THE LORD WILL FIND A WAY
The Lord has always found different ways to take care of his people - ways that may have seemed “impossible” at the time. When he destroyed the entire world with a flood, he managed to save eight believers and hundreds of animals in a homemade boat floating on top of the water for 150 days. Years later when the Arameans surrounded the city of Dothan just to capture Elisha the prophet, the Lord struck every soldier of that the army with blindness and Elisha himself ended up leading them to another town where he fed them and then sent them home. When the entire Assyrian army besieged Jerusalem during the days of King Hezekiah, the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night, forcing the invaders to withdraw from the land of Israel early the next morning when they saw what the Lord had done. But perhaps the most well-known “impossible” act of preservation that the Lord carried out for his people was the famous crossing of the Red Sea on dry ground when God delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. And it’s probably well-known not only because it was a spectacular miracle and one of the first acts of deliverance he performed for the nation of Israel, but also because the people were completely out of options by the time the Lord miraculously intervened. They had no weapons, they were not trained in war, and 2/3 of them were women and children. They could not turn and fight, but they couldn’t run away either because the sea blocked their only escape. It was a situation that seemed hopeless. They were either going to be slaughtered or taken back to Egypt as slaves. There looked to be no other possible outcome. But then God asked Moses to raise his hands over the water, the sea split apart with walls of water standing up on both sides, and about two million Israelites crossed through the sea on dry ground. And, of course, when the Egyptians themselves tried to cross over after them, the Lord withdrew his hand and the waters of the sea came crashing down upon their heads. Not one soldier escaped and God’s people were saved. The Lord did the impossible. He found a way.
After this incredible event is described for us in the book of Exodus, it is referred to no less than 18 different times by the Lord and the prophets and the psalms as an example of the Lord’s power and love. The rescue through the Red Sea became the epitome of how the Lord finds ways to save his people despite the odds. Isaiah 43 is one of those instances in which the Lord points back to this event in Israelite history to make that very point. But when you listen to this portion of Scripture again, pay attention to the reason why the Lord makes references to this famous incident from the past. “This is what the LORD says — he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.’”
What does the Lord say here about this legendary rescue from the Red Sea? “Forget it! Don’t bother bringing it up again as an example of my power and love! Because you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The path I made through the sea and the watery death I sent upon the Egyptians is nothing compared to the path I will make through the desert and the water of life I will give to my people to drink.” This “new thing” that the Lord would do would be much more spectacular than anything he had ever done in the past. This new “way” in which he would save his people would be incomparable to any way he had saved his people before. He would once again do the impossible, but it would be unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
To the east of the Promised Land sits the Arabian Desert. It covers almost one million sq. miles of the Arabian Peninsula - that’s about the size of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah combined. One third of this expanse is covered in nothing but sand. Temperatures can reach 122 degrees during the summer and during winter nights those numbers can drop below freezing. Much of this desert is considered to be impassable and it is said to be one of the most inhospitable regions on earth. Back in the days of the Old Testament Israelites, few people traveled across this desert to reach the eastern peoples on the other side; and those from the east usually didn’t attempt the journey either. In fact, if an eastern army wanted to reach Israel or a group from the west wanted to go to Babylon and beyond, they would usually go up and around the desert, adding on an extra 100 miles to their journey just to avoid the dangers that this desolate territory presented. With this in mind, listen to God’s promise one more time, “I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland to give drink to my people, my chosen.” The significance of these words was not lost on the Israelites. The Lord would do the impossible. He would find a way. He would make a path through the desert for an entire nation. He would create streams through the wasteland so that his people would be able to drink their fill. And this physical picture was not merely a prophecy about their return from exile in the country of Babylon; this was a pronouncement of their spiritual restoration in Christ. Because in the very next chapter the Lord says some strikingly similar words, “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (44:3). The Lord would miraculously save his people once again - he would save their souls. And we are miraculously saved in exactly the same way.
