Tawa Baptist

Hope

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7

Video Link: https://youtu.be/oXUHz7nTtHE

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • High hope
  • Just hope
  • Certain hope
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Kia ora whanau and good morning everyone.

Today is the first Sunday in Christmas Advent. As I mentioned earlier in the service, advent simply means coming. Christmas Advent is a time when we look back to Jesus’ first coming to earth 2000 years ago as a baby in a manger. It’s also a time when we look forward to his second coming in glory.

The first Sunday in Advent is traditionally associated with hope. Hope is when we believe something good is going to happen in the future. In keeping with the theme of hope, our message today focuses on Isaiah 9, verses 1-7…

9 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

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

Hope is a powerful thing. Believing that something good waits for us in the future can give us real energy and strength to deal with difficult circumstances in the present. Of course, anything that is powerful is also dangerous and so we need to be careful not to misplace our hope.

Handling hope is a bit like flying a kite. You can’t fly a kite on a calm day. A kite rises against the wind. And it will only rise as high as you let it. The trick is, holding onto the string, so you don’t lose the kite of your hope altogether.

Three things I see in this passage from Isaiah 9. The hope on offer here is high hope, just hope and certain hope. First let’s consider Isaiah’s high hope.

High Hope:

As many of you know, we are planning some renovations to the north wing of our church auditorium. Before any of the physical work is done we toss around ideas and put plans on paper. These were discussed at the recent church meeting. Once we are agreed on the plan, work can proceed.

The first part of renovating any existing building is demolition. The basic foot print of the north wing isn’t going to change but the builders will need to do some demo to gut the place, before rebuilding a new layout and installing new toilets and so forth.     

Isaiah was an Old Testament prophet. The prophets give a theological interpretation of historical events. In other words, they tell us what’s happening in history from God’s perspective. The prophets put God’s plan on paper basically.

Generally speaking, the prophets (like Isaiah) preached messages of judgment and hope. Judgment is like the demolition phase of the rebuild. Things have got so bad in Israel that God can’t just plaster over the cracks anymore. He has to gut the building and install a whole new layout.

Isaiah 8 is essentially a message of judgment. In chapter 8, the prophet foretells how the Assyrians are going to overwhelm Israel in a flood of war and violence. Isaiah interprets this pending invasion as an act of God’s judgment on Israel. The Assyrians are being employed by God to do the demolition.

But after judgement comes hope. Isaiah 9:1-7 is a message of hope. After the tidal wave of Assyrian devastation, God will restore the people of Israel. First the demolition and then the rebuilding. The bigger picture, the longer term plan or vision is to remodel the nation of Israel and make it better than before.

The people need to know the message of hope. They need to understand the longer term improvements God has planned in order to make sense of the pending demolition.

If we didn’t tell you about the renovations, we are planning for the north wing, and you just turned up one Sunday to see the crèche and toilets in ruins, you would be shocked and upset. But since you know the ultimate purpose is to improve that area, you will be better able to cope with the temporary inconvenience.   

Now in using this metaphor I don’t mean to minimize or downplay the effects of the Assyrian invasion of Israel. The Jewish exile was obviously far worse than demolishing a few rooms. Many people lost their lives and others became refugees. So our building renovations are not really the same thing in terms of impact on people.

The point is, if you know the suffering you are going through is for a higher purpose, you are better able to handle it. Isaiah pitches his message of hope high because the judgment is so severe.

Verses 1-2 of Isaiah 9 talk about a reversal of fortunes for the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, in the region of Galilee. Previously they were in gloom and distress. But the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.   

The northern parts of Israel, around Galilee, were the first to be attacked by the Assyrians. Isaiah is saying, they will be the first to see the light of a new day. Isaiah was right but it did not happen in his lifetime. The nation had to wait centuries.

Matthew, in his gospel, pointed out that Jesus is that light. Jesus started his ministry in Galilee. From Matthew’s gospel we read…

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali; 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 9 continues the theme of the prophet’s high hope for God’s people. In verse 3, Isaiah talks about how God will enlarge the nation and increase their joy. God will make them prosperous again.

