COVID-19: You Are Going to Die

COVID-19

How many people do you think are going to die from this virus?  How much worry does that cause you?  I have another question.  How many people on this earth do you think are going to die?  How much worry does that cause you? 

Have you ever thought about the fact that every person you run into is going to die?  Every single one.  And so will you.  In a weird sense, every one of us is a ticking time-bomb.  Each one of us is one heartbeat closer to our demise than we were before that last heartbeat.  This Is not morose language.  It is biblical language.

Psalm 90:3–6 (NKJV)

3 You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.

The Psalmist says that we are like grass that grows up in the morning and then that evening is cut down and dies.  Your life is a wisp, a mist, it is as little as a bit of fog on the road that slips by and is gone. 

God also tells us why this is so.

Psalm 90:7–10 (NKJV)

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are terrified. 8 You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. 9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Death is all around us because sin is all around us.  Secret sins in the light of God’s perfect, all-seeing countenance.  And He hates our sin.  His wrath is stirred up by it and He will judge it with a perfect, holy anger that is eternal, righteous, and good.  Death is the penalty for our sin.  It is the wages of sin (Rom 6:23).  COVID-19 has not increased the number of people who are going to die.  COVID-19 has only reminded us that everyone is going to die.

Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV)

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

There is nothing after death but judgment.  There is nothing but the penalty for your sin for which you will be bankrupt to pay.  You will have nothing to offer God to satisfy His holy wrath for your sin.

But God.  God, in His infinite mercy, sent His Son to be the propitiation for that sin.  That holy wrath has been fully and justly satisfied in the death of Jesus where He took upon Himself the sins of the world that all who believe on Him would have eternal life. 

This does not only mean that if you are in Christ that your sins are paid for and you will receive no judgment from the Father’s throne.  It means that when you die, you will enter into a communion and delight with God the Father, Your Father, by way of the Son and in the life and power of the Holy Spirit.  This is why, when facing death, Paul could write, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21).

As we fight the corona virus, as we should, we must remember that we are not fighting so that mortal people won’t die.  We all will die.  We are fighting the corona virus because death is an enemy.  But for all in Jesus Christ, that enemy has been defeated.  We have nothing to fear when it comes to death.  Christ defeated death in principle when He rose from the dead. 

Let this present distress remind you, or teach you, or open your eyes to life that is yours in Jesus Christ. 

“I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

When Excruciating Suffering Comes

A friend of mine recently witnessed his young son-in-law pass away after a very short battle with cancer.  The family, full of faith and hope in Jesus, prayed first for healing, and did so until his dying day.  But as it became more and more clear that the Lord was going to take this young man, they said they were preparing for the worst while praying for the best.  All too quickly, the young man succumed.  

One of the tough parts of their story was hearing about how terribly the young man suffered in his final hour before he passed.  Excruciating pain and suffocation, gasping for breath, writhing as his body fought for one more minute and then another and then another.  After his death, this was the horrible last memory of a son, a husband, a friend, and a brother in our Lord. 

Why, after such faithful praying, would God allow such horror?

As I reflected on this, maddened myself over a sovereign God allowing such suffering and hardship, four thoughts came to mind. In no particular order, I share them here.  In addition, I am sure there are far more important thoughts to bring to bear.  I simply share what came to me in a cascade of response.

First, I remembered my own anger when my oldest son, now 25 (and the same age as this young man), was only three weeks old.  He was in the NICU in Baltimore.  After an emergency Cesarean, a frantic rush to a hospital with all of the best services, days upon days of tests, pokes and proddings, we had no diagnosis and no sense of what was going to happen next.

Nathan was on an intravenous drip, for antibiotics if I recall rightly, but his little body was having trouble providing veins for the IV.  One day, I helped the nurses as they tried to get a new vein to re-insert the IV.  They couldn't find one.  For thirty long minutes I helped hold him down while he screamed and cried as they kept sticking and resticking, twisting and searching with that needle in his arm, his leg, and finally up on his head.  I remember the hot anger I had that day at God.  "You can't even give him one little vein - I'm not asking for a healing - just one little vein."  

What kind of sadist did I worship?

Second, I remembered a question my 9th grade student asked in Bible Class just a couple weeks ago.  He wanted to know why Jesus had to suffer so much on the cross?  Why did God need Jesus to die a slow, painful, humiliating death?  If the point was for His death to pay for our sins and for His blood to be shed by that death, why not a quick death without prolonged suffering?

