"The Little Scroll" Sermon: Revelation 10:1-11 (video)

 "The Little Scroll" Sermon: Revelation 10:1-11 (video) (youtube.com)

"The Little Scroll" Sermon: Revelation 10:1-11 (manuscript)

 

“The Little Scroll”

Revelation 10:1-11

April 28, 2024 YouTube

In chapter 9 of Revelation, we saw the sounding of the fifth and sixth trumpets. We saw that God allows the devil and his demons to attack all those who do not have the mark of God on their forehead – which is the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.  We saw that the horrible things prophesied in chapter 9 – the fifth and sixth trumpets with affect those who never believe savingly in Jesus, but not those God has chosen to have His mark on them.  Be comforted and filled with hope – you who believe in Jesus savingly and bear His mark on your forehead – Gid will not allow these terrors to harm His people.

After John writes about the fifth and sixth trumpets, we have a break before the seventh trumpet. Just as we saw a break in the revealing between the sixth and seventh seals, now we have a break between the sixth and seventh trumpets. John – and the readers and hearers of Revelation – are given a moment to catch their breath and remember that the book of Revelation is a book of comfort and hope for all those who believe savingly in Jesus.  It is a book that prepares us for what God will do and allow, and in our thanks, we ought to be spurred on by this warning to proclaim the Gospel to everyone we can – calling them to faith and repentance that they might avoid the things we are being told.

In our text this morning, we hear about the seven thunders and the little scroll.

          “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire.”

          Who is this angel? We need to remember that the word that is translated “angel” can also be translated “messenger” – which would include a person or being that proclaims.

          This mighty angel is said to come down from heaven wrapped in a cloud. 

          We read at Jesus’ ascension: “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:10-11, ESV).

The mighty angel has a rainbow over His head.

After the waters receded and Noah’s family came out of the Ark, Noah offered a sacrifice, and God answers the sacrifice:

“’I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.’ God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth’” (Genesis, 9:11-17, ESV).

And the angel has a face like the sun and legs like pillars of fire.

And we remember these words at the beginning of Revelation:

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength” (Revelation 1:12-16, ESV).

We have every good reason to understand the mighty angel to be Jesus.

“He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded.”

Jesus is holding a little scroll in His hand.  And He sets His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the land. The word “foot” can mean “conquest” and “possession,” so, here we see that Jesus is Sovereign over the land and over the sea, the movements and powers of humanity, everything in all of Creation are under His authority and submit to His Will.  Everything that is happening today is under His Sovereign control. He is the roaring lion, the Lion of Judah.

Paul writes:

“and what is the immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:19-23, ESV).

Be comforted, Church, no matter what happens and no matter how things might seem, Jesus sovereignly rules over every molecule in all of existence.

“And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.’”

There are seven seals and seven trumpets, and seven bowls, and also seven thunders, but God tells John not to write down what he heard in the seven thunders. God forbids John to write down what he hears.  Why?

No clear reason is given, but the commentators give some potential reasons.  Derek Thomas says that first, there are some things that God does not tell us so we will learn to be dependent on God. Second, Deuteronomy 29:29 says the secret things belong to the Lord. Third, it may be something the Church has no business knowing.  And fourth, it may be that the thunders told about a delay in God’s judgment (Let’s Study Revelation, 84-85).  It may be one of these reasons, or perhaps another.

We turn back to the mighty angel.

“And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

The question is raised about how God (the mighty angel/Jesus) could swear by God (the Father)?

There are three things to remember:

First, there is One God Who is Three Persons.  God is One in Being.  There are not three gods, but One God in Three Persons.  The Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son. There is a distinction among the Three Persons of the Trinity, yet each Person is the same One God. (We need to leave further examination of the Trinity to another sermon.  Just try to grasp what we have just described.)

Second, Jesus prayed to the Father.  We remember on Maundy Thursday:

“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’ And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’ And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:36-39, ESV).

Jesus, Who is the same One God as the Father, prayed to the Father, Who is the same One God as the Son, but they are different Persons.

And third, we see elsewhere in the Bible where God swore by Godself, because there is no one higher for God to swear by:

          When God told Abraham that He would bless him and give great blessings to his descendants, Abraham asked how he would be sure that what God is saying to him will come to pass.

“[And God] said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half” (Genesis, 15:9-10, ESV).