In verse 4 we see another one of Isaiah’s high hopes for the future, where the prophet says: 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

‘The day of Midian’s defeat’ refers to the book of Judges chapter 7, where Gideon defeated the entire Midianite army with just 300 men. Gideon did not do this in his own strength but through God’s strength.

The oppressor of Isaiah’s day was not Midian but Assyria. The Assyrians were the dominant world power. No one of that time seemed to question Assyria’s invincibility, except Isaiah. The prophet saw history from God’s point of view and so he could foresee a day when Assyria (the oppressor) would be defeated.

In New Zealand, at the moment, we are not facing imminent threat from a world super power, like Assyria; at least not that we are aware of. But we have been invaded by the Covid virus, as has every other country in the world.

I’m not suggesting that Covid is God’s judgement on the world, not in the sense of punishment. But the pandemic is certainly testing us and showing us what we are made of. It is a very trying and revealing time.

We have heard reports in the news over the past couple of days that a new variant of the virus is emerging around the world. It is unclear when we will finally emerge from this pandemic. While we don’t know what the immediate future holds, we believe nothing is too difficult for God to handle.

From history we know that pandemics seem to come round every 100 years or so. Then they go again. Viruses are like world super powers I guess. They rise and fall. Ultimately, God is in charge, not Covid. In the meantime, we still need to do everything in our power to protect our neighbours from the spread of the virus.      

Verse 5 shows the prophet’s high hope for peace: 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

Not only does Isaiah imagine a day when the Assyrians are conquered. He also dares to imagine a day when war is done away with for forever. That day has not come in its fullness for us just yet. But it will eventually. God’s vision for the future (and our high hope) is heaven on earth. Life without war and without sickness or disease.

Isaiah’s message of hope is not only high, it is also just.  

Just hope:

As anyone who has done a tour of our parliament buildings (here in NZ) knows, the Beehive had new foundations laid. These foundations have base isolators which allow some movement in case of an earthquake. They make the building strong. The underground carpark at Wellington hospital has the same sort of foundations. 

For peace to be resilient, for peace to stand and not fall when the earth moves, it needs to be based on a foundation of justice.

As I keep saying, the prerequisite to peace is justice. In order to have peace, we don’t prepare for war. Rather we support wise leaders who work for a just and fair world. Hope for peace, without justice, is misplaced and fragile, like a building without base isolators in an earthquake zone.

Or to return to our kite metaphor; hope for peace, without justice, is like a kite without a tail; it is unstable and won’t fly.

And so we come to Isaiah 9, verse 6, made famous by the songs we sing at Christmas:  6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isn’t it interesting how, so often in Scripture, God’s purposes in history are associated with the birth of children. Truly his strength is made perfect in weakness. [1]

We can’t be sure how the Jews of Isaiah’s day understood this verse but we know that Christians down through the centuries have seen the birth of Jesus in Isaiah’s prophecy.

The titles of honour ascribed to this leader, this king, are too lofty and too grand to apply to any earthly king. They are divine titles. Indeed, this verse seems to be talking about God himself, as commander and chief.

They say that in the game of drafts you only need to think 1 or 2 moves ahead, but in the game of chess you need to be thinking 4 or 5 moves ahead. One of the jobs of a king is to make good decisions. A king needs to be like a good chess player, thinking several moves ahead, playing out all the various scenarios in his mind.

The Hebrew term for Wonderful Counsellor literally translates wonder planner

The phrase wonderful counsellor then refers to a king with the wisdom & foresight to design and develop extraordinary plans & policies for the ordering of the public life of his people [2]

As the word wonder suggests the vision and planning of this architect king are awe inspiring – the king’s wisdom leaves people gob smacked in amazement.

In Genesis 18, God visits Abraham & Sarah with a message of high hope. The Lord says that Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs at this, because she is well past child bearing age, so God says…

Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? [Meaning, is anything too difficult for the Lord?] At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah will have a son.”  