Third, I am reminded of how much death really is an enemy - and all that leads up to that death.  Death is an enemy whose sting has been removed for the believer because at the moment of death we pass into the immediate Presence of our Lord and Savior.  But death itself remains an enemy that will not be conquered in full until the return of our Lord.

Fourth, I was again reminded of 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Whatever suffering we do go through, however long that suffering is, God works it in us something so much more glorious in comparison to the suffering.  It is a glory which will exceed any suffering.  It is a glory whose heavy weight so knocks the scales of balance to its side that we all will be amazed - all who are in Christ.  But we cannot and will not see that glory on this side of eternity.  This is something we must embrace by faith.

But having embraced this truth, having embraced these sufferings from Christ, not only do we endure.  We will strangely find ourselves looking forward to them, hearing from our Savior, "more glory, more glory."

Obey Because You Are Loved

Working on the next text for my sermon.  "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children" - Eph 5:1

Some wonderful words from Bryan Chappell's commentary on the same -

…God’s imperatives, and our obedience, rest on that loving relationship; they do not form the relationship.  We obey because we are loved; we are not loved because we obey.  The love of our Father precedes and stimulates the obedience of his children.  We are to forgive and live and love as dearly loved children imitating the One who already is our Father, not performing to bribe God to become our Father.

The significance of obedience based on the Father’s love becomes more apparent when we consider where the apostle will soon head with his imperatives.  He will soon address the sins of lust and greed.  How would you turn others from such sin?  Should you warn?  Yes.  Should you command to avoidance?  Yes.  Should you condemn participation?  Yes.  But what first?  First, remind those who love God and are grieving for their failure that they are his dearly loved children.  Say to a struggler, “you are a wonderful child, a precious child of God, dearly loved.  You are precious to him.  Live as one dearly loved.  Be what you are in Christ.”

"We obey because we are loved; we are not loved because we obey."  That's a keeper.

Should We Ask God to Destroy our Enemies?

A friend wrote to me about my recent sermons on the Psalms (I have been preaching through Psalm 31-40).  She is struggling with the idea of praying for the destruction of her enemies.  Are we supposed to do that?  Didn’t Jesus pray for the forgiveness of those who were putting Him to death?  She had many questions surrounding this topic.  Here was my “stab” at answering, briefly…

Destruction.  Death.  Why does God do that?  Why was there a flood over the whole world and everyone, everyone died (some estimate the world was more greatly populated than the 7 billion on earth today)?  Except for Noah and his family.  And was Noah really that much nicer than everyone else?  Start there when you are wondering about God dealing out destruction.  It’s tough. 

The chasm between God’s holiness (not niceness) and our fallenness is infinite.  The only way we even have life at all is Grace – all Grace.  The only way we are redeemed is Grace, all Grace.  I have no right to think that in comparison to anyone else, I deserve to live and they deserve to die – and that is what comes through so clear as you read the Psalms – all the Psalms.  One day, you should take a weekend and just make yourself read all 150 Psalms and see what you come away with – in total.  It is awesome, it is complex, it is unruly, God is not tame – but He is good.

So, am I to pray for the destruction of my enemies?  Well, as a follower of Christ and a member of His kingdom – yes.  But what do I mean by their “destruction?”  I mean to turn them over to God’s holy wrath that will glorify His name (to Whom I am ultimately loyal).  It is His full right and position to decide if He would “destroy” them in their sin by leaving them in that sin and place them under His good and righteous judgment or whether He “destroys” their “old man” by placing them in Christ where we die in His death and are raised to new life by faith in Him and His perfect work accomplished for us.  It certainly is a question “why does God not save everyone?” – and it is not easily answered.  It is just as much a wonderful question:  “why does God create and then redeem, save, and bring to Himself anyone?  Why does God save anyone?”  When God is revealed in all His glory, it doesn’t make sense, it is not easily answered.

Part of the reason, frankly, that these are questions which are so hard to answer is because our god is too small.  Where were we when He placed Jupiter where He desired?  How did He do that?  He tells us that we have to understand that (creation out of nothing, full and complete sovereignty over the stars and galaxies and over every sub-atomic particle) before we can understand the purpose of evil, the nature of fallen man and the salvation of God in full.  The point is that we have to take it in faith, bow and worship and receive His good gifts – and rest in a good Father’s wisdom that goes far beyond anything we could comprehend (Rom 11:33-36).

