Song of the Drunkards

JESUS FACED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF OPPOSITION FOR HIS HARD WORDS AND UNFLINCHING DEVOTION TO YAHWEH. NO SURPRISE THEN IF WE FIND OUR NAME FESTOONED IN BARROOM BALLADS (CF. PS 69:12).

Declared to Be the Son of God

March 31, 2024 in Bible - NT - Romans, Easter, Meditations

Romans 1:1-4 (NKJV)

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Today is Easter – the most significant of the various holy days in the Church calendar. More pivotal than Christmas, more central than Pentecost, more crucial than Epiphany – Easter celebrates the most transformative event in all human history. Because of the resurrection, we have the Gospel. Because of the resurrection, we have cathedrals. Because of the resurrection, we have new life, forgiveness, and peace with God – all because of the resurrection of Christ on this day.

It is this transformation that Paul highlights in the introduction to his letter to the Romans. After assuring us that Christ’s coming was proclaimed beforehand by the prophets and that he came as was foretold from David’s seed, Paul goes on to declare that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead. So what does he mean by this clause?

Many have supposed that Paul is describing Christ’s twofold nature: according to his human nature he was of the seed of David but he was also the Son of God. However, the text does not support this idea. For how could Jesus’ status as the eternal Son of God change as a result of the resurrection? He has and ever will be the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This is not what Paul is addressing.

Rather, he is describing the change that occurred in Jesus’ status as a result of the resurrection. Jesus was born of the seed of David – in other words, He had the natural right to rule as God’s King. But simply having the natural right to rule does not establish that one does in fact rule. Bonnie Prince Charlie may have had a rightful claim (de iure) to the throne of England; but a rightful claim to the throne does not make one king de facto. So Paul insists that Jesus was not only born of David’s seed – not only did He have a rightful claim to the throne of His father David – by His resurrection from the dead He was declared to be the Son of God with power, authority. In other words, in the resurrection Jesus was crowned as God’s Son, His Messianic, Davidic King. Jesus not only has a lawful claim to the throne, He is now seated upon His throne, ruling with power as King.

So what is the significance of Easter? On this day we celebrate the coronation of our King. Nearly two thousand years ago Jesus was crowned King of the Universe, the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him and this includes, because He has conquered death, authority over death itself. He has the keys of death and hell. He opens and no one shuts; He shuts and no one opens. So death is conquered; death is destroyed. Christ is risen and all those who trust in Him shall arise as well. We can say to death, “O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Christ Jesus our Lord!”

Is this not good news? Brethren, Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed!) Let us shout Alleluia! (Alleluia!) So give heed to the exhortation in Psalm 2, the coronation psalm of our King:

10Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

And so reminded that Jesus is Lord of all and that we are to serve Him with fear and rejoice before Him with trembling, let us join together in confessing our sins against Him, our disloyalty to Him as a people. As you are able, please kneel before your King.

Humble & Lowly

March 24, 2024 in Bible - OT - Zechariah, Meditations

Zechariah 9:9-10 (NKJV)

9“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. 10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

Have you ever been taught that while Jesus came as Savior in His first coming, He is waiting until His second to arrive as King? He is waiting, so it is said, to establish His kingdom on earth. If you have heard or even, like me, embraced that kind of thinking in the past or perhaps still do, then you may have a hard time understanding Palm Sunday. For Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as our King come to establish His kingdom. As Jesus entered the city, our fathers and mothers laid branches of palm upon the ground and sang psalms in order to fulfill Zechariah’s summons, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you.”

But if Jesus entered Jerusalem as King, why, some ask, didn’t He appear very kingly? Why is He lowly and riding on a donkey? Yet such questions reveal that we often allow the world rather than Jesus to define true kingship. For Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to establish justice, to deliver His people, and to advance both the glory of God and the good of His people is the preeminent illustration of what it means to be a good king. What is it to be a good king? It is to be just and to bring salvation to your people; it is to be humble and lowly; it is to be a servant, to bring blessing and light to your people. And it was precisely this type of King that our Lord Jesus was and is. 