God tells Abraham that his descendants would not receive the land and other blessings immediately due to their sin.  They would spend four hundred years in slavery, and then God would deliver them and bring them to the land for their possession.

And then God swore by Himself, since there was nothing and no one higher for Him to swear by, that all these things that God promised will come to pass.

“When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites” (Genesis 15:17-21, ESV).

Then the angel says, “that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel [that is, the final trumpet], the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

What is the “mystery of God” that would be fulfilled?

To understand this, we need to understand that the word “mystery” can mean more than one thing.  We normally think of a mystery as something hidden or unknowable.  Mystery can also refer to something that has been revealed or used to mean something that is known or revealed which had been kept secret.

“Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.’ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.’”

          What is the little scroll?

          In ancient times, a scroll was a rolled-up text – think of the scroll in the Jewish synagogue today.  The books of the Tanakh are written on a single piece of paper – or a number of pages fashioned together into one.  The Tanakh is taken out and rolled open to the text in question.  Think of Jesus at the beginning of His ministry when He went into the Temple, and the scroll was opened to the book of Isaiah, and Jesus spoke on the text.  John is given what is a small scroll compared with others.

`        John is told to eat the scroll which will be sweet in his mouth and bitter in his stomach.  We may remember that this is not unique – and John would have remembered this.  As we read in Ezekiel:

“’But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.’ Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey” (Ezekiel 2:8-10; 3:1-3, ESV).

After this, God tells Ezekial to prophesy warning and judgement against Israel.

So, what is the little scroll?

Based on what Ezekiel is told, and what John is told, we can understand the little scroll to be the Whole Word of God – God’s Word telling all of what God requires for life and salvation – and specifically the Gospel. Like the little scroll, the Gospel received in the mouth and spoke forth is like honey – there is nothing sweeter and more enjoyable than understanding Who Jesus is and what He has done for His people.  However, when this sweet great and glorious news is rejected, it is bitter in our stomachs – we are mournful and dismayed by their refusal of the Only Way to salvation.

          “And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, ‘You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.’”

          John confirms, after eating the scroll, that this is the Word of God – the Gospel – spoken of and now revealed to be Jesus, the Incarnate God.  This is a scroll that we must digest into our innermost being.  To be obedient to God and His call on our life, we are to know all that God has said about life and salvation for our sakes and for those we speak to – whether they receive the Gospel or send us away.

          And John is recommissioned – even on the Island of Patmos – to proclaim the Word of God to peoples and nations and languages and kings.  That is, everyone.

          As so we are commissioned to proclaim the Word of God to every type of people and every nation of the world, and in the language of every people on earth, and to all people of every status.

          We may better remember this commission as it came for the mouth of Jesus to the eleven:

          “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:16-20, ESV).

          Jesus, the Sovereign God, has revealed Himself and the salvation He gives to all the people He died for.  Still, Jesus has not revealed everything to us yet.

          Jesus has given us the Gospel that we would know it in our innermost being in all its sweetness and proclaim it to every person, understanding that there will be a bitterness in our gut when Jesus is rejected.

          Jesus and the Father have sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us, and we have been commission to proclaim the words on the little scroll. Let us go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit.

          Let us pray:

          Almighty God, You have given us the Truth of the Gospel and told us to proclaim it to all.  Keep us from fear and keep the honey of Your Word in our mouths as we go forth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"The Beginning of God's Punishment on the Impenitent" Sermon: Revelation 9:1-21 (video)

"The Beginning of God's Punishment on the Impenitent" Sermon: Revelation 9:1-21 (video) - YouTube

"The Beginning of God's Punishment On the Impenitent" Sermon: Revelation 9:1-21 (manuscript)

 

“The Beginning of God’s Punishment on the Impenitent”

Revelation 9:1-21

April 14, 2024 YouTube

          As we open the book of Revelation, again, let us remember, Revelation was written to be a book of comfort and hope to the Christians suffering under the persecution of Rome.  And the hope and comfort that it gives is for all Christians throughout time and space as we have been promised by Jesus that we will be persecuted – we will suffer varying degrees of persecution.

We mentioned the overlapping of the seals, the trumpets, and the woes.  We saw the seventh seal open the first trumpet, and after the fourth trumpet blasts, three woes are associated with them:   the fifth trumpet is the first woe, the sixth trumpet is the second woe, and the seventh trumpet is the third woe.  At the end of the fourth trumpet – the end of chapter eight, we read:

          “Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!’” (Revelation: ESV).

