.


It was a good show and the best part of the experience, like I said, was the memories attached to the songs and the opportunity to share those memories with my kids. It meant a lot. Later this year we have tickets to GNR, Deep Purple, and Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper by the way is an outspoken Christian and the son of a preacher. I actually saw Alice Cooper in concert when I was 17 years-old and now I am going with my 16 and 15 year-old daughters. This sort of thing is what our text today is about: sharing our memories with our kids so they can experience all the joy we did and so we can add even more to those memories together. This may even be exactly what is happening in our text today, Moses might be bringing the Deuteronomy generation to hear the same Ten Commandments play at Mt Sinai that the Exodus generation had heard before them.[1]

The part of the Scriptures we are reading from today takes place when Moses is probably reminding the children of the children of Israel who left Egypt about the 10 Commandments.[2] He is reminding them about the time he came down the mountain to their parents and originally shared these commandments. We remember that scene don't we? I think some of the women's group even watched the move, '10 Commandments' with Charleston Heston this past Tuesday. The only problem is... I think that movie is 20 hours long - okay maybe 4 hours, but still it is a very long show. That is as long as some people’s work shifts.


In our Scriptures today Moses is talking to the children of the people he received the 10 Commandments with. It is important that children are reminded of, remember and participate in their parents’ experiences. It is important to remember what the Lord has done. When we fail to remember our culture, we lose it; when we fail to remember our past, we lose our future; when we fail to remember what defines us as a people then we cease to be a nation;[3] and when we fail to remember our salvation with our children, then we will find that future generations are not experiencing that salvation anymore (Deuteronomy 8:19-20).[4] This is what is happening in Canada today. This is what Moses is driving home with this next generation of Israelites. This is important. Don't just hope that our children will learn something from a teacher, preacher, or priest. Don't just hope they'll learn life's lessons by accident. Sharing our faith history is our responsibility. Our very survival depends on what we remember from the past and how we carry that into the future.[5]


In our world today, songs are a great way to bring memories and knowledge and experiences forward to a new generation. I am going to list some songs and see if you can tell me who sang them for one generation or the next [Answers in footnote below]:[6] (1) Cats in the Cradle (2) Signs (3) You're so Vain (4) California Girls (5) Knocking on Heaven’s Door (6) Live and Let Die (7) Landslide (8) Johnny B Goode


I remember turning on the radio a few years ago now and... There is this old Irish folk song – generations old – called 'Whiskey in the Jar'. I don’t know if anyone here knows that song or not. Susan knows all kinds of these old folk songs. She really likes some of those old fashioned numbers and so as a result I was familiar with it. Well, I got in the car one day, turned on one of the local radio stations in the town where we were living at the time and – I don’t know if anyone here is familiar with Metallica, they are a contemporary heavy metal band – I heard them doing a heavy metal rendition of this old Irish folk song. I was sort of in shock. I was struck by it as I began to think of all the remakes of songs that I have heard over the years. Many times the remakes were my first exposure to the song and it got me thinking. When the words of an old song are put to a new tune they become accessible to a new generation. As we continue to sing these same songs in new ways, we remain faithful to their intent, passing it onto our children and to our children’s children. This is like our personal testimonies and conversations about the Lord. When we put the gospel message of salvation into our own words, in our own tune and share it with our own children then we are indeed passing that eternal truth of salvation down from one generation to the next.


Similarly when Krys (Warehouse Mission Band) here writes new lyrics to old tunes, all of us can hear the gospel expressed in music that resonates in our hearts and souls and hopefully every time we hear that familiar, sometimes timeless tune we can remember what the Lord has done for us, with us, through us and in us.


This is what our Scripture today sees Moses doing with the Deuteronomy generation.[7] God, through Moses, says of the lyrics of the 10 Commandments (Deuteronomy 6:7-9):


Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Moses wants the people to remember even more than just the words to these 10 Commands, of course. The Bible says God remembered Israel when they were in slavery. Now, will they remember Him when they are free? God remembers us when we are struggling. Do we remember Him when we are free? We may turn to God when things are bad; do we turn away from Him when we feel free to live our life for ourselves?[8] Do we remember what God has done for us as we are delivered from our problems? Do we remember how God saved those alongside us? Do we remember how God saved our family members before us? Do we remember how God saved the founders of our country? Do we remember how God saved the Israelites?

Do we remember the things that God did for the Israelites before he brought them out of Egypt? How did God reveal himself to Pharaoh? Remember the Passover? Remember the plagues (Exodus 7-12)? When Sarah-Grace was 12 or so we hit the road with an excellent sermon she preached about the plagues.[9] I still have it. Maybe one day she can share it with us here. Do we remember the plagues God used to save the children of Israel? What were they? Snakes, blood, frogs, gnats, flies, cows (dead livestock), boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of the first born. God wants Israel to remember their salvation from, in and through these plagues. God wants them to remember how they were saved as death passed them over. And God wants us to remember also how generations and a testament later, Jesus won the ultimate victory over death so that we all might live. This is what Easter and Good Friday are all about.


We have just come out of the Lenten season. Lent is when we are invited to give up something for the Lord. When I was a kid, Catholics would give up meat - except for fish - every Friday, not just during Lent. Fish Friday: I worked in a fish and chip shop for a very short time as a teenager and I still remember Fish Fridays.