The Lord’s plan here is truly amazing in its scope and level of difficulty. Yahweh, the wonderful counsellor, is planning to redeem the entire creation through Abraham’s offspring and he is going to do this by making it possible for a 90-year-old woman to give birth to a son.

Isaac’s birth was a miracle of resurrection. Isaac’s birth demonstrates that nothing is too difficult for God. Even when it seems like all hope is lost, God can make things new.  

It should be noted however, that while Abraham and Sarah did see the birth of their son Isaac, they did not live to see the complete fulfilment of God’s promise. Their hope and ours is realised in the birth of Jesus. When we consider how Jesus makes good on God’s promise to Abraham, we begin to marvel at the Lord’s planning.  

The term Mighty God refers to God’s power. It goes hand in hand with wonder planner. Nothing is too difficult for God. But the term Mighty God also carries the nuance of military commander or warrior.

We don’t get the image of Jesus as a warrior so much in the gospels but the book of Revelation does portray Jesus as a mighty warrior who slays evil dragons and horrible beasts.

We may prefer our Jesus more domesticated, more meek and mild. But he is the Lord of hosts, the commander of legions of holy angels. Jesus uses his power to conquer sin and death, to establish justice and restore peace. He is the Prince of Peace.

These divine titles, in verse 6, are all different ways of saying the same thing. This ideal king will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness forever.  

So our high hope for peace is based on the firm foundation of wise and just leadership, the kind of leadership demonstrated by Christ.  

In a geo-political sense, that peace is not realised yet. But in a spiritual and personal sense, peace with God is available to us through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

Certain hope:

Not only is Isaiah’s message of hope high and just, it is also certain. It is not the kind of hope that hinges on luck, like maybe someday winning Lotto. Nor is it the hope that depends on your own skill and hard work, like possibly becoming an All Black or a Black Fern.

The future described in Isaiah 9 is a certain hope because it depends on God; it is based in the Lord’s will and purpose. As verse 7 tells us: The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Zeal is an intense, passionate enthusiasm or energy to get something done. The zeal of the Lord is not just a sudden short burst though. God’s zeal is long and deep. It is patient and tenacious.

There’s a quote in the movie Catch me if you can, which captures the idea of zeal quite nicely: Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse wouldn’t quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he turned that cream into butter and crawled out.

The second mouse had zeal.

Now, to be quite clear, the Lord is not a mouse and he hardly needs to struggle. But if a mouse can have the zeal to churn cream into butter, then how much more can the zeal of the Lord accomplish?

The zeal of the Lord is not a violent force, like a hurricane or a tidal wave or an earthquake. Nor is God’s zeal like an obsessive compulsive worrying. There is a gentleness and calmness to God’s zeal which is lovely and winsome.

In thinking about the certainty of our hope and the zeal of the Lord to accomplish things, I’m reminded of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Gerard was born in 1844 into an Anglican family. He was an excellent student, winning a scholarship to Oxford University. [3]

At the age of 21 he went through a moral and spiritual crisis and came out the other side a confirmed Catholic. Two years later he joined the Jesuit order and in 1877 was ordained a priest.

He loved writing but for seven years Gerard fasted from writing poetry – he gave it up. He only started writing again when asked by one of his superiors. Verse came flooding out of him.

Although Gerard Manley Hopkins was actually quite brilliant he wrestled with a feeling that he was a failure, as a teacher, a priest and as a human being. He felt that no one really understood him. Self-doubt, imposter syndrome, loneliness, despair. Perhaps some of you can identify?    

Like many deep feeling Christians, Gerard longed for God’s presence. There were times when he felt abandoned and neglected by God. These times, when his hope of a more intimate connection with God was disappointed, were agony.

I would like to think that Gerard Hopkins made the connection that most of the great prophets were poets. And most of them suffered during their own life time and probably thought they were failures too. I guess none of us know the significance of our life, in the course of history, from God’s perspective.

While he was alive, Gerard’s poems had a small audience, just himself and God. He did not enjoy fame or fortune or even good health. Gerard died in 1889 of typhoid fever. He was still relatively young, just 45.

