The Local Christendom Podcast with Aaron Ventura

Sermon: The Virtuous Woman - Part 3 (Proverbs 31)

The Virtuous Woman – Part 3Sunday, October 27th, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Proverbs 31:10-31
10Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil.
12She will do him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13She seeketh wool, and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands.
14She is like the merchants’ ships; She bringeth her food from afar.
15She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth meat to her household, And a portion to her maidens.
16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17She girdeth her loins with strength, And strengtheneth her arms.
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: Her candle goeth not out by night.
19She layeth her hands to the spindle, And her hands hold the distaff.
20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; Her clothing is silk and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25Strength and honour are her clothing; And she shall rejoice in time to come.
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness.
28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for this divinely inspired portrait of feminine strength. As we seek to imitate these virtues and apply them to our own lives and households, we ask for grace to work out what You work in, grant us Your Holy Spirit in abundance, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
This morning, we are in Part 3 of a four-part series on the Proverbs 31 Woman. Last week we concluded at verse 23, and so this morning our plan is to pick up in verse 24 and complete our exposition of this poem. Now some of you might be wondering, if we finish the passage today, what will the fourth sermon be on next week? And my answer to you is that it’s a secret. You’ll just have to wait and find out next Sunday. There’s your cliffhanger.
Before we pickup in verse 24, let’s just review the basic outline and contour of this passage.
Outline of the Text
We said there are three basic sections to this poem:
1. Verses 10-12 describe the woman’s value.
2. Verses 13-27 describe the woman’s actions.
3. Verses 28-31 describe the woman’s praiseworthiness.
So picking up in verse 24 we are in the tail end of that section on the woman’s actions.
Verse 24
24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Another translation has it, “Fine cloth she makes, and she sells it, a loincloth she gives to the trader.” *Btw, the Hebrew for trader/merchant here is “Canannite.”
Recall, there are three dominant themes to this woman’s actions: 1) She makes garments and clothing, 2) She provides food for her household, 3) She does all of that with glad palms.
Food, clothing, and joyful labor are essential qualities of the virtuous wife.
We also noted that this woman likes to start with the raw materials, whether wool or flax, or an empty field, and then she turns those raw materials into something both beautiful and useful: clothing, garments, a vineyard, grapes, wine, etc.
So this woman delights in taking hold of nature, in receiving God’s good creation with willing hands, and then transforming it by those same hands into something better.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:7 that, “woman is the glory of the man.”And this glory is reflected in how the woman transforms and elevates creation. Woman was God’s final act of creation on Day 6, and she carries in her own nature this aspect of crowning and beautifying whatever God gives to her. Woman is the glory of man, she is the crown of God’s handiwork.
So both men and woman are commanded to exercise dominion in the land, but they each have a unique role to play in how they extend the peace and prosperity of Eden out into the four corners of the earth.
We see this uniquely feminine role illustrated in how the poem describes the woman’s priorities.
For example, who is the first person this woman is said to be a blessing to? In verses 11-12 we see that it is her husband.
“The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.”
The virtuous woman is a wife in the first instance, and that one-flesh union of marriage takes priority over and informs all other relationships, save her relationship with God.
After her husband and marriage, we then see she provides food and clothing for her own household, her children and handmaidens (vs. 15).
And then in verse 20 we see her opening and extending her productive hands to the poor and the needy outside her home.
So the woman’s actions reflect her priorities. Marriage is her first priority (after God), 2nd are her children, 3rd her maidservants, and 4th the poor and needy.
If you know Paul’s letters well, you know this is the same basic order and patten for how he instructs Christians in their domestic life: Husbands-Wives, Children-Parents, Servants-Masters.
So the virtuous wife is practicing what Paul says in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
A well-ordered household has well-ordered loves. A disordered household on the other hand is one where people are overlooking their closest and most proximate neighbors. Christ commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that means starting with those who share a roof with you.
So here in verse 24 we see that while the woman is interested in turning a profit on her merchandise, she does not herself become a traveling merchant, or a door-to-door salesman. Instead “she gives her fine cloths to the trader,” “she delivereth girdles unto the merchant.” She remains focused on being present and overseeing her household, and she lets the men, the traders, the merchants, do what God created them to do.
This is likely how she went about doing what it describes earlier in verse 14 when it says, “She is like the merchants’ ships; She bringeth her food from afar.” These merchants bring the spices, and she trades with them for her fine linen garments.
To Summarize: The virtuous wife conducts even her external business transactions with the home as the center around which it revolves. And this is not because she is on house arrest, but rather, because her home is a productive paradise, like Eden, she actually enjoys working there.
Feminism has tried to convince women that the home is a prison and marriage is a slavery from which they must be liberated. And what does female liberation look like? It looks like having a career instead of children, a fancy office instead of a messy kitchen, and a CEO to submit to, instead of a husband.
This and many other lies have been sold to our generation, and we are now reaping the consequences of those decisions. One of which is sadly the rapid disappearance of single-income households because of the ever increasing costs of living.
God is not mocked; a nation reaps what is sows.
So recall the core curriculum that God commands older women to teach younger women.
He says in Titus 2:4-5, “that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”
Likewise in 1 Timothy 5:14, Paul says, “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”
So make your fine linen, sell it to the merchants, turn a profit on what you produce, but do it all as one whose vocation and calling is homemaker, as one guiding the house, so that God’s Word may not be blasphemed.
Perhaps someone will then ask, “Is it sinful for a woman to work outside the home?” The answer is it depends. Are you married or unmarried? Do you have little children or grown children, or no children? What is the season of life you are in? What is your husband’s income? What are your expenses? Is working outside the home a temporary necessity to make ends meet, or is that the long-term plan?
If you are unsure, you can give me all of those details and I’ll tell you. But what is the principle?
The principle is that: if a wife and mother is neglecting her marriage, her children, her household so that she can “find fulfillment” in some other career, then yes, that is sinful.
So the question to ask yourself is: Does my work and my actions reflect God’s priorities for me as revealed in His Word? Is Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 the goal you are aiming at, or are you aiming at something else?
Intentions matter. Our actions reflect our intentions. And God’s Word is the judge of both.
Continuing in verse 25 we see that being a homemaker is by no means a weak or shameful calling. Quite the contrary.
Verse 25
25Strength and honour are her clothing; And she shall rejoice in time to come.
Another translation has it this way, “Strength and grandeur are her garment, and she laughs at the day to come.”
This is true womanhood, this is woman as the glory of man. Back in verse 22 we saw that her literal garments are linen and purple, and here we see that those garments reflect her own strength and majesty.
We also saw earlier in verse 21, that she is not afraid of the snow in winter, because her household is clothed in scarlet, and here the text goes a step further and says she laughs/rejoices at the day to come.
How do you become this kind of fearless rejoicing woman?