When we invite our children and grandchildren to participate in Lenten services in preparation for Easter and Advent services in advance of Christmas; when we bring friends and family to Christmas and Easter pageants, when we invite people to a church service here with us, we are carrying on that salvation tradition and experience.


When we bring our children and grandchildren to church we remember and experience corporate worship and salvation together as a family. When we read our Bibles with our children and grandchildren and friends, we pass along the stories of salvation from one generation to the next - we show them what is important by what we do with each other; and as we read the Bible together, as we each experience our glorious personal salvation we can see how that fits in with salvation history and how we are included in the salvation of the whole world.


When we say grace with future generations before dinner - whether at home or in public - we are teaching others the importance of prayer. When we say grace, when we pray in public, we may even be unknowingly encouraging even strangers to be faithful. They might see us and then remember that indeed they prayed with their parents as a kid and then head home and pass on that marker and catalyst for that same salvation relationship with their own children; and then they may experience that same access to all the power, mercy, grace and glory of God.


So, as Hebrews 10:25 extols us, let us not stop meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. Let us not stop singing our songs of salvation to new tunes for new generations, let us not stop adding those timeless words of salvation to songs that resonate in our hearts and souls as we do here every week. Let us always read the stories of Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ with our children, our children's children, our friends, and our family. This week, let us resolve to take the Good News of Salvation and share it with everyone we meet so that they and we may experience the fullness of God's love today and forever more.


Let us pray.


www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf. Thompson, J. A., Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 128

[2]Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Deuteronomy 8: The Next Generation Thanks The Lord' (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, 09 October 2011). Available on-line:http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/10/deuteronomy-8-next-generation-thanks.html

[3]Cf. Thomas E. McComiskey, The Expositor's Bible Commentary,  PradisCD-ROM:Amos/Introduction to Amos/Theological Values of Amos/The doctrine of election in Amos, Book Version: 4.0.2; cf. also Willy Schottroff, “To Perceive, To Know,” in Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 3 eds. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997),516.

[4]Deuteronomy 8:19-20: “If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.”

[5] Luciano C. Chianeque and Samuel Ngewa, '6:10-25: The Importance of Remembering', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 222.

[6] Cats in the Cradle (Harry Chapin, Ugly Kid Joe), Signs (Five Man Electrical Band), You're so Vain (Carlie Simon, Faster Pussy Cat), California Girls (Beach Boys, David Lee Roth), Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan, GNR), Live and Let Die (Paul McCarthy, GNR), Landslide (Fleetwood Mac, Smashing Pumpkins), Johnny B Goode (Chuck Berry, Elvis, Judas Priest, AC DC, Motorhead, etc).

[7]Cf. Ronald E. Clements, The Book of Deuteronomy, (NIB II: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1998), 355.

[8] Cf. Luciano C. Chianeque and Samuel Ngewa, '6:10-25: The Importance of Remembering', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 222.

[9] Sarah-Grace Ramsay, Plague Pops – Salvation only comes from God (Exodus 7-12). Presented to Maple Creek Corps of The Salvation Army, 10 August, 2014 and Swift Current, 17 August 2014, available online: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/08/plague-pops-salvation-only-comes-from.html

Isaiah 11:1-10: On that Day.

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park on the second Sunday of Advent 04 Dec 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay

In our world today we are subservient to politico-socio-economic systems where one person becomes rich as over 25 000 children die each day due to poverty. Some people become millionaires for appearing on a screen or playing sports while many others cannot afford to feed and clothe themselves. In our world today there is pornography, which horribly is America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money spent on one professional team alone would feed and clothe the world. This is our world today. But…

  

ISAIAH 11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

  

ON THAT DAY… From a stump – an albeit dead tree – that has been chopped down, burned down, rotted out or otherwise destroyed, from this stump a shoot, new life will Spring up.
  

Isaiah says this shoot will come from the stump of Jesse; who is Jesse? (King David’s father) Who was King David? David was one of only 2 or 3 kings of a unified Israel.

  

David was the first king of Judah. Every other king of Judah claimed to be descended from David. They walked away from God and as they did, they were carried into captivity. The nation and the people, it seemed, were finished. The Kingdom of Judah, like Israel, eventually rotted out and became like a burned out, chopped down stump. It is from this stump that new life will spring. It is a descendant of David who will rule not only Israel but also the whole world. Who is this descendant of David who will rule the whole world? Jesus.[1] ON THAT DAY…

  

11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
  

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

What does it mean that he has knowledge of the fear of the LORD and that his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD? Why does he delight in fear? What does that mean?

The phrase ‘fear of the LORD’ can describe dread (Deut 1:29), being terrified (Jonah 1:10), standing in awe (1 Kings 3:28), or having reverence (Lev 19:3). With the Lord as the object, this phrase captures both aspects of shrinking back in fear and of drawing close in awe. It is not a trembling dread that paralyzes action, but neither is it a polite reverence (Plaut, p. 32).[2]

Strong’s dictionary and concordance define this ‘fear’ as ‘moral reverence’ acknowledging that the phrase encompasses more than that – it can refer to a sense of moral dread or even of an exceeding moral fearfulness.[3] What does this mean? What is the difference between this reverent, moral fearfulness that leads to knowledge or wisdom and the fearful, panic-stricken, timid phobia that leads to cowering? What is this fear of the Lord?

