Tawa Baptist

Psalm 27

Scripture: Psalm 27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/B5kaW-5Epto

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Confidence in the Lord (1-3)
  • Sanctuary in worship (4-6)
  • Seeking God’s face (7-12)
  • Conclusion – Hope for this life (13-14)

Introduction:

Kia ora whanau and good morning everyone.

Some things in life we can control but most things we can’t. We cannot control things like when we are born, the choices other people make, the weather, the traffic, the past, the future, earthquakes, who you fall in love with, and cats. (Definitely can’t control cats.)

But we can usually control our self. Things like our mind-set, what we eat, who we hang out with, how we spend our time and how we treat others.

Alongside this sits our values. Not everything in life is of equal importance to us. Basic needs like oxygen, clean drinking water, food shelter, faith and family are generally more important than things like TV or the cricket score or what other people think of us.

There is an overlap between what is important and what we can control. Given that we have limited resources; it makes good sense to focus our time and energy on the intersection of those things which we can control and those things which matter.

For example, having an income is important, up to a certain point, because money is useful for providing your basic needs. But your overall health and well-being is more important than having loads of money. So we have to find a work life balance that allows us to provide for ourselves and our family without destroying our health or our relationships.    

Today our message focuses on Psalm 27. In this psalm David is faced with many things he can’t control. Mainly, what others are saying about him and the way they are treating him.

David wisely uses his energy to focus on the intersection of those things which are important and which he can control. The thing that matters most to David is his relationship with God. And, although David can’t control God, he can control himself. So that’s what he focuses on, the way he relates with God.

From verse 1 of Psalm 27 we read…

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance against me to devourme, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. 4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. 7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. 8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. 13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Psalm 27 shows us David’s focus; the intersection of what matters to David and what he can control. Psalm 27 gives us a picture of how David handles himself in his relationship with God.

There are four parts to Psalm 27:

Confidence in the Lord,

Sanctuary in worship,

Seeking God’s face,

And hope for this life.

First let us consider David’s confidence in the Lord.

Confidence in the Lord:

If you magnify a dust mite it looks quite terrifying. But when you look at a dust mite in perspective your fear dissolves. In reality a dust mite is about the same size as a single grain of salt, very small.

Sometimes our problems can feel bigger than they actually are. The more we think about them, the more anxious and overwhelmed we become. If that happens a change of perspective can help. 

In verses 1-3 David shows us how he handles fear and the threat of violence, by focusing on the Lord. Focusing on God gives David a better perspective on his problems. Next to God, David’s enemies are small, like a grain of salt or like dust mites. Verse 1 reads…  

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

In saying the Lord is my light David probably means God is the source of all goodness. Light dispels darkness and fear. Life flourishes and thrives in the light. Light gives true knowledge and perspective on our situation. Light enables us to see the way we should go. The Lord is David’s light and salvation.

Salvation refers here to David’s physical safety. David is confident that God will intervene to save his life. To say the Lord is the stronghold of David’s life means that God is David’s protection and security.

In verse 3 David says: Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

As king of Israel David had some pretty big threats to deal with. He had lots of enemies who literally wanted to kill him. David’s psalms are peppered with complaints about his enemies. David does not ignore or deny the difficult reality of being king. Rather he keeps things in perspective by choosing to focus on the Lord and his heart is not afraid.

As I keep saying, the heart in ancient Hebrew thought refers to a person’s inner life. Our mind, emotions and will. Our decision making faculties basically. David’s heart (or mind) is confident of God’s help and protection.  

So how do we do this? How do we focus on the Lord?

Sanctuary in worship:

Well, David seeks sanctuary in worshipping God. Verse 4 reads:One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

Then in verse 5: For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

And in verse 6 David goes on to say: at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

‘House of the Lord’, ‘dwelling’ and ‘sacred tent’ are a reference to the special place where God was worshipped. Where the ark of the covenant was kept and God’s holy presence resided.

God’s temple hadn’t been built yet. That didn’t happen until David’s son Solomon came to the throne. But the point here is that David wants to be close to God’s presence. There is sanctuary in worshipping God, in giving our whole focus to the Lord.

I am reminded here of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5: Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

To be pure in heart is to will one thing. The one thing David asks for. The only thing he seeks is God’s presence. David probably wrote this psalm when he was on the run, either from Saul or Absalom. Hiding in a cave and away from Jerusalem, David longed to go to church and worship God.