You have to meditate upon the law of God day and night. You have to have Scripture as the soundtrack of your soul.
Psalm 118:6 says, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
When your soul overflows with the promises of God’s goodness towards you, then fear of the future is cast out. And so you must keep these promises as a seal upon your heart. Commit them to memory so that you can rejoice and laugh at the days to come.
A woman who fears the Lord will not the fear the future. God keeps in perfect peace the woman whose mind is stayed upon Him.
Now what results from having God’s Word hidden in your heart? Verse 26…
Verse 26
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Wisdom and the law of kindness cannot come out of you, unless it first dwells richly within you.
And the Word cannot take root in the soil of your heart, if it is choked with the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things besides God (Mark 4:19).
The more singular and one you are in your desire for God, the more you become like God who is One. You were created for God, and therefore the perfection of your nature consists in knowing and loving Him above all else. Jesus says, that is what eternal life is, to know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 17:3).
So only someone who knows and loves Jesus can be truly wise. Because the essence of wisdom to order all things according to their First Principle, and God is that First Principle. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End of all creatures. So wisdom is the heavenly gift that comes from knowing God.
In James 3:17-18, we have a description of what true wisdom looks like in comparison to earthly wisdom. He says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
The virtuous woman is a peacemaker. She knows when to overlook the faults of others and cover them in love, and she also knows when to speak up and confront those who are wandering from God’s law. The goal in all of this is to sow with her words the seeds of peace, peace with God first and foremost, and peace between others insofar as it depends on her (Rom. 12:18).
“She opens her mouth in wisdom; teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
Verse 27 then sums up and concludes the virtuous woman’s actions.
Verse 27
27She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness.
As if this was not obvious already, the virtuous woman’s work can be summarized as “looking after the ways of her house.” She has been attentive to her husband, her children, her servants, and the poor. She has made provision for the now, and has made plans for the future. She has a storehouse of wisdom, experience, and kindness to share. And the result of this virtuous life is the praise of verses 28-31.
Verse 28
28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
For years she arose early to feed her household (vs. 15), and now her household arises and blesses her for it.
All her days she did good for husband and no evil, and therefore she deserves the praise of verse 29, where he says…
Verse 29
29Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.
Notice that the husband sees that his wife’s hayil, her virtue,surpasses all other women, and this is the basis for our regarding the Proverbs 31 Woman as the standard by which all others are judged.
It is also possible the “daughters” he is referring to here, who have also “done virtuously,” who have a hayil of their own, are his own daughters.
Recall that the poem began with the question, “Who can find a virtuous woman?” She is rare, she is precious, she is not easy to find. But now here at the end, there is this acknowledgement of other daughters of virtue. And from the mother’s perspective, what could be a greater reward than to have her own children, her own daughters grow up to imitate her virtues.
And from the husband’s perspective, what could be a greater gift than to receive from his wife, daughters of hayil?
Finally, the poem (and the book of Proverbs) concludes by extolling the fear of the Lord, and this is where we shall close.
Verses 30-31
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates.
What gates does the virtuous woman care about? Whose opinion does the woman that fears the Lord concern herself with?
It is not hard to find praise when you are charming and pretty. It is not hard to find praise when you are hardworking, smart, and successful. But the praise of human beings is as vain and fleeting as a woman’s outward beauty.
And this is why the gates the virtuous wife cares about, and fixes before her mind’s eye, are the gates of heaven. For it is there at God’s judgment seat, that charm and good looks will be exposed for what they are, vain. And it is also there where the things that matter most, spiritual things, shall be rewarded and praised for what they are, precious, eternal, and everlasting.
The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
No man can see the invisible virtue that is fearing God, or loving God, or faith in God. We can see the fruit of those virtues, but not the virtues themselves, they are invisible actions of the soul.
But God is the one who does see. As it says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
So the virtuous woman desires above all else, to please God and to receive His praise, because of the contents of her heart. For as it says in 1 Peter 3:3-4, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
This is the essence of faith, to seek first the gates of heaven, and to work unto the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, so that as death approaches, you can with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
May God grant you His grace to run that race well, and to finish with a basket of fruit you can barely carry.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sermon: The Virtuous Woman - Part 2 (Proverbs 31)

The Virtuous Woman – Part 2Sunday, October 20th, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Proverbs 31:10-31
10Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil.
12She will do him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13She seeketh wool, and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands.
14She is like the merchants’ ships; She bringeth her food from afar.
15She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth meat to her household, And a portion to her maidens.
16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17She girdeth her loins with strength, And strengtheneth her arms.
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: Her candle goeth not out by night.
19She layeth her hands to the spindle, And her hands hold the distaff.
20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; Her clothing is silk and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25Strength and honour are her clothing; And she shall rejoice in time to come.
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness.
28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the many examples of godliness that you have given to us in the Scriptures. Make us to be faithful and virtuous in our own day, so that in glory we may join that heavenly cloud of witnesses the surrounds us even now. We ask for your Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
This morning, we are in Part 2 of what was going to be a three-part series on The Proverbs 31 Woman, but because there is so much here to meditate on, I decided to go at a more leisurely pace, and thus it will take us four sermons to go through this passage.
Now before we continue our exposition of this text, I want to remind you of three important truths that we established last week, and which are essential to understanding this passage of Scripture.
1. The first truth is that Proverbs 31 is divinely inspired advice From a godly mother To her son King/Prince Lemuel.
And so we said last week that while many people think that Proverbs 31 was given primarily for the women in the church to study, it is actually the opposite. According to verse 1 these are, “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.” And therefore, it is young unmarried men who are the original and target audience for this poem.
2. The second truth is that this portrait of the “The Virtuous Wife” in verses 10-31, answer back to Lemuel’s mother’s warning in verse 3 that says, “Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.”
We said that the Hebrew word for strength in verse 3 is hayil, and that that same Hebrew word appears again in verse 10 when it asks, “Who can find a virtuous woman?” that is, “Who can find a woman of hayil?”
So the advice of Lemuel’s mother is: Don’t give your masculine hayil/virtue/valour/strength/substance to women in the plural, but rather find one godly woman who has a feminine hayil of her own, and marry her.
We also noted that in the Hebrew Bible, Ruth is explicitly identified as a woman of hayil, and Boaz is explicitly identified as a mighty man of hayil.
So if you want to know what biblical virtue/valor/strength looks like in its masculine and feminine forms, study the book of the Ruth.
3. The third truth is that this portrait of the virtuous wife is a portrait of mature womanhood in full flower, and therefore a young prince Lemuel would have had to look for the seeds of these virtues as he sought out a potential wife.
So as we study this portrait, there are two things to keep in mind, 1) we should expect to fall short because this is a model of perfection, and 2) we should aspire to become this each according to our own unique and individual circumstances.