          As we look at chapter nine – the fifth and sixth trumpet and first and second woe, again, remember that this is a book of comfort and hope.  Don’t hear the images and panic.  Notice that verses four, twenty, and twenty-one say that the woes are against those who never receive the mark of God on their heads – the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit Who is received through salvation in Jesus Alone. True believers will know what is happening – and see it – but the woes are against those who never repent and believe savingly in Jesus.

          As we look at the fifth trumpet which is the first woe, let us understand that the devil, Satan, Lucifer, and all the damned angels – the demons – are not able or authorized to do anything except what God commands or allows. The demonic forces are impotent except when God commands them or allows them to act.

          Paul explains, using the imagery of the Roman centurion armor, how to fight against the demonic forces, when God commands them or allows them to engage us – true believers – those with the mark of God on their foreheads.  Paul writes:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:12-13, ESV).

Again, this wrestling is only to the extent that God commands and allows.  We will remember that Satan had to come to God to get permission to take things away from Job and to tempt him to sin.  Satan does not have the authority or ability to do what he wants on his own – God limits what he does.  As we read:

“And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD” (Job 1:12, ESV).

With this in mind, we turn to our text:

          “And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.”

          A “star” fell from heaven to earth.  We saw in chapter one of Revelation that a star refers to a minister or an angel. Here, it refers to a specific angel.  The pronoun that is used in the text for him indicates a being – not a force.

          And we are told who this is:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15, ESV).

          And Jude tells us that those who followed Lucifer – who sought to be greater than God – and was punished by being thrown to earth – the demons are under restraint – except as God commands or permits.

“And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—" (Jude 6, ESV).

God gave Satan the key to the bottomless pit (for a specific time and purpose).

“He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.”

In opening the bottomless pit, all of the demons are released.  And we are given a terrifying picture of them – but remember, if you have the mark of God on your forehead, you will not be harmed.

“Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.”

The demons are like locusts with the power of scorpions.  God says they are not to harm the Creation or the people with the mark of God on their head – only those who do not have the mark of God on their head.  They are allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them.

Why five months?  Because the average lifespan of a locust is five months – they would have known that then.

Those being tortured will want to die, but they will not be allowed to die.  They will suffer horrific pain, but God will not allow them to die.

“In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.”

The bottomless pit is the place where the demons and those who die without the mark of God on their foreheads stay until the resurrection to the last day and the final judgment.  It is a horrific place and the place before eternal condemnation in Hell.

We see that even the demons don’t want to be in the bottomless pit due to the suffering that is experienced there:

“When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.’  For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Legion,’ for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned” (Luke 8:27-33, ESV).

          These demons are described as a cross between soldiers and chariots and locusts and scorpions.  They are hideous and terrifying.  The king over them, the fallen star, the angel of the bottomless pit is called “Abaddon” and “Apollyon.”  Both names mean “Destroyer.”

          The “woes” are due to the unforgiven sin of those who have never believed.  And their sin has granted them to be found – at God’s instruction and with His permission – under the torture of the Deastroyer.

“The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.”

“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’”

The altar in the Temple had four golden horns on it – one on each corner of the altar.  If someone was being sought after for a true or false crime, that person could grab one of the horns of the altar and be granted asylum.

Here, the horns that are for the giving of asylum have a voice from them calling out for the end of asylum for any who do not bear the mark of God on their forehead. And the voice tells the sixth angel with the second woe to “release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” We have seen that the number four can refer to completion, the whole, all that is – of course, it can also refer to the number four.

The four angels are, of course, demons. The Euphrates River is the boundary of Israel against the Arab nations.  The four angels have been restrained up to this point to keep them from letting loose military conflicts against Israel that will affect the whole world.

The reason we think that four demons refer to more than four demons is this:

“So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.”

The four demons had been prepared for “the hour, the day, the month, and the year, [to be] released to kill a third of mankind." These demons, according to the Sovereign Will and purpose of God, carry out our Sovereign God’s divine judgements against one third of those who do not have the mark of God on their foreheads. God prepared these demons to go forth in military conflicts when and according to the Will of God and to the extent that God allows them.  The evil demons would have killed everyone, including all those who have the mark of God on their forehead if God did not put restrictions on how many of those who did not have the mark of God on their heads they could kill.  They can do nothing except what God commands and permits.