We were in the middle of the Arabian Desert, so to speak. We were in an impossible situation. We didn’t know where to turn. We didn’t know what to do. In fact, we didn’t even know that we needed help! And it all started from the beginning: we were descendants from the very first sinners, Adam and Eve, and so we were naturally infused with corruption from the start. And not only that, but we committed our own sins and our own offenses from the moment we were born. The Bible says that these sins separated us from God, we were enemies of God because of our unbelief, we were spiritual corpses on account of our transgressions, and we were in complete spiritual darkness without a single ray of hope. We were in a situation that provided no way out. And so the Lord found a way. He found a way in which to rescue us. He found a way to make a path through the desert and provide a stream through the wasteland. He found a way to give us a drink. That “way” happened to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” of Christ. And that drink was the salvation he won for us on the cross.
“Whoever drinks the water I give him,” Jesus said, “will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). That spring of water that wells up to eternal life is faith in Jesus as our Savior. It is trust in his cross, forgiveness through his death, and hope instilled by his resurrection. Jesus really did the impossible! He saved us when no one else could. A normal human being could never have gone through the suffering that needed to be paid or die a death that would count for the deaths of all others. But on the other hand, God himself couldn’t die because he did not have a mortal body that he could sacrifice. And so Jesus found a way. He as true God also became a real human being. He fulfilled the requirements on both sides and won our salvation through his birth and eternity, his suffering and his perfect, his death and resurrection.
But there was still another problem that needed to be solved: we would never believe it on our own. We as sinful human beings would never place our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins if it were up to us. We were too corrupt. We were to sinfully saturated. And so Jesus once again found a way. He had his Word written down and preserved over the centuries and then he sent his Holy Spirit to work in our hearts through that Word to give us the gift of faith. He bypassed our stubbornness in a way. He knew we weren’t going to ask for his salvation. He knew we weren’t going to be able to do anything for it. In fact, he knew we weren’t even going to want it. And so he convinced our hearts through the power of his gospel to take a drink of that living water so we could live forever. Jesus did the impossible. Jesus found a way.
Remember that tomorrow and remember that next week and remember that next year when you are confronted with a situation that seems completely hopeless. The Lord will find a way. When your back is up against the wall, when your money has run out, when all your options have been taken away, when you are left all alone, when your relationship with your loved one is in shambles, when your health failing, when you don’t know where to turn, when you don’t know what to do, the Lord will find a way. He always has for his people; he always will. He will find a way to protect you or to provide for you. He will find a way to comfort you or to heal you. He will find a way to love you. Because loving you is what he loves doing. And that’s what he does best.
Has the Lord ever failed to find a way? He split the Red Sea in half when his people needed him to do it. He struck down entire armies in one breath when his people needed him to do it. He personally came down to this earth in the womb of a virgin girl impregnated by the Holy Spirit when his people needed him to do it. God himself sacrificed his body on the cross when his people needed him to do it. He made a path in the desert, he sent a stream through the wasteland, he gave us a drink when we needed him to do it. The Lord has always found a way. And if he doesn’t find one, he makes one. Because he is the Lord and he will make sure that his will is done. And his will is that you are taken care of - especially for the life to come. Live this life with the comfort of knowing that you are in good hands. You are in the Lord’s hands. And he will do the impossible if that is what it takes. He will find a way.
