Blog Entry - Drew Boswell

“Three Witnesses to Death’s Defeat” Matthew 28:1-20

Death Defeated

A Two-Part Easter Sermon Series

Part Two

“Three Witnesses to Death’s Defeat”

Matthew 28:1-20

Introduction

Prayer

The Women (vv. 1-10)

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake[1], for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

(v. 1) “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb” – “the verb means to behold, as a spectacle;[2] They designed also, if it should appear practicable and appropriate, to ‘anoint him’ (Mark 16:1), and brought with them spices (Luke 24:1) which they had provided the evening before, when the Sabbath was past (Mark). As they went (Mark 16:3) they were concerned about the question, “Who will roll the stone away?” for they knew from the internment that “it was exceedingly great.”[3]

Sometime before the women’s arrival an angel “descended from heaven,” rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it when they arrived. Accompanying the angel’s descent was an earthquake. And their appearance “like lightning, and his clothing white as snow” and arrival “earthquake and descending from heaven” caused the Roman soldiers who stood guard to passed out from fear. It says, “the guards trembled” – It has the same Greek root as earthquake. The ground shook, and the soldiers shook.

Cornelius Lapide says, “The earth, which trembled with sorrow at the Death of Christ as it were leaped for joy at His Resurrection.”[4]

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

(v. 6) “He is not here,” We are not given any details about the resurrection itself, only that by the time the women arrived, Jesus was not there. “The stone was not rolled aside to let Jesus out but to let the women in.”[5] How Jesus escaped we don’t know.

(v. 7) “he is going before you to Galilee” – This does not mean that they will not see him before Galilee, but “that on a certain mountain in Galilee was to be the great meeting, where many disciples should receive the Great Commission,”[6] Even at the tomb, this is not the end of Jesus’ ministry. He is still pointing people toward redemption, salvation, and purpose.

Matthew 26:32 “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”

People respond in different ways to angels and their messages. John the Baptist’s father when approached by an angel doubted, In Luke 1:18-20 “And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” But the women believe what the angel says, because it matches up with what Jesus had already told them, and they depart quickly.

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The women departed with their instructions to tell what they had seen and experienced and it was “with fear and great joy.” We will see that when we draw close to things of God, there will be a combination of fear and joy. They had the greatest news that was possible to have. To them “anything seemed possible now.”[7]

It was while they were hurrying to honor the Savior and bring joy to his disciples, that they met Jesus. If we want to have an encounter with Jesus, then we should run to do good to others and bring joy to the body of Christ.

(v. 9) “took hold of his feet and worshiped him” – “held him, literally seized him or grasped, showing great humility and veneration.”[8]

The angel says, “tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead,” but Jesus says, “go and tell my brothers” – this is a distinct difference between mankind and angels. While we were made “a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7),” we are “co-heirs with Christ”, and they are not (Romans 8:17). Jesus calls those who have denied Him, abandoned Him, and forsaken Him for dead, “brothers.” Jesus as the Creator of everything, gives His life for His creation so that we may be together as family.

God described Himself to us as Father, Jesus reveals Himself to us as brother, Paul uses the Greek word for love “Philadelphia” as the love that Christians have for each other (brothers and sisters in Christ). God created the world and established the family, Paul establishes the church family, and at the end of time we will be gathered to heaven and live together in eternity with our heavenly Father as a family.

The angel tells them to go to Galilee, Jesus himself says to go to Galilee – something very important is going to happen at Galilee.

The Guard (vv. 11-15)

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.[9]’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The soldiers saw with their own eyes the angel descend and roll away the stone, and even before they collapsed in fear may have even seen the risen Lord. Then they give an accurate account to the chief priests, who seem to believe the account as well. Then they assembled the elders, who believe it as well. It’s important to understand that each of these groups believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead.

But the consequence of this truth was too much to take – so they sought to cover it up.

Earlier in Matthew, Jesus and Pharisees were arguing over following the law regarding the Sabbath. A man had a deformed arm was suffering, so Matthew 12:13 “Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” The Pharisees knew Jesus performed miracles, and now they know He rose from the dead – but what is the consequence to them? What do you do with Jesus?

C. S. Lewis once said, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[10]

The soldiers were given an assignment to guard the tomb. “According to Roman discipline, they were liable to very severe punishment for losing what they guarded.” (v. 14) “And if this comes to the governor’s ears” – So they say, “spread this false rumor, take this money, and we will make sure that no harm comes to you.”

The soldier’s account fails on two points, 1) if they were asleep, how do they know it was the disciples that stole the body? Sleeping people don’t make very good eyewitnesses. Also, if one of them awoke, why was not an alarm sounded and the disciples arrested?[11] 2) Why would a Roman soldier go around admitting to doing a bad job?

The soldiers were persuaded to spread a lie they knew not to be true, and to pretend that Jesus did not rise from the dead for money. Money kept them from repenting and giving their lives to what they knew to be true.

How much evidence is enough? If your heart is set against the things of God, and the Holy Spirit is not drawing a person, there is no amount of evidence that will change a person’s heart. They will even believe a lie that is harder to believe than the truth itself.

The Disciples (vv. 16-20)

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(v. 16) “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee” – Why were there only 11? Judas had betrayed Jesus and had hung himself. The disciples had time to replace him with another to complete the 12 – why had they not replaced Judas? Because there was no point, the Jesus movement was dead.