His poetry may never have been known to world except for the zeal of the Lord.

It wasn’t until 1918, 29 years after his death, that a friend, Robert Bridges, prepared Gerard’s collection of poems for publication. His verse spoke to the heart of a generation who were disillusioned with God after four years of World War 1 and the start of a flu pandemic that killed even more than the war did.

I tell you this true story, about Gerard Manley Hopkins, to make the point that our hope in God is certain. It does not depend on our feelings. God is still present, even when it feels to us like he is absent. And his purpose is still at work, even after we have died.

Sometimes life doesn’t make a lot of sense. Sometimes we struggle to find any meaning or purpose in our suffering. There is a certain mystery to this life. We are not given all the answers, at least not this side of heaven. But that’s where faith and hope in God come to our rescue.  

We don’t have to have it all figured out. Whatever it is you have been through, whatever it is you are going through currently, whatever it is you are dreading, God has got this. He’s got you. He understands you completely and he can give your life meaning beyond the grave.    

Conclusion:

Isaiah’s message of hope for God’s people is high and just and certain. The zeal of the Lord is able to achieve far more than we can imagine.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears… 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

Let us pray…

Eternal God, we thank you for your wonderful plan to redeem our suffering and restore your creation. Save us from misplaced hope. When times are tough, give us the perspective to see the good future you have planned for those whose hope is in Christ. We thank you for Jesus’ advent and we look forward to his coming again in glory. Amen.   

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?

  • How do you define hope? What does hope mean to you?
  • Why does Isaiah follow a message of judgment with a message of hope?
  • Reflect on / discuss the ways Jesus fulfils Isaiah 9:1-7.
  • What is God’s vision (our high hope) for the future of human history? Are you able to imagine what that future will be like?
  • What (or who) is needed for peace?
  • On what does your hope depend? What makes our hope certain? 

[1] Refer Barry Webb’s BST Commentary on Isaiah, page 69.

[2] Walter Brueggemann, Names for the Messiah, page 7.

[3] Refer Terry Glaspey’s book, ’75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know, pages 218-220.

Tawa Baptist

Prince of Peace

Scriptures: Luke 8:42b-48 & Luke 19:41-48

Title: Prince of Peace

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Luke 8:42b-48
  • Luke 19:41-48
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a number of phrases…

–         Bitter sweet, old news, civil war, jumbo shrimp, lead balloon, working holiday, great depression, original copy

–         What do these phrases have in common? [Wait]

–         I’ll accept two answers for this – they are all examples of paradox or oxy-moron – putting together seemingly contradictory words or terms to create an innovative thought

 

Today we continue our series on the royal titles ascribed to the Messiah in Isaiah 9, verse 6

–         Isaiah 9 is often read at Christmas time as Christians believe this prophecy is talking about Jesus – verse 6 is familiar to many of us…

–         For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

–         Two weeks ago we considered the title Wonderful Counsellor

–         Jesus is the embodiment of God’s wisdom – he reveals the Lord’s wonderful plan of salvation

–         Today we think about the title Prince of Peace and how this fits for Jesus

In the original Hebrew Prince of Peace is sort of a paradox

–         The word translated as Prince suggests an army commander – like a General – only this army commander is one who brings peace [1]

–         So Jesus is an army general who makes peace and brings an end to war

 

The Biblical concept of peace (or shalom) is more positive than just the absence of conflict

–         Peace has to do with the wellbeing of the whole person – including health, prosperity, security, friendship, salvation and justice

–         Peace isn’t just about an individual’s inner tranquillity – it’s about the well-being of the whole community

 

Luke 8:42b-48

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 8, verse 43, page 88 toward the back of your pew Bibles [2]

–         To set the scene Jesus has just returned from the other side of Lake Galilee after calming a storm and delivering a man from a legion of demons

–         In other words he has used his power to restore peace

–         On arriving back he is welcomed by a crowd eager to see him

–         Jairus, an official of the local synagogue, is there and begs Jesus to come and heal his 12 year old daughter who is dying

–         We pick up the story from half way through verse 42…

As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side. 43 Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her. 44 She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once. 45 Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and crowding in on you.”