The four demons are (or command) troops of two hundred million horsemen. Which represents the monstrous ugliness of war.  There is no place on earth where a two hundred million horse army could stand. Rather, it represents the incredible evil of war.

We will remember that the tension and evil in the Middle East is the product of the sin of Abraham.  He had his first son, Ishmael, outside of the covenant of God, but God did not forget him.  God said, “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation” (Genesis 17:20, ESV).  And later we see that the twelve princes of Ishmael become the Arab nations that surround Israel, and Jacob – whose name God changes to Israel – is the father of those who become the twelve tribes of Israel.

“And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.”

We remember the horsemen, do we not?

The first horse, commanded by Jesus and leading the other three horses according to His Will.  The second horse – who is given the power to take peace from the earth so the people of the earth will kill each other.  The third horse – who upsets the world, and all that God has given – causing inflation in the prices of all things on earth.  And the fourth horse – with Death and Hades – to whom are given authority to kill with the sword in war, to kill with famine, and pestilence, and by the wild beasts of the earth.  (Revelation 6:1-9).

After experiencing the greatest horrors of war, the attack of demons, and massive death on earth, we read:

“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

Those who lived through the greatest horrors seen on earth as of that time were unimpressed.  They did not repent.  They continued to worship demons and idols.  They continue to commit murder and take part in witchcraft, and sexual acts that God has forbidden, and in theft.  All these things that God brought down upon them didn’t faze them. They remained impenitent and, on the way, to be cast into the bottomless pit – and eventually the lake of fire.

Nothing will cause the wicked to repent and believe except for God’s intervention.

For all those who have the mark of God on our forehead, for we who have believed savingly in Jesus and have received the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, there continues to be good news and comfort for us.  We belong to Jesus, and He is bringing us into Paradise to be with Him forever.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for causing us to believe savingly in Jesus, for indwelling us with God the Holy Spirit, and giving us the mark of God on our foreheads.  Thank You for the vision of the first two woes and the horrifying truth that some will never believe, even once they experience God’s divine judgment. Help us to be thankful and cause us to pray for all those who do not believe that we would tell them Who Jesus is and what He has done, and that You would be pleased to send the Holy Spirit to bring many to faith and repentance.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"He Must Rise" Sermon: John 20:1-18 (video)

 "He Must Rise" Sermon: John 20:1-18 (video) (youtube.com)

"He Must Rise" Sermon: John 20:1-18 (manuscript)

 

“He Must Rise”

[John 20:1-18]

April 21, 2019, Second Reformed Church

March 31, 2024 YouTube Second Reformed Church

            Jesus had been savagely tormented, flogged, crucified, forsaken by God the Father, and died that first Good Friday.  Most of the men went into hiding, but John, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea and the women took Jesus’ body and lay it in the garden tomb that Joseph had purchased for himself.  They left Jesus there – partially embalmed – and a stone was rolled across the door and numerous Roman centurions were set to guard the tomb to make sure nobody stole the body.  The Sabbath – Saturday – was upon them, and the Jews had to observe the Sabbath.

            Diane raised the interesting question of what the disciples did during the hours from Friday evening through Sunday morning.  Did they observe the Passover as God had instructed?  Did they go about the Sabbath as they were commanded?  All we know is that they were afraid and in hiding for fear of the Jews and the Romans coming after Jesus’ disciples.

            Knowing this and hearing our text this morning, we see:

            First, Jesus’ disciples did not understand that He must rise.

John gives us an abbreviated account of the women going early the morning of the first day of the week to finish the embalming of Jesus.  In fact, John only mentions Mary Magdalene.  She comes to the tomb and finds the stone rolled away – and – implied as it is – the centurions are not there.  And as Mary looks into the tomb, she sees that Jesus is not there and her understanding is that someone must have stolen the body – she certainly didn’t think that Jesus had physically risen from the dead.

If we consider that theory now, it seems utterly unlikely that someone could have stolen Jesus’ body from the tomb with the heavy stone in the way, the Roman seal on the tomb, and the numerous centurions guarding the tomb.

So Mary runs to where the men are hiding and tells Peter and John, and Peter and John run to the tomb, and they go into the tomb and see the grave clothes lying in the tomb, but the body of Jesus is missing.  And they see and believe the testimony of Mary – someone has stolen Jesus’ body.

And our text tells us, “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.”

Why must Jesus rise?