Are we familiar with the word ‘deference’? Deference means respect. People often have a certain amount of deference (respect) for our uniforms. I have had many people alter their language and try not to swear in my presence because of my uniform that represents my office as a representative of God. Even non-believers tend to offer this token of deference to The Salvation Army uniform. Even more than that I have seen people show a healthy respect in courtrooms when they are in front of the judge. This kind of thing is what Isaiah is talking about when he says Jesus will delight in the fear of the LORD. ON THAT DAY…

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

What does it mean that he shall not judge by what he sees or hears? Isn’t that how we are supposed to make judgements - by what we see or hear? What is a better way to judge?

11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Jesus is the great equalizer. The Bible tells us over and over again around the birth of Jesus and the reign of God, those that serve the world we be deposed when the systems of the world are overthrown. Capitalism will be overthrown. Presidents will be overturned and presidential elections will end. Corrupt politicians will cease to exist. No more will we live in a world where bankers, athletes, actors, investors, and others live high on the hog while over 25 000 children die every day due to poverty. Jesus makes decisions based on righteousness rather than by what he sees and hears: he kills the wicked and provides equity for the meek. ON THAT DAY…

11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

Faithfulness will be his underwear. Not only will Jesus rule the world with righteousness. Faithfulness will guard what is near and dear to him. Jesus, the leader who pulls down the powerful and raises up the powerless – unlike the reputation the world’s politicians seem to have earned – Jesus will not turn on those who endorsed and worked for him. How many times have people elected leaders in this country and even recently in the USA who they thought would be their champions, only to see those politicians seemingly betray the people who voted for them and act in bad faith. Jesus is not like that. Jesus will not betray the poor, the widow, the immigrant, the victimized, the marginalized. Jesus will not betray us. The high and mighty people of today  – as they serve our current socio-politico-economic systems - will be brought low. And those who have been brought low by our world’s leaders will be lifted up by Jesus. You can count on that – faithfulness is the belt around his loins. ON THAT DAY…

11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

Lamb is a good meal even for a wolf. The wolf will live with the lamb instead of eating his food. Goat is great food even for a leopard but instead of eating his meal, the leopard will lie down with the kid. The same with veal; the same with the baby calf and the lion and the fatling; and a little child will lead them. Instead of killing – even to eat – the prey will have nothing to fear of the predator; let alone powerless people from Superpowers. In a country that serves God people will not kill each other. ON THAT DAY…

11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Predators will no longer be a threat to traditional prey. ON THAT DAY…

11:8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.

Babies will not be attacked by animals and animals will not be provoked by toddlers. You have seen a dog or a cat that is good with babies and toddlers: how they let a child carry them around and do all kinds of things to them. All animals, all creation, all of us will have that same patience when Jesus returns to claim his crown that he was crowned with upon his own death and resurrection. ON THAT DAY…

11:9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

We know what is God’s holy mountain? It’s Mount Zion. It is the mountain where Solomon’s, Zerubabbel’s, and Herod’s temple’s were built. It is in Jerusalem. It is the mountain where the Dome on the Rock currently stands. It is the mountain where God spared the life of Isaac, as he was about to be offered up to the Lord as a sacrifice. Zion, for many years, was where some people even thought that God himself lived. God says when the Messiah’s kingdom is fully realized no one will hurt or destroy on His holy mountain. This can mean two things: 1) there will be no hunting there – but this mountain, long before Isaiah lived even, is right in a large urban centre; it is not prime hunting grounds. 2) It can also mean that as God’s seat of power, when Jesus ultimately claims his throne no one in authority will ever hurt anyone again. No more will politicians or their handlers exploit the rest. No more will governments wage war or the powerful take advantage of the poor and the powerless.

11:10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Advent is about waiting. We remember waiting for the birth of our saviour millennia ago as we eagerly await his return now. And when He returns what a day that of rejoicing that will be. When Jesus comes back, we will no longer be subservient to these brutal politico-socio-economic systems we are today. (The Lord has already provided more than enough resources for the whole world to be fed and clothed many times over.) These systems of oppression will end. The rulers of this world will be brought low. The presidents, money people, and other rulers of our age who oversee all of this will be brought down. This will come to an end. Isaiah promises that. Jesus fulfills that.

When Jesus comes back there will be no more elections, rigged or otherwise. There will be no more ignorance. There will be no more wars. There will be no more death. There will be no more tears. When Jesus comes back, everything will be okay. He promises it will be okay and that is what Isaiah is telling us today.

.

And I will add to that the truth that as you serve Jesus, as we follow him instead of the others - politicians, money people and powerful people and their systems - as we serve Jesus instead, here and now; even while there is so much death, dishonesty, pain and suffering all around us and so much pain even within us, Jesus promises that he will comfort us in the midst of all the very real struggles of this world as indeed we look forward to the day when he will return and wipe all of the injustice aside… as God will rule over us forever more with His righteousness and His faithfulness.

.