The church father Jerome said, “Their doubting increases our faith.” Some found it hard to believe that the person a far off (it was in a group of 500) before them was the resurrected Christ. “And Jesus came (near) . . .” When Jesus is close we begin to understand the power and truth of the resurrection. When you draw near to Jesus, He will make things clear. He has no desire to be the far-off God, he wants to be the close-up God of your life. In the Garden of Eden in Genesis God would come close to Adam and Eve, “in the cool of the day,” but sin caused that relationship between mankind and God to be distanced. Christ’s death and resurrection brings us back close to God.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” – Satan and all his dominion poured out all the hate, the vile, and blasphemy he could aim at Jesus the Son. Then all of the Father’s wrath was poured upon Jesus on the Roman cross for the salvation of the world. He was scourged and beaten beyond recognition. He was raised on the cross, pierced for our iniquities.

He was laid in the tomb, dead – and now upon the resurrection, the crown of thorns is removed, the rod used to beat him and then placed in his hand as a scepter is gone, and the mocking robe laid over him by the Roman soldiers is removed – Jesus the Son, now sits victorious at the right hand of the Father, having “All authority” – there is nothing that exists that is not under his reign.

Jesus then gives the disciples what is known as the Great Commission. (v. 19) “Go therefore” – Don’t miss the therefore; We are to make disciples of this resurrected Jesus. We who are Jesus’ disciples know that our Jesus sits with authority over all of creation as King, Supreme Ruler, all bow before Him. There is no one who will not have to give an account to Him.

We go under His authority, to speak and act as His representatives, his ambassadors, his children – but He is the resurrected Lord, therefore, He alone is worthy to be praised, worshipped, honored. Therefore, we tell the world about Him. Therefore, we share His gospel.

This is “the most sublime enterprise that ever human beings have been called upon to accomplish.”[12] Every nation should be discipled to be under His lordship, to keep His commandments.

“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – baptism, as a disciple, follows one’s salvation because it “symbolizes burial and resurrection, the actual burial and resurrection of Christ, and the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer in union with Christ (Rom. 6:3).”[13]

“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” – While baptism is an act of obedience, done one time – observing Christ’s commands is an ongoing act, that we seek to follow Christ’s teachings every day. As a disciple maker learning Christ’s commands is not enough – a disciple maker must teach the disciple how to follow that teachings as a well. “to observe all . . .” There are no sections of Jesus’ teachings that have become antiquated, irrelevant, or untrue.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” – The word “behold” is used in many places throughout the Bible to signal to the reader something spectacular. Jesus promises to be with us, always. How spectacular is that – this resurrected God, who died for the sins of the world, who has ultimate authority or all of space and time is with us – enabling us to carry out this “Great Commission.”

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[1] Seismo egeneto megas, Robertson, 240.

[2] Matthew 27:55-56 “There were also many women there [at Jesus’ death on the cross], looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.”

[3] John A Broadus, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 584.

[4] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1930) 242.

[5] Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Matthew All Authority in Heaven and on Earth (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publsihing, 2013) 901.

[6] Broadus, 586.

[7] Robertson, 242.

[8] Broadus, 586.

[9] “The absurd and blasphemous medieval Jewish legend called “Toldoth Jeshu” expands this allegation.” Broadus, 588.

[10] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

[11] Frank E. Gabaelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 591.

[12] Broadus, 592.

[13] Broadus, 596.

“Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life” John 11:1-45

Death Defeated

A Two-Part Easter Sermon Series

“Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life”

John 11:1-45

Introduction

“John 11 begins the last section of John’s Gospel before Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem. It was an interlude from his public affairs and form his increasing conflict with the religious leaders. It was also a time of ministry to those closest to him, as Jesus sought to strengthen the faith of his friends and disciples before taking up the cross.”[1]

Prayer

Jesus Delays (vv. 1-16)

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

In the opening verses of chapter 11 John is letting us know who exactly he is describing. He looking back over all the years of Jesus’ ministry and John’s experience and it was the same Mary who later in the timeline will wipe Jesus’ feet with her tears and hair.

(v. 4) tells us why this account has been placed in the gospel, “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it,” – How is Jesus going to be glorified through what has happened to Lazarus and his illness?

Jesus is two miles away, less than a thirty-minute walk – why did it take him four days to get there? “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” The sisters Mary and Martha expected Jesus to come right away – but he intentionally delayed. The text doesn’t even say he was doing anything that would have caused a delay (like Matt. 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; and Luke 8:43-48).

But so that we would know that he wasn’t being callous toward their request, we are told, that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus knew that Jesus loved them because they said, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” And John again tells us, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,” – He loved them, and yet He clearly had, multiple times, shown he could heal Lazarus (even from a distance, and not even be present). Why is Lazarus dead? Why would Jesus let someone he loved die?

Was it because He was afraid? Just a few days before John 10:30-31 tells us that because of Jesus’ claim of divinity the Jewish people wanted to stone him, “I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.” They managed to escape, and now He says, “Let us go to Judea again.” So, he does not seem to be fearful. He talks about going during the daytime, he does not arrive at dark. Jesus has easily escaped as people wanted to stone him, throw him off a cliff, and try to trap him in arguments.

So, he did not delay because He was unable to heal Lazarus. He did not delay because he was scared of being stoned. And He did not delay because he was uncaring or callous toward this family. Jesus delayed because he loved Lazarus.

Genuine love is doing what is best for the other person.

But how is delaying and allowing Lazarus to die, what is best?

There are clues that Jesus gives to the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,” – death, in the OT and the NT is referred to as sleep.[2] Sleep does not harm us. It is similar to Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” When you see the shadow of something, you may fear what casts the shadow – but the shadow of something can’t hurt you. For those who place their faith in Jesus, death can only touch you as sleep or shadow. Paul later asks, “death where is your sting?” The sting of death has been removed by what Jesus is about to do.