Two reasons:  Jesus must rise for the Scripture to be authoritative.  And Jesus must rise to be the Savior.

Jesus must rise for the Scripture to be authoritative.

There are many Scriptures that say that the Savior must physically rise from the dead.  Some examples:  Paul mentions three of them from the Psalms, and another is found in Isaiah 53:

            “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize [Jesus] nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

            “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

            “And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

            “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

            “Therefore he says also in another psalm,

            “‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’

            “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:26-39, ESV).

            Paul explains that these three verses from the Psalms show that Jesus – the Savior – must physically rise from the dead – and those who killed Him fulfilled the very prophesies that are read every day in the Temple, but they didn’t understand them – those who were supposedly the teachers of Israel, did not understand what they were supposed to teach – the Word of God.

            Isaiah familiarly prophesies:

“By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

            “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; then his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:8-10, ESV).

            Isaiah prophesies that Jesus – the Savior – will be taken away, killed, buried in a rich man’s grave, although He didn’t sin.  Yet, this was God’s will for Him to be our Substitute – a perfect offering before God.  And God will allow Him to see His offspring – those who follow Him, after death, His life will be prolonged – He will physically rise from the dead.

            And we might think, “Ok, these Scriptures say that the Savior will physically rise from the dead, but why does John say He ‘must’ rise from the dead?”

            The answer is in understanding what the Scripture is.  We call the Bible – the Scripture – the Word of God.  If the Scripture is the Word of God – even though we affirm that the Bible was written in history by a number of people in their own writing styles and according to their own abilities – if the Scripture is the Word of God, then it is infallible and inerrant – everything it says must be true – in its context – and every prophecy given by God and through His prophets must come to pass, because God can’t make a mistake – God can’t be wrong.

            If the Scripture is the Word of God, it is authoritative and is to be understood as coming from God, by human authors superintended over by God the Holy Spirit so there would be no errors.

            If Jesus – the Savior – did not physically rise from the dead, then the Bible is not the Word of God – we have no reason to believe any of it – and we should just go home.

Jesus must rise for the Scripture to be authoritative.

          And Jesus must rise to be the Savior.

The Savior will take upon Himself all of our sin and pay the debt for it – securing that we will be free from sin and death and evil in the Kingdom.  If Jesus does not physically rise from the dead, He has not conquered death, and He is not the Savior.

So, Jesus must rise to be the Savior.

The Good News is that Jesus did physically rise from the dead.  He is the Savior.  The Word of God is God’s Word.  Or salvation is secure in Jesus.  And so we celebrate.

The second thing we see in our text is Jesus’ disciples wanted Him to stay.

Mary returns to the tomb after Peter and John leave, and she looks in and she seems two angels, but she is so fixated on finding Jesus, that seeing angels doesn’t faze her, she just wants to know if they moved Him or know where He is.

Mary hears something and turns to find Jesus, standing in the Garden outside of the tomb.  However, her eyes are not yet open.  She doesn’t recognize that this is Jesus, physically risen from the dead, until He says her name, “Mary.”

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’—and that he had said these things to her.”

Have you ever lost something meaningful to you and then found it sometime later?  Have you ever lost touch with a friend you deeply cared about and then reconnected?  Have you ever had a family member seriously injured or deathly ill and then have them recover?  The way you feel in those situations begin to approximate what Mary and the other disciples felt when they realized that Jesus is physically alive.  They had seen Him die.  They had buried Him.  Yet, here He is alive – in the flesh!

The other Gospels tell us that Mary and the other women fall down before Him and grab His ankles and feet.  And Jesus invites Thomas to touch Him to see that He has truly, physically risen from the dead.  And Jesus eats fish with the disciples during the forty days after the resurrection.  Jesus is physically alive – He is risen!

Once they believed that, their reaction is to hold on to Jesus and not let Him go – to not let Him be seen by anyone who might hurt Him again – to cover over the windows and put bubble wrap all over the Upper Room and lock Jesus in so they will never lose Him again.

Jesus knew that would be their reaction, and that is why He immediately told Mary not to cling to Him.  Jesus told Mary not to covet His physical presence with her – He could not stay on earth – He had to return to the Father and sit on His throne and reign sovereignly over all of creation and prepare the Kingdom for all who will ever believe in Him.