Let us pray

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 15:1-19 - The Chihuahua Barks Again. Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Salvation Army, 09 September 2007 and Swift Current, 26 May 2013. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/09/acts-151-19-chihuahua-barks-again.html

[2] Cf. Allen P. Ross, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/I. Introduction to the Book of Proverbs (1:1-7)/C. Motto: The Fear of the Lord (1:7), Book Version: 4.0.2

[3] Yirah, in The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1966), p. 395. Cf. also Cf. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. ‘5374: yir’ah’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), p.59.

Thanksgiving at Judah’s House.

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 13 Oct. 2013
Presented to 614 & Warehouse in Toronto, 16 Oct. 2016

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries 04 October 2020

By Captain Michael Ramsay

This is the original version; to view the Toronto 2016 version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2016/10/genesis-38-judahs-family.html 

To view the Alberni Valley 2020 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2020/10/reading-genesis-38-on-mmiw-day.html

Thanksgiving is often a time for families to get together. In most homes in this part of the country there will be the Thanksgiving turkey. Not in mine, with a vegetarian family. It will be a double blessing tomorrow then that we will have a turkey dinner at the corps for all who can make it before Bible study. Thanksgiving is often a time for families to gather together, so today we are going to look a family of turkeys or people who are seemingly acting like turkeys.

We are continuing our look at the lineage of Jesus Christ. So far we have looked at Adam and Eve, Noah’s family, and Abraham and Sarah. Today we are looking at Judah and Tamar. Does anyone know who are Judah and Tamar? First, who is Judah?

Who is Judah’s father? Judah’s father was Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name; to what did He change his name? Israel. All of the tribes of Israel are descended from and named after the sons of Israel. Judah is therefore the father, the ancestor of a whole tribe of Israel.

The tribe of Judah even becomes the dominant tribe of all the tribes of Israel and long after Israel ceases to exist as a country, the Kingdom of Judah remains. This is interesting. All of this happens with Judah becoming the dominant tribe, as Judah the person is the one of Israel’s sons to receive the blessing of the birthright.

Who in theory is supposed to receive the birthright; which child? The oldest son, right? Just like with our own Monarch thus far into history. The interesting part here is that not only is Judah not the oldest son (as indeed even his father isn’t the oldest son), Judah is not even the second oldest son. Now, not only is Judah not the even second oldest son but Judah is also not even the third oldest son. On this Thanksgiving Day, Judah could be very thankful if he were still around because Judah receives the birthright usually received for the oldest brother and he is the fourth oldest brother. He has three older brothers who had to be disqualified for him to receive the birthright and that blessing. We’ll look at that in just a moment – how his older brothers disqualified themselves from the birthright and then we will look a little more into who exactly is this person of Judah of our pericope today. 

Let’s turn in our Bibles to Genesis 49. It will give us a bit of an insight into what is going on in Judah’s family. This portion of scripture records Israel/Jacob’s blessings of his sons before he dies. These are Israel’s famous last words to his children (the males anyway). Genesis 49:1-4 tells us a little bit about Ruben, Judah’s oldest brother and why he doesn’t receive the blessing of the birthright:

49:1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my might, the first sign of my strength,

excelling in honour, excelling in power.

4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,

for you went up onto your father’s bed,

onto my couch and defiled it.

Jacob, says to his oldest son, who is the naturally expected heir to this birthright; Jacob says, Verse 4, “You will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.” Do you remember that story? (Israel’s family is an interesting family. One that I’m sure in comparison will make you even more thankful for your own.) Genesis 35:22 records that Reuben lay with Bilhah. Bilhah is his father’s concubine; Bilhah is not only his father’s concubine, Bilhah is his brothers’ mother. Reuben has relations with his brothers’ - Dan and Naphtali - mom. (And you think your family is messed up?) For this his birthright understandably passes down to the second oldest son: Simeon. But Simeon and Levi are just as much of turkeys as their older brother; these next two sons also disqualify themselves from the blessing of the birthright. Genesis 49:5-7:

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—

their swords  are weapons of violence.

6 Let me not enter their council,

let me not join their assembly,

for they have killed men in their anger

and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.

7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,

and their fury, so cruel!

I will scatter them in Jacob

and disperse them in Israel.

This ‘blessing’ upon Simeon and Levi - when their dad is upon his deathbed – this blessing where their father declares, “let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly for they have killed men in anger” is rather sharp, to say the least! Do you know what this is about? Genesis 34 records that their sister by the same mom is raped. The man who rapes her, Shechem, repentant, comes then with his dad and asks to have her hand in marriage. Israel agrees but his sons say that all the men of Shechem’s people must be circumcised for this to happen. They agreed and they all become circumcised. Then while they were all at the height of their pain from being circumcised, Simeon and Levi – the two brothers in question here - sneak into their camp and kill all the men and take all their women and all their children and more as plunder. As a result of this, they lose their claim to the birthright and the descendants, the whole tribe, of Levi is not given any territory (other than Levite cities) and the descendants, the whole tribe, of Simeon is swallowed up in the tribe of Judah. If you want to read more about the blessings of Israel’s sons and tribes, you can read more of Genesis 49 later – it is really interesting – and it gives you bit of background as to Judah’s brothers and his life growing up, who would be around the table at big family gatherings, and why Judah receives the blessing of the birthright that is usually reserved for the eldest male child even though he is the fourth son.