Our desire is for the world to be saved, for that “bad” destruction to not come upon our enemies, God’s enemies.  Bur read the story in the Bible – that is EXACTLY where this story is going.  Hallelujah!  The world will be as full of the glory of God (and the knowledge of the glory of God) as the waters cover the sea.  And as far as I can tell, the waters completely cover the sea.  The descendants of Abraham (those with the faith of Abraham) will not be able to be numbered (and we can still count to 7 billion and more) – they will be more numerous than the sand on the beach.  You can’t count that high.  Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

In the meantime, we are at war.  We do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and our weapons are not carnal but spiritual for pulling down all strongholds.  Faith – that is what overcomes the world (1 John 5).  Sing the Psalms with that faith or they will be a bummer.  Sing the Psalm with that faith and they will be used by God to bring His salvation and the praise to the glory of His grace from the river to the ends of the earth.

 

When It's Time to be Quiet

Thoughts as I study Psalm 39.  Just the first three verses -

 

I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.” ² I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. ³ My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

 

There is a time when it is best, as right as you may be, to just be quiet.  The Psalm-singer understood this.  Certainly Jesus did as well.  It is not that you don't have a good answer, a correction to the falsehoods being declared and lived out, even against you (and maybe especially in those times when it is against you).

 

There are times when you should not speak to men about it.  However, it is important to notice then the Psalm-singer is letting God know.  He is speaking to God about it.  Interestingly, the Psalm seems to end (v13) with the Psalm-singer even saying that he will cease from speaking to God about it.  Even here, it may be that he is ceasing to argue with the Lord and instead hoping in God and resting in that hope - resting in such a way that there is no need to speak about it anymore.

 

Helpful Cross-References:

 

V1 – “…while the wicked are before me”

Colossians 4:5 (NKJV)
⁵ Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

V2 – “I was mute with silence”

Isaiah 53:7 (NKJV)
⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

Matthew 27:12-14 (NKJV)
¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. ¹³ Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴ But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

“I held my peace even from good”

Matthew 7:6 (NKJV)
⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

Joy and the Present Love of God

Paul writes of sufferings of the Christian in Romans 8; things, none of which can separate us from the love of God.  Paul does not say that conquest is found in escaping these things, nor in their removal from our lives.  Conquest is found when even in the most horrible of situations, these things cannot separate us from the love of God.  Of course this means that we can experience and live in the love of God in the midst of the most horrible of situations.

Jesus Himself did not cry out over the pain of the nails in His hands and feet, nor in the shame of His naked and humiliating public crucifixion.  His cry of despair was over the departure of God from His presence, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?"

One man wrote, "Joy is not the absence of pain, but the presence of God."

No Room For Him

(Homily Preached on Christmas Morning, 2012)

 

For centuries it had been foretold.  The prophets had promised that a Savior would come.  There had been righteous kings, elders, rulers and common people who knew, believed, hoped this would happen.  There were women and children who believed, waited, anticipated.  And yet, when the time came, when the very day came for this King to be born, there was no room for Him.  This would be the way of Jesus the Christ.

 

Luke makes this strange little note to us on the story of the birth of Jesus – “and she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  This has become a quaint, sentimental, serene verse describing the Nativity.  But cut through the sentiment and you will find that this is the way of Jesus, the way of the kingdom of God in, over, and through this world.

 

It was time for Jesus to be born, and there was no place for Him to be born – no place among humans, the very people for which the Incarnation was necessary.  We are not told what went on at the inn, how Joseph and Mary were unable to find any place for Mary to be given to have her Child, what the circumstances were when this Inn-keeper had to say “no, I’m sorry, there is no more room.”  But, whatever happened, Mary found herself giving birth to her firstborn Son, the One conceived by the Holy Spirit, in a cave or in some animal shelter of some sort.  There was no cradle – there was only a feeding trough.  HE WHO would be the Bread of Heaven slept at first in a food tray for animals.