We understand not wanting to let someone go.  The disciples had been with Jesus for three years and watched Him die – they didn’t want to let go – they didn’t want to lose Him again.  But He had to assume His rightful place in Heaven at the right hand of the Father as our Mediator.

When Jesus did leave after forty days, the disciples couldn’t keep from staring up into the sky.  Luke tells us:

“And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:10-11, ESV).

And that’s our hope, isn’t it?  We rejoice that Jesus physically rose from the dead – proving the authority of the Scripture and that He is our victorious Savior.  Yet, our hope is that He is returning – with the Kingdom – to glorify us and bring us in with Him forever.

We hope with great assurance and in great comfort as we hear John’s vision:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4, ESV).

As we prepare to receive the Lord’s Supper, let us receive the ancient Memorial Acclamation:

 “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

          “Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.

          “When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.

            “Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Saviour of the world” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Acclamation).

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we rejoice and celebrate and give thanks to You for sending Your Son to be a human being, to live, and suffer, and die, and rise again that we would receive salvation.  May our hearts rejoice and our lives be changed that all would be to You and to Your Glory.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"Through the Curtain" Sermon: Hebrews 10:19-25 (video)

 "Through the Curtain" Sermon: Hebrews 10:19-25 (video) (youtube.com)

"Through the Curtain" Sermon: Hebrews 10:19-25 (manuscript)

 

“Through the Curtain”

[Hebrews 10:19-25]

April 19, 2019, Second Reformed Church

March 29, 2024 YouTube Second Reformed Chruch

 

            Comedians have pointed out that some of our “Christianese” is not readily understandable by unbelievers.  For example, if we say, “Have you been washed in the blood?” many people will be confused about what we mean.  Similarly, we may be confused when the author of Hebrews tells us that we have been saved through the curtain.

            In chapter ten of the letter to the Hebrews, the author explains that the sacrificial system has ended because the blood sacrifice of Jesus is once and perfect and fulfills the whole system.  So no additional sacrifice ever has to be made again.  Jesus died a perfect death once, and it was complete and satisfies everything God requires, so no additional animals should be sacrificed, and Jesus does not need to be sacrificed again.  Therefore, we are saved through the curtain.

            Let’s understand this:

            First, the curtain symbolized separation from God due to sin.

            When Israel was in the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land, God instructed Moses to build a mobile worship building called the Tabernacle.  God gave detailed instructions about the size and materials the Tabernacle was to be built with.

            In the innermost part of the Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies.  This part of the Tabernacle was the place where God descended, and it was off limits to everyone, except the high priest once a year, when he offered up sacrifice on behalf of all of Israel for their sins on Yom Kippur.

            The Holy of Holies was separated from the next section of the Tabernacle by a curtain that was fifteen feet high and fifteen feet wide.  And we read:

            “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place” (Exodus 26:31-34, ESV).

            This is the imagery that the author of Hebrews is using in our text – due to our sin – in the Tabernacle – God instructed that there be a curtain separating God from humans, because God cannot stand to be in the presence of sin.  And we understand this spiritually, in the sacrificial system with its high priest and the other priests through whom everyone had to go to bring their offerings and sacrifices to God.  No one had direct access to God due to sin – and the curtain symbolized the sin that separates sinners from God.

            Second, Jesus’ crucifixion and death tore the curtain open.

Matthew records:

            “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, ‘This man is calling Elijah.’ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

            “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:45-54, ESV).

            As Jesus died on the cross, the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies in the Temple was torn open – from top to bottom – it was torn open from fifteen feet in the air down.  The Holy of Holies was now open and exposed and anyone whose sins were forgiven could approach God directly.

            Why?

            Because, through Jesus’ life, suffering, and death, He credits all those who will ever believe in Him with His holy life and takes on Himself the debt for all of our sin – the Wrath of God – and He pays that debt, so all we who believe are seen as holy, righteous and sinless through Jesus.

            It is through the One Final Sacrifice of Jesus – and the tearing open of His flesh – that the spiritual curtain that kept us from coming before God and living has been torn open through His blood.

            The author of Hebrews writes:

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,”

Jesus has credited us with a perfect keeping of God’s Law and He has paid the debt for all of our sins – (these things we receive through faith) – so now – through His blood – through His flesh – through His One and Final Sacrifice – as both High Priest and Sacrifice – we are welcome to enter the holy place – to come into the house of God and boldly ask of Him as the children of their Father.