Recall that in verse 29 the husband says to his wife, “Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.”
In other words, of all the women who have the precious virtues enumerated here, this women and this portrait is the greatest, she is the exemplar and standard by which all others are judged.
So to repeat what I said last week, wisdom consists in being able to apply universal principles to ever-changing and unique circumstances. Wisdom comprehends the whole so that you can then rightly orders the parts.
And if you lack wisdom, you got to go back to the first chapter of Proverbs where it says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” And as it says in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
So whatever you try to practically implement from these sermons, it will only be successful insofar as it proceeds from faith, hope, and love for God. Those three theological virtues are the root of all the other virtues we see her.
With all that by way of review, let us now proceed to our text.
Outline of the Text
Recall, there are three basic sections to this poem:
1. Verses 10-12 describe the woman’s value.
2. Verses 13-27 describe the woman’s actions.
3. Verses 28-31 describe the woman’s praiseworthiness.
Last week we covered verses 10-12 and beheld the woman’s value, so let us pick up in verse 13 as we consider the woman’s actions. We’ll only get through verse 23 this morning.
Verse 13
13She seeketh wool, and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands.
Here we see the beginning of two themes that will be developed throughout this passage.
The first theme is that of making clothing and garments.
The second theme is that of skilled manual labor.
As we go through this passage notice how many times the woman’s hands or arms are explicitly mentioned ot implied.
And notice also how many times clothing and garments are mentioned as well.
You can think of this poem as a kind of tutorial for how to arrive at the finished product of verse 31 which says, “Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates.”
If you have ever searched online for a recipe video, or a DIY on how to make something or remodel a room in your house, often the thumbnail (picture you click on) has a Before and After picture that shows you the humble beginnings (the mess you started with), and then the glorious, finished product.
And it is that glory at the end (the fruit, the prize) that God intended to inspire us so that we can plow with hope in the present.
Hope is what motivates joyful work in the now.
Later in this poem we are going to see the woman has “scarlet and silk and purple and fine linen to sell.” That is what she hopes for and intends to make, but how does she get there? How does that future hope bear on her present reality?
It starts here in verse 13, she seeks wool and flax, the raw materials for making beautiful garments, and not only that, she also has a willingness to work and get her hands dirty.
So the two qualities of the virtuous woman we see straight off are: 1) a willingness to seek out and search for what she needs in accord with her vision, and 2) a willingness to work with those materials once she has them.
Another way of translating verse 13 is, “she diligently selects wool and flax, and works with her glad palms.”
That Hebrew word for “willingly” carries this sense of joy and delight in one’s work.
And this is what God explicitly commands of all of us.
It says in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”
And Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord.”
So the virtuous woman has a mind to search out and select quality materials, wool and flax. And she does this because she has an actionable plan to turn those raw materials into something beautiful and useful. And that plan involves her own joyful hands getting to work.
So the virtuous woman is not just a Pinterest daydreamer. Yes, she looks for inspiration, but then she makes a plan, a budget, a to-do list for how to actually accomplish the goal she has in mind. Perhaps she consults her husband, she talks with her mother or mother-in-law, she gets advice from people more skilled and experienced in that trade than she is. She does her homework.
One of the many differences between men and women (and between some women and other women) is that we just notice and are attentive to different things. Many women are great with the details and the particulars, while being really bad at seeing the big picture. Sometimes it is the opposite. What kind of person are you?
A large part of wisdom is knowing your own strengths and weaknesses and blind spots, and then seeking out help where you have shortcomings. This is one of the many ways that a husband and wife can love and lean on one another, and also other people in the church. It is a mark of wisdom to humbly seek out advice from the wise, especially in places where we are ignorant and unsure.
I often recommend to young men considering a specific trade or career to go find a man excelling in that trade and ask to buy him lunch.And then go to that meeting with a list of questions prepared. And in that meeting ask him, What other questions should I be asking as I consider pursuing this vocation?”
A big part of wisdom is learning what questions to ask, and what questions are just bad questions or dead ends.
Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: But in the multitude of counsellers they are established.”
So don’t get the wrong idea. The Proverbs 31 woman is not a solo act. A virtuous woman knows her own limits, her weaknesses, her strengths, her gifts, and then makes her plans accordingly.
Verse 14
14She is like the merchants’ ships; She bringeth her food from afar.
Another quality of the virtuous woman is that she knows how to shop. She knows what to source locally (eggs, milk, fresh produce), but also what to get from far and distant lands.
When the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, it says in 2 Chronicles 10:9, “she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.”
Likewise in Genesis we see that in times of famine and hardship, it was necessary to go and get grain from Egypt.
And recall that Ruth, our historical exemplar of the virtuous woman, left Moab and returned to Bethlehem to glean during barley harvest.
So the virtuous woman embraces the task of feeding her household. And she is not content to just feed them locally sourced food from her homestead, she is like the merchants’ ships and bringeth at least some of her food from afar.
I am all for “Farm to Table” eating, but the virtuous woman has no problem with sourcing ingredients from across the ocean.
Adding to our two themes then, of clothing and manual labor, we now add a third theme of feeding her household. This theme is developed further in the next verses.
Verses 15-16
15She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth meat to her household, And a portion to her maidens.16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
Notice the virtuous woman rises early, when it is still dark, to make breakfast for her household.
This might surprise us since she has maidservants who could do this, but instead, she is getting up to feed them.
This language of giving “a portion to her maidens,” also suggests that she assigns to them their tasks for the day. So she provides them with nourishment and food, and also apportions their duties in the household (laundry, dishes, yardwork, etc.).
So like our Lord Jesus, who came amongst us as one who serves (Luke 22:27), so also the virtuous woman is willing to serve even her handmaidens. Her servants are under her authority, but she models for them what diligent and joyful work looks like, and she delegates certain tasks to them. By exercising authority in this way, “the lesser is blessed by the greater” (Heb. 7:7).
We see then in verse 16 that this emphasis on food and nourishment is part of her long-term vision for feeding her household. “She considers a field and buys it; from the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.”
Notice how ambitious this woman is. She wants to grow grapes, she wants to make wine, she wants to own her own vineyard. That is an expensive and laborious task that will take significant resources (both financial and human) to accomplish.
And, like her seeking of wool and flax, she is starting with the raw materials, an unplanted field.
It typically takes at least three years for a newly planted vine to bear fruit, and it takes even longer to produce from that fruit an excellent wine.
So the virtuous woman is planning for the future needs of her household. She is not so utilitarian as to only feed her children porridge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; she wants to give them something more glorious.
It says in Psalm 104:14-15, “God causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart.”
Paul says in 1 Timothy, that the living God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17), and that “every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4-5).
So the virtuous woman is simultaneously earthy and yet heavenly minded.She directs all her present and fleeting work on earth towards a kingdom end: glorifying God and blessing others with His good gifts.