Martha’s Response to Jesus’ Delay (vv. 17-27)

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Martha went to meet Jesus, the delay had lasted four days and she wanted to know, “why have you waited so long?” But there is still something she needs to know about Jesus. She says, “whatever you ask from God, God will give you,” Jesus is God – He is the author of creation, All life comes from Him, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

He creates it, gives it, sustains it, and at death will resurrect it. Jesus has complete control of life. The beginning of the gospel of John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Death is the result of the fall of mankind, and our sin, “the penalty of sin is death.” The only way to be free from death is to be brought back to life. We are “dead in our trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1).” Jesus is explaining to Martha, that He is the way to be brought back to life again.

Not at some future last day – but now. Death can move from being our greatest enemy to being a shadow or sleep unable to harm us. So Jesus says, “I am the resurrection.” But how does Jesus, being the resurrection, bring us back to life? Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”

The reason God gave us this account is so that we may know and believe in Jesus. John 20:31 “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Apart from Jesus there is no life, only death. Martha says, “Yes, Lord; I believe . . .”

Mary’s Response to Jesus’ Delay (vv. 28-37)

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

If Martha is the thinker and doer (Luke 10:38-42), then Mary is the emotion and the heart. Both sisters say the exact same thing, but Jesus responds to them differently. One needed to know and understand. The other needed for Jesus to weep with her – to feel this moment with her.

Both sisters would have waited at the window look into the horizon, “when is He coming?” Why isn’t he here by now? Every time we see Mary, she is close to Jesus. When Martha complained about Mary not helping her because of guests in their house[3], Mary is at Jesus’ feet – listening to His teaching. When Jesus calls for her (here), she immediately and quickly went to him, and when she arrives, “she fell at his feet”

All those times of sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening and learning led her to understand something none of the other disciples understood. John mentions (v. 2) “It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair,” In John 12 at a dinner party Mary breaks an expensive glass vile of perfume and pours it on Jesus’ feet and wipes it with her hair. She anoints his body for death 12:7 “Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” She will be the only one to understand that Jesus must die for the sin of the world. So, she gave her all because he would give His all.

But at her brother’s grave, she does not want to have a discussion about end times, or theology – her heart is broken. So together for a moment they weep together.

When Jesus arrives and begins to see how death has affected this family, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled . . . Jesus wept. Jesus is God, who took on human flesh, and he became so human and our sorrows and anguish became His sorrow and anguish. The one true God loves and care for His people.

The word used for Jesus’ weeping here is more in line with sternness and even anger. “It is not just that Jesus was troubled but that he was indignant. Jesus was not merely saddened but outraged at the scene before him”[4] Jesus is with us in our weeping, and he weeps with us – but He stands up to do something about it.

Filled will grief, having the tears still on his face, Jesus asks, “Where have you laid him?” Jesus does not just join the family in mourning – As the author of all creation, as God who has taken on human flesh, He is going to do something about the death that has wrecked this family. He is going to war against death. Death becomes the object of His wrath. What is about to happen is a foretaste of what the deliverance from death that he will give all who believe in Him. He will defeat death.

The Son of Man is Glorified (vv. 38-45)

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The disciples thought he could heal the sick, stops storms on the ocean, and cast out demons. When they faced the dangerous situation of going back to place of being threatened, (by stoning) they feared for their lives, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

The sisters thought he was able to heal the living – but once a person was dead four days, it was over. What is best for Mary, Martha, Lazarus, the disciples, and everyone that has ever placed their faith in Jesus is that we need to know that He is the resurrection and the life.

So He delays, converses with Martha, weeps with Mary, and yells out Lazarus’ name “come out.” Jesus loves us, so he waited. We had to learn that Jesus is the resurrection. He is more powerful than life itself. God loves us enough to not do what we want him to do, but He does what we need Him to do.

But ultimately all of this is not for Mary, Martha, Lazarus, or the disciples (“so that you may believe.”) It benefited them, but it was not for them. John tells us in the beginning why this took place – “It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” “It is the chief end of man to glorify God.”[5] This is the highest and best thing. The best thing is for God to receive glory. V. 45 says, “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,”

Our ultimate purpose is to bring glory to God.

God used Lazarus’ death to bring others to have faith in Jesus. Are you willing for God to use your life for his glory and the salvation of others? Jesus after enduring the humiliation of Roman garrison, and the incredible pain of the scourging, and the weight of the sin of the world as he hung on the cross, cried out “why have you forsaken me?” But He endured the cross knowing that His death and suffering would lead to the salvation of many. Jesus prayed, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46).

As you sit at your window and wonder, “when is the Lord coming?” Why has he not answered my prayer – know that He loves you, He understands your suffering, and He has a plan to bring God glory through your pain and suffering. “Learn to interpret circumstances by the love of Christ and not Christ’s love by circumstances.”[6]

It is Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life that begins a chain of events that leads to the cross. Next week we will see “that even at the cross, Jesus was not finished (defeating death). For three days after he died, he did something greater than raising Lazarus from the grave. Jesus himself rose from the dead, our sin having been conquered by his blood and death now conquered by the resurrection life he gives to us.”

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[1] Richard D. Phillips, Reformed Expository Commentary, John Volume 2 (Phillipsburg, New Jersey; P&R Publishing, 2014) 6.

[2] Duet. 31:6; Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 15:18; Matt. 9:24.

[3] Luke 10:38-42

[4] Phillips, 45.

[5] Phillips, 12.

[6] James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Volume 3 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books, 2001) 828.

