Sermons

The Theology of Christmas | What is Covenant?

by Ben Zornes · Dec 18, 2024

Introduction

In selecting your gifts, one motivation you’ve probably found is the joy of giving a gift that is entirely unforgettable. Various holiday traditions are all aimed at creating joyful memories. You aim to make the sort of memories that will be recalled for years to come. Done rightly, these recollections reinforce the covenant ties of love and loyalty within a family. In this expression of covenant love, we see a faint echo of the steadfast love of God for His people. The gifts under the tree are reminders of the covenant which formed that family.

The Text

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Luke 1:67-75

Summary of the Text

Having been struck dumb due to his unbelief, Zacharias’ breaks forth in a prophetic hymn of praise (v67). He blesses God for visiting and redeeming His people (v68). The word visited is misleading to English ears, because it makes us think of an informal meeting. But biblical usage marks a more formal accounting or reckoning. God comes to gather up His wandering flock, and not leave one behind. When God visits His people, He does so for their redemption (Gen 50:24, Ex. 3:16, Rt. 1:6, Ps. 8:4). This redemption comes through raising up the Davidic horn (v69). This salvation was prophesied from the beginning by the holy prophets (v70-71). Furthermore, this deliverance from evil is only part of the splendor which this visitation of Jehovah’s Davidic horn of Salvation would bring about. The coming of the Messiah was also how God would make good on His ancient promise of mercy to His people, and how He would fulfill all of covenantal duties He had bound Himself to perform (v72). As he beholds the great drama unfolding around him, Zacharias declares it to be the fulfillment of God’s oath to Abraham (v73).

This oath of God promised two things. First, deliverance from evil. Secondly, true service unto God. Service with fearless faces. Service that is done in true holiness and righteousness. Service unto God for all our days (vv74-75). The Advent of Christ is described as God’s remembrance of His oath to not only rescue His people like a sheep out of the lion’s jaw, but to restore them to the glory of true servants of the Living God. This is how the WCF describes this liberation unto good works: “Yet notwithstanding, the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight; but that He, looking upon them in His Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.”

The Problem Christmas Solves

Christmas answers an ancient problem. How can the divine deal with the material world? Do the deities even want to have anything to do with us mere mortals? Is this physical world, as many of the ancient pagans surmised, the junk drawer of the cosmos, while the deities reside in a spiritual realm untainted and unchained by the mortal bodies?

These words of Zacharias resound with a clear answer: the Almighty God was not impersonal. The old priest of Israel declares that God remembered. In these events, God was visiting His people. But His coming was not like the Arabic jinns, or Nordic fairies, or Greek godlings; merely to cause some mischief, or indulge in carnal amusements, or to knock some fear into those uppity mortals. He was not sitting in some upper sphere of the cosmos, simply contemplating ways to cause mischief for mortals in order to amuse Himself. He was not bored by the plight of humans. He was not indifferent. No. The God of Israel had come to visit Israel because He had bound Himself in covenant to Israel. It is described as a remembrance of His covenant duty.

When God Remembers

The heavens and earth were framed by the will and Word of God. He took the dark nothing and cut it apart with the brilliant glory of His Word of light. He laid hold of a watery world, and cut it into land and sea and sky. He grasped that glory light in His hand and formed sun, moon, and stars to rule over and provide instruction to the earthly inhabitants. Eventually, He took dust and breathed life into it, turning it into an image of Himself. That man was placed in a garden to rule over and provide instruction to all his descendants and the creatures under him.

God is not one amidst all the many creatures and beings within the Cosmos. He is the Being from which all other being comes from. Therefore, the fact of creation is a fact of God’s graciousness. But how can this Being who is thrice holy, who is unlike His Creation, make Himself intelligible to His creation? We can comprehend contracts and oaths between relative equals. But can seraphim strike up a business deal with amoebas? But seraphim are more akin to amoebas than they are to Jehovah. Solomon asked, “Would God, whom the heavens cannot contain, be pleased to dwell in a temple which the calloused hands of finite humans built?”

Contrary to both ancient and modern pagan thinking, God is not a mere life-force of the universe. He is Personal. He exists in triune delight between Father, Son, and Spirit. He is distinct from that which His hand has made, but He is not disinterested in it. The way which the wisdom of God ordained to bring about this fellowship between Himself and His creation was through covenant.

This was no covenant, however, between relative equals. The chasm between God and man, Creator and creature, is so vast that the only way for it to be crossed is if God does by means of a gracious covenant. The story of the OT is that of God cutting a covenant with man, man wandering from the duties of that covenant, but God remembering and renewing His covenant with man over and over again. So, Zacharias frames the Advent events rightly. Christ’s advent is God remembering. The covenant people had forgotten and perceived that God had forgotten, but God cannot lie.

God who Cannot Lie

As the book of Hebrews tells us: “Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us (Heb 6:17-18).” God had promised Adam that the entire earth would be his, incumbent on His obedience to the terms of the covenant (Cf. WCF Chapter VII).

Due to his sin, Adam was told he would return to the dust in death. Rather than ruling over the earth, man’s doom was descent into the earth’s dust. Here then is the glory of Christmas. Christ became the first human born who would not return into dust. Rather, He would live, die, rise again, and go on to rule over the earth for everlasting days. In all of this He is now able to fulfill the Father’s promises to bless the meek with an inheritance of the earth itself (Ps. 37:11).

The covenant of grace is not an escape pod from the earth. The covenant restores us to our Creator and His creation. This is why creation groans. It groans for the resurrection. The infant whose cries echoed in Bethlehem told this groaning earth that the resurrection was at hand. He made this earth good, and though through sin the curse has weighed heavy upon this world, He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.