In this sense, she is returning to the task that God gave humanity in Eden, to cultivate, steward, and beautify this world. To be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth.
So what field is God calling you to consider, to buy, and to cultivate for His glory?
If you are a young woman in school, that field is your own mind and heart, and all the skills and habits you are learning.
If you are a mother, that field might be your children (or planning for future children), it might be your kitchen, or some actual plot of ground you want to turn into a garden.
If you are an empty nester or a widow, your field might be teaching the next generation the many skills you have accrued over the years, and passing on that wisdom.
All of us have some “field” in which God calls us to labor right now, and then there is usually some other field, a future place or season that God is preparing for us to labor in the future. So consider what God has placed in your heart, the gifts, the resources, the opportunities, and then store up now so you can own that field one day.
To give you one such example, consider the joint effort of starting Christ the King Academy, and all the people who joined their time, and energy, and resources to plant a vineyard for the next generation, our children. That would not have been possible unless folks already had a surplus of fruit from their own lives to give and plant.
So what field is God calling you to consider, to save for, to buy, and to cultivate for His glory?
Verse 17
17She girdeth her loins with strength, And strengtheneth her arms.
Here again we have those twin themes of clothing and manual labor intertwined.
What does it meant to “gird oneself with strength?”
It means to put on your uniform and prepare for battle. It means pour the coffee, do your stretches, sing some Psalms, and get the blood flowing, because it’s time to get to work.
That is the spirit of strength that this woman puts on: readiness of body and soul for action. And then what is the result of those actions? We read in verse 18.
Verse 18
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: Her candle goeth not out by night.
So in the morning she rises early and puts on strength, and by the end of the day, she looks out at her work and perceives that it is good.
This of course is the pattern that God Himself sets for us in His work of creation. At the end of each day he looks out and surveys what He has made and judges that it is good.
And like God who places the moon and stars in the night sky, so also the virtuous woman, from the goodness of her own work has sufficient oil so that her candle does not go out at night.
We read in Proverbs 13:9, “The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”
Likewise in Proverbs 24:20, “For there shall be no reward to the evil man; The candle of the wicked shall be put out.”
Light is a sign of life, whereas darkness is a sign of judgment. From the woman’s good work and the right use of her strength, she has more than enough to let her light shine even while she sleeps.
In verses 19-20 we see the woman back at work again the next day.
Verses 19-20
19She layeth her hands to the spindle, And her hands hold the distaff.20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
Four times the woman’s hands are mentioned here, in verse 19 they are taking hold of spindle and distaff, two tools for spinning thread. And then in verse 20, those same hands are stretched out and opened to help the poor and needy.
As one commentator puts it, “The hands that grasp to produce, open wide to provide.”
This is consistent with what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12,“Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
Likewise in Ephesians 4:28 he says, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
So God’s Word extols the person who works skillfully and joyfully with their hands. Manual labor is good. Mental labor is good. And best is when both of those things come together.
Remember that the first person in the Bible who is said to be “filled with the spirit of wisdom,” was not a theologian, or prophet, or pastor, it was Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. God says to Moses, “I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship” (Ex. 31:3).
And then a few chapters later when they start building the tabernacle, that same Holy Spirit animates many others, including the women. It says in Exodus 35:22-28, “And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.”
So the virtuous woman uses her God-given skills and wisdom to build up the house of God, and she does this especially by opening her glad palms to the poor and needy.
In order to be generous to others we need to have surplus. And where does surplus come from? Diligent and skilled labor, done unto the Lord.
Finally, in verses 21-23, we see two consequences of all this work, and this is where we’ll close.
Verses 21-23
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: For all her household are clothed with scarlet.22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; Her clothing is silk and purple.23Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
1. The first happy consequence is that she has no fear of the future.
Because of her industry and planning, her household is well supplied for winter.
Moreover, their garments are not shabby or plain, but rather fit for royalty. To make scarlet wool and purple linen was an expensive process in the ancient world. And yet her hard work has made it possible to afford and make such garments “for all her household.” That includes the servants in addition to her children.
The woman is generous to all who come under her authority.
2. Second, because of the woman’s domestic competence, her husband can then serve as an elder in the gates.
According to 1 Timothy 3:5, “If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?” This principle is true in both church and civil government: the state of a man’s marriage and household is a sign of whether he is competent to rule outside of his household.
This is where a wife can either make or break society. It says in Proverbs 14:1, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: But the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”
This proverb is true of individual marriages and families, but it extendsto the broader community. Foolish women are a plague to society, while wise women are the glory of a nation.
We have this saying in the CREC, that a wife cannot qualify her husband for eldership, but she can disqualify him.
Put another way, having a godly wife cannot in itself make a man competent to rule in the church, but a foolish wife who tears down her own house will also tear down the church, and therefore a foolish wife will prevent a man from confidently leading in spheres outside his own home.
So when a wife is trustworthy, and industrious, and unafraid of the future, her husband is then freed up to go out and execute justice in the world. When the home fires are hot and well-tended by the wife, and domestic worries are absent from the mind, the man can then give himself wholly to bringing the peace that he has in his home to a world that is at war and without peace. He can then take the love and justice and generosity he has experienced from his wife, and pass that on to others outside the home.
Conclusion
I have said this before, and I say it again: Our church is only as healthy as the households who compose it, and our households are only as healthy as our marriages (if you are married).
The secret weapon of a godly society, a city set upon a hill, is men and women who cheerfully embrace their God-given roles and duties.
Marriage is a great mystery that speaks of Christ and the church. And therefore, you must not lie about that mystery by how you live and treat your spouse.
So heed the Lord Jesus who gave us this inspired and infallible portrait of virtue. And as Solomon says in Proverbs 7:4, “Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the stranger which flattereth with her words.”
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sermon: The Virtuous Woman - Part 1 (Proverbs 31)

The Virtuous Woman – Part 1Sunday, October 13th, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Proverbs 31:10-31
10Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil.
12She will do him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13She seeketh wool, and flax, And worketh willingly with her hands.
14She is like the merchants’ ships; She bringeth her food from afar.
15She riseth also while it is yet night, And giveth meat to her household, And a portion to her maidens.
16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17She girdeth her loins with strength, And strengtheneth her arms.
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: Her candle goeth not out by night.
19She layeth her hands to the spindle, And her hands hold the distaff.
20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; Her clothing is silk and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates, When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25Strength and honour are her clothing; And she shall rejoice in time to come.
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27She looketh well to the ways of her household, And eateth not the bread of idleness.
28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29Many daughters have done virtuously, But thou excellest them all.
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands; And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the light of wisdom that is revealed in the Scriptures. And as we consider now this specific ray of light in this model of the virtuous woman, we ask that you would inspire us and motivate us and reveal to us the ways that we ought to pattern our own lives after this example. We ask for Your Holy Spirit in the name of Christ Jesus, and Amen.