You know the first couple of weeks in lockdown aren’t too bad. On-line church is a change but the novelty soon wears off and I find myself itching to get back to regular gathered worship. It’s not the same singing songs in your lounge at home.

Religious rituals, like Sunday church worship, support our faith and our life. They give us a fresh perspective. They take our minds off ourselves and redirect our focus onto God. Without regular Godly worship the dust mites in our lives start to look like scary monsters.  

I’m reading a book on art history at the moment by Terry Glasbey. The book includes a chapter on Gian Lorenzo Bernini, arguably the greatest sculptor of all time.

Bernini was a devout Christian. He went to church every day. As an artist he had a gift for entering into the emotions of others and conveying moments of spiritual experience.

One of his famous altar pieces, in the Corona chapel in Rome, depicts a moment of spiritual ecstasy for St Teresa of Avila. St Teresa was a Spanish nun. In order to avoid an arranged marriage Teresa entered the convent at the age of 19. At first life was difficult for Teresa. She didn’t enjoy convent life much. But eventually she got the hang of it.

One day, while in worship, praying and singing a hymn, Teresa experienced an overwhelming sense of God’s love flowing through her whole being. God’s presence was so real and tangible that she felt consumed by his love and exalted into a state of ecstasy. These mystical experiences happened a numbered of times for her.

In her journal Teresa describes one vision in which an angel repeatedly pierced her heart with a spear. In Teresa’s words: “The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one’s soul then content with anything but God”.         

It might seem strange to us that Teresa described God’s intimate presence as an intense pain but it makes sense. God is love and intense love feels like pain.

Teresa, like David, longed for God’s presence and wanted nothing more than intimacy with God. God meets us in surprising ways. There is sanctuary in worship. But it’s not the same for everyone.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Seeking God’s face:

In verses 7-12 of Psalm 27, David’s tone changes as he lifts an intense, heartfelt prayer to God: 7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. 8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Verse 8 is fascinating. David’s heart (or more accurately) his mind tells him to seek the Lord’s face. We have many voices inside us don’t we. They are not audible voices, they are silent, like thoughts with feelings attached.

There is the voice of our conscience, guiding us. The voice of the critic, scolding us. The voice of pride puffing us up, the voice of temptation misleading us, the voice of fear holding us back, the voice of some desire buried deep in the unconscious and the voice of wisdom.

Each of these voices sound similar at first and so it can be confusing discerning which is which. Sometimes we might think God is speaking to us when in fact it is actually some latent desire wanting an audience. We have to test the voices against God’s word in Scripture and by talking with wise and trusted friends.       

David hears a voice within himself. My heart says, ‘seek his face’. Perhaps that is the voice of wisdom. Or perhaps it is the voice of David’s inner most desire. What does it mean then to seek God’s face?

Seeking God’s face is a way of describing prayer. You see, Christian prayer is different from pagan prayer. In pagan prayer the worshipper is trying to control God, trying to leverage him into doing something with many words and sacrifices and other grand gestures.

But with Christian prayer we are not trying to control God, we are seeking to commune with him. Yes, we do ask God for certain things when we pray. Jesus said, ‘Ask and you shall receive’. But the asking Jesus had in mind here is for those things that are in line with God’s will and purpose.

So we are not trying to bend God to our will. Rather we are seeking to align ourselves with God’s will. This means being honest with God about what we want but at the same time being willing to relinquish what we want in order that God’s will be done.

Jesus sought the face of God in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before he died. Jesus said, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.’ He prayed that three times. Once he had reconciled himself to God’s will, in prayer, he was able to face the cross.

When you are apart from someone you love, you seek their face. You just want to be there in person with them, up close and personal, because there is no substitute for presence. That’s why, when we are in love, our thoughts are peopled by the person we love. We can’t stop thinking about them.  

To seek God’s face is to desire to be close to God, to enjoy his presence and commune with him in an intimate way. In seeking God’s face we are valuing the giver, more than his gifts. Teresa of Avila sought God’s face in prayer and praise, and God touched her heart.

David gives us another clue about what it means to seek God’s face in verses 9 & 10 where he says: Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

The face reflects a person’s feelings: happiness, disappointment, sadness, anger, guilt, triumph, love. A face that smiles in acceptance and approval is a thing of true beauty. But the face that turns away in an expression of rejection and disappointment is a source of great pain.