When you pray, when you partake of the covenant meal, you are reminding the God who never forgets. He has promised and cannot lie. He has covenanted and has remembered His covenant. He has sworn and will not repent. In our prayers, by our faith, in this bready and bloody feast the saints remind God that He has promised to not only deliver us from evil but also to restore us to being real people. He does not begrudge us our creatureliness. Rather, He took our flesh Himself, that He might fulfill the terms of the covenant, take the judgement of the curses of the covenant upon Himself, and then give us who believe all the blessings of that covenant: forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Christmas is the celebration of the God who remembered us by becoming one of us, that He might dwell in and with us for everlasting days.

Charge & Benediction

Make grand memories with your family to reinforce the covenant loyalties of your family. In doing so, you are imitating the greater covenant that God renewed to us here today. He does not forget His people, and so, do not forget your people.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

Politics and the Pulpit 4 | The Rot of Ingratitude

by Ben Zornes · Dec 13, 2024

Introduction

When things go wrong we tend to want to find out why (Cf. Pro. 9:8-9). What was the cause? In looking at our nation we must grapple with how we have come to a place where God-honoring laws have been replaced by God-defying laws. Instead of our civil magistrates calling for humbling ourselves and commending us to fast and pray, they call for celebrations of debauchery and pride. As Christians, we need to understand the rot in the middle, and faithfully address it in our own hearts and homes before we can hope to see any wider reformation of our culture.

The Text

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Romans 1:18-23

Summary of the Text

In Paul’s introduction to his defense of the Gospel, he begins by asserting that God’s wrath is bearing down upon unrighteous men. The thing about this truth is that you cannot be indifferent to it. The truth is right there in your hands, and you either treasure it or attempt to push it away. But where can you push it away where it won’t still haunt you? You can’t find a single place to hide from the blazing glory of the presence of the Living God (vv18-19). This is because the invisible God has revealed His nature through the creation of the world; the revelation includes two things: God’s power and His Godhead (v20). To put it another way, nature reveals His works and Himself. Creation reveals the power of its Creator. Your conscience, your reason, your longing to say “thank you” to Someone for that glorious sunset, the simple joys of life all stand as immovable witnesses of “that which may be known of God.”

This revelation of God unto man through creation leaves mankind with no hideout, no room for evasions or excuses (v20). They are without excuse because they knew God, and yet responded in two ways: they refused to glorify Him, and weren’t grateful to Him. Instead they opted to chase after impossibilities, and thus their dark hearts got darker (v21). This course led them to think themselves wise, yet in reality they became the poster-children of folly (v22). This was made evident by their worship of bird, beast, and sensual indulgence (vv23-24).

Envy & Debt

Our culture is saturated by a greasy rain of ingratitudes. Almost all of the government programs and spending priorities are founded upon the premise that we can rectify all varieties of inequities (both real or perceived) if we spend enough money on it. This has driven us to turn away from a sound understanding of wealth, to a system that is smoke and mirrors, wheels and widgets. Biblically speaking, wealth is the accumulation of the produce of diligent labor. Our fiscal policy operates on the principle that money printers go brrr. Merely printing currency does not mean increased wealth; to think this way is to take a step away from the earth which God has commanded us to subdue. Largely, this is because we have built our current economy on debt instead of work.

Debt is not evil in all cases (Cf. Deu. 28:12). However, Scripture prohibits knowingly giving out loans to those who have no capacity to repay (Ex. 22:25). It warns that debt can lead to enslavement (Pro. 22:7). On the other hand, Jesus exhorts us to lend (Lk. 6:35), and there is an implication that any profit from such a loan should be gratefully passed along to the lender. But what it certainly does not commend, whether for private persons or public policy, is a radical addiction to debt as the means of paying for everything. All debt is, in some sense, a fiddling with the future. Which of course can lead us away from faithful trust in God for our provision, and a faithless indulgence of all our current desires while punting the responsibility down the road.

Currently, our national debt is at $36 trillion, which equates to $104k per citizen. Much of this debt has resulted from spending on programs which are fueled by envy and ingratitude. One school outperforms another, and the government decides that rather than figuring out why this is the case, they opt to spend more on the underperforming school. More administrators and iPads will do the trick, right? This rot of discontent and aversion to hard work appears in how we fund our foreign policy, in LGBT ideology, climate change dogma, and in almost every program and department the government invents.

We don’t like our bodies, so we carve them up with government subsidies. We don’t like the mushy brains coming out of our schools, so we demand millions more in funding. We view the planet as a place to be survived instead of subdued, and so we insist on curtailing genuine wealth creation in order to stop climate disasters when it is wealth which has enabled us to actually better weather storms. Paul described this well as vain imaginations.

Time and Discontent

All of this grows out of discontented hearts. And discontent is a spiritual problem 1 Tim 6:6). Behind all the madness is a simple fact: we have denied the God who made us and failed to submit to Him in gratitude. If the church would faithfully battle all the madness in the midst of this season of political opportunity it will flow from grateful hearts.

This leads back to an important principle which our older brothers, the New England Puritans, were exemplars of. Standing on the shoulders of Calvin’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty over all things and near presence by the Spirit of Christ, they sought to live so as to redeem the time. God has given you that breath, so turn a profit on it. God gift-wrapped that heartbeat, so invest it in things that are true, good, and beautiful. God providentially handed you that tick of the second hand, do not throw it away. The Calvinist work ethic can be summarized: be thrifty, and work hard.

This disposition is a wonderful cure for the anxiety, envy, discontent, and ingratitude that drives so much of the political and cultural madness. You are here for a moment. You get a few trips around the sun. Your lifespan is about 8 or 9 decades. So give thanks and get to work. That is why faithful worship of the Living God is a battering ram against the gates of hell. Ingratitude leads to the vapor dreams of idolatry. It leads to chasing after sexual satisfaction where it can never be found. It leads to worshipping beasts, and becoming like the beasts. Whereas true service to God, expressed in grateful praise, leads to prosperity both in this life and the next.