 

But this was the way of Christ.  There was no way for Jesus to be conceived in the normal fashion for there was no room for a sinless Man to be brought into the world solely through the line of the first Adam.  And yet, He had to be from the line of the first Adam in order to be a Man.  And so, God made a way.  There was no human proclamation of His birth – no birth announcement by relatives, no social media to send pictures.  But God made a way – He sent angels to announce to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night – and the stars joined with the angels in proclaiming the birth of the Messiah.

 

When Mary first heard that she was going to be with child, there was no room for her to believe such a thing, but God sent the angel Gabriel to tell her.  Joseph as well, had no room to believe such a crazy story until in a dream, God made a way by confirming what Mary had told Joseph to be true.

 

There continued to be no room for Jesus.  Months later, when wise men arrived from the East and announced that a star had led them to Bethlehem, Herod refused to allow such a declared King to threaten his rule and all the male children two years old and younger were murdered.  But God had made a way, warning Joseph in a dream again and allowing the holy family to flee to Egypt in the night. 

 

Some thirty years later, when Jesus began His ministry, being baptized by John, He went and preached in His hometown of Nazareth.  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me” He read from Isaiah and told all those in the synagogue that day that these words were fulfilled now and that He was the fulfillment.  There was no room in Nazareth at that point for Jesus – there was no room for such truth and so they sought to throw Him over a cliff – but God made a way and Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on His way.

 

There was no room for Jesus as He travelled along in His ministry – so much so, that one time when a certain scribe asked if he could follow Jesus, Jesus responded, “foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”  In fact, you would think the scribes and the Pharisees, the “keepers of the law” would have recognized that the very embodiment of the Law, the Word-made-Flesh, Immanuel, was before them.  They had studied and studied God’s Word, and yet, Jesus would say to them – “you search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they that testify of Me.”  But there was no room in their theology for Jesus – there was no room in their self-righteousness for Christ – there was no room in their law-keeping for One who would Judge them for their well-hidden sin.

 

Jerusalem, the home of the Temple of Yahweh, the House Built for His name, should have had all of the room in the world for the very One that had made this city famous.  And yet, when Jesus went to Jerusalem, there was no room for Him.  Not only did they condemn Him to die – even His crucifixion took place outside the city – at the place of the Skull and right beside a city garbage dump.

 

This was Jesus, the Son of God, and there was no room for Him – no room for Him in the inn, no room for Him in Nazareth, no room for Him in Jerusalem – no room for Him in this world – anywhere.  And this was just the way God wanted it.  This was no thwarting of God’s plans, no victory over Christ’s ministry nor His purposes to become the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Rejecting Jesus never keeps Jesus away  in the end.  We are not celebrating the birth of a man who hoped to become King of Israel only to be tried in a kangaroo court and murdered by thugs dressed in priestly robes and Roman uniforms.  We are celebrating the birth of King who turned the world upside down, because that world was upside down – lost in its darkness, lost in its sin.

 

There was no room in the world for Jesus – which is exactly why Jesus came to remake the world.  There was no room in the sons and daughters of Adam for a Savior – which is exactly why Jesus came to regenerate these same sons and daughters, bringing forth objects of wrath and by the power of His resurrection, making them objects of His mercy and love, people of His delight and affection, brothers and sisters with Him before His holy Father in heaven.

 

Jesus was promised the world, all the nations – and in Pontius Pilate and the Jewish leaders, the world, all the nations, Jew and Gentile alike, rejected Him.  There was no room for Him.  But when He rose from the dead, when He ascended to His Father’s right hand, when He sent His Holy Spirit, He was declared to be the One who had created all things – all room – and had redeemed all things – all room – for Himself.

 

We see this same scenario played out over and over in the life of the church.  Wherever Jesus is faithfully proclaimed, we are told there is no room for Him.  Presently, in our country, we are told there is no room for Him in our public places, in our civic buildings, in our government schools – our fear of catching Jesus-cooties if we overhear His name or prayers to Him or the singing of His praise – is as silly as our fear of second-hand smoke drifting over the fence of some neighbor’s yard.  The world hates both – but the world particularly hates the name of Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas.  It always has, it always will.  This is its curse, this is the consequence of its unbelief and rebellion – this is the state of things.  But this is why Jesus was born in a stable – this is why He was rejected of men – this is why He died on the cross – He has come and He has redeemed to Himself the nations of men.  There was no room for Him, but now there is all the room in the world for Him for He has redeemed the world.  He bought it.  He purchased it.  He owns it all.