Now the rest of Chapter 49 does speak about the rest of his brothers. He has quite a large family, probably as many as will be gathering around Thanksgiving tables today and tomorrow in our community. Judah has 11 brothers and an unknown number of sisters and combined nephews and nieces.

One of Judah’s youngest brothers we know fairly well. Do we know who was Israel’s second youngest son? Joseph. We remember the stories of Joseph from the Bible (Genesis 37-50). How well did Judah and the rest of Joseph’s brothers think of Joseph growing up? Not that well. Remember Joseph has all these dreams about his brothers bowing down to him? (Genesis 37:5-11) Remember that his dad shows Joseph certain favouritism and even buys him that coat of many colours and remember how Joseph’s brothers respond to all of this (Genesis 37:1-36). They take him and throw him into a well and then at Judah’s recommendation, they sell Joseph as a slave. It is Judah’s idea to sell his little brother into slavery (Genesis 37:26-27). That act itself might make one wonder why Judah didn’t also lose his birthright like his older brothers did. But he doesn’t

Judah later does redeem himself. We remember the end of the Joseph story. The years pass by and Joseph is now the one with all the power; he has risen to be second in command of the regional superpower (Genesis 41:37ff.). Joseph is a ruler of Egypt. Joseph then has one of his brothers – Simeon, who came to him looking for food – held in an Egyptian prison for an indefinite period of time (Genesis 42:24). The other brothers later return and Joseph is about to take prisoner another one of his brothers, after framing him for crime, when Judah steps up (Genesis 44:18ff.). His brothers can be thankful for Judah. Judah is the one who negotiates the freedom of his brothers and Judah is the one whom God uses to tip Joseph’s hand into revealing his identity and into forgiving and providing for his brothers and their families for generations to come. Judah shows that he is the leader among his brothers. Judah shows that he is a solid choice to inherit the birthright. This brings us to our story today. We read earlier from Genesis 38. Thanksgiving often sees family gathering from all over the country and here we have an interesting tale about Judah travelling and getting together with his daughter-in-law, Tamar.

Tamar isn’t probably an Israelite. Tamar is probably a Canaanite.[1] We remember from looking at the story of Noah the other week that the Canaanites are cursed for generations to come for the sins of their father, Ham (Genesis 9:25-29). Judah’s son then marries this cursed Canaanite woman – which is later prohibited, by the way - and then he dies before he has any children.[2]

Do we understand what is going on in the story that we read earlier today with the brothers? In Israel in those days, territorial inheritance was very important and so was having a son to inherit that property. Because of this they had a rule that if a son died without an heir then his younger brother was supposed to be with his widow and then the child that results from that would be the heir to his brother. That way the older brother would have an heir and his descendants would not lose their claim to a part of Israel. Judah cooperates with this rule and Judah gives his second son to Tamar, who is the widow of his first son. Judah’s second son however stands to inherit all of his brother’s inheritance if he doesn’t produce an heir for him; so instead of impregnating Tamar, he uses protection of sorts. He doesn’t complete the job anyway. This makes God mad because Onan was not only hurting Er, his deceased brother, but he was also hurting Tamar, his brother’s widow, and he was hurting Judah, his father, and he was hurting his whole family’s inheritance.[3] God takes Onan’s life. So now Judah has lost his two oldest sons and his eldest son’s widow Tamar is still without an heir for the family.

Now in that place and at that time there was probably not a more vulnerable person in society than a childless widow. A widow without a child has no one to care for her and Judah, while Tamar is in this state, Judah sends his daughter-in-law away. He says that his youngest son is too young for her and he sends Tamar away without providing for her the heir that is demanded. Judah puts himself before the commandment to provide an heir for his son and Judah puts himself before the commandment to look after the widow in his own household.

Judah sends her away. He doesn’t seem to concern himself with her again. His youngest child grows up and he never fulfils the opportunity to give him to Tamar and to invite Tamar back into his clan where she belongs.

Tamar, who is being the good widow at this point, even though she has been sent away by her in-laws, she has still been faithfully living in seclusion while wearing her widow’s clothing. She then hears that her father-in-law is coming to town so she puts on some nice clothes and goes to meet him. Judah sees her and mistakes her for a prostitute. Here is an opportunity that appears. Judah owes her a son and Judah thinks she’s a prostitute. Judah decides that he wants to use her services but he doesn’t have any money so Tamar – thinking on her feat here - asks for his signet and cord. A signet is like a signature in that it is unique to the individual so the reader at this point can see how Tamar is taking advantage of this God given opportunity.[4] Tamar does become pregnant. Some people find out about this and tell Judah that his daughter-in-law (who is supposed to be celibate) is pregnant. The law says that she should be put to death, especially as this happened, so the rumour has it, as a result of prostitution. It is at this point that she lets Judah know that he is the father. Judah then admits his sin, what he has done to her and to his family. She gives birth to twins. Judah takes responsibility for his children, one of whom is the direct ancestor of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Judah even admits that Tamar is more righteous than is he. Tamar is not a prostitute; she merely conceives the child promised to her.[5]

So why is this story in the Bible? It is important. The fact that a child of this encounter is an ancestor of both King David and Jesus Christ, is mentioned more than once, by more than one author, writing at more than one distinct era in history (See Ruth 4:18-23, Matthew 1:3). Matthew, in the New Testament makes a point of mentioning that it is Judah’s son by Tamar who is in Jesus’ line and the authors of Matthew and Ruth even tells us which one of the twins he is: Perez. This story is very important in the history of Israel. This story is very important in the ancestry of King David and this story is very important in the ancestry Christ Jesus, so why is it important to us? And what does it mean to us today?