“Preparing To Encounter God’s Call” Joshua 2:22-24 – 3:1-8

Joshua: Courage Over Fear

A Sermon Series

“Preparing To Encounter God’s Call”

Joshua 2:22-24 – 3:1-8

Part One

Introduction

When I was just learning to drive my dad would let me drive the family car – but when I would get out on the long straight highway or interstate, I would drift from one side of the road the other – back and forth between the lanes. After a while of doing this my dad said, “you are looking down the hood of the car and right in front of the car; instead look way out the horizon and focus on far away.” When I did this instead of going from side to side, my driving straightened out. I was focused on the horizon, not what was right in front of me.

When Joshua and Caleb returned from spying out the land they gave a report to Moses and the people. The people’s response to the report was “all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!” Numbers 14:1-2 Their focus was the perceived danger of inhabitants in the Promised Land. In today’s passage, after fourty years of wandering in the wilderness, and a new generation being raised up, their focus is different – now they are focused on the horizon, on God.

Prayer

What We Choose to Focus On Determines Where We Are Going (vv. 2:22-24)

22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land smelt away because of us.”

The spy’s mission was to gather information (especially about Jericho) and they now have what they need. Rahab’s retelling the stories she had heard, and her faith in God by hiding them was an encouragement to the spies “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands.” When we experience someone placing their faith in Jesus, and seeing how their lives are changed encourages us in the mission of our church – to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

What a change of heart from the first report of the spies when Joshua and Caleb reported back. The focus of the first spy report was on the stuff, the material, and on the outward superficial. Numbers 13:23 “And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs.” . . . “However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large.” They brought back proof that the land was “flowing with milk and honey.”

Now in Joshua 2, the spies bring back a report of the inhabitant’s hearts, their spirit, the mentality of the people there – their courage is gone, and they are scared. It’s two different types of reports based on the heart of the spy (it’s the same land, the same inhabitants). Somehow the people in the promised land (over 40 years) have shrunk in size – they are no longer giants and God’s people grasshoppers. Now their God is huge and the enemy has become small.

“The spies violated God’s explicit command that none of the people living in the land were to be spared (Duet. 7:1-6; 20:16-18). Rahab, however, turned to God and sought deliverance. Her experience is proof of the gracious saving purpose of God. His overarching decree is that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” Joel 2:32.[1]

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When we last left the Israelites they were preparing for the crossing of the Jordan. Joshua has to prepare his heart. God tells him over and over, “Be strong, be courageous.” To get ready to cross the Jordan, Joshua needs to also prepare a battle plan. Joshua has to prepare his mind by studying the Word (he studies it, meditates on it, talk about it, and do it).

Then Joshua sends in two spies and we are introduced to Rahab the redeemed Hero, but more importantly “²⁴ They said to Joshua, “The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.” The land is ready and for them to cross-over! But the people have to prepare themselves for the crossing.

In our text God lovingly calls Israel to be a cross-over people. The transition from the wilderness into Canaan would not be an easy one. The Israelites must be a people who are willing to grow in their faith and anticipate seeing God move. This morning God is calling us to be a cross-over church. A church willing to face the impossible by keeping our eyes on God, following Him into the ever-changing future, united together in our mission of reaching Bellevue for Christ.

How Do We Cross The Jordan? How Do We Face the Seemingly Impossible?

Remember Our Commitment To God When Crossing Over (vv. 1-4)

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

(look at Exodus 14) There is a similar story about God’s people where they were following Moses out of Egypt and they came to the Red Sea. Exodus 14:11-12 “They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Now, there is no outcry, there is no demands to return to the wilderness – only moving forward.

The first command was to follow the Lord, and it was stated in a strange way. Up until then, the people of Israel had followed the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night as symbols of God’s leading, presence, and protection in the wilderness. Now those symbols were going to be replaced by the ark of the covenant.

The ark contained the Ten Commandments carved in stone that had been given to Moses at Mount Sinai. It also held the entire Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. Thus the ark symbolized both the covenant commitment that God had made to Israel and the covenant conditions that God had established for the people of Israel. The whole covenant relationship, an entire way of life, would continue with them as they crossed the Jordan and entered Canaan. Inside the ark was also a jar of manna to remind the people that day after day for forty years God had met their physical needs.

The ark symbolized the presence and power of God with his people. The ark was the sign that God was leading them. They weren’t just a migratory people optimistically yet futilely thinking that they could go into the land of Canaan. They had to know that they were God’s people, being led by him.

The ark also symbolized the specific teaching and direction that God had given to his people. They had the assurance of his guidance and leadership as they moved into the new, completely unfamiliar territory. If they didn’t follow the Lord, as symbolized by the ark, they would get lost and disoriented; they wouldn’t know where to go or how to live.

God is with His people and they are expected to follow Him and His ways.

(v. 4) “for you have not passed this way before” – God is constantly calling us, and leading us into unfamiliar territory. He required Abraham to leave his home and “move to a land I will show you” (Gen. 21:1). Joseph was required to move from his home, then to slavery, and then to Egypt. Jesus said, “I will go to prepare a place for you, for where I have gone there you may be with me also.” The Christian life is moving from one unknown place to another.

As we cross the Jordan as a church, we must remember that God is committed to us in His provision for our needs, His salvation, grace and forgiveness of sin – but we must also remember our commitment to Him. Out of love and loyalty we follow and commit ourselves to an ever-deepening relationship with Him.

Consecrate Yourself Before Crossing-Over (v. 5)

“Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Some of God’s promises are unconditional, and all we have to do is believe them, while other promises have expectations and consequences attached. In meeting these expectations, we are not earning God’s blessing. Rather, we are making certain that our hearts are ready for God’s blessing. The promise was that God would demonstrate miraculous power, but it was contingent on the people’s willingness to consecrate or sanctify themselves.