 

And this is why we must still say “Merry Christmas” with all the trimmings.  This is why we must still proclaim “Jesus is Lord” even when we are told to shut up.  This is why we must pledge allegiance to the kingdom of God even when it is uncouth in the public eye.  When we hear that there is no room for Him, no room for this kind of thing, in such and such a place, it is the same sad story  and we must refuse to comply.  We must do so winsomely and with great faith – with our eyes to the life, death, and resurrection of the One for Whom there was never any room.  Because, we know, of course there was no room in the world – that is why He has remade the world – that He might bring salvation to that world.

 

Isaac Watts would pen these words –

Joy to the world, the Lord is come – let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room – and heaven and nature sing.

 

No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.

 

He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness and wonders of His love.

 

O, but there is room.  For He has made room.  For He has remade all things.  He will have the nations – and this morning – He would have your heart, your devotion, your praise.  Some would ask you if there is room in your heart for Jesus – and it is commanded of you to make room – but you know there is no room – no room in your heart.  Some would invite you to make room for Jesus in your heart – they would say that He stands at the door of your heart and pleads to be allowed in.  Such talk is nonsense, you say – and you are right.  But it is nonsense for reasons you did not expect.  Jesus isn’t inviting.  Jesus already knows there is no room in your heart, your unconverted heart for Him.  That doesn’t stop Him from coming – it never has – it never will.  Jesus has come – and every knee will bow, every tongue confess.  Jesus has come and so every curse will be overturned.  Jesus has come and so all things are made new.  Jesus has come and He is not asking you to make Him Lord – He is declared to be Lord, even the son of God – not because you have said anything.  It didn’t have anything to do with you.  What then must you do?  Well, what do you do at Christmas when you are given a gift from a well-wisher, from someone who loves you – you have already received gifts this Christmas, you probably have more gifts waiting for you at home or at the relatives.  What will you do with that gift?  You can’t declare it to be a non-gift.  You have no power over it.  You might say you can refuse the gift – but refusing the gift doesn’t make it not a gift.  There it is.  There it remains.  The salvation of the world has come and it is outside of you – it has nothing to do with you – it will not respond to you saying that it has or hasn’t come.  It is joy to the world. 

 

And this gift is your new heart.  You don’t decide if you want a new heart – it is decided for you.  You didn’t decide if you wanted that old, unbelieving, stiff-necked heart – and you don’t get to decide if you want the new heart, the one that believes, loves, and responds to the gospel of grace.  Behold, you have a new heart.  Here – take it – receive it – or rather, realize that you have received it for it has been placed in you – by the work of the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to make room for it.  God already did that.  God already took care of that.  God sent Jesus when there was no room for Him and God made the room.  For those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts that now believe – Merry Christmas!

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - Amen.

Short Homily for the Providence Christmas Concert

“For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the LORD.” –

 

This evening, we have the privilege as parents, relatives, and friends of these students of Providence, to hear the performance of a Christmas concert.  It is hardly unusual to have a concert this time of year in schools throughout our nation.  It is, however, becoming a rarer and rarer thing to actually have a concert which honors the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrates the season of Advent and Christmas.

 

But Providence is a Christian School and as such, we have the freedom to have a Christian concert and unashamedly proclaim the truth of the Savior of the nations.  That is wonderful – and for that we give great thanks.

And so we have wonderful music and a wonderful theme to enjoy.  But there is something else – something else which is very important.  As a parent at Providence for more than 13 years now, I can tell you that this is a different kind of Christian school – and one of those differences, a distinction – is that you will find that the staff and the students truly love the Lord Jesus Christ – it is apparent in our culture.  Now, I cannot peer into hearts and I certainly do not personally know each and every student here – but I can confidently say that, on the whole, you are listening to children who love Christ and who are growing in their love and knowledge of Him.

 

That said, here is the important extra to a concert like this at Providence.  These students are not simply performing for you – they are giving something to you.  This is a Christmas gift of sorts from them to you.  It is Christ the Lord.  It is the Babe who was born of a virgin and placed in a manger because there was no room for Him in the Inn.  It is the Man who, 33 years later, would suffer and die by means of crucifixion – the God-Man who, as the Head of the new Humanity, would suffer death for all who would put their faith in His death and die in Him – and bring resurrection life to all who would put their faith in His resurrection life and find new life in Him.