I think the key point here lies in who is Tamar: Tamar is a Canaanite. The Canaanites are the cursed descendants of Ham. She is cursed; she is a woman; she is a widow; she is a cursed, abused widow who has been even further marginalized and taken advantage of by privileged Israelites and she is an ancestor of Christ. You couldn’t be much more on the margins of society than is Tamar and Tamar is the ancestor of Jesus.[6]

Jesus in his ministry is always helping the poor, the widow, and the immigrant. Tamar is just that and Tamar is Jesus’ ancestor. God used Tamar to save the whole world in that her actions led to Christ.[7] So as God can use Tamar, who was abused and marginalized to extremes that many of us can only imagine, so too can he use us and that is something for which we can all be thankful. No matter who we are in this life, if we are marginalized and appear to be nothing in our own eyes, maybe like Tamar; or if we make serious mistakes and sin like Judah; no matter who we are God loves us, and God can use even us to point others to His Salvation both now and forever. Let us pray

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] But cf. John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Genesis/Exposition of Genesis/VI. The Account of Jacob (37:1-49:33)/D. Judah and Tamar (38:1-30), Book Version: 4.0.2

[2] Cf. Thomas W, Mann, The Book of the Torah: The Narrative Integrity of the Pentateuch, (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1988), 66-68.

[3] Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1967 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 1), S. 199: The fact that a single Hebrew word suffices for the phrase perform the duty of a brother-in-law (rsv) would confirm that this was a standard practice, even if there were no record of the law in Deuteronomy 25:5ff. Each of the three Old Testament references to this regulation (cf. Ruth 4:5f.) shows that it could be most unwelcome, chiefly through the very fact that the donor himself set great store on family inheritance—but his own. The enormity of Onan’s sin is in its studied outrage against the family, against his brother’s widow and against his own body. The standard English versions fail to make clear that this was his persistent practice. When (9) should be translated ‘whenever’

[4] Cf. Terence E. Fretheim, The Book of Genesis, (NIB I: Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1994), 606.

[5] Cf. Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation: Genesis, (John Knox Press: Atlanta, Georgia, 1982), 311.

[6] Cf. Dorothy Jean Weaver, “‘Wherever This Good News Is Proclaimed”: Women and God in the Gospel of Matthew’, in Interpretation 64, no. 4, (October, 2010) 394-395

[7] cC. Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation: Genesis, (John Knox Press: Atlanta, Georgia, 1982), 311.

Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Jerusalem

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 09 December 2012. Based on Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Regina: The Waiting Game.[1] Presented to Swift Current Corps, 06 December 2009. By Captain Michael Ramsay

Advent. Last week was the first week of Advent. Does anyone know what Advent is? Advent is waiting. Who here likes to wait? Our Saskatchewan Roughriders are the most popular team in the CFL and fans have become somewhat accustomed to waiting. Football fans here have been referred to as living in ‘next year country’. Next year will be the year we bring the cup home to Saskatchewan. Next year would be a great year to do it to, because next year the game is in Regina. Next year in Regina: this rallying cry is not entirely dissimilar from the rallying cry of the early Christians. The early Christians could greet each other with the phrase, ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. The idea being that Christ will return next year and the Christians will all celebrate the victory that he won between the cross and the empty tomb next year in Jerusalem.

The Israelites long before the advent of Jesus, during the exile, actually began using this expression - ‘next year in Jerusalem’ – in their Passover meal to express their hope that next year they will no longer be exiled, next year they will be restored to their homeland. “Next year in Jerusalem” was the rallying cry of the exiled Hebrews just like “Next year in Regina” can become the rallying call for the avid Roughriders fans as they wait and hope to celebrate their next Grey Cup victory here.

Advent – in the Christian calendar – is a time of waiting to celebrate that victory, that restoration achieved between the cross and the empty tomb. Advent recognizes two times of waiting:

1)      A remembrance of that waiting for the penultimate arrival of the Christ, who was born in a manger around 2000 years ago – Advent is waiting for Christmas.

2)      Advent is waiting for Jesus to ultimately return in all of his glory at the eschaton: next year in Jerusalem.

Next week, The Salvation Army is preparing the community Advent luncheon. They’re Thursdays at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. One year I heard Greg Kiel, one of the Lutheran pastors, speaking. He told this joke about waiting:

A fellow was speaking to God and he said, “Lord, I have two questions for you, I was wondering if you could help me:  1) A Millennium, a thousand years, is a long time to us – how long is that time for an eternal God?”

“It is just a second”

2) “God, on another note, there is a lottery draw coming up next Saturday and I was wondering if and when you could help me win the lottery?”

“Just a second.”