In the Old Testament, sanctification was usually tied to ritual cleansing, and God gave very specific instructions for ceremonial cleanliness. If the experience of Israel at Mount Sinai was the pattern, then “sanctify yourselves” meant that everyone was to bathe and change their clothes, at least in part. In the Bible this imagery of washing one’s body and putting on fresh clothes symbolized a new beginning with the Lord. Sin is a picture of defilement.

God has to cleanse us before we can truly follow him. When Jacob made a new beginning with the Lord and returned to Bethel, he and his entire family washed themselves and changed their garments (Gen. 35). And after King David confessed his sin with Bathsheba, he bathed, changed his clothes, and then worshiped God (2 Sam. 12:20). This imagery is carried over into the New Testament. Colossians 3:9-10 speaks of the necessity of being forgiven for sin, putting away the old patterns of behavior and attitudes, allowing those things to be washed away by the blood of Christ. Then there is the wonderful invitation to put on the new person, to clothe ourselves in the righteousness of Jesus (Eph. 4:24).

Whenever we face new opportunities, God’s voice calls us to sanctify ourselves. God calls his people to holiness, purity of life, and separation from sin. For us today, the invitation to be cleansed means that we come once again to claim the cleansing of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which washes away all defilement, uncleanness, and sin.

That requires a willingness from us to admit our sin, to live an examined life, to be open to truth. It means opening ourselves to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, because after our confession of sin, repentance, and experiencing forgiveness, then the Holy Spirit enables us to be used by God.

As we enter into a time of crossing over, you must cleanse yourself of all sin, and truly seek His will, if you are to ever hear from him as to the direction we are to go. There are some who will not do this, they want to counted among God’s people but are unwilling to give up certain sin, it is these individuals who like the 1^st generation of Israel have doubt, cause dissention, and see giants where there are none!

Keep Your Eyes On God When Crossing Over (vv. 6-8)

“And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”

The instruction to keep a thousand yards away shows the need of some degree of separateness between the people and a holy God. The people were commanded to never touch the ark, to never treat the things of God lightly.

The ark was a holy piece of furniture from the tabernacle. It wasn’t to be treated carelessly. And there is an implication for us today. God is our Abba, Father, our companion as we go through life, but we dare not relate to him casually or superficially. Hebrews in 12:28-29 “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.”

Also, of importance for Israel at this point was the logistical issue of staying far enough away from the ark so that it could be seen as it was held up by the Levites during the crossing of the Jordan. The ark was to lead the way across the treacherous river and into unfamiliar land, and therefore the eyes of the people would be focused on the presence and power of God and not on their dangerous circumstances as they crossed the Jordan River.

We must be focused on the God of mercy, not the held back water! There is safety in the middle of the Jordan when it is God’s hand that holds back the water! It is only perceived as dangerous if God were not in it.

If we are to be a people who are willing to follow the Lord today, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. Remember, his offer of salvation to each of us was basically a call to begin a lifelong process of following him. The writer of Hebrews describes following Jesus Christ as running a race with perseverance, “…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author [pioneer] and perfecter of our faith….” (12:2).

He pioneered the way; he has been across the Jordan and in the unfamiliar territory himself; he has been tempted in every way that we can possibly be tempted. Jesus suffered, was humiliated, died, and then rose again for our sakes. And his being the perfecter of our faith means that he goes with us, teaching and enabling and encouraging us.

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God has a calling upon your life, so as we “Prepare To Encounter God’s Call” – how do we face this incredibly difficult task?

What We Choose to Focus On Determines Where We Are Going (vv. 2:22-24)
Remember Our Commitment To God When Crossing Over (vv. 1-4)
Consecrate Yourself Before Crossing-Over (v. 5)
Keep Your Eyes On God When Crossing Over (vv. 6-8)

Closing

When a researcher started interviewing hospital workers—the people who cleaned out the patients’ rooms each day she assumed they would only have bad things to say about it. That was partially true, but she also found a second group of workers with the same jobs who felt their labor was highly skilled.

They described the work in “rich relational terms,” talking about their interactions with patients and visitors. Many of them reported going out of their way to learn as much as possible about the patients whose rooms they cleaned. “It was not just that they were taking the same job and feeling better about it … It was that they were doing a different job.”[2]

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[1] Madvig, 264.

[2] https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2024/june/dirty-jobs-turned-into-meaningful-callings.html

“The Scarlet Thread of Faith” Joshua 2

Joshua: Courage Over Fear

A Sermon Series

“The Scarlet Thread of Faith”
Joshua 2

Introduction

The first person we meet in the book of Joshua (other than Joshua) is a non-Jewish prostitute named Rahab. What we will discover is that God brought two men across her path for the purpose of her and her family’s salvation. So, from the beginning, the story of the conquest of the Promised Land is one of judgement of sin[1], but it is also a story of salvation from the judgement of God. It is a story of wrath and mercy. And from the beginning of the Bible until the end is that those who understand the consequences of sin, must have faith in how God has provided for the forgiveness of that sin.

Prayer

The Mission (v. 1a)

And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

Joshua, as they begin the journey into the Promised Land, secretly sent out two spies to go before them to view the land, “especially Jericho.” Even though God would fight on their behalf, they still had to fight, because “the promise of divine aid never rules out human responsibility.”[2] God had the power to wipe out the enemy before them, but Joshua and his army would have to fight. The mission is God given, Holy Spirit empowered, and people delivered. God chooses to work through us to accomplish His will.