 

This is not simply a concert.  It is a gift.  It is a gift of forgiving love, of eternal hope, of the power of lives changed by the Person of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ – the Spirit of Christmas.  As they are about to sing – consider these words – they really mean them – and they mean to proclaim them to you…

 

1. On Christmas Night all Christians sing,

to hear the news the angels bring.

News of great joy news of great mirth,

news of our merciful King’s birth.

 

2. Then why should men on earth be so sad,

since our Redeemer made us glad

When from our sin He set us free,

all for to gain our liberty?

Welcome to Jesus Christ, and Merry Christmas

The Always Presence of God

Wenham summarizes Leviticus by talking about the presence of God.  God is always present with Israel, but He is on occasion present with Israel in both a visible and tangible way.  He is preeminently present in worship.

But Leviticus handles far more than just the times of worship and the special feasts.  God is present at all times, even in the mundane duties of life.  "Leviticus knows of nothing that is beyond God's control or concern.  The whole of man's life must be lived out in the presence of God.  The recurring refrain in the later chapters, "I am the Lord your God," reminds the people of Israel that every aspect of their life - religion, sex, relations with neighbors, all is of concern to their covenant redeemer." - (p17).

And so, the detailed and repetitive ceremonies of Leviticus teach us that God is concerned about all aspects of our lives.  For the Christian, we see this brought out in the fact that we are now the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit, enjoying the permanent presence of God.  We are to manifest His glory in all aspects of our lives.

Leviticus Today

"Leviticus used to be the first book that Jewish children studied in the synagogue.  In the modern Church it tends to be the last part of the Bible anyone looks at seriously." - Gordon Wenham

In devotional reading, this is one of the toughest books to simply read through.  Strange, though, that in the middle of a string of miscellaneous laws we find the second greatest commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" - 19:18.  

There is certainly more here than meets the eye.  Wenham suggests that, more than a collection of dated laws, Leviticus tells us about God's character and will.

I heartily recommend Wenham's commentary on Leviticus.   

Covered - Psalm 32

Psalm 32:1 says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered..." and in the NKJV, verse 5 says, "I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden..."  But the ESV makes the Hebrew word connection clearer, "...and I did not cover my iniquity..."  The word, ka-sa, is the same in both verses.

And here is the point of the Psalm, wrapped up in this use of the verb.  When we try to cover our sins, as Adam and Eve tried to cover their ashamed nakedness, nothing is covered at all.  There is no forgiveness.  But when we come to the Lord acknowledging our sins, showing them to Him, and not covering them, then they are covered by Him, just as He covered Adam and Eve Himself with the skins of animals.

There is another way to say this.  When we say to God, "I didn't do that," He will say to us, "Oh, but you did do that."  But when we say, repenting as we speak, "I did that," He will say to us, "You did not do that.  It is gone.  It is covered."  And He will not keep track.  He will not keep a hidden account.  For your sin has been covered in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

A Cross on the Right and a Cross on the Left

Good Friday 2012 - A Cross on the Right and a Cross on the Left

On the day that Jesus Christ died, the world for the most part, went about its business in its usual way.  The vast majority of the world, and even the majority of the people in Jerusalem, were not distracted from their normal lives by the events of the crucifixion that we read and meditate on each Good Friday.  For most of the world, this was a non-event – or so it seemed.

For some, even being at the cross didn’t change things.  We hear of one soldier who wondered or even confessed that “certainly this was a righteous Man,” but others just shook their heads and went on their way.  For the most part, it was just another day’s work for the soldiers and for everyone else.  It was a day like any other.  Throughout the world that day, men were born and lived, and throughout the world that day, men’s lives came to an end and there was death.

We do know of the death of two men other than Jesus that Good Friday.  Two criminals crucified with Jesus, one on his right and one on his left.  Crucified alongside Christ.  Crucified with Christ.  Both men were criminals, both men knew they were going to die a slow, painful, tortuous death.  That day must have been filled with hatred and fear, with anger and doubt and despair.  There may have been moments of self-righteous resolution; surely there were hours of unimaginable pain, horror, disgrace and dread.