Introduction
This morning, I am delighted to begin with you a three-part mini-series on the Proverbs 31 Woman. And these three sermons in Proverbs are going to set the stage for how to read and interpret the book of Esther, which we shall begin in November, Lord willing.
So three sermons on Proverbs 31, and then Esther, that’s where we will be for the next few months, if you want to start reading and thinking ahead.
Getting Our Bearings
Well, let’s get our bearings first for where we are in the Bible. We are shifting gears from Mark’s Gospel in the New Testament to a Hebrew text that was likely written or recorded by Solomon around 900 BC.
In the Biblical timeline, the book of Genesis spans about 2,300 years from Adam to Joseph.
Moses comes on the scene around 1500 BC, 1500 years before the birth of Christ.
And then about 500 years after Moses and the Exodus, you have the Davidic Monarchy established, and this brings us to Solomon’s reign which begins around 943 BC.
We have in our Bibles multiple works by Solomon, we have Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. But these three divinely inspired and canonical books are just a sample, the cream of the crop, of the many other things that King Solomon wrote.
We read in 1 Kings 4:30-34, “And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men…and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.”
So in addition to being king, Solomon was a kind of natural scientist, biologist, and philosopher. God gave to Solomon a special and supernatural gift of wisdom, and this gift was given so that knowledge might increase, advance, and be passed on to others, even to us who are living 3,000 years after Solomon reigned.
Now if we zoom in on the book of Proverbs, we discover in chapter 1 that the whole purpose of this book is to train a young prince into a wise king. Proverbs is divinely inspired parental instruction.
Listen to Proverb 1:1-8, “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; To perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; The words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother…”
So Proverbs is a collection of riddles and wise sayings from a Father King & Mother Queen, that if observed, and if understood, and if obeyed, will turn a young and simple prince into a wise and just king. Proverbs was written to make those who read and obey it wise.
Now there are many sins and mistakes that young men are prone to, and in the first 30 chapters Solomon covers them all: laziness, lust, drunkenness, violence, running your mouth, not listening to good advice, hanging with the wrong crowd, caving to bad peer pressure, not respecting your elders, wasting money, wasting time, trying to get rich quick instead of being patient and diligent, on and on Solomon goes. And then after all of that instruction and repetition, how does Solomon end the book?
Well, we read in Proverbs 31:1 that the contents of this final chapter are, “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.”
Lemuel literally means “devoted or belonging to God.” We don’t know if this King Lemuel was a real person that Solomon knew, or just another title for Solomon himself, but in either case, these are the words of a king devoted to God, and an oracle that the king learned from his mother.
So the contents of Proverbs 31 originates from the mouth of a godly woman, a godly and wise mother who wanted the best for her son and therefore had him commit these words to memory.
Do Not Give Your Strength to Woman
So what kind of oracle and advice does this godly mother give to her son?
There are two sections to Proverbs 31.
In verses 2-9, Lemuel’s mother gives him a poem about how a king should conduct himself.And then in verses 10-31 (our text), she describes the kind of woman that Lemuel should seek to marry. She gives him a description of the kind of daughter-in-law she wants to have.Godly mothers care about who their sons marry, and godly sons heed good advice from their mother.
We read in verses 2-3, the Queen says to Lemuel, “What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? And what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.”This threefold repetition of the question “What? What? What? Is another way of saying, “Listen, my son. Listen to me. Listen to your mother who bore you and raised you and dedicated you to God. Listen to the voice of your mother who knows you and loves you and wants what is best for you.”And then with his ears attentive to her voice, she says, “Do not give your strength to women.” This is a mother’s advice.This word that gets translated as “strength” is a very important Hebrew word which is pronounced hayil.Hayil is used 243 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it most frequently has a military connotation that signifies physical strength to fight, or to go to war, or to rule and govern with ability. A man that has hayil is a man of valour.
For example, it says in Exodus 18:25, “Moses chose able men (men with hayil) out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.”In the book of Ruth, Boaz is called a “mighty man of hayil” (אִ֚ישׁ גִּבּ֣וֹר חַ֔יִל), he is a great man with wealth, valour, and strength.
And so here in this context of Proverbs 31, King Lemuel’s mother is saying, do not give your hayil, your wealth, your substance, your power, your virility, sexual or otherwise, to women (note the plural!).
So if that is the negative command, “Don’t do that.” What is the positive exhortation? What then should the prince do to avoid wasting his strength?
Well, the answer is he needs to find one virtuous woman and marry her. And that is what verses 10-31 portray.
The Virtuous Woman
Now before we look at the first section of this passage, there are couple things you need to know.
First, this is an acrostic poem, which means that each verse begins with a new letter in the Hebrew alphabet and goes all the way through. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and there are 22 verses starting with verse 10 and going through verse 31.
So to translate this into English terms, this is the A to Z of what a godly woman looks like. Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet begins a new verse to describe this woman.
It would be kind of like writing an anniversary card for your wife and saying I am going to describe you with every letter in the alphabet: “A is for how Attractive you. B is for how Beautiful you are. C is for how great a Cook you are. And so on. That is essentially what Proverbs 31:10-31 is, a Hebrew acrostic poem from Aleph to Tav, it is a comprehensive vision for a virtuous wife.
So that’s the first thing, this is a Hebrew acrostic poem that was written to be easily memorized (at least in Hebrew).
Second, this portrait is not describing what a young woman in her teens or twenties must be before she gets married, but rather, it is describing what a godly woman becomes as she walks with God for many many years, raises children, manages a household, served the Lord, and loves her husband.
In this sense, a young prince like Lemuel is being taught to look for the seeds of these virtues in a potential wife. And then once he is married, this portrait gives him and his wife a model to pattern their own marriage and household after.
It is the wife’s responsibility to cultivate her own gifts and virtues that God has given her, but it is also the husband’s responsibility to see that she does not neglect those gifts and qualities. So remember this description is given in the first instance not to women, but to Lemuel, a man.
A husband should not expect his wife to become the Proverbs 31 woman overnight, or on her own. This is a model and example for the husband to know and study, so that he can sanctify his wife, resource and encourage her in these ways.
So to summarize my second qualification: what we are about to look at in these verses (this week and next) is a vast and beautiful garden in full bloom after years of weeding, pruning, and toil in the soil. This is the glory that comes from a long obedience in the same direction, and not a microwaved glory that disappears as quickly as it comes.
That means we should both expect to fall short of this model and example (because its perfection), but also, we should be inspired to become this and aim at this over time and make the necessary changes now according to our life and circumstance.
Applying this passage is going to look different if you are 13, or 25, or 65, whether you are married, unmarried, widowed, divorced, etc. There is something here for everyone to imitate.