Gratitude thanks God in all things and for all things. It thanks Him for the gender He made you. It thanks Him for the marriage and family He gave you. It thanks Him for the storm and the sunshine. And then it rolls up its sleeves and serves Him. This turns the kitchen sink, your desk, your dinner table into an altar.

A Culture War

So, the duty of the church remains unchanged. We are engaged in an all out culture war. Here is the fountainhead of culture: worship God. Glorify God and give Him thanks. Prepare yourself each week to meet with the Living God here. From here, worship God in your home and workplace. Our nation has grown poor both fiscally and spiritually because of slack hands: He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich (Pro 10:4).

Don’t let in fretting about evildoers. Don’t give way to the perversions of our culture. Don’t grow apathetic. Here is the Word of Christ. Here is Bread. Here is Wine. Receive these potent graces by faith, and then go bake and build. Teach and be taught. Plow and laugh. Give and receive gifts. You live in the Light of the Living God, so do not fear the darkness.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

The battle at the heart of our nation is whether we will acknowledge Christ as Lord and order our both our personal and national life accordingly. In your feasting this week, make sure it is not feasting just to feast. Get the order right, Christ is Lord and so we feast. God is God, we are not, and this should make us supremely thankful. And thankful people work hard with big smiles.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25

Other Sermons in this Series

Politics and the Pulpit 3 | Immigration in Clown World

by Ben Zornes · Dec 3, 2024

Introduction

Perhaps you’ve noticed with relief as the political signs suddenly disappear around town. But I noticed one sign has, so far, stubbornly stayed in the front yard with a defiant slogan. The slogan? “We’re all from here.” The postmodern mind wants all cultures to be simultaneously celebrated and indistinguishable. I presume that the owner of the sign would not be keen to have us all ask to be put on the deed to their home, nor would they be interested in any of us moving into the spare bedroom.

The Text

And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34

Summary of the Text

As we consider this issue, we must remember that love is the center pillar of the law. Love to God flows out in love to neighbor. As Paul taught, love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:11). The immigration and assimilation laws of a Christian nation must be governed by the law of love. However, love shouldn’t be confused with saccharine permissiveness.

This law before us in this text demands that in the commonwealth of Israel a non-native who came to dwell in and amongst Israel was not to be vexed. The word vex indicates brutal oppression, particularly by the sword. In other words, ethnic persecution is off the table. But this shouldn’t be confused as a contradiction with the other commandments to entirely drive out the Canaanites, sparing none. The latter is dealing with the conquest, the former is what to do once Israel had settled in their rest.

Also, bear in mind that it was not just Hebrews who followed Moses in the Exodus, there were other families who simply attached themselves to Israel as they left Egypt (Ex. 12:38). Such strangers were to be treated as one native born, and thus the obligations of the neighbor love outlined in the rest of the Law was applicable. This manner of treating strangers is set in contrast to the cruelty which the Hebrews endured during their Egypt enslavement. Hovering over this and every other Law of Moses was the divine authority of the Lord their God.

So then, God’s sovereignty over us and His deliverance of us from bondage should shape everything. This includes how we construct and enforce our laws pertaining to immigration.

More Raw Materials

We need to recognize that in thinking about this issue we are dealing with some of the ugly offspring of Enlightenment thinking. The modern idea of nations has largely been shaped by the individualism which emerged from the Enlightenment. It views people as utterly independent marbles who just so happen to live within the lines on the map. But this neglects the covenantal and familial nature of tribes and nations as found in Scripture.

For instance, strangers who decided to dwell in Israel were required to abide by Israel’s covenant laws. In one case, a half-Israelite man blasphemed the Lord; so Moses, after seeking the Lord’s will, ruled he must be put to death (Lev. 24:10-16). This episode was followed by the introduction of the principle that non-natives must abide by the covenant laws of Israel: Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God (Lev. 24:22).

So then, this would include the prohibition against tampering with boundary lines. “Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof (Job 24:2). Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set (Pr. 22:28). Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen (Deu. 27:17).” Meaning, it would be unlawful for an individual or group of foreigners to come into Israel and erase settled boundary markers. Additionally, a stranger was not allowed to break the Sabbath (Lev. 25:6); if he wanted to observe Passover he would need to fulfill certain legal requirements (Cf. Num 9:14 & Ex. 12:48). One other application is that the Leviticus 24 passage indicates that a stranger could be sentenced to death for blasphemy, and, by implication, any other capital crimes described in the Mosaic law. We might also note that strangers would also be beholden to laws regarding no idolatry, and the death penalty which should be enforced for such idolatry (Cf. Deu. 13).

Blackmailing Hospitality

What our nation has been faced with since the 1960s was a system of immigration law that is effectively lawless. Immigration, as envisioned by a general equity of the OT law would provide us a framework where immigrants would need to be committed to abide by our laws (including reasonable immigration requirements), not interfere or undermine the Christian faith, and be committed to working for their own welfare.

The United States has been a desired destination for immigrants nearly since our founding. The appeal was the fact that we were a Christian nation, there was ample opportunity, and unrivaled freedom. This has been supplanted by the offer of partaking of a welfare State if you can simply get here by hook or by crook. This is simply a form of theft, taking the taxes from citizens and giving it to those who have not worked for it. This is State-sanctioned lawlessness. This is jack-booted charity.

Now, this ought to do nothing to curtail the compassion and mercy-ministry of the church. Poverty is a grievous thing, and Christ commands us to take compassion on the impoverished. But that compassion, generally speaking, is expressed in Scripture through opportunity to work (as seen in the gleaning laws). God’s compassion on us is free grace, but it is free grace that raises us up into true worship and service.