We pray for our neighbor to be saved, but there will come a time when God will say, “you go and tell they about me.” Jesus told the disciples as He sat before the crowd of 5000, “you feed them.” God will go with us, but He still wants us to play a role in His redemption of the world.

The Misdirection (v. 1b-7)

And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”[3] 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

(1b) “they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.” Of all the potential places for two spies to hide out and rest, to go to a prostitute’s house was a great idea – men would be secretively coming into the home and sneaking back out. Their presence would not draw attention – But they were noticed and the king of Jericho was looking for them. But Rahab misdirects the king and his men pointing them in the wrong direction.[4]

Why would this woman help two people she had never met, even though there were high stakes, great risk to her and her family’s lives?

The Misdirection Explained (vv. 8-14)

8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, hour hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

Rahab has many things going against her, she is a Gentile (not one of God’s chosen people), an Amorite (enemy of God), a prostitute (a sinner). But she has one thing going for her, she has heard about the God of Israel. As a result of hearing, she has believed and has put her faith in this God. Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” There is power in the hearing of the mighty deeds of God.

(v. 8) “I know that the Lord has given you the land,” – She says, “I know,” – indicating that she personally believed that the Lord’s army was going to win. She has placed her faith in God and knows that “he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” Rahab knows that the presence of the spies is an indication of an army that is to follow. “has given” as though it has already happened.

And she and her people have heard stories of this coming army. (v. 9) “the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.” There is no courage left in any man; it has melted away like wax. Rahab had already heard about the God of Israel. For forty years the stories of the crossing of the Red Sea, the defeat of the Egyptian armies, the overthrow of the Amorites (her own people), the pillar of cloud during the day, and the fire by night had circulated all throughout the land.

This knowing about God and how the Canaanites would react is predicted by God in Exodus 15:15b-16 “all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.”

(v. 12) “as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house,” this word for kindness is the Hebrew word hesed – which designates a reciprocal relationship of caring.[5] She says, Swear to me, give me a sure sign that you will deal kndly with me – so they give her the sign of the red cord.

She knew their presence was a message of either join God’s family and follow His ways or be defeated and killed. But not only did Rahab hear the message, but she heeded it as well. This message produced a response of faith in the heart of Rahab. She told the soldiers to look elsewhere.

The fact that she believed the message is proven by what she says about God. In verse 9, she calls Him “the LORD”, using His covenant Name Jehovah. In verse 11, she expresses her faith in Him as THE God of Heaven and of earth. In verse 12, she again expresses her faith in Him as she calls God to witness the agreement she is about to make with the spies.

All people must hear or understand the message and then they must act on that message by accepting Jesus as their Savior by faith. It is not enough just to know the truth, we must receive the truth as our own. Romans 10:17 again says “faith comes from hearing and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.”

Notice that she did not have all the pieces, there was many things she did not know. She did not have the law, the covenants, the many promises of God. But she did have the stories of what God had done, and she responded to what she had. You may not understand all of the Bible, and you may not know how all the pieces go together, but you can respond in faith to what you do have – what you do know so far.

Salvation is a gift given by God, but must be received openly by a person. He holds it out to all, but only a few reach out and take it. Rahab’s showing faith is when she hid the spies, trusting God to give her protection. If the spies would have been found, she could have been killed as a traitor. But she held to courage over fear and helped them escape.

Steps of Faith Taken (vv. 15-21)

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord[6] in the window.

There is coming a day soon, when this army of God’s wrath will fall upon the city and all those inside of it. Everyone will be destroyed and Rahab knows She wants salvation for her and her family. So, Rahab is told to gather her family together, stay inside when the battle starts. Everyone inside her house would be spared – because of the promise of the spies[7], and the signal of the scarlet rope.

Her only hope of survival was to follow these given instructions. Jesus said something similar with regard to spiritual salvation, John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If we want to have eternal life, to be forgiven of our sins, and see God – then we have to have a relationship with Jesus.

The spies even say, if you don’t follow our instructions (placing the red rope out the window) then “his blood shall be on his own head.” Jesus has provided the way of salvation, if a person does not place their faith on the His shed blood, then “their blood shall be on their own heads.

(v. 13) When Rahab asks for the army to spare her and her family’s life, she was probably just asking for them to be spared and taken alive as prisoners.[8] But that is not how God works – Eventually, they would be assimilated into the nation of Israel (6:25). She would go on to marry a leader in the nation – and she would eventually be included in the lineage of Jesus (Matt. 1:5). This is how God treats those who put faith in His name. We are not spared only to serve as slaves – We are redeemed and made children of God and to sit at His table.

Two New Testament books mention Rahab, Hebrews and James for their acts of faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” That describes the saving faith of Rahab. She was surrounded by unbelieving Canaanites, and yet she stood alone in faith. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, is mentioned as a woman of faith, and then it says of Rahab, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies” (11:31).

(look at James 2) James 2:21, 25 mentions two people who demonstrate a living, spiritual faith-the man Abraham and the woman Rahab. They are the only two people mentioned: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?… And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”

What they believed spiritually, led them to make a choice to believe in God, and to do something because of that belief. Abraham demonstrated his faith at tremendous cost, but he was willing to trust God and offer his son as a sacrifice. Rahab, as well, had a faith that was a reality in her life. She stood alone against the entire culture that surrounded her. We can say that she was a follower of the One True God because she abandoned faith in her pagan gods, and from her people to trust on the God of Israel, and to identify with His people.