An essential aspect of wisdom is knowing how to discern the principle, and then apply it to your unique and individual circumstances. You need to the fear of God to do that.
Now to our text.
Outline of the Text
There are three basic sections to this poem:
1. Verses 10-12 describe the woman’s value.
2. Verses 13-27 describe the woman’s actions.
3. Verses 28-31 describe the woman’s praiseworthiness.
This morning we’ll only cover that first section, verses 10-12, and then next week we’ll cover the rest.
Verse 10
10Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.
The first thing we learn about the virtuous woman is that she is not easy to find. Virtue is rare in a world of sinners (and even more rare in a world dominated by feminism and false teaching), and therefore a young man must do the hard work of searching, asking, knocking, networking, praying to God and pleading for God’s favor.
We read in Proverbs 19:14, “Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord.”
Likewise in Proverbs 18:22 it says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord.”
So a virtuous woman is rare and precious, and you need God’s favor to find one.
Now recall that Lemuel’s mother told him not to give his strength/hayil to women. Well guess what the Hebrew word that gets translated as virtuous is in this verse? It’s that same Hebrew word, hayil.
The “virtuous woman” in Hebrew is called an wife with hayil. She is a woman of valour/strength/competence/substance.
And so Lemuel’s mother is saying, don’t give your masculine hayil to a bunch of women, find one woman who has feminine hayil, and marry her.
Now if you want to see the difference between masculine hayil and feminine hayil, the place to go is the book of Ruth.
Because there is one woman in particular that the Hebrew Bible explicitly praises as a virtuous woman. And that woman is Ruth. Boaz is called an ish-gibor-hayil (a mighty man of valour), and he says in Ruth 3:10-11, “Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.”
In some versions of the Hebrew Bible, the book of Ruth is placed right after the book of Proverbs. And so reading in that order you would have this description of the Proverbs 31 woman, and then you would meet that woman in the person of Ruth.
Recall also, Ruth is the great grandmother of King David, and the great-great grandmother of King Solomon. Some have speculated that perhaps this poem of Proverbs 31 originated with Ruth or Naomi and was passed down to Lemuel’s mother as family heirloom, the poem of the virtuous wife.
Whatever the case, if you want to know what a virtuous woman looks like in an esepcially hard circumstance, Ruth is your example. And if you want to know what a man of virtue looks like, Boaz is your example.
Boaz and Ruth, although economically very un-equal, are a great match because they are equal in virtue. They both have hayil in the way that God intended.
So in answer to the question, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.” Well, it helps if you are a man of virtue and know what to look for. A prudent wife is from the Lord.
In verses 11-12 we see why she is so valuable.
Verses 11-12
11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil.12She will do him good and not evil All the days of her life.
A virtuous woman is trustworthy. And that is extremely high praise given what Scripture says elsewhere about trusting other human beings.
Psalm 118:8 says, “It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man.”
Psalm 39:5 says, “Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.”
Jeremiah 17:5 says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord.”
So a virtuous wife is not a substitute for trusting in God, but she is a rare and reliable confidant for her husband because she herself trusts in God.
What makes a woman trustworthy then are the other virtues of 1) prudence, 2) discretion, and 3) love.
1. A prudent wife does not gossip or complain to others about her husband’s faults.
We read later in this poem in verse 26, “the law of kindness is on her lips.” When she opens her mouth wisdom is what comes out.
2. Likewise, a discrete wife knows what details to disclose and what details to omit when she speaks of personal matters to others.
Recall the qualifications for a deacon’s wife that we studied a couple weeks again, Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:11, “Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.”
He says further in Titus 2:3-5, exhort all “the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”
Jesus says that, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” And therefore, a discrete woman must first cleanse her own heart, keep her own heart with all diligence, and then is able to safely keep the heart of her husband. “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, So that he shall have no need of spoil.” He has no fear of betrayal.
3. Third, a loving wife always and ever seeks the good of her husband, and that love covers a multitude of sins.
Where love and trust are lacking in a marriage, true intimacy will be lacking as well. Our souls can only intermingle with one another, when there is mutual trust and mutual love that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Summary: A virtuous woman is trustworthy. She is prudent and discrete, and the sign of that trustworthiness is that her husband can say in all honesty, “my wife has done me no evil but only good all the days of my life.” That is a really high bar and very high praise, and you can see why such a woman of virtue is hard to find and more precious than rubies.
Conclusion
Let me close with a few exhortations according to the different ages and stages of life in this room.
First to the young men. If you want to find a virtuous wife, then you must become the kind of man a virtuous young woman would want to marry.
A virtuous woman will not be attracted to you if you are lazy and broke, with no substance to give.
In our day, many men have wasted their strength on women through pornography, through gambling, through the many deceptive snares of the world that promise immediate pleasure instead of the far greater and true satisfaction of hard work, self-denial, and chastity.
And so heed the words of Paul who says to Timothy, flee these things. Flee the love of money, flee the deceptive woman, flee pornography and the lying snares of the devil. They are all liars that will rob your hayil and destroy you.
I say again, If you want to find a virtuous wife, you must become the kind of man a virtuous woman would want to marry.
Second, to the young women. I said earlier and it bears repeating, that this portrait of the virtuous wife is like the king’s palace garden in full bloom after many years of hard obedience. You don’t get acres of mature fruit trees and beautiful flowers overnight, or even in a few years. It is decades in the works.
And so to borrow that imagery, you are starting with one little garden bed. Weed it. Tend it. Water it. Plant it. Nourish it. Care for it. And as it says in Zechariah 4:10, “Don’t despise that day of small beginnings.”
The garden is your soul. Your life. Your responsibility.
And so remember the words of Jesus who said, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10), and if “you have been faithful over a few things, God will make you ruler over many things” (Matt. 25:23).
So practice faithfulness in your little garden bed, and God will in due time expand your borders.
Third, to those who are married and only see in this portrait just how far you are from these virtues. Take heart and remember who is the source of every virtue: It is Jesus Christ.
It says in John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
This means that where you are presently is just the beginning and not the end. God wants to take your ashes and give you beauty. God wants to take your shame, your fear, your broken past, and give you a new chapter that is characterized by grace and truth.
If you want that, God offers it to you every day. His mercies are new every morning. So call upon him, confess your failures and sins to Him. Go to the one of whom it says in Psalm 84:11, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory: No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Sermon: The Apostolic Mission (Mark 16:15-20)

The Apostolic MissionSunday, September 22nd, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Mark 16:15-20
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the obedience and faith of the apostles, and that through their witness, and by the power of Your Spirit, the gospel has gone out into the world. The news of Christ’s resurrection has reached our ears, it has pierced our heart, and it continues to scatter the darkness. And so reign now in us O King of light, that we might reign with You forever, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
This morning, we come to the end of Mark’s gospel. We began this series on April 2nd, 2023, and now over a year later, you who are patient in spirit and have attended closely unto this word shall be richly rewarded with its conclusion.