As we face the prospect of a program of deporting illegal immigrants en masse we must also be cautious to not become lawless or cruel in carrying out this duty of justice. The enemies of truth will delight to blackmail the Christian duty of hospitality to advance the lawless program of socialistic governmental maternalism. The State broods over everything, insisting on caring for us all, and therefore it cannot imagine turning any away from its nest. It wants its nest to contain the whole world. Biblically thinking Christians need to recognize two things: first, the breaking of our immigration laws should be met with justice; and, secondly, we need to refuse to have our biblical duty of generous hospitality weaponized against us.

We’re commanded in Hebrews: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Heb. 13:2).” This is not a mandate to the State but to Christian households. Hospitality to immigrants means to treat them with the love of Christ, summoning them to join us here in the courts of Jehovah, and not oppressing them. Our civic rulers are tasked with not showing pity to the lawless (Lev. 24:16). However, not showing pity is not the same thing as administering cruelty. Mobs are wicked, even mobs who think they are moving in a righteous direction.

Love God, Hate Sin

In this season of political opportunity we must be ever mindful that our Christian duty is to love what God loves, and to hate what God hates. God hates the slop of globalist gobbledygook which the propagandists tell us is our strength. False gods and those who serve them are not our strength (and that holds true for citizens and non-citizens). God also hates ethnic vainglory and inhospitality. So in thinking this through, don’t forget that either.

All nations, tribes, and tongues are included in our mandate of global discipleship. But you can’t disciple the nations if you are not walking by faith and obedience to all of Christ’s commands. A Christian nation which gladly watches its borders erased, its God blasphemed, and its property stolen will no longer be in a position to teach the nations anything, let alone disciple them in the ways of the Lord. Freedom only comes to a nation through the forgiveness we receive through Christ. Forgiveness assumes two things: a law which was broken, and a promise to no longer reckon it against us. We do great evil to grace by neutering the force of the law. Our aim must be the endgame of all nations enjoying the freedom which Christianity ushers in to a culture.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

You are the Lord’s flock not mob. Mobs don’t think clearly, and generally don’t act righteously. Do not join the mob. You are free men and women. Therefore, we ought to want to do all things decently and in order, and this should include how we deal with such a substantial problem that confronts our nation in dealing with illegal immigration.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessings of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon, and remain with you always. Amen.

Other Sermons in this Series

Politics and the Pulpit 2 | A Ziggurat of the Unborn

by Ben Zornes · Nov 14, 2024

Introduction

The conservative Christian cause emerged victorious on many levels this week. But one of the most important principles of warfare is to not get lost in the fog of victory and give way to gathering spoil before the enemy is entirely scattered. God has kindly given us a tailwind for advancing Biblical justice and truth in the civic sphere. The enemies of God have made it plain that they will not renounce or retreat from the need to heartlessly destroy the unborn. Victory is not permission to set down your weapons. Rather, it is the best opportunity to press our advantage.

The Text

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah 49:15

Summary of the Text

Isaiah foretold the various exiles that were approaching both Israel and Judah for their rebellion and idolatry. When the just calamities arrived, Zion would be tempted to ask whether God had forgotten them. To answer this, Isaiah, by the Spirit’s inspiration, gives one of the most tender statements of God’s mercy which is found in Scripture. God summons to mind the image of a nursing mother tenderly cherishing the son of her womb. God points at that and asks a question. Could a mother treat the child which was knit in her womb with disdainful indifference? Could a nursing mother forget to kiss those sweet cheeks, or to nurture the vulnerable life of her infant?

The picture of a woman nurturing her child is a true picture. It is feminine glory. To mar that image is to mar femininity itself. Nevertheless, there have always been horrific instances of women who neglect, abandon, or even slay their young child (Cf. Deu. 28:56-57). When we forsake the good ordering of our lives according to God’s Word, we find perverse distortions of the good way God made us. Such mothers may vandalize this painting, but the Painter of that image, which is the Truth behind that image, will not and cannot mar it. God declares to Zion that He will not forget her.

The consequences for our sin may cause us to think God has forsaken and forgotten us. But the wonder of the Gospel is found in this incomprehensible mercy of God. He will not forget. He has graven the name of His people upon the palms of His hand. The Gospel, as presented here in Isaiah, requires a true portrait of maternal and feminine glory. For that image is a shadow of the true mercy found in the heart of God the Father towards the Church. The lie of feminism cuts to the very heart of what it means to be a female created in God’s image, called to imitate and reflect the Creator.

The Horror we Don’t Abhor

Therefore, the horror of abortion, and the feminist dogma which props it up, which we have culturally tolerated is an affront to the very Gospel. It is not a long and involved argument to show from Scripture that human life begins at conception in the womb of the mother. Jeremiah was set apart by the Lord from the womb (Jer. 1:5). Moses’ Law applied lex talionis for the crime of striking a woman and causing her to miscarry (Ex. 21:22-25). In both the story of Jacob & Esau doing jiujitsu in Rebekah’s womb, along with the story of John the Baptist leaping at the voice of Mary, who was already pregnant with Jesus, we see undeniable evidence that life begins in the womb. Not only that but significant theological categories are established in these stories. Many Psalms praise the providential hand of God knitting us together within our mother’s womb, and being our covenant God from our conception. Perhaps the strongest argument in favor of all this is that the incarnation of Christ in Mary’s womb requires us to affirm that the union of God with human flesh took place at the holy conception.

But our nation has insisted that the authoritative Word need not shape how we think about life in the womb. We have chosen instead to draw an arbitrary line the sand for when life is viable (or disposable) according to the expertise of the all-wise and never fallible physician. For instance, Arizona passed a constitutional amendment enshrining the right of every individual to abort their child before “fetal viability” which they define this way: “Fetal viability” means the point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.