To our fallen nature this type of kingship can seem utterly ineffective. Among pagan nations, might makes right. Rex lex. The king is law. The king is to be served, not to serve. And the measure of his success is how many cower before him. Pagan nations extol those like Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar who push and prod and pursue their own glory. It is kings like that who accomplish great things.

But the prophet Zechariah extols the glory of our King’s rule. Our just and humble King will so rule as to destroy warfare from Israel and bring peace to all the nations of the earth, “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations.” On the one hand, He eliminates warfare; on the other, He brings peace. And because He is a King of Peace, God promises to extend His kingdom throughout the earth, “His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.’”

So what of you leaders out there – what type of kingship have you been exercising? Whether you are a husband, a father, a mother, an employer, a foreman, a manager – what type of rule have you practiced? Have you demanded, cajoled, manipulated, and wormed your way to the top? Or have you been just, looking to bless those whom God has entrusted to your care? Are you humble, considering others’ interests more important than your own? Are you living as peacemakers showing all humility in the fear of God? Are you imitating the glory of pagan kings or the glory of our Great King who entered Jerusalem this day?

Reminded that we have been unrighteous kings and queens, demanding our own way rather than imitating our great King and willingly serving others, let us confess our sin to our Lord. As you are able, let us kneel together as we do so.

“Amen!”

March 17, 2024 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Meditations, Worship

Psalm 106:48 (NKJV) 

48Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord! 

For several weeks now we have been exploring why our elders incorporate various traditions in our corporate worship. Today we consider our practice of shouting, “Amen!”, after singing psalms and hymns. Why do we do this?

The declaration, “Amen!”, is a means of affirming what has been said. It is shorthand for, “So be it! That’s right! That’s true! I agree with that!” or even, “May that come to pass!” So, in our text today, the people are to say, “Amen!” upon hearing the declaration, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!” Similarly, the Apostle John closed Revelation by responding, “Amen! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” to Jesus’ declaration, “Surely I am coming quickly” (Rev 22:20).

Last week we saw this same dynamic at work in the curses of Deuteronomy 27. After Israel entered the Promised Land, the Levites were to speak with a “loud voice and say to all the men of Israel:”

15 ‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ 

“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’ 

16 ‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’ 

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 

17 ‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ 

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 

18 ‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’ 

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 

19 ‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’ 

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ 

Each time the people shouted, “Amen!” they were affirming their agreement with what was said. So when we pray or sing and close by saying, “Amen!”, or when we shout, “Amen!” during the sermon, we are saying, “So be it! I agree with that! May these things truly come to pass!” 

So how ought we to speak this “Amen!”? First, make sure you agree with what has been said or sung. And this of course means that we must pay attention to the words we are singing and make sure we do agree. Don’t say, “Amen!” if you don’t mean it. Part of our elders’ rationale for singing the psalms and other substantive hymns is to protect us from saying, “Amen!”, to things that we ought not affirm. If the lyrics affirm, “Good is evil, and evil is good!” the last thing that you should say is, “Amen!” Say, “God forbid!” or “Certainly not!” but don’t say, “Amen!” Why not? Because to say, “Amen!” is to declare that you agree with what was said or that you truly want it to happen.

Second, issue your, “Amen!” heartily. Either you agree with what has been said or you don’t. If you do, then do it. Don’t mumble or halt between two opinions. You’ll note that the “Amens!” in your Bible are typically printed with an exclamation mark. That’s because they are exclamations. And the word “exclamation” comes from two Latin words: ex, which means “out,” and clamare, which means “to shout.” So you’re supposed to “shout it out”! Say it like you mean it. “Amen!”

Reminded that we often approve of things that we should condemn and that we are often tepid rather than hearty in our approval of what God has said, let us confess our error and complacency to the Lord. And as you are able, let us kneel as we confess our sins.