Until Jericho fell, she had to make a choice to trust the God of Israel whom she couldn’t see, against the king of Jericho and the armies and the fortifications of that great city that she could see. By her faith, Rahab the prostitute was deemed righteous. (v. 21) “And she tied the scarlet cord in the window” and waited for the day of salvation.

Today, each and every one of us must make the same choice in faith – we respond to the story that we have heard. Do we trust and follow a God who we cannot see, and reject a world that we can see. Do we trust in His ways and follow with all of our lives, or do we follow the world and its’ ways.

The Mission Encouraged (vv. 22-24)

Now in Joshua 2, the spies bring back a report of the inhabitant’s hearts, their spirit, the mentality of the people there – their courage is gone, and they are scared. It’s two different types of reports based on the heart of the spy (it’s the same land, the same inhabitants). Somehow the people in the promised land (over 40 years) have shrunk in size – they are no longer giants and God’s people grasshoppers. Now their God is huge and the enemy has become small.

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[1] “The sin of the Amorites had not yet reached its’ full measure” Genesis 15:16.

[2] Donald H. Madvig, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 3 (Grand Rapids. Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1992) 259.

[3] “The Hebrew concept of truth is not only conformity with fact but also faithfulness. Rahab chose to be faithful to the Israelites and their God. In so doing she committed an act of treason against her own people. Psalm 25:3 speaks of those “who are treacherous without excuse,” which suggests that there may be times when treason is justified. Madvig, 264.

[4] It was actually against the law to do this. “The ancient law code of Hammurabi contains the following provision; “If felons are banded together in an ale-wife’s [prostitute’s or innkeeper’s] house and she has not haled [them] to the palace, that ale-wife shall be put to death” (S.R. Driver and J.C. Miles, The Babylonian Laws (Oxford; Clarendon, 1956) 2:45).

[5] Madvig, 262.

[6] Typological connections between the color scarlet of the rope and the blood of Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross should be taken with great care.

[7] “And I to my pledged word am true, I shall not fail that rendezvous.” Alan Seeger, from “I Have a Rendezvous With Death.”

[8] Madvig, 263.

[9] Madvig, 264.

“Be Strong and Courageous” Joshua 1

Joshua: Courage Over Fear

A Sermon Series

“Be Strong and Courageous”
Joshua 1

Introduction

One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child. Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child’s arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray’s free hand felt something–possibly a rock– protruding from one bank. He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. “If I can just hang on until help comes,” he thought. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard’s Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship couldn’t swim.[1]

Prayer

God’s Purposes Do Not Change (vv. 1-9)

God’s plan for the Israelites is laid out in the first five books of the Bible, and specifically in the book of Deuteronomy they are given specific instructions for what to do once they enter into the promised land.

There have been three delays for God’s people entering into the promised land, 1) In Gen. 15 God tells Abram[2] that the people would enter into slavery for 400 years, then God had set a time of forty years (so the entire generation over 20 had to die in the wilderness because of their lack of faith), 2) Moses had lost his temper before God’s people and because he did that he forfeited his right to enter into the promised land, but God honored his leadership by waiting until his death to enter (Num. 20:6-12; Duet. 1:37, 3:26). 3) 15:16 “And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” We are not told what the sin of the Amorites was that they are being judged for, but when Joshua crossed over and conquers the promised land it is an act of judgement upon the enemies of God.

God Calls People to His Purposes (vv. 1-5)

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead.[3] Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Prior to Moses’ death, Joshua was appointed to be his successor in Numbers 27:18-23. (V. 22) “And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.” Then after some time, Moses passed away. So Joshua has this calling upon his life to do this specific thing – lead God’s people.

People change over time – all the people who had left Egypt in the great exodus had now wandered in the desert for forty years because of their rebellion. Those who were less than twenty at the Exodus, and all those born since, are essentially a new group of God’s people (prayerfully they have learned from the mistakes of the previous generation).

And now that Moses is dead, there is also a new leader. So, people in the plan of God change, but God’s purposes don’t change. The plan, even though its been five hundred years since God announced it, it is still the plan. God is going to give His people a promised land.

“I will not leave you or forsake you.” Literally this means “I will not fail you.” We see this verse quoted on Hebrews 13:5 quotes this same verse in the context of not loving money, God will be with you and give you what you need to complete the mission.

God’s Purposes Are Accomplished When His People Obey His Word (vv. 6-9)

6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

So while there may be a new leader, God’s Word is still the same. Notice that in the opening verses we see that Joshua has the law of Moses – He already has the written Word of God. Francis Schaeffer wrote, “Joshua knew Moses, the writer of the Pentateuch, personally. Joshua knew his strengths and weaknesses as a man; he knew that Moses was a sinner, that Moses made mistakes, that Moses was just a man. Nonetheless, immediately after Moses’ death Joshua accepted the Pentateuch as more than the writing of Moses. He accepted it as the writing of God.”[4] And God tells him, that his success as a leader would be dependent upon, not just knowing it, but keeping it “that you may have good success wherever you go.”

God moves people in and out of his plan, but God’s Word stays the same and it is God’s Word that remains our source of authority to complete God’s work. In Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, Moses heard from God directly. God told Moses in person what to do, but now Joshua is pointed to the written Word of God to follow. Even though Joshua would encounter the “commander of the Lord’s Army” in chapter 5, and Joshua is given specific instructions about upcoming battles, Joshua was to live and lead according to the written Word of God.

In order to do this Joshua is given four things to do with God’s Word: 1) Study God’s Word “being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you.” In order to be careful to do it, you have to know what it says, which requires diligent study. The written Word of God from it’s beginning was not stored in the Ark of the covenant, it was to be carried around, rolled out and read, again and again.