The white lab coats of the medical industry have become the robes of a priestly class. It is by their omens and priestcraft that it can be discerned when a child must be sacrificed to the gods. Our nation has refused the Word of God and has submitted to the word of health care professionals. There is no molecule in existence that has viability within itself, for it is only by the word of God’s providential power that all things are held in existence. For us to dispose of life so flippantly is to claim that we hold the keys of life in our hands.

The Tender Mercies of the Wicked

The abomination that is abortion demonstrates that truth of Proverbs 12:10 that the tendermercies of the wicked are cruel. When God made an image of Himself He made man with righteousness, knowledge, spiritual life, and authority. Genesis teaches that image is displayed in both male and female, not male alone. This is because in the union of husband and wife there is the possibility of the conception of more image bearers. The womb of the woman is where those image bearers are seemingly brought out of nothingness into being.

The wicked feign compassion for women’s rights. Yet their mercy is as a tender as a bludgeon. Their compassion is as soft as a brick to the back of the head. They have persuaded an entire generation of women to despise the glory of bearing in their wombs a being which will exist forever. A being whose purpose is to hymn God’s praise for everlasting days, dwelling in the joy of God’s joyful life and light. The progressives and squishy conservatives have deluded themselves into thinking that women can determine to snuff out such a life without any eternal consequence or guilt. Mothers are told they can crush that skull, dismember that body, poison it with saline, turn it away through a blockade of pills and not bear any guilt or shame.

We might stand astonished at the tales of gruesome horror from ages and cultures in the past like Nineveh or the Aztecs. But we daily erect a ziggurat of unborn babies throughout our nation. And we have the deluded pride to proclaim that it is health care for women. That’s like a little boy throwing a baseball through his parent’s living room window and then claiming to be a home renovator. The health of a woman is found in honoring God with her feminine glory, and in that alone. This is worship. Offering up our bodies as living sacrifices. This is faith. For the Christian, bearing godly seed (Mal. 2:15) is an act of faith that this world will be remade and will be filled with a countless multitude of redeemed men and women.

A Word to our Nation

So, to God’s people, do not despise the feminine glory of a mother nurturing her child from conception. For this is to cherish the greater glory of God’s everlasting mercy to His people.

To the State and Federal Government, the Word of Christ demands that you end this atrocity speedily. Christ, by His Word, commands that you unsheathe the sword of justice against this grievous injustice.

Nationally, we have sinned grievously. The various calamities which have visited us are the result of our stubbornness. Yet God points to a picture of a nurturing mother and says His tender-mercy is like that, only greater and higher and further.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

The Trump administration said that pro-lifers have a welcome seat at his table. Our task is to make sure that we are quite noisy in that chair. We do this first and foremost by thinking Biblically about what it means to be male and female, and the glories respective to male and female. This can be done in your marriage and in your training of your sons and daughters. And all of this must be done with an unwavering faith in the indescribable mercy of God which firmly surrounds us.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

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Politics and the Pulpit 1 | Voting in the Unraveling

by Ben Zornes · Nov 5, 2024

Introduction

We are on the cusp of another election. It is incumbent upon God’s people to understand what we are and aren’t doing when we vote. The message of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ is Lord of Heaven and Earth, and therefore all matters fall under the purview of His authority. Politics isn’t some dirty thing that Jesus is too holy to have anything to do with. Rather, the civic realm is to submit itself to the scepter of Christ’s righteousness, cleaning its stained robes in the blood of Christ the Redeemer of the World.

The Text

Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Exodus 18:19-26

Summary of the Text

Here we have the foundation and precedent for representative governance. As the nation of Israel was being formed in the Sinai wilderness, Jethro offered counsel to Moses regarding the resolution of various sociological episodes. Moses ought to spend his time teaching the people God’s Law. His task was instruct the people as to how to walk before the Lord (vv19-20). But the great prophet of Israel need not conduct the exam or grade the papers. Thus, Jethro counsels the appointment of God-fearing men into a tiered form of judgement (vv21-22). If Moses would heed this counsel, Jethro insightfully foresaw that the people could go about in peace (v23). Moses took on board this good counsel and implemented it right away (vv24-26).

This had two effects over time in the life of Israel. First, it placed an expectation amongst men that they were to be raised up to some degree of leadership before God and unto the people. Responsibility was laid on the shoulders of parents to raise sons who could eventually judge rightly and in accordance with the Wisdom of the Law of the Lord. Second, this also led, eventually, to the establishment of the synagogue system wherein the community would (in various ways) elect their elders. This then was incorporated into the life of the early church, where elders and deacons were put forward by the people (Cf. Acts 1:20-26 & ch.6). Moses once longed for all of God’s people to be prophets, full of His Spirit of Wisdom (Num. 11:29). At Pentecost, God filled His people with His Spirit, in order that they might all serve Him in their various offices and callings, with Christ as their head.

What is Voting?

Voting is not a sacred duty. Your sacred duty is here on the Lord’s table. But we can rightly speak of voting as a civic duty. It is a duty of reminding our three branches of government that their power rests on the consent of those governed. By not voting you are arguably consenting to be governed by whomever everyone else picks.

Of course, our nation has more than a few corridors which even the most meatheaded building inspector would condemn for demolition. This includes the silly commitment of progressives to expand voting to more and more people, hunting for an infallible word under the banner of democracy. The 19th amendment effectively just doubled the number of votes for married couples that vote the same and cancelled out the votes of those who vote against each other. Still others advocate for lowering the voting age to 16 or lower. But this is misunderstanding the mechanics and meaning of voting. But if the populace has rejected the notion of Christ’s almighty rule over them, and ignored the right ordering of the family and society according to scripture, the voting of a democracy simply becomes an act of vanity, thinking that in our communal decision, the majority will make an infallible decision. This world isn’t an autonomous world, it is covenantal and representative.