Advent is a time of waiting. We are now waiting for the new Jerusalem to descend from the heavens to earth like it says will happen in Revelation 21 (Revelation 21:1-8; see also Matthew 24:29-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Revelation 1:7). We are awaiting Jesus’ return and the future resurrection of the dead. We are waiting. Maybe next year the earth and the heavens will be made anew (Revelation 21:1-8). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we spend next year in the new heaven and the new earth with our new bodies in the new Jerusalem with our Lord and Saviour? Next year in the new Jerusalem. That would be even more wonderful than spending next year in Regina watching the Riders hoist the cup: spending next year with Christ at the final victory…but waiting is never easy. And waiting is what Advent is all about.

Today we are looking at a part of Scripture referred to as the Benedictus – it is called this because the first word of this section in Latin is ‘Benedictus’ (meaning ‘blessed’).[2] This pericope in Luke is quite interesting. The person who is speaking here is Zechariah. Zechariah is John the Baptist’s father. We know about Zechariah: He is a Levite and he is a priest and  - I don’t know if you remember the story but he was struck mute and possibly even deaf as well after he was told that he would have a son and who his son would be (Luke 1:5-25, cf. Luke 1:19, 22, 62; Daniel 10:15-16). [3] Zechariah remained mute from the time he found out that his wife was pregnant until eight days after his son was born (Luke 1:59; see Genesis 17:9-14). The Benedictus, this speech, is comprised of Zechariah’s first words not only after the birth of his son but also his first words after he has been cured of not being able to speak for over half a year. As per Elisabeth, can you imagine if your spouse couldn’t speak for almost nine months? What would be their first words? Can you imagine if you couldn’t speak for almost nine months? What would be yours? These were Zechariahs’ (as spoken by the power of the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:67),[4] Luke 1:68-79:

68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

      because he has come and has redeemed his people.

 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

      in the house of his servant David

 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

 71 salvation from our enemies

      and from the hand of all who hate us—

 72 to show mercy to our fathers

      and to remember his holy covenant,

 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

      and to enable us to serve him without fear

 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation

      through the forgiveness of their sins,

 78 because of the tender mercy of our God,

      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

 79 to shine on those living in darkness

      and in the shadow of death,

   to guide our feet into the path of peace.

This speech really addresses the who, what, why, and how of Salvation. But before we look more at the answers here provided for these questions, we should probably ask ourselves the question, what is Salvation? What does ‘Salvation’ mean? Salvation simply means to be saved. Verses 71 and 74 of our text today refer to Israel being saved from her enemies. This is what was expected of the Christ/ the Messiah when he came: he would save the people from their enemies and then those who were exiled along with everyone else would celebrate this Salvation, ‘next year in Jerusalem’

The people of Israel were waiting for the Messiah to deliver them from Rome at the time of Jesus’ incarnation. They have had many enemies through the years. The Kingdom of Israel fell to invaders in 720 BCE; The Kingdom of Judah fell in 586 BCE. The land of Palestine was conquered by the Assyrians, then by the Babylonians, and then by the Persians.

In many of these conquests more Israelites and more Judeans were deported. Those deported were known as the Diaspora: they were exiled Israelites living abroad. They were longing to have their right to return recognized. They were longing for their conquerors to leave the occupied territories. They were longing to spend next year in Jerusalem.

Many people’s grandchildren did later return as the Hebrews fared well under Persian rule. But the Persians were eventually defeated by the Greeks; the Greeks and the Judeans didn’t get along quite so well. The Greeks (Ptolemys then Seleucids from 198 BCE) saw the Jews revolt (the Hasmoneans a.k.a. the Maccabees). The Greeks weren’t too happy with this and so they (under Antiochus IV) even intentionally defiled the Temple in Jerusalem (The Second Temple, the Herodian Temple; cf. Ezra 6:3-4; 1 Esdras 6:24-25; Antiquities 11.4.6; 99; Apion 1.22,198-99; cf. also 1 Maccabees 4.36-51; Antiquities 12.317-18). In a violent struggle that followed, the people of Palestine eventually obtained independence for a very short time (140-37 BCE). Only to be conquered again this time by General Pompeii and the Roman forces (63 BCE).

So now in the time of our Scripture today, as we well know from the Christmas story, Palestine is under the authority of Caesar Augustus (AKA Octavius, Julius Caesar’s adopted son) as Palestine is still an occupied Roman territory (Luke 2:1). Palestine, Israel, Judea by this time – except for a very few years – has been conquered and militarily occupied for four to five hundred years – this is much longer than its entire existence of Israel as a united kingdom many years prior to this  – that only lasted about 100 years (1050 or 1010 to 931).[5] The United Kingdom of Israel was only ever a country for less time than Canada has already been a nation!

Israel up to the point in history where our story today is taking place has been waiting for a leader known as the Messiah or the Christ to save them from their enemies.[6]  It is in the midst of this long list of successive occupations that Luke here speaks about Salvation –surprisingly to some maybe- by not a warrior king but by a Prince of Peace (Luke 1:79; see Isaiah 9:6).[7] Luke is telling us in his story that this Messiah is Jesus and he has not come to merely free Israel from her earthly enemies – as indeed her military occupation carried on for millennia after Christ – Jesus came to save Israel and the whole world (including the Romans) from Sin and Death (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:2; Romans 1, 2). That is our real enemy. Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers (Ephesians 6). This passage today contains a glimpse of the history of the expectation of Salvation.