The Gospel of Luke records for us that at one moment, one of the criminals blasphemed Jesus, cursing Him, sneering at Him, “If you are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”  This wasn’t a cry for help and salvation – this was a mocking of a useless savior, a so-called messiah.  In other words, he might as well have said, “How dare you claim to be God and find yourself in this impotent, worthless place.  How dare you claim to be a Savior, a Good-Shepherd and leave me in this circumstance.  What kind of God would do that – what kind of Savior would that be.”

Now, you don’t have to be hanging on a cross, literally, slowly tortured to death, to find yourself saying those kinds of words to Jesus, do you?  “If you are God, if you have come to save this world, if you love me, why have you allowed my life’s circumstances to come to this place in which I find myself?  If you are not going to save me from this situation, if you are going to leave my life in such misery, then You are useless to me.  You are a loser.  You are not God.  You are not a Savior.”

Isn’t that what many say, think, feel towards God?  Either their life is going on right now and they are oblivious to the fact that a Savior is being crucified for the sins of the world, or, through God’s hard providences, they are brought face to face with this Savior in the midst of their difficulties, their sins, the consequences of their own sins, the results of others’ sins upon them, the results of a fallen world groaning under the weight of judgment – and they hate Him, they sneer at the thought that He could be a Savior – a help to them even now in their hour of need.

But look at the other criminal.  He is in the same circumstances – he is under the same condemnation, the same slow, tortuous death.  He also looks and sees a so-called Messiah hanging on a cross of shame and humiliation –but what does he see? – Luke records these words, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

Think carefully for a moment about what this man says.  He is saying, “I am hanging on a cross, about to die – and this is what I deserve.  Jesus is hanging on a cross, and He has done nothing wrong.”  Now I want you to consider this very carefully – what about you?  What about your life?  Do you deserve to be hanging on a cross?  We shudder and step back from such an insinuating comment – “how dare you even consider for a moment that I deserve to be crucified.  I am no criminal.  I am an upstanding, tax-paying citizen of this country, a model neighbor for our culture, a decent husband, wife, student.  How dare you even consider such a thing.”

Well, just a moment, consider with me – if you haven’t sinned “like that criminal,” if you haven’t done anything, said anything, thought anything, omitted anything worthy of crucifixion and beyond, eternal separation from the presence and blessing of God – then what you are saying is there is no need, as far as your life is concerned, for Jesus to be crucified, undergo the wrath of God and the separation from His presence and blessing.

But wait, some of you say that you are Christians, that you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ.  Well, what does that mean?  It means that the second criminal was right, we should justly receive the due reward of our deeds –and our rebellious nature – from God.  And then, with the criminal, we see Jesus, as Savior, hanging on the cross – and we see the Way, the Truth, the Life – there – and we cry out to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  We see our situation, our just condemnation, our fair indictment and penalty declared – and we cry out for one thing and one thing only – mercy.

And then we hear the Master, the Shepherd, the Messiah and Savior Jesus say, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Crucified alongside Christ.  Crucified with Christ.  Paul said those words.  He said, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Paul didn’t write those words because his life this side of the grave had become perfect – not with his own soul-struggles, not with his circumstances which of which he had little control.  He wrote them because he knew what death and resurrection were about – what they brought in this life – and what they promised forever.

Crucified with Christ.  Jesus Himself said to those who wished to follow Him, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.”

So much of this sorry world still ignores the memorial and meaning of Good Friday – their lives have gone on today just as any other day.  So much of the world has scorned the cross and the claims of Jesus the anointed Son of God – declared him impotent, unimportant, irrelevant – useless, when it comes to their own lives – they’ll take care of themselves thank you very much.  God be merciful to them, God open their eyes.

God, in His kindness, has made sure that it is not so for you – He has brought you to the cross – again.  There is no sin He cannot recompense.  There is no life He cannot redeem.  There is no situation in life, no wrong done to you, that He cannot or will not make right in the resurrection.  There is no strength, no grace, no need for help He cannot or will not give to those who cry out to Him even now.

One criminal was crucified alongside Christ and went on to His eternal judgment.  One criminal was crucified alongside Christ and found that by faith he was crucified with Christ and went on to be with Him in Paradise.  One criminal was crucified alongside Christ shaking his fists at God.  One criminal was crucified with Christ and found mercy hanging beside him.  Our sins are going to be dealt with one way or another, on the right or on the left of Christ crucified.  The unbelieving world looks from one side and sees impotence.  Look from the other side and see the power of God to save.  Amen.