A vote is the citizen’s participation in selecting which person should be given the particular job description which the constitution gives to them. Power is corrupting, and this is why our government was chopped into three segments. Your vote is an exercise in dominion over these branches. The term “citizen magistrates” is an appropriate way to describe it. This was a glorious development which our founding fathers brought into history.

In voting you are exercising a certain amount of God-given authority over the constitutional government we have consented to be governed by. It is through wise and prudential casting of votes that we remind politicians that government is not God, but answers to God through the conscience of “we the people” and the lesser magistrates we elect. The potency of our vote is thus greatly weakened by faithlessness and unfaithfulness. If Christ is not the acknowledged head of a nation, it will lead inevitably to godless men attempting to take dominion of the world for the glory of man instead of the glory of God.

De Tocqueville offered a worthwhile perspective in his evaluation of early American life and government: “The nation participates in the making of its laws by the choice of its legislators, and in the execution of them by the choice of the agents of the executive government.” In voting for the executive you are selecting the man best suited to executing the laws of our nation. In electing senators & representatives you are selecting the man best suited to drafting laws. This principle also should be borne in mind when selecting sheriffs, mayors, and city council members.

How Should You Vote?

Our constitution is structured in such a way as to reward the victor of an election and leave the loser with absolutely nothing to show for their labors except for a pile of cheesy campaign ads. In a parliamentary system, losers often still get a slice of the pie. But American elections are winner-take-all. This helps to answer the question how should I vote? Who do you want to give constitutional authority to? Who do you think will best stay within the confines of that constitution and honor the biblical precepts which the founders envisioned? Who will secure the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Conversely, it often helps to ask yourself, who do I want to make sure is never given power over me and my children and my liberty and my earthly possessions?

There are various national, state, and local decisions before us on the ballot. At each level the choice is quite plain. Will I vote for that which is expressly contrary to God and His Word? Or will I vote for the candidates and amendments which will govern far more closely to not only the constitution but to the principles of Biblical justice and law?

This is all another way of say that your civic duty to vote must be done in unwavering faith in the fact that Christ sits upon the right hand of the Father. He is ruling over the nations with the rod of His Word. The Christian’s vote is an exercise in dominion, seeking to obey the Lord Jesus in all things and insisting that our country and county do the same.

Conclusion

“Thy Kingdom come” is a plea for Christ’s majesty to illuminate all the earth; not only the mountains of religious life in the ecclesiastical sphere, but in the plains of economy, in the hills of civics, along the lush river valleys of family life. But the light of Christ must not be restricted to only that, the light of Christ must and will shine in the dens of sin and in the crevices of wickedness. There must be no corner of this planet which is not bright with the warm and piercing light of this Gospel. Our job is to apply that Gospel wherever we go, including the voting booth.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

The charge is this: vote. And vote with the righteous authority God has given you. It is because of Christian indifference and apathy that our country has decayed as it has. But as you vote, remember the long-term project before us in raising our sons up to be elders in the gate, and our daughters to be great women of economic industry.

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21

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The Inescapable Story of Jesus 16 | A Dragon’s Lair No More

by Ben Zornes · Oct 28, 2024

Introduction

One of the physical responses to fear is the inability to speak. When you are frightened, you tighten up. When you are flustered, words come with difficulty. Fear leads to silence. If monsters are on the prowl, you put your hand over your mouth. You hide in terror. You pull the blankets over your head. But what happens when the fear passes away? You suddenly find your outdoor voice.

The Text

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. […]
Mark 16:1ff

Summary of the Text

The high Passover Sabbath being over, the group of women introduced at the end of chapter 15 attempt to perform the necessary burial ceremonies as the sun arises on the first day of the week (vv1-2). They are troubled with the difficulty of how to remove the heavy stone which had been rolled in front of the entrance (v3, 15:46). Upon arriving, they are met with three increasingly marvelous wonders. First, the great stone was already removed (v4); second, a young man with a white garment was inside the tomb (v5); third, he declared to them that Jesus was risen, he was no longer where Joseph of Arimathea had laid him a few days before (v6). The man instructs them to go and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus was going before them to Galilee (Cf. 14:28), and they were to go see Him again there (v7). The women quickly flee the tomb, trembling with amazement, telling no man of these things, for they were afraid (v8). Some manuscripts end on this uncertain note of trepidation and fear. And no doubt Mark intended to leave his hearers on the edge of their seats.

Was this angelic messenger right? Could their crucified leader really be alive again? To answer this, Mark commences with a rapid fire description of the Lord’s appearances. First, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene; a woman who had been possessed with seven devils which Jesus had delivered her from (v9). She then rushes off to tell the disciples, as they wept and mourned, but they don’t believe her witness (vv10-11). Jesus then appears to two of his followers, but the disciples don’t believe their witness either (vv12-13). At last, He appears to the eleven and reprimands them for not believing these 2-3 witnesses (v14). How are they to be apostles if they are so slow to believe the very thing which Jesus had been revealing to them all along? That His death would bring about a new creation, and as such, He would rise again to reign over that new creation (Mk. 4:21-41).

Nevertheless, despite their slow faith, He calls them once more and sends them out; He had sent them out in Mark 6:7-13 & 30-32 on an apostolic mission to Israel. Remember that mission had consisted of three things: calling people to repent, confirming this by the twofold sign of driving out devils and administering healing to the sick, and pronouncing judgement on the unbelieving. Jesus again sends them on a similar mission in content, but far more massive in scope. They are sent into all the world to preach the Glad Tidings of the risen King to every creature (v15); those who believe these tidings are to be baptized as a sign of their salvation, whereas those who do not believe shall receive damnation (v16). The Lord promises certain signs that would accompany the believers and serve as a warning to those who believed not; the apostles would proclaim this Gospel in languages they had not learned, demonic spirits and sorrowful illnesses would flee before the Church, and neither serpents or cups of death would do them harm (vv17-18). All of this is evidenced in the book of Acts, and while certain of these signs have ceased, the substance of these signs have continued, for wherever the Gospel goes, the demons flee, the sick are ministered unto, the Word is translated into all languages for all peoples of the earth, dominion is exercised over the beasts, and the deadly schemes of our enemies do not thwart Christ’s Kingdom.