Mark has taken us from John’s baptism in the wilderness, through Christ’s ministry in Galilee, up to his passion in Jerusalem. And now at the close of his gospel, He ends where he began, but in a new and better way.
For we read in Mark 1:1-3, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
And so this gospel began with the prophet and messenger John baptizing and preaching in the wilderness.
And now this gospel concludes with eleven new prophets, eleven new messengers (apostles), sent forth to baptize and preach in the whole world.
Humble and local beginnings in Galilee now give way to grand and global new beginnings with a new message. Jesus is alive. Jesus is Lord. And what has brought about this great change? The new king David now sits upon his throne.
And so this morning, I want us to consider two questions that arise from this text:
1. The first question (and the one we’ll spend most of our time on) is, “What was the apostolic mission of the 1st century?” Or to put it another way, “What did Jesus command the apostles uniquely to do?
2. Second, we will conclude by asking, “In what ways do we carry on that apostolic mission?”
Outline of the Text
There are two basic movements here:
In verses 15-18, Jesus gives the eleven apostles their marching orders.
In verses 19-20, Jesus ascends to heaven, and the eleven carry out those marching orders.
So starting in verse 15 let’s walk through this text together.
Verse 15
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Who are the “them” that Jesus is speaking to here?
Recall from last week that the disciples did not believe that Jesus was alive when Mary Magdalene told them, or when Cleopas and his companion told them. And then we read in verse 14, “Afterward he [Jesus] appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.”
And so the “them” that Jesus is giving this commission to is the eleven disciples who he just chastised for their unbelief and hardness of heart.
This is also the same as what Matthew records at the end of his gospel. He writes in Matthew 28:16-20, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
So although this text is often called The Great Commission, and we use this is a proof text for the church’s mission today, we must not overlook the fact that this mission in the very first instance and original context is uniquely given to the eleven apostles.
Even in the 1st century, these orders to “go and preach” were not given to every individual believer. This order was not given to Mary Magdalene, or to Mary the mother of Jesus, or even to Cleopas and other male believers who were outside of the eleven. Christ called a special group of men from amongst the larger body of believers to do this work.
Recall that Jesus had many followers, but we read that early on in Mark 3:13-14, “Jesus went up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.”
So while all creation is called to believe and follow Christ, only a select few, those whom Christ ordains, are called to go and preach in all the world.
This is of course keeping with what James says in his epistle, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (James 3:1).
And so this command to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” does not apply directly to every individual Christian. This is a unique command, given to the eleven, and then as the book of Acts records, the apostolic office is extended to Mathias who replaces Judas, and then later to Paul when Christ visits him on the road to Damascus.
So the apostles are a select few that have a special job to pour the concrete for the Christian church.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:19-22, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
So Jesus is the chief architect, he is the author and finisher of our faith. And then he employs the apostles to be his fellow laborers.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
When you build a house, how many times do you lay the foundation? If you do it correctly, only once. Did God make a mistake when he laid the foundation of the church in Christ and the apostles? No.
And that is why the church has always recognized that while there might be missionaries and evangelists and church planters who we can call lower case “apostles” (because their work is similar to The Apostles), still in terms of being ordained by Jesus to lay the foundation of the church, there are only these original 12 and their band.
This is further confirmed by the vision of the church that John sees in Revelation 21. There he sees the New Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God and he says, “Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:14).
Summary: The risen Christ gave these orders to go and preach to the apostles, and therefore everything that follows in the next verses applies uniquely to them.
Verses 15-18
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Notice first that the scope of the apostolic mission is worldwide and to every creature. This is important to establish that salvation is offered not only to the Jews, or Israelites, but to every human being that has breath in their lungs.
There is no nation, however wicked and barbaric that is beyond the grace of God.
If Jesus died and rose again, then he can cause entire nations and civilizations to likewise die and rise again.
For as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
He says in Romans 1:14-15, that as an apostle, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.”
So the gospel is for all creatures. It is for Greek philosophers, for backwards Barbarians, for Cretans who Paul affirms “are always liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). And so if the gospel is for Cretans, the gospel is for Americans. It is for our lying, and evil, and lazy butts.
This is the great hope that grounds all of our evangelistic efforts: That If Jesus Christ died and rose again, then he can cause entire nations and civilizations likes ours to likewise die and rise again renewed. That is the apostolic hope, and the scope of the apostolic mission: ever creature under heaven.
Now how exactly do these creatures enter into the kingdom? How is the foundation of the church laid?
Well, there are three tools or weapons or instruments that Christ gives to the apostles. And we could categorize them as follows:
1. There is preaching.
2. There is baptism.
3. And there are supernatural signs.
Or to put it another way, there is 1) Word, 2) Sacrament, and 3) Extraordinary gifts of the Spirit.
Let’s consider each of these in their turn.
Instrument #1 – Preaching of the Word
Jesus says, “preach the gospel to every creature.”
Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
So the ministry of the apostles is first and foremost a ministry of publishing the truth and refuting error.
In Acts we find them preaching in the temple and the synagogues, and other public forums like the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17), or the Hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus (Acts 19).
Paul says in Acts 20:20-21 to the Ephesians elders, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And so the apostles are the heavens we sing about in Psalm 19. They declare the glory of God to all creation.
In Romans 10:17-18, Paul applies Psalm 19 to his own ministry when he says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, [quoting Psalm 19:4] their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”
Christ is the sun shining and lighting up the world, and the heavens are the apostles proclaiming his glory. That is what true preaching is.
We magnify God. We speak of the glory and infinite value of God. We tell people to stop staring at themselves and staring at earthly things, and to look up to heaven to where Christ is, seated, enthroned, and reigning as King.
The mark of true preaching is that raises your eyes to God.
This is Christ’s chosen instrument for raising the dead. The Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. And the apostles proclaimed that living and incarnate Word to all creation, and through their preaching heaven invades the earth.
Instrument #2 – The Sacrament of Baptism
Jesus says in verse 16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Now recall who this announcement is directed to in the first instance. This is a warning first to the eleven that if they (who have been hardhearted) do not believe, they will not be saved. It is also a command for them to be baptized, not merely with water, but with the power of the Holy Spirit.
We read in Acts 1:4-5 that Jesus, “being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
So in order for the apostles to work signs and wonders (all the extraordinary gifts described in the next verses), they must believe and be baptized by the Holy Ghost. And this is also the case for you and I if we want to avoid damnation.
And so there are two errors we need to avoid when it comes to the topic of baptism.
One error is to downplay the importance and necessity of baptism, as if it is just optional.
Against this error Jesus says in John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
So unless you are the thief on the cross, and physically cannot come down to get baptized, then you really do not have any good excuse. If that is you, come talk to the elders, request baptism, and we’ll make it happen.