Amen.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” - Eph. 3:20-21
Monday, March 22, 2010
3/17,24/10 - Midweek Lent - Matthew 27:22-26
A BLOODY RESPONSIBILITY
Pilate was really in a difficult situation. He was the Roman governor placed in the land of Judea to oversee a historically volatile Jewish people. He was supposed to maintain order over a nation that had violently revolted before and was publically resentful of the government that was now over them. And if that wasn’t a tough enough assignment in and of itself, now a riot was starting to form in Judea’s capital city with a guy named Jesus right in the middle of it. The Jews had brought him in front of Pilate and had asked for the death sentence to be issued. Now, Pilate didn’t know much about Jesus, but he could quickly see that this prophet from Nazareth was innocent and that he was not leading a rebellion in any way, but he couldn’t just ignore the crowds. Because they were getting belligerent and if things got too out of hand, Pilate could lose his job and be banished from the kingdom by the Roman emperor himself, as had happened to a previous ruler in Judea 20 years before Pilate took the position. Pilate really didn’t want the responsibility that had fallen in his lap. He knew what he was going to be forced to do and he didn’t want to be held responsible for an innocent man’s blood.
It is rare to find a person who takes full responsibility for their actions no matter how bad they may be, a sinner who immediately and unequivocally accepts the blame and all of the consequences that come with it without a single excuse. It’s hard to find those kinds of people because accepting the blame and taking full responsibility is not natural! It’s natural to cover sins up. And it’s natural to pass the blame to someone else when those sins can’t be denied. People will do or say anything to get out of the responsibility for what they have done because no one wants to feel guilty, no one wants other people to think any less of them than what they did before, and no one wants to suffer the repercussions that they rightfully deserve. Pilate certainly didn’t want to be held responsible for what he was going to do. And so he went out to the Jewish crowds and asked, “‘What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’ ‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility.’ All the people answered, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and hand him over to be crucified.”
Pilate felt trapped; and so he tried to pass the blame. Pilate knew he was wrong; and so he tried to unload the responsibility onto someone else. Which isn’t anything different than what we do in our own lives. We try to deflect the accusations of our conscience onto someone or something else too - in order to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t be held fully responsible. Sometimes we conveniently blame the weaknesses of our sinful nature: “I just struggle with this particular sin; I’m going to fall into this temptation regardless and so there’s not much I can do about it. It’s not my fault that I’m more prone to this sin than other people are.” But we blame others too. “If that person hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have had those inappropriate thoughts about them… If that person hadn’t said what she said, I wouldn’t have lost my temper… If that person hadn’t done the things he did, I wouldn’t have had to insult him behind his back… It’s my coworker’s fault for dragging me into the wrong situation… It’s my family’s fault for not supporting me… It’s the situation’s fault for my bad language; I was just a little bit angry in the heat the moment...” We shirk the responsibility every chance we get. We try to avoid any accountability for our actions because, if we are able to shift some of the blame, that takes away some of the guilty feelings. If we are able to pass on some of the responsibility, then we don’t feel as bad. If there’s one thing that makes us uncomfortable, it’s that rotten, achy, sick-to-your-stomach feeling of a guilty conscience.
Pilate felt guilty. He knew he shouldn’t condemn an innocent man to death. And so he washed his hands in water in front of the Jewish crowds and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” He didn’t want to be held responsible for the decision he was about to make. On the other hand, the Jewish people had no problem accepting the responsibility for Jesus’ death! “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” they shouted. They had no guilty feelings at all. They felt fully justified in their request that Jesus be crucified and they called down a curse on themselves to prove it! “If he happens to be innocent, Pilate, we’ll take the blame. We won’t hold it against you. We’ll deal with the consequences if this so-called ‘King of the Jews’ actually ends up to be who he says he is. You don’t have to worry yourself about it. Put his blood on us.”
Although these crowds didn’t know it, just a few hours after they said these words to Pilate, Jesus’ blood did settle upon them; and in more ways than one. Jesus’ blood was certainly upon them in condemnation - they were guilty beyond a doubt - but Jesus’ blood was also upon them in salvation. That’s why Jesus died in the first place! So that his blood could be upon the people. So that his blood could wash them clean. So that his blood would make their robes white. The crowds were undeniably guilty of shedding Jesus’ innocent blood, but they were also forgiven for shedding Jesus’ innocent blood. “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” they had brazenly proclaimed. But that was Jesus’ intention all along! That’s why Jesus allowed them to take his life: so that he could be held responsible for what they did to him!