46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me.” 47 The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus’ feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once. 48 Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading

 

Generally speaking Christians in the east are more inclined to think collectively while Christians in the west are more inclined to think individually

–         We, in the west, often think of salvation as inviting Jesus into our heart, personally, so we can go to heaven when we die

–         But in the east Christians are more likely to think of themselves in relation to others – so salvation of the individual affects the community as a whole

–         Both the eastern & western perspectives have something valuable to offer and are needed but we (in the west) do well to remember, the Bible came from the east

 

In his book ‘The End of Suffering’, Scott Cairns tells a story which illustrates this difference between east and west

–         A western evangelist visited a Christian monk in the east and asked if Jesus Christ was his personal Saviour, and the smiling monk replied without hesitation saying, ‘No. I like to share him’ [3]

–         The point is, we are not saved in isolation from other people

–         The salvation of one individual affects the whole community

 

We, in the west, might think of salvation as inviting Jesus into our heart and while that is true in a sense, the Bible also thinks of it the other way around

–         It’s more like God is inviting us into his heart – that is into Christ

–         Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches” – so when we become a Christian we are like a branch that is grafted into the main trunk of Christ’s body, alongside a whole lot of other branches that have been grafted in

 

The woman with the bleeding complaint lived in an eastern culture

–         Her situation at the beginning of this story represents the opposite of peace

–         She is not physically healthy and hasn’t been for a long time – she is unwell

–         She is not prosperous – she is poor having spent all she owns on doctors

–         What’s more the woman’s bleeding made her ceremonially unclean so she couldn’t participate in religious rituals and couldn’t even touch other people because that would make them (temporarily) unclean as well

–         From an eastern perspective she is like a branch that is separated from the tree of the community – she lives in isolation from others

–         This woman’s situation is the opposite of peace because, in a Biblical understanding, you can’t have peace (or wholeness) without being in right relationship with those around you

–         Not only that but the community can’t be whole without her

 

Wishing herself invisible, the woman squeezed through the crowd behind Jesus, saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well”

–         By reaching out to touch Jesus the woman was breaking the Law of Moses, but at the same time she was seeking peace with God

–         Because if she was healed she could then participate in the community rituals of worshipping God

–         Her action was a form of prayer in so much as she was seeking a connection with God

–         And she is not disappointed – the moment she touched Jesus’ clothes her bleeding stopped and she knew inside herself that she was healed

Jesus also knew at that moment that power had gone out from him

–         The woman’s peace cost Jesus some of his power

–         Peace comes with sharing the power of Christ (his Spirit of grace & truth)

 

Lots of people were touching Jesus – the crowd were pressed in on every side – but only one person drew a current

–         Jesus turned round and asked, “Who touched me?”

–         The disciples don’t understand

–         But Jesus waits and watches – he is giving the woman a choice here

–         Jesus doesn’t force her to come forward – he invites her to respond

When the woman realised that Jesus knew she acted in faith again

–         Coming forward she knelt at Jesus’ feet and told him the whole truth

–         Not only was this embarrassing – sharing the intimate details of her life so publicly – it was also dangerous

–         What if the crowd turned on her for making them unclean – she must have touched dozens of people getting to Jesus

–         And what if Jesus was angry with her for stealing his power – what if he made the bleeding come back or something worse?

 

But Jesus is not angry – A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice [4]

–         You know there is a strong connection between justice and peace

–         We can’t have peace without justice

–         It was completely unfair that this woman suffered so much because of her medical condition those 12 years

–         The bleeding wasn’t a morally bad thing – it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t control it and yet she was punished by being excluded

–         By healing the woman Jesus puts right what is wrong – he does justice for her so she can have peace

 

Then Jesus refers to her tenderly as his ‘daughter’

–         One of the titles ascribed to the Messiah is Everlasting Father

–         Jesus looks on this woman with the love of a father for his daughter

–         Leon Morris says, she is the only woman Jesus is recorded as having addressed in this way [5] – it is a special term of endearment

–         To call this woman ‘daughter’ is to say there is a strong bond between us – we are deeply and inseparably connected

–         What a beautiful thing to say to someone who has been disconnected for 12 long years – you can never stop being someone’s son or daughter

–         It’s like Jesus is saying, you’ll never be lonely again

“My daughter, your faith has made you well.