In verses 9 & 10 David is seeking assurance that the Lord accepts him. On the one hand David does not take God’s acceptance for granted, for he prays that God will not reject him. But at the same time David is confident that God will accept him. Verse 10 is not saying that David’s parents have rejected him. The point is, God’s love for David is even greater the love of a father and mother.

At this point I am reminded of another famous artist, Rembrandt, who painted The Return of the Prodigal Son. After wasting his father’s inheritance on wild parties and a reckless lifestyle, the younger son (in Jesus’ parable) came to his senses and returned home, seeking his father’s face.

Rembrandt captures the moment when the repentant son is received by his father. The main focus of the painting is the expression on the father’s face, reflecting love and tenderness and warmth. To seek God’s face is to return to God and feel his acceptance and embrace.

To seek God’s face is to want to please God and to know that God is pleased with you. And so another facet of seeking God’s face is asking for his guidance. In verse 11 David says: Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

In other words, show me God how you want me to handle the situation I find myself in. I cannot control my enemies. I can only control myself.

Lead me in a straight path means, make it plain to me Lord what the right thing is to do. I want to come out of this with a clear conscience. I want to be able to sleep at night. I don’t want to imitate the behaviour of my enemies.

Lead me in a straight path probably also means remove the obstacles from my path. Don’t let me trip up or fall over the edge. When we are going through a difficult trial we don’t have the same resources to cope. Our fuse is a bit shorter. So if something doesn’t go right we don’t have the energy to respond with our usual grace. When we are fatigued we need the path to be relatively smooth and straight forward.  

God did indeed lead David in a straight path. When it was in David’s power to kill king Saul (who was hunting him) David did the right thing and saved Saul’s life.       

Seeking God’s face also means asking God for protection and for justice. In verse 12 David says to the Lord:  12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.

Ancient Israel did not have the same legal system that we do today. The courts had no lawyers to prosecute or defend and no judge (in the modern sense) to ensure fair procedures.

The witness played a dominant role in bringing accusations and evidence. The testimony of a witness put one’s status in the community in question. Two false witnesses left the innocent with no recourse but to appeal to God and seek sanctuary at the shrine. [1]

David was being falsely accused by men who wanted to kill him. In seeking God’s face David was going to the highest court of appeal there is. He was asking God for justice.  

David uses his energy to focus on the intersection of those things which are important and which he can control. The thing that matters most to David is his relationship with God. And so David seeks God’s face.

Conclusion – Hope for this life:

Psalm 27 finishes with David addressing us, his listeners, saying: I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.

To ‘wait for the Lord’ means to actively put your hope in him. To trust that God will provide a better future, despite the difficult present.

Waiting is hard, especially when you have to wait without knowing. With no end in sight you are blind, you have nothing to hold on to. At the beginning of a crisis you are carried by your adrenalin. But adrenalin wears off after a day or two and fatigue sets in. You have to keep things simple and do less in order to conserve your energy for what matters.

David had no idea how long his exile in the wilderness was going to last. Would it be two more days, two more weeks, too more years. There was no telling. And what shape would he be in when it was all finally over. These things take their toll. David kept it simple, he didn’t overthink it. David told himself it would end well.

Since the resurrection of Jesus, Christians have comforted themselves with the hope of heaven after we die. The suffering (or exile) of this life is relatively short by comparison with eternity. But David is more optimistic than that.

David has hope for this life too. He believes he will see God’s goodness (his justice and mercy) ‘in the land of the living’. David believes God will vindicate him and restore him before he dies.

As it turned out David’s hope was not in vain. He did see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. David was restored and lived to see God subdue his enemies.

Let us pray…

God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Amen.    

Oh Lord, you’re beautiful. Your face is all I seek. For when your eyes are on this child, your grace abounds to me. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What matters most to you? What things are within your power to control? What do you need to focus on? What do you need to leave with God?
  • Why is David so confident when his circumstances are so dire? How might we live in this sort of confidence?   
  • When (or where) do you feel closest to God? How do you feel when God is close to you?
  • What does it mean to seek God’s face? (Discuss / reflect on the different aspects of seeking God’s face.) How might we do this?
  • Can you recall a time in your life when you had to wait without knowing? How did you feel? What was helpful for you in that experience? What was the outcome? What strength (or wisdom) can you draw from that experience? 
  • Make some time this week to seek the Lord’s face.