A second error is to treat baptism as if it automatically grants you entrance into heaven.
Against this error is the example of Simon the Sorcerer, who tried to buy the Holy Spirit with money and was rebuked by the Apostle Peter.
It says in Acts 8:13, “Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.” And then a few verses later Peter says to him, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.”
So notice, Simon believed and was baptized, and yet he was still trapped in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity. And unless he truly repented, he died in his sins.
Remember, not all faith is saving faith. And baptism does not automatically save you. But baptism is not optional for Christians, it is commanded by God.
What is certain, is that unbelief damns you. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Instrument #3 – Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit
17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
In the book of Acts we find almost all of these signs accompanying the apostles.
Of casting out devils we read in Acts 19:11-12, “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”
Of speaking with new tongues, we have the Pentecost event in Acts 2.
Of taking up serpents we heard from Acts 28 that “when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand…And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.”
Of healing the sick we read in Acts 3, that Peter said to the lame man at the temple, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.”
The only sign not recorded in the book of Acts is drinking something deadly and going unharmed.
However, the church father St. Augustine said that to drink a deadly thing without being harmed is a reference to reading and engaging with the arguments of heretics in order to refute them.
He writes, “For what else are hearing, reading and copiously depositing things in the memory, than several stages of drinking in thoughts? The Lord, however, foretold concerning his faithful followers, that even “if they should drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them.” And thus it happens that they who read with judgment, and bestow their approval on whatever is commendable according to the rule of faith, and disapprove of things which ought to be repudiated, even if they commit to their memory heretical statements which are declared to be worthy of disapproval, they receive no harm from the poisonous and depraved nature of these sentences.”
So for Augustine, when Paul cited pagan poets and philosophers, and other non-inspired writers from memory, he was as one who had drunk poison and went unharmed. He had the spiritual maturity to judge truth from error. He knew how to plunder the Egyptians while not becoming an Egyptian himself.
And so similarly for us today who read books other than the Bible, we also must take heed that if we drink poison, if we read what unbelievers write, that we have discerning tongues to judge what accords with faith, and what does not.
In the words of 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
So those are three weapons that Christ gives to the apostles. And then finally we read in verses 19-20 that they used those weapons.
Verse 19-20
19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Notice that the purpose of these signs and wonders was to confirm the word preached. They were signs especially to the Jews “who seek signs,” that the apostles were true messengers from God.
We also have here the fulfillment of Jesus words to the disciples in John 14:12, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Jesus preached and healed and cast out demons in Galilee and Judea. But when Jesus goes to His Father, and sends down the Holy Spirit, the apostles are empowered to preach and heal and cast out devils in the whole world.
What is the greater work? To heal a man’s body which will later die. Or to heal a man’s soul and rescue it for eternity?
What is the greater miracle? The resurrection of Lazarus, or the conversion of the heathen nations to Christ?
Conclusion
“In what ways do we carry on the apostolic mission?
Many ways could be enumerated but I will limit myself to just four:
We preach the same gospel as the apostles.
When we preach the New Testament, we are preaching the very words the apostles wrote, approved of, and ratified.
When we preach the Old Testament, we are obeying the apostolic teaching that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
There is no other gospel or foundation other than Jesus Christ, and we carry on the apostle’s mission every time we preach the same Word that they preached.
We baptize in the same name as the apostles.
Paul says in Ephesians 4:5, there is “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” And Jesus commanded in the parallel of Matthew 28:19, to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
And so all who receive baptism in the Triune Name are joined to the “one holy catholic and apostolic Church.” And it is in this sense that we have “apostolic succession.” We preach the same faith. We believe the same doctrine. We baptize in the same name.
We continue to send and support missionaries, evangelists, and little a “apostles” to plant churches where there are none.
Many of the places where the apostles once planted churches, are now places that need to be re-evangelized: Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Antioch, Jerusalem, Rome.
Here in America, where true religion once flourished, and righteous laws prevailed, now what we have become? Decadent, depraved, perverted from the truth.
We love one another with the same love that the apostles received from Christ.
It says in 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”
And what is that more excellent way? What is the best spiritual gift to have? It is love. It is the supernatural love of God we call charity: which is patient, and kind, does not envy, and does not parade itself, is not puffed up, is not rude, does not seek its own, is not provoked, it thinks no evil, does not rejoice in inequity but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
May God give us this apostolic gift that is the crown of all gifts. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon: He Is Risen (Mark 16:1-14)

He Is RisenSunday, September 15th, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Mark 16:1-14
1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
9Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Prayer
O Father, we thank you that by Your Son’s resurrection, death is swallowed up by life. For the devil took the bait of Jesus’ flesh, and by that bait You hooked and caught the crafty serpent, and You have thrown down that ancient dragon and are still plundering his house. Continue that work as Christ’s resurrection is proclaimed in us, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, and Amen.
Introduction
In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul says that “if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain…and ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17). How do you know that your sins are forgiven? How do you know that your faith in Christ, and your hope for salvation is not an empty hope? Well, it all comes down to this question: Did Jesus Christ die and rise again? Did Jesus Christ die to pay the penalty for your sins, and did God accept that payment? How do you know your sins are forgiven?
Well because God is gracious, He has not left you to wander in the dark on this question. Instead, He has given you the brightest of all lights in the Holy Scriptures.
For starters, He has given to the world four distinct but harmonious accounts of Christ’s life, his teaching, his miracles, his death, his resurrection, and ascension on high.
And within those four gospels we find a plurality of diverse witnesses to the empty tomb: we have angels, soldiers, chief priests, women, the disciples, amongst whom are unbelieving men, the hardhearted, and the skeptical.
And yet what all of these witnesses attest to, both malicious and fair-minded, is that the body of Jesus is not in the tomb. Something happened.
In Matthew we read that the Jewish elders bribed the guards into telling the tale that, “His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept” (Matt. 28:13). “We fell asleep,” is the best excuse they could come up with.
And so even in the Jews’ attempt to discredit Jesus of Nazareth, they have unwittingly added their own witness to the reality that the body is not there. The tomb is empty.
In addition to the four gospels, we also have the book of Acts, which records the history of the church from Christ’s ascension in 30 AD up to Paul’s Roman imprisonment around 59 AD, and all throughout those 28 chapters of Acts, the resurrection of Jesus is proclaimed and witnessed to, and believed on throughout the Roman Empire.
This news of Christ’s resurrection was so widespread that Paul could say in Colossians 1:23 (written around 60 AD), it “was preached to every creature which is under heaven.”
And so in the collection of books that we call the New Testament, are 27 distinct but harmonious witnesses to the resurrection of the Son of God. And most of the men who wrote those books, especially the apostles, sealed that witness to the resurrection in the blood of martyrdom.