Having spoken all these things to His disciples, Jesus does what He said He would do: He takes up the throne of David at the Father’s right hand (v19). But His work was not done, for as the Apostles went forth in obedience to preach this Gospel everywhere the Lord worked with them, confirming His Word by accompanying it with the glorious sign of a trail of crushed serpentine skulls (v20).

Manuscript Cliff-Hangers

A few of the oldest manuscripts that have come down to us simply stop at verse 8. Not only that, but they stop with a preposition. Talk about a cliff-hanger. To oversimplify, we have four sorts of manuscripts. The oldest ones end at verse 8. A few have another verse or so of text that resembles parts of the longer ending. One manuscript includes another lengthy verse within the longer ending, but it is, to put it mildly, a bit off-kilter. Lastly, the majority of the manuscripts contain the longer ending which we have in our Bibles.

While such a discussion is best suited for an academic setting, it’s worth pointing this out in a sermon for two reasons. First, our doctrine of Scripture’s inspiration isn’t a belief that golden scrolls fell splat into the lap of the prophets and apostles. Rather, we believe that the Holy Ghost inspired the human authors of Scripture and carried them along in their work of composing and compiling the text of Scripture. So-called manuscript problems are only a problem if your conception of authoring a book conforms to modern publishing standards and practices; making and maintaining scrolls/codices in the ancient world held vastly different challenges.

Which leads to the second reason for pointing this out at all. The shorter ending really is a cliff-hanger. Mark clearly intended that section to end abruptly. But why some manuscripts end there is a question we can’t fully answer. What we do have is a broad witness that eventually the church received the longer ending as the authentic––and I would add, fitting––conclusion.

Bruise in Us the Serpent’s Head

Many have pointed out the significance of Jesus’ first appearance being to a woman in a garden. A woman whom He had delivered from seven devils. All four Gospels testify to this episode. The picture should not be lost on us: Eve beguiled by a serpent, Mary Magdalene beholding the Resurrected Christ. His resurrection was the decisive overthrow of all the devil’s wicked schemes.

The disciples were scattered. Peter had denied Jesus. Even as witnesses testify to His resurrection they were slow to believe. But Jesus was risen. Jesus gathers them. Jesus calls them. Jesus sends them out on a mission to crush devils. He began His earthly ministry by preaching the Good News of His coming Kingdom as well as contending with wild beasts and demonic serpents; now He gives to the church, the new Eve, the task of doing the same as He had done. Earth is no longer a lair for dragons. Their forked tongues will be silenced.

The gravest temptation for those who profess faith in Christ is to live as if the Resurrection did not take place. When you look at your own track record of sin you might be tempted to think this is just the way you will always be. A cold and joyless marriage is all you can expect. Your parenting mistakes are now set in stone. Your habits are unbreakable. The shame of your sin will follow you all the days of your life. But that is not the Gospel of the Resurrected Christ.

Silent No More

Fear convinces you that your sin and shame should keep you silent. Fear drives you to imagine that the dragons and monsters are too big and scary. “Stay quiet sinner. How can you dare to speak?”

Despite your sin and shame Christ calls you into His resurrection. By His resurrection serpents, poison, sickness, and sorrow are all passing away. The silence of your fears is replaced by the song of your faith. Jesus insisted on keeping the messianic secret until after His resurrection. Now, He calls His Church to herald this Gospel. Man was sick, Jesus healed every part of him. Man was afflicted by unclean spirits, Jesus drove them out. The remarkable and inescapable story of Jesus is not finished, it carries on louder than ever in our songs, our “Amens”, our baptism, our partaking of bread & wine, and our confession: Jesus Christ is the Risen Son of God.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

Mark composed his Gospel in such a way that it is easily heard, memorized, and then retold. It is to be told loudly and urgently. It is to be told with certainty that in the telling of it people will be called by the voice of Christ, their evil will be commanded to flee, and they will be cleansed by hearing and receiving this Gospel Word. So, having heard this inescapable story of Jesus, go forth to tell it loudly.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. Amen.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

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The Inescapable Story of Jesus 15 | The Cup He Drank

by Ben Zornes · Oct 16, 2024

Introduction

There is not a more familiar image in Western Civilization than Jesus upon the cross. Its familiarity must never blunt the truth of what it means. Its prevalence should never shroud how shocking it is. Its ubiquity can never dull the shine from its glory.

The Text

And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled. […]
Mark 15:1ff

Summary of the Text

As the morning dawns, the Sanhedrin carry Jesus to be tried by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate (Cf. 13:9). The pagan ruler begins his examination with a question that will echo through this whole chapter: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus confesses this is indeed His identity (vv1-2). The chief priests put forward a flurry of accusations, and Jesus replies to none of them (Cf. Is. 53:7), causing Pilate to marvel (vv3-5). Concerned with keeping the peace, Pilate had an annual custom of releasing a Jewish prisoner to the Jews (v6). Mark informs us that in Pilate’s prison in chains was a murderous insurrectionist named Barabbas (v7). Pilate attempts to induce the crowd to choose Jesus the King of the Jews, because he discerned that the only reason Jesus was before him was because of the chief priests’ envy of Jesus (vv8-10). The chief priests incite the people to choose Barabbas, and when Pilate asks what should be done with their king, they shout out, despite his reasoning with them, to crucify Jesus (vv11-14). Pilate appeases them by releasing the guilty man and scourging the innocent man (v15).