–         In other words, it wasn’t my clothes that made you better – my cloak is not magic – your courageous trust was the key

–         Faith is the conduit for salvation and peace

–         As far as Jesus is concerned the woman is not untouchable because of her bleeding – rather she is clean because of her faith

–         By making her healing public in this way Jesus has restored the woman to her community with honour – he is grafting her back into the tree

 

Jesus finishes his conversation with the woman by saying, “Go in peace.”

–         The woman came to Jesus for physical healing but there is so much more to peace than mere physical healing (as important as that is)

–         Jesus helps the woman to make the shift from shame to honour

–         From superstition to understanding

–         From isolation to inclusion

–         From secrecy to confession

–         From anonymity to intimacy

 

Jesus isn’t just bringing about peace for the woman though

–         He is also creating peace for the whole community through her healing

–         Personal salvation affects all of us collectively

–         As long as the woman was segregated the community wasn’t whole

–         It was like the body of the community was missing a hand or a kidney or something

–         By healing the woman and restoring her to her community Jesus had made the community more whole – he is the Prince of Peace

–         Whenever someone leaves the church I always feel sad because the congregation is less whole – our peace is being eroded

 

Luke 19:41-48

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 19, verse 41, page 107 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         In Luke 19 Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey as the crowds shout ‘Hosanna, God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory to God’ [6]

–         Riding a donkey (as opposed to a war horse) is a sign of peace

–         Clearly the crowds see Jesus as the Messiah – the Prince of Peace, even if they misunderstand what that means

–         We pick up the reading from verse 41 of Luke 19…

41 He came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you only knew today what is needed for peace! But now you cannot see it! 43 The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades, blockade you, and close in on you from every side. 44 They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls; not a single stone will they leave in its place, because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you!”

45 Then Jesus went into the Temple and began to drive out the merchants, 46 saying to them, “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!”

47 Every day Jesus taught in the Temple. The chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the leaders of the people wanted to kill him, 48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people kept listening to him, not wanting to miss a single word.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

If you build a house you need a variety of tools and materials

–         Not just a hammer, but a saw and a spade and a measuring tape and a chisel and so on

–         Not just wood & nails but concrete & glass & gib & paint and so forth

–         Likewise if you are fixing an engine you need a diverse tool kit as well as a varied skill set – you need to know about carburettors and brakes

–         And if you are playing 18 holes of golf you don’t just carry one club – you have a range of different sized clubs, including a driver, a wedge and a putter to suit the changing conditions

–         Driving off the tee requires a different technique from putting on the green

 

Like building a house or fixing an engine or playing golf, making peace is a complicated business and requires a variety of tools and strategies

–         Jesus has more than one approach for creating shalom

–         In Luke 8 Jesus created peace by healing a woman and gently restoring her to her community

–         In Luke 19 Jesus takes a different approach, overturning the tables of the money changers and clearing the temple for prayer & teaching

 

Before getting to the temple though we read of Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem

–         Jerusalem means something like ‘city of peace’ – which is quite ironic when we consider the conflict surrounding Jerusalem over the centuries

–         As he came closer to the city Jesus wept over it – not just a quiet tear or two but huge gut wrenching sobs

–         Jesus sees into the near future when the Romans would besiege the city in AD 70 and then destroy it due to a Jewish uprising

–         The tragedy is, the loss was avoidable – it didn’t need to happen that way

–         God tried to prevent this violence by sending Jesus but the people missed the point. If only you knew today what is needed for peace

–         If only you recognised the time when God came to save you

 

So what is needed for peace?