God, as recorded in our text before us today, through Luke and through Zechariah tells us even more. He tells us what Salvation really looks like.[8] At the first coming of Christ, Jesus’ incarnation (birth), death, and resurrection it was the beginning of the Kingdom of God; it was the first blossoms of the Spring of Salvation about which we spoke last week (Luke 21:25-26).[9] We are in the proleptic Kingdom of God when we are in the presence of Christ. And when we experience His Salvation, this is what it will look like: God tells us through Luke who tells us through Zechariah that when we are saved we will show mercy to our fathers (Are you listening girls? You should be nice to your dad it says…). When we are saved and the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies (Luke 1:71,74) SO THAT we can show mercy to our spiritual and covenantal fathers (Luke 1:72; cf. Malachi 3:3); when we are saved and the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies SO THAT we can serve God without fear (Luke 1:74); when we are saved and the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies SO THAT we can serve God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives (Luke 1:75). This is what Salvation is (in part) and this is what we are waiting for in Advent – the eschaton, the ultimate coming of Christ: next year in the Jerusalem. As we annually await the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus, we remember too this second coming for which we are ultimately waiting.

When Christ came the first time to a Galilean working class family paying their taxes in Bethlehem, we saw the first glimpse of this Salvation that was definitively won between the cross and the empty tomb. When Jesus returns we will see its culmination and all this is what Zechariah is proclaiming with the birth of his son (Luke 1:68-75). This is what Zechariah has to say after not being able to say or maybe even hear anything for months. He tells us of the glory of Salvation! This is exciting! And God has planned all of this since before the creation of the world. Zechariah’s son – that little eight day old baby who is no doubt crying as he is being circumcised in our passage today (Luke 1:59) – this little eight day old baby is being given the privilege to tell the world about Jesus. Little Johnny here, Baby John is to be the Herald of the Good News that goes before the Christ. He is to be the voice from the wilderness proclaiming the Word of the Lord (Luke 3:4; see Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1, 4:5; Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; John 1:23). Zechariah knows – at least in part – that his baby boy will go in the spirit of Elijah pointing everyone to our Messiah, Jesus, who is the Christ (Luke 1:17; see Matthew 11:14, 17:10-12; Mark 9:11-13). Zechariah is obviously both a proud and humbled papa today as he proclaims the Good News of Salvation to all who will hear him.

He tells us what he knows of this baby being circumcised today: John will be a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76). John will let people know of the Salvation that they will receive through the forgiveness of our sins (Luke 1:77). John will tell the people of God’s tender mercy by which God sends his own Son to shine as a light in the darkness; a light even in the very shadow of death (see Luke 1:78-79; Isaiah 60:13). Zechariah is honoured to announce that his son John will declare the arrival of the Lord for whom everyone is waiting. This little baby, John, will announce the impending arrival of the King of Kings, who is indeed the Prince of Peace.

This is not unlike our calling today, 2000 years later. As we await Christmas this Advent season and as we celebrate the arrival of Jesus as a baby in a manger, we must not forget our great commission to tell the whole world the glorious news that Jesus lived, died and rose again so that we can all have eternal life if we simply follow Him. Just like the prophet John, we are to proclaim the Good News of the arrival of our Lord and Saviour; and just like the apostles twelve, we are to let everyone know the rest of the Good News of Advent and that is that Jesus is coming back and Jesus is coming back soon (Matthew 28:16-20).

Let us this Advent season succeed in this task. While we are waiting for Christ’s return, may we all be as bold as John (and his father Zechariah) to tell anyone who will listen to us that indeed Jesus is coming back and he is coming soon and we all can be saved if we so choose (TSA doc. 6). And who knows? Maybe we’ll all meet again at the eschaton, next year in Jerusalem.

Let us pray.

 

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[1] http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/12/luke-168-79-next-year-in-edmonton.html

[2] Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox, 1990) p.  32.

[3] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/II. Birth and Childhood Narratives (1:5-2:52)/B. Birth Narratives (1:57-2:20)/1. The birth of John the Baptist (1:57-66), Book Version: 4.0.2: The Greek word for unable to hear (kophos) can also mean "deaf". Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, The Gospel of Luke (NIB IX: Nashville, Tenn., Abingdon, 1995), p. 58 and Wayne Grudem and Thomas R. Schreiner, ESV Study Bible notes (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Ill., 2008) p. 1946.

[4] Cf. Alyce M. McKenzie, ‘Between Text and Sermon: Luke 1:68-79’, Interpretation 55 no. 4 (October, 2001): 413

[5] ESV Study Bible on-line. Old Testament Timeline: United Monarchy. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/articles/chart-ot-timeline

[6] Cf. Loveday Alexander, ‘Luke's Political Vision’, Interpretation 66 no. 3 (June 2012): 283-293.

[7] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, 60.

[8] Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, trans. David E, Green (Atlanta: John Knos, 1984) 43: “The ultimate purpose of God’s salvation presupposes deliverance from the enemy but is in fact undisturbed worship.”

[9] Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 21:29-31: the First Sprigs of Spring. Presented to St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church Swift Current, Saskatchewan, 29 November 2009 and Swift Current TSA Corps 02 December 2012. Avail. on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/11/luke-2129-31-first-sprigs-of-spring.html