The pagan soldiers then mock and beat Jesus, and the central focus of their mockery is his claim to be King of the Jews (vv16-20). Mark includes a quick reference to Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus’ cross to Golgotha, or Skull Hill (vv21-22, Cf. Mk. 8:34). Upon arriving at this frequent hill of public executions, they offer pain-dulling wine to Jesus; He refuses as He is intent to endure the sufferings fully (v23). The Romans divide the robes of this king (v24). At 9am they crucified Jesus (v25). The main chord of this chapter is struck once more as Mark tells of the sign posted on the cross describing Jesus’ crime: The King of the Jews (v26). Two thieves are crucified with him on His right hand and left (Cf. Mk. 10:40), in fulfillment of Scripture (vv27-28, Cf. Is. 53:12).

Then a barrage of mockers gather around to taunt. They heckle Him with His claim about rebuilding the temple; ironically, they invite Him to demonstrate His power by coming down from the cross, the very means whereby He was in fact rebuilding the temple (vv29-30). The chief priests and scribes join in the jeering. His deliverance of others from their infirmities is cruelly twisted into mocking Him for being unable to deliver Himself. In their mind, the Anointed King of Israel should be delivering them from the Romans, not being killed by them. Even the two robbers join in the mockery (vv31-32). So, the Roman Soldiers, the common people, the chief priests and scribes, and robbers all mock Jesus’ claim that He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed and the Son of Man come to bring judgement on the world.

A new Exodus is underway, and darkness descends from the 6th to the 9th hour (v33). Jesus cries out the first line of Psalm 22, and the people mistakenly assume He’s calling for Elijah; someone runs off and returns with a sponge of sour wine. Once Jesus drinks it He cries out and dies (vv34-37). Like the inauguration of God’s covenant with Abraham, where darkness descended and animals were cut in halves, darkness has descended but this time it is the temple veil which is torn in half (v38, Cf. Gen. 15:12). As the old creation passes away, Mark places the decisive words of his Gospel story on the lips of a Gentile centurion: Truly this man was the Son of God (v39).

Mark then introduces us to a group of women and a Sanhedrin member who make arrangements for the first stage of Jesus’ burial process. Joseph of Arimathea, at significant personal risk and cost, seeks permission from Pilate to bury Jesus; Pilate is surprised that Jesus was already dead. After confirming Jesus’ death, Pilate gives permission for the burial process to commence; but that process will be, shall we say, interrupted (vv40-47).

King of the Jews

Remember where Mark started: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. At every turn, as Mark has whisked us from scene to scene, he has been showing us that Christ was heading to the cross deliberately. Jesus came to deliver. He came to cleanse. He came to bind Satan. He came to remake and rule over the world. And this rule would not be confined or cornered or compromised.

The crucifixion narrative deliberately mingles the theological and the political. At the Jews’ trial of Jesus, He confessed in Jewish theological terminology that He was the Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man. Then, before a Gentile ruler, He confesses in political terms His identity as King of the Jews. These two confessions of Jesus reveal that He is Lord over every sphere of human experience, whether theological or political, whether sacred or secular. The cross truly is the hinge of history.

Israel had been tasked to deliver the world from sin by being a kingdom of priests. Thus, the uncleanness and clutter which Jesus found in Israel and its temple truly was a vile abuse of Israel’s calling. All of Israel had failed in its calling. This is the significance of Jesus dying as the King of the Jews. Israel had been tasked with administering cleansing from sin and fellowship with God to all peoples of the earth. They had not only neglected this assignment, but had perversely twisted it and disobeyed it. So then, the anointed King of Israel died in order to bring about this mediatorial arrangement for all the nations.

Jesus had stated that he would not drink the fruit of the vine until that day that He would drink it new in the kingdom of God (Mar. 14:25). As He is on the cross, He is offered the sour wine, fruit of the vine; and so we can most assuredly assert that the kingdom of our God and of His Christ had indeed come. It came through the cross of Christ alone.

His Life for Mine

The crucifixion scene is indeed so awful and so sweet. Betrayed. Denied. Surrounded by mocking Jews and Gentiles, robbers and religious rulers. Jesus stripped naked. The foreboding clouds of darkness gathering to warn that soon the firstborn Son would be struck down. Israel was about to be delivered from tyranny. Israel had become Egypt, while Jesus was true Israel. All those in Him join in His Exodus out of the sinful old world and into the liberty of the new creation.

You must see that if you would enter into the kingdom of this King who was destroying Satan’s kingdom and remaking the entire world, it is only through His cross. Which is why Mark puts in a scene that is staggering in its simplicity. Barabbas the murderer is set free, meanwhile the King of the Jews is put to death. Here is the glorious doctrine of substitutionary atonement: the guilty goes free while the Innocent One dies in his place. Christ’s life is laid down in place of yours. Mark has written the story with such rapid action and dramatic tension to bring his listeners both ancient and modern to be challenged to make a confession. The prophets foretold it. The Father twice declared it. Lastly, a representative of the nations, the pagan Centurion overseeing the cruel injustice of Christ’s crucifixion, made the confession. Mark challenges you to make that same confession by faith: Truly this is the Son of God.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

Mark’s description of the crucifixion isn’t intended to illicit your pity. You’re not supposed to come away feeling sorry for Jesus, although it is most sorrowful. Rather, Mark heralds this Gospel in such a way as to summon you to confess your faith in this Christ, in this King of the Jews. Pity puts you in a position of looking down upon this poor unfortunate soul, whereas Mark makes it plain that Jesus’ crucifixion is His triumph. Jesus has established God’s Kingdom, and the question for you is: will you swear allegiance to this King and His Kingdom?

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14