It was not a relic to be on a shelf, it was a tool to be faithfully and diligently used. The printing press had not been invented yet, so the people did not have personal copies of God’s Word, but it was read aloud, and it was accessible to the people (see Duet. 31:11-13).

2) (v. 8) Talk About God’s Word “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth . . .” Joshua and the people’s lives revolved around the word of God, so when you make plans, or discuss your children, or your careers – how can you discuss those things as a follower of God and not discuss His Word that speaks directly to those things.

3) “meditate on it day and night,” – To meditate in something is more than studying it, and talking about it, now you are pulling things from it. When you meditate on God’s Word you are seeking to apply it. What does this mean? How do I apply it to my life?

4) Obey the Word of God “being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you,” Psalm 1:2-3 talks about the righteous man “ . . but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” In order to prosper in the ways of the Lord, and to be a success at the task that God has called you to, the place the Word of God occupies in your life is critical.

As we will see, Joshua was a great leader, and it was because he studied God’s Word, he talked about God’s Word, he meditated on God’s Word and the most important, he did God’s Word. If we fast forward to the end of Joshua’s leadership, look at one of his last instructions to the people, Joshua 23:6 “Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,”

Joshua Assumes Command (vv. 10-18)

We see in these verses where Joshua has become the new leader of God’s people – he seems to scared to death. He is told multiple times, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,” – so Joshua is frightened; so, how do we do what God has called us to do, even though we may be concerned of failure? You can look back to your past.

This is not the first time we see Joshua leading; we first see him leading in battle in Exodus 17:8-16. The Israelites are making their way through the wilderness and the Amalekites come out against them. Moses goes up on a mountain and holds up his arms and staff – and Joshua is sent to lead the troops in the valley below. As long as Moses kept his hands up, God’ s people would be winning, but as Moses grew tired his hands would drop and the Amalekites would be winning. And once they had won the victory,

13-14 “And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” As Joshua was studying, and meditating, and talking about, and doing God Word – he would have come across this battle and remembered – the battle was won by prayer, teamwork, and God’s presence working on the battlefield – not his military talent. Your success, to do what God has called you to do, is bigger than just you – there are bigger things going on than you even know about. You are a part of a much bigger plan.

The second time we see Joshua is on Mt. Sinai. There is a moment when Moses, Aaron, and seventy elders saw God and ate and drank in God’s presence. When Moses went up onto the mountain to receive the law on the stone tablets, Joshua went with him.

Exodus 24:13 “So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.” He came back down with Moses to deal with the situation of these same leaders, who had sat in the presence of God, now had made golden calves and were worshipping them. God is holy and will not tolerate His people worshipping other gods.

The third time we see Joshua is when he is sent into the promised land as a spy. When the spies returned all their stories were the same, “the land is flowing with milk and honey.” But only Joshua and Caleb had faith that God would give them the land – yes there were giants in the land, but God was much bigger than they were.

Numbers 14:6-9 “And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. God requires that His people have faith.

So when it was time for Joshua to lead the nation, forty years has passed, he had seen God do mighty things, he knew that God was holy, and he knew, from experience, that God’s people had to trust Him and follow His Word.

What was Joshua so afraid of? He had seen military victories, He had trembled before the mighty power of God – He knew no one or army was greater than God. I think Joshua was afraid that the people wouldn’t listen and because of their hard heartedness, they would have to circle back to another forty years of death in the wilderness. They would not follow Moses into the Promised Land, why would they follow him?

There is nothing more terrifying to a leader than wasted years walking around in a desert.

It is wonderful to lead people into the land flowing with milk and honey, it’s quite another thing to be the leader of a people who would rather walk around in the wilderness. So, he gives the order.

10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”

The time had finally arrived after over a million funerals and forty years of wandering in the wilderness, it was finally time to pass into the promised land. Three days to prepare yourself, your family, and to get your stuff ready – we are about to enter into the promised land. Only two men knew what lay ahead – Joshua and Caleb. Both had seen the enemy’s size, the walled fortresses, and the “land flowing with milk and honey.”

12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

God had already instructed a couple of the tribes what to do when they enter into the promised land. Numbers 32 and Deuteronomy 3:18-20 records that Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Mannasseh should be given the land east of the Jordan, but that they were to go in and fight with the other tribes until all the land was conquered. Because Joshua was studying God’s Word, meditating on it, talking about it, and doing it – he knew what to do when it was time to put a plan together.

In Joshua’s mind, he would have remembered the day when he and Caleb came back after scouting out the Promised Land, and gave the report to the people that was part of Moses’ plan to enter the Promised Land. Numbers 14:1-14 “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” . . . (v. 11) “Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones.”

Now it was Joshua in charge – how would they respond to the command to pack up and prepare to enter into the promised land?

16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

The people’s hearts were changed. Before they cried out in the night, now they are packing their backs, and preparing to fight. Did they obey Moses in all things? No. But they recognize that God was with Him, Joshua followed God’s Word, so they encourage him, 1) may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! – confirming he is there because God put him there, just like Moses and 2) “be strong and courageous.” God has his back, and the people have his back, together they go forward to accomplish what God has put before them to do. When God, the leader, and the people come together – then grasshoppers can defeat giants.

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[1] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/c/courage.htm

[2] For more information about God’s covenant with Abram, Genesis 15 https://drewboswell.com/gods-covenant-and-abrahams-response-genesis-151-21/

[3] For more information about Moses’ death, Jude 9 https://drewboswell.com/426926-2/

[4] James Montgomery Boice, Joshua We will Serve the Lord (Old Tappan, New Jersey; Fleming H. Revell Publishing, 1989) 21.

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