Because of Jesus’ life, suffering, and death, you – if you are a believer in the historical Jesus and what He did – you are able to come before God and ask Him for your daily needs and He will give them to you.  You can come before His very presence without fear and worship Him and thank Him and glorify Him.  Because that curtain has been torn apart – Jesus’ flesh was torn open – for each one who will believe.

Knowing and understand this, what shall we do?

The author of Hebrews tells us three things that we ought to do in response to this:

First, let us draw near to God with full assurance that we are forgiven.

“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

As we come before God in worship and in prayer, let us not doubt that Jesus’ work is enough to save us.  Let us not doubt that He has saved us, as we are assured through our belief in Him and His work in our hearts and through the confession of that belief with our mouths.

Let us not worry that we are not good enough to come before the Almighty God, because we’re not!  But Jesus is, and He has washed us with His blood and made us right with God through His work.  We have been bought with a price – Who is Jesus – and we are now His, co-heirs with Him of the Kingdom and the adopted children of God.

Do you believe that Jesus is God the Son in the flesh, and He lived and died to make you right with God?  Do you love Jesus?  If so, be assured that you are right with God, you are saved, you can draw near to His Father and our Father and He will receive you with open arms – just as He does Jesus.

Second, let us hold fast to our confession.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

The Apostle’s Creed is a brief summary of the faith – and it contains what we must believe to be saved.  And as we learn more and more through the reading and preaching of the Word, our confession – the truth that we known about God and salvation through His Son – grows.

We know Jesus is God the Only Savior.  We know that He has gone to prepare the Kingdom for us.  We know that He is coming back and will bring us into that Kingdom.  That’s our hope – our sure hope – what we know will happen, though it hasn’t happened yet.  Don’t waver!  Turn away for those who teach anything contrary to the clear teaching of the Scripture – especially about Jesus and His being God the One Savior.  Rebuke the devil and he will flee.

And understand that we are bold in our confession and in our coming before God, our Father, not because we understand everything or have everything figured out.  No, we are bold and sure and confess our faith without wavering because Jesus is faithful.  He is the Good Shepherd Who lay down His life for His sheep – and He will never – He can never – desert us or fail us.  He chose us to be His and we are His forever – safe in His hands.

And third, let us stir up love and good works, especially as we worship together.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

One of the things we are always to be about is increasing love of God and love of neighbor in our brothers and sisters.  It should be a goal of ours to help our brothers and sisters in Christ love God and neighbor better.  We are to be teaching and discipling people and praying for their growth in faith and obedience.  Let us share with one another the ways in which we are loving God and neighbor and the ways in which we need help in loving God and neighbor.

Another thing we are to do is to encourage one another to do good works – especially in the church.  God has gifted us in many and varied ways.

Peter writes:

“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (I Peter 4:7-11, ESV).

Then we are told not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some.

Do you know what that means?  It means some Christians think public worship – gathering together whenever we gather for worship – is optional.  Now, there are emergencies.  We do get sick from time to time.  Some people must work a job that keeps them from normal worship.  But it is not normally right to skip worship because you have a busy life or want to do something else.  Understand, this is between you and God.

It is when we gather together in worship Paul says, that we are “[equipped] for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:12b-16, ESV).

When we gather together as the church – as God commands – we are equipped and strengthened and matured.

More on that another time.

Sin makes us unable to be right with God.  The curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Tabernacle and Temple was a constant reminder that God is holy and we are not.  But the curtain was torn open as Jesus’ body was savaged and He was crucified – as He screamed out in the horror of being separated from His Father.  This He did to make us right with God – so we could pass through the curtain into the throne room of God.

And now we can enter boldly with full assurance of our salvation, confess the truths of the faith without wavering – for God is with us, and we gather together as the people of God to stir up our love – to obey God through faith, to encourage each other to do the good works God has set before us.  And as we worship together and stir each other up and encourage one another as the Church – God matures us and makes us ready to be His people every day.

We live in a time when even Christians do these things less and less.  But the author of Hebrews tells us to do these things more and more, because Jesus is returning – the Day of Judgment is near – even more near than it was two thousand years ago.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, on this Good Friday, we remember the physical torment Your Son went through to make us right with You.  We thank You for this great and final sacrifice, and ask that You would send the Holy Spirit in fuller measure, that our hearts and minds would be sharply pricked, and we would obey You in all that You have commanded, because the Day is near.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.