–         Well, a number of tools are needed, for example: justice, mercy, forgiveness, confession of the truth, humility, faith and so on

–         We saw some of those things in the healing of the woman in Luke 8

–         The woman demonstrated courageous faith in reaching out to touch Jesus and in confessing the truth before everyone

–         Just as Jesus demonstrated mercy & justice in healing the woman and restoring wholeness to her and the community

–         But before we can have peace for ourselves and with others we first need to make peace with God – we need to pray

At the beginning of Luke 18 Jesus tells two parables about prayer

–         In the first parable a poor widow persistently asks a judge for justice

–         Eventually the judge gives her justice so they can both have some peace

–         In the second parable a tax collector humbles himself and makes a true confession, asking God for mercy, and he is given peace with God

–         Putting these two parables together, prayer is characterised as the persistent pursuit of justice[7] and humble openness to God’s mercy

–         Prayer is the pursuit of those things which lead to peace

The temple, in Jerusalem, was meant to be a place for people to pray and make peace with God but when Jesus arrived he found the court of the gentiles choked with merchants selling animals for sacrifice and changing money

–         They had made the temple a hideout for thieves – a place in which people of violence retreat to escape justice

–         Cleary this is the opposite of what God intended for the temple and so Jesus was rightly angry at the abuse

–         Jesus is having an emotional day – he goes from sobbing uncontrollably to angry outrage and indignation

–         Jesus clears the temple, reclaiming God’s house for its legitimate purpose: the pursuit of peace through prayer, healing and teaching

 

Joel Green observes that through his teaching Jesus was reforming Jewish conceptions of God’s salvation [8]

–         The Jews thought of God’s salvation in military / political terms

–         They thought peace would be achieved by overthrowing the Romans

–         They imagined the Messiah (the Prince of Peace) would be an army commander (a general) who would lead them to victory in battle

–         Jesus means to replace that fantasy with a more accurate picture of what peace-making looks like

–         Peace-making involves turning the other cheek, forgiving people who don’t deserve it and going the extra mile for your oppressors [9]

–         Paradoxically peace requires the peace-makers to suffer injustice, at least temporarily

–         It is painful, costly and vulnerable work – not attractive or easy at all

–         Sadly, the leaders of the people didn’t recognise what is needed for peace and plotted to murder Jesus, the very one sent to save them

 

Conclusion:

The temple building in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD70

–         Jesus replaces the temple – he is the new temple

–         Jesus is now the one we enter, to make our peace with God

–         Jesus is the one we enter, to pray in good faith – seeking God’s justice & mercy in a spirit of humility

–         Jesus is the one we enter, to receive healing and wisdom and wholeness, not just for our own benefit but for the sake of those around us as well.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    In what sense is the title Prince of Peace paradoxical?

3.)    How is the Biblical understanding of peace (or shalom) different from our contemporary western concept of peace?

–         List some of the ways we see Jesus bringing peace (shalom) in the gospels

4.)    Discuss / reflect on the two ways of understanding salvation: i.e. us inviting Jesus into our heart personally and God inviting us into his heart (into Jesus)

–         What insights on salvation & peace does each perspective offer?

5.)    Why did Jesus pause to ask who touched him (in Luke 8:45)?

– How does Jesus bring a more holistic peace to the woman personally?

– In what sense does the woman’s healing bring peace to the wider community?

6.)    What are some of the tools and strategies needed for peace?

–         How is Jesus’ approach to peace different in Luke 8 & Luke 19?

7.)    What do the two parables at the beginning of Luke 18 show us about the nature of prayer?

8.)    Take some time this week to reflect on what it means that Jesus replaces the temple?

 

Footnotes:

[1] John Goldingay, NIBC Isaiah, page 71.

[2] Walter Brueggemann refers to the woman with the bleeding complaint, in relation to Jesus’ peace, in his book ‘Names for the Messiah’, and in an article on peace in the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.

[3] Scott Cairns, ‘The End of Suffering’, page 75.

[4] Isaiah 42:3

[5] Leon Morris, Luke, page 160.

[6] Luke 19:38

[7] Joel Green, Luke, page 693.

[8] Joel Green, Luke, page 692.

[9] Refer Matthew 5:38-48