[1] Refer James Mays commentary on the Psalms, page 131.

Tawa Baptist

Reach

Scripture: 1st Peter 3:18-22

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Righteousness & Atonement
  • Exaltation & Confidence
  • Conclusion – Humanity

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you have ever been fishing with a rod and reel then you will know the importance of not getting your line in a tangle. If you let out the fishing line too quickly the nylon on the reel turns into a birds’ nest. When that happens you just have to slow down and let the line all the way out, until it is untangled, then wind it back up again.

Untangling fishing lines is good practice for brushing knots out of children’s hair and untangling your wife’s necklaces.

This morning we continue our series in first Peter, focusing on chapter 3, verses 18-22. This passage is a bit of birds’ nest. No disrespect to Peter but people throughout the centuries have got themselves into all sorts of knots trying to understand what Peter meant. Even the great reformer, Martin Luther, said he could not understand this passage. What may have been obvious to Peter’s first century audience is simply lost on us. So we approach this reading with humility, being honest about the limits of our knowledge.

From first Peter chapter 3, verses 18-22, we read…     

18 For Christ diedfor sins once for all,the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 through whom alsohe went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patientlyin the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were savedthrough water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good consciencetoward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Just as it is important to avoid getting your fishing line in a tangle, so too we need to keep our thoughts in order when we read Scripture. To save any intellectual birds’ nests, the big idea of today’s message is: nothing is beyond Jesus’ reach. The victory and Lordship of Jesus is comprehensive in its scope, both in this world and in the spiritual realm. So that’s the headline: ‘Nothing is beyond Jesus’ reach.’

With that in mind, there are five things in today’s text that I want to draw your attention to, and they are all about Jesus. These verses speak of the righteousness of Christ, the exaltation of Christ, the atonement of Christ, the confidence we can have in Christ and the humanity of Christ.

Righteousness, Exaltation, Atonement, Confidence and Humanity. R.E.A.C.H. It spells reach. First let’s consider the righteousness of Christ and the atonement of Christ together – because they go hand in hand in Peter’s thought here.

Righteousness & Atonement:

Righteousness has to do with right relationship – acting with justice and kindness in our relationships with others. Loving God and loving our neighbour.

Atonement also has to do with relationship. In very simple terms, the meaning of atonement can be found in the syllables: At-one-ment. If we do something unrighteous (something unjust or unkind) in our relationship with another person, then the relationship is no longer one. It is damaged. Perhaps not broken into a thousand pieces but at least fractured, no longer whole.

For us to be in right relationship with that person again we must make atonement – we must do something to put the relationship right so we are at-one with that person.     

Let me illustrate what I mean. I have here a packet of biscuits from the kids’ Sunday school. This packet is unopened. It is one. It is whole. None of the biscuits are missing. But what if I were to open the packet and eat one or two of the biscuits?

Well, if I did that (and I’m not saying that I have) but if I did, then the packet of biscuits would not be one anymore. I could not, in good conscience, give the Flock Sunday school kids a half-eaten packet of biscuits. What would I need to do to make atonement in that situation do you think?

[Wait] That’s right. I would need to replace the biscuits. Then my relationship with the kids and my relationship with myself (my conscience) would be right again. It would be at-one and whole.   

Of course, replacing a packet of biscuits is an easy thing to atone for. But some things cannot be replaced. If you break someone’s heart or betray their trust or do something that cannot be undone, then it becomes far more difficult to put the relationship right again and atonement feels out of reach. Well, it might be out of reach for us but it is not out of reach for Jesus.  

In verse 18 of chapter 3 Peter writes: For Christ diedfor sins once for all,the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

This verse is talking about the atonement Jesus made for humanity on the cross. Jesus was completely righteous in all his ways. He alone is the only human being to have lived a sinless life and so he alone is the only one who can atone for the rest of us who have sinned and cannot atone for ourselves.

In the Old Testament Jews would atone for their sins (they would replace the biscuits they had stolen) by sacrificing an animal, one without blemish, one that was whole and healthy. That was a ritual they had to keep repeating. It was like the atonement did not stick. It was only temporary. So righteousness, of a lasting kind, was always out of reach for them.

But Jesus died for sins once for all. The quality of his sacrifice was sufficient to atone for all sins through all time, so there is no need for any more animal sacrifices. Jesus does not just replace the packet of biscuits. He redeems the whole biscuit factory.