Jesus held himself responsible. Pilate obviously didn’t want to be held accountable for his sin and the people never thought that they would be found guilty of any sin at all, and so Jesus took the responsibility on himself. He took Pilate’s sins of fear and selfishness, he took the people’s sins of hate and rage, he took the soldiers’ sins cruelty, Judas’ sins, Peter’s sins, his mother’s sins, and our sins, and he suffered the punishment for all of them. He allowed his Father to hold him personally responsible for every sin that has ever been committed. And he didn’t complain about it. He didn’t object. He didn’t cry out on the cross: “My people, why are you doing this to me?” No, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus did not proclaim to those watching him die, “I am innocent!” Instead he announced to those for whom he was dying, “It is finished.” And Jesus said those words because he was guilty. He was guilty in a very real way. Jesus became responsible for all our sins so that we wouldn’t have to be held accountable for any of them.
Jesus took the blame. We were going to be called to account because of our sins and Jesus stood up when no one else would and said to his Father, “It was me! I did it. I’m guilty. And I’ll take whatever punishment is necessary.” And so that’s exactly what his Father did: he punished Jesus. He disowned his Son. He held Jesus fully responsible. And because of that intervention, the ugly and embarrassing sins that we never want to claim as our own, we don’t have to. Jesus already claimed them. He already counted them as his own and suffered severely for every offense. We no longer have sins on our conscience; we no longer have sins on our record; we just have blood on our hands. Jesus’ blood is on our hands - and not because of guilt, because of grace. Jesus’ blood is upon his people. He put it there. He wanted it there. And there it will stay. Because since he held himself fully responsible for our sins, he is also fully responsible for our salvation. Amen.
“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” - Jude 24-25
Pilate was really in a difficult situation. He was the Roman governor placed in the land of Judea to oversee a historically volatile Jewish people. He was supposed to maintain order over a nation that had violently revolted before and was publically resentful of the government that was now over them. And if that wasn’t a tough enough assignment in and of itself, now a riot was starting to form in Judea’s capital city with a guy named Jesus right in the middle of it. The Jews had brought him in front of Pilate and had asked for the death sentence to be issued. Now, Pilate didn’t know much about Jesus, but he could quickly see that this prophet from Nazareth was innocent and that he was not leading a rebellion in any way, but he couldn’t just ignore the crowds. Because they were getting belligerent and if things got too out of hand, Pilate could lose his job and be banished from the kingdom by the Roman emperor himself, as had happened to a previous ruler in Judea 20 years before Pilate took the position. Pilate really didn’t want the responsibility that had fallen in his lap. He knew what he was going to be forced to do and he didn’t want to be held responsible for an innocent man’s blood.
It is rare to find a person who takes full responsibility for their actions no matter how bad they may be, a sinner who immediately and unequivocally accepts the blame and all of the consequences that come with it without a single excuse. It’s hard to find those kinds of people because accepting the blame and taking full responsibility is not natural! It’s natural to cover sins up. And it’s natural to pass the blame to someone else when those sins can’t be denied. People will do or say anything to get out of the responsibility for what they have done because no one wants to feel guilty, no one wants other people to think any less of them than what they did before, and no one wants to suffer the repercussions that they rightfully deserve. Pilate certainly didn’t want to be held responsible for what he was going to do. And so he went out to the Jewish crowds and asked, “‘What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’ ‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility.’ All the people answered, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and hand him over to be crucified.”