Jesus died for sins to bring us to God. You see, we have all broken trust with God. We have all done injury to God’s heart. We have all taken something that cannot be replaced. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Jesus’ death somehow makes us at-one with God again. Jesus’ death and resurrection brings right relationship, with God, within our reach.

Our salvation is not automatic though. While the atonement of Jesus is a permanent fix and while it does bring righteousness within reach, we still have to take hold of it by faith. And this is what Peter is getting at in verse 21 of chapter 3 when he talks about baptism:

…and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good consciencetoward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Baptism is the ritual of Christian initiation. It is a beginning.  It is how we demonstrate we want to be a Christian. Baptism is a way of publicly saying, ‘I want to take hold of the righteousness that is now within my reach because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.’

Notice that it’s not just Jesus’ death which saves us but his resurrection also. Jesus’ death and resurrection go together. Baptism is a symbolic re-enactment or identification with Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we go down under the water we are saying, ‘my old way of life is now dead to me’. And when we rise up out of the water we are saying, ‘I pledge to live for righteousness.’

Peter wants to make it clear that it is not the ritual of baptism itself that saves us. The water is not magic. It is Jesus’ death & resurrection that saves. Baptism is a way of asking God (on the basis of the atonement Jesus made) to cleanse our conscience and forgive our sins.

Sometimes people put off being baptised because they feel like they are not good enough yet. Baptism is not a badge that says you’ve made it. It is a confession that says you are a sinner (you’ve eaten the biscuits and you can’t replace them) but you want to live for righteousness. So you don’t you have to be perfect in order to be baptised but you do need to be prepared to make a few changes to your lifestyle. Baptism does not mean business as usual.  

Okay, so we are talking about how nothing is out of reach for Jesus and he brings righteousness and atonement within reach for us.

In this morning’s reading Peter also focuses on the exaltation of Christ and the confidence this gives to Christian believers.

Exaltation & Confidence:

We live in a relatively egalitarian society here in New Zealand. One which is quite flat in terms of its social structure. No one likes to stick out too much. In some ways this is good. We enjoy a certain degree of equality; of being on an even footing with others. But the shadow side to this is tall poppy syndrome. Tall poppy syndrome is a phrase which means cutting people down who might succeed or rise above the rest.

New Zealand is not like other countries. We are less inclined to celebrate success and more inclined to criticize those who do well. Which sounds crazy, when you say it like that, but it’s true.

A couple of weeks ago a guy called Jay came and spoke to a group of Wellington Baptist pastors. Jay is the national coordinator for 24-7 youth work in New Zealand and he is also the founder of a movement called E Tū Tāngata.

E Tū Tāngata is a Maori term.  E Tū means stand and Tāngata means people. But it translates as Stand Together. E Tū Tāngata is about people standing up together against tall poppy syndrome. That means valuing ourselves and others. Not putting ourselves or others down.

When speaking to groups of people Jay often asks the question, ‘On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself?’ (10 being absolutely amazing and 1 being not great). Most people say they are a 6 or 7, because they live in New Zealand and that’s the right answer in kiwi culture. We want to be just above average but not too far above the rest because then we will get cut down. 

The problem with tall poppy syndrome is that it infects our mind-set. It puts us on a downward mental spiral. Life is hard enough without being hard on ourselves too. We need to be on our own side.       

When the Bible talks about the exaltation of Christ it means the lifting up of Jesus. The exaltation of Christ includes his resurrection from the dead, his ascension to heaven and his enthronement at the right hand of God. Peter spells this out in verse 22 where he says:   

[You are] saved by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Jesus’ exaltation makes him the tallest poppy around and in New Zealand culture that also makes him (and his followers) a target.  

As kiwis we might hear those verses about Jesus’ exaltation and think: Not sure I like that image of Jesus. I liked him better when he was washing feet and being a carpenter and rubbing shoulders with ordinary people. I liked him better when he was more on my level.

The truth is Jesus has always been a 10 and that’s okay. In fact, it is good news, because Jesus being better than us (his being perfect) is what brings righteousness and atonement within reach. God wants to raise us up. He wants us to realise that, in Christ, we are 10’s also.   