Pilate felt trapped; and so he tried to pass the blame. Pilate knew he was wrong; and so he tried to unload the responsibility onto someone else. Which isn’t anything different than what we do in our own lives. We try to deflect the accusations of our conscience onto someone or something else too - in order to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t be held fully responsible. Sometimes we conveniently blame the weaknesses of our sinful nature: “I just struggle with this particular sin; I’m going to fall into this temptation regardless and so there’s not much I can do about it. It’s not my fault that I’m more prone to this sin than other people are.” But we blame others too. “If that person hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have had those inappropriate thoughts about them… If that person hadn’t said what she said, I wouldn’t have lost my temper… If that person hadn’t done the things he did, I wouldn’t have had to insult him behind his back… It’s my coworker’s fault for dragging me into the wrong situation… It’s my family’s fault for not supporting me… It’s the situation’s fault for my bad language; I was just a little bit angry in the heat the moment...” We shirk the responsibility every chance we get. We try to avoid any accountability for our actions because, if we are able to shift some of the blame, that takes away some of the guilty feelings. If we are able to pass on some of the responsibility, then we don’t feel as bad. If there’s one thing that makes us uncomfortable, it’s that rotten, achy, sick-to-your-stomach feeling of a guilty conscience.
Pilate felt guilty. He knew he shouldn’t condemn an innocent man to death. And so he washed his hands in water in front of the Jewish crowds and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your responsibility.” He didn’t want to be held responsible for the decision he was about to make. On the other hand, the Jewish people had no problem accepting the responsibility for Jesus’ death! “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” they shouted. They had no guilty feelings at all. They felt fully justified in their request that Jesus be crucified and they called down a curse on themselves to prove it! “If he happens to be innocent, Pilate, we’ll take the blame. We won’t hold it against you. We’ll deal with the consequences if this so-called ‘King of the Jews’ actually ends up to be who he says he is. You don’t have to worry yourself about it. Put his blood on us.”
Although these crowds didn’t know it, just a few hours after they said these words to Pilate, Jesus’ blood did settle upon them; and in more ways than one. Jesus’ blood was certainly upon them in condemnation - they were guilty beyond a doubt - but Jesus’ blood was also upon them in salvation. That’s why Jesus died in the first place! So that his blood could be upon the people. So that his blood could wash them clean. So that his blood would make their robes white. The crowds were undeniably guilty of shedding Jesus’ innocent blood, but they were also forgiven for shedding Jesus’ innocent blood. “Let his blood be on us and on our children!” they had brazenly proclaimed. But that was Jesus’ intention all along! That’s why Jesus allowed them to take his life: so that he could be held responsible for what they did to him!
Jesus held himself responsible. Pilate obviously didn’t want to be held accountable for his sin and the people never thought that they would be found guilty of any sin at all, and so Jesus took the responsibility on himself. He took Pilate’s sins of fear and selfishness, he took the people’s sins of hate and rage, he took the soldiers’ sins cruelty, Judas’ sins, Peter’s sins, his mother’s sins, and our sins, and he suffered the punishment for all of them. He allowed his Father to hold him personally responsible for every sin that has ever been committed. And he didn’t complain about it. He didn’t object. He didn’t cry out on the cross: “My people, why are you doing this to me?” No, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus did not proclaim to those watching him die, “I am innocent!” Instead he announced to those for whom he was dying, “It is finished.” And Jesus said those words because he was guilty. He was guilty in a very real way. Jesus became responsible for all our sins so that we wouldn’t have to be held accountable for any of them.
Jesus took the blame. We were going to be called to account because of our sins and Jesus stood up when no one else would and said to his Father, “It was me! I did it. I’m guilty. And I’ll take whatever punishment is necessary.” And so that’s exactly what his Father did: he punished Jesus. He disowned his Son. He held Jesus fully responsible. And because of that intervention, the ugly and embarrassing sins that we never want to claim as our own, we don’t have to. Jesus already claimed them. He already counted them as his own and suffered severely for every offense. We no longer have sins on our conscience; we no longer have sins on our record; we just have blood on our hands. Jesus’ blood is on our hands - and not because of guilt, because of grace. Jesus’ blood is upon his people. He put it there. He wanted it there. And there it will stay. Because since he held himself fully responsible for our sins, he is also fully responsible for our salvation. Amen.
“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” - Jude 24-25
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