You know, tall poppy syndrome makes us blind and deaf to certain things. When we read that verse in the gospels where Jesus talks about loving your neighbour as you love yourself, we might hear, ‘I must love my neighbour and whenever I fail to love my neighbour I’m no good, I’m a 1 or a 2’. Something else to feel stink about.  

But we can be slow to hear the second part of what Jesus is saying there which is love yourself. Love in this context means to seek the well-being of your neighbour and yourself. We cannot sustain love for our neighbour out of an empty well. Loving yourself means taking care of your own needs. Not being self-indulgent but having grace for yourself. Not being too hard on yourself. Not letting your inner critic dictate a mantra of negative self-talk. 

The exaltation of Jesus is something for us to celebrate because it gives us confidence. Who do you want to see exalted? Who do you want to see in charge? Do you want someone who doesn’t know what they are doing? Who makes poor decisions and cannot be trusted? Or do you want someone who is wise and kind and just? Someone who is firm but fair, strong but also compassionate. I think we all want the latter. We want Jesus to be lifted up because he can be trusted. The exaltation of Christ gives us confidence. Confidence to reach for righteousness and peace. Confidence to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.     

Verses 19 and 20 of chapter 3 are among the most knotty in the Bible. This is where the birds’ nest often comes into play. Peter writes:

Jesus was… made alive in the Spirit. 19 through whom alsohe went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patientlyin the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were savedthrough water,

Much ink has been spilt by scholars trying to understand these words. While we cannot fully comprehend exactly what Peter is saying here, the general gist seems to be that the exaltation of Christ gives Christian believers confidence.

Say whaaat? Let me explain.    

Peter says that Jesus made proclamation to the spirits in prison who disobeyed in the days of Noah. Who these spirits are and where the prison is exactly is disputed. I won’t confuse you with all the different theories but I will present you with the majority opinion among Bible experts today.

You may remember from the series on Noah, a few months ago, that the people of Noah’s day were so bad that God gave up on them and decided to start again with Noah and his family. It is thought that the spirits Peter refers to were the evil spiritual beings of Noah’s time who, according to Genesis 6, overstepped God’s boundaries by sleeping with human women.

In Jewish tradition these fallen angels were behind a lot of the bad stuff that happened in Noah’s day, so God locked them up in a prison somewhere in the spiritual realm. Jesus went to these spirits in prison to let them know he had conquered sin and death and so he is in charge. Sort of a victory speech.

The message to Peter’s readers is to be confident in their suffering for Christ because Jesus still reigns and rules. He has not surrendered believers to the power of evil forces. Jesus triumphed over all evil by his death & resurrection. By implication those who put their faith in Christ and share in his suffering will also share in his exaltation and reign with him. [1]

Suffering with and for Christ is a reason for confidence, because it is the path to exaltation.

Peter was comparing the fledgling church of the first Century to Noah and those with him in the ark. The Christians of Peter’s day were like Noah and his family; a small minority in a world that was hostile to them. But they could be confident that, like Noah, their future would be secure when the flood of God’s judgement came.

The fact that Jesus is exalted to the highest place means that nothing is out of reach for Jesus. As the psalmist says:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.    

Nothing is out of reach for Jesus.

Conclusion:

The H in our REACH acrostic stands for the humanity of Jesus. Verse 18 tells us Jesus was put to death in the body. This is a reference to Jesus’ humanity. Jesus had a physical body like us. He experienced the weakness of the flesh like we do. He understood hunger and pain and temptation. And he died as all people must. Jesus was fully human. He was not just a heavenly tourist on this earth.

The fact that Jesus is from heaven and is human means that he can bring the kingdom of heaven within reach for us. Jesus offers us his righteousness, his exaltation, his atonement, his confidence and his humanity.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What is righteousness? What is atonement? How do we make (or find) atonement? Are there things in your life that you long to atone for?
  • How do we take hold of the righteousness and atonement that Christ offers?
  • On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate yourself? (10 being absolutely amazing and 1 being not great).  Why is that do you think? Would your private answer be different from your public answer? How so?
  • What is meant by the exaltation of Christ? Why is Jesus’ exaltation good news for us?
  • Why does Peter compare his readers to Noah and his family? In what ways was Noah’s situation parallel with Peter’s first century audience? In what ways is Noah’s situation parallel with ours?
  • What confidence do you take, personally, from Jesus’ exaltation and humanity?

[1] Refer Thomas Schreiner’s commentary on 1st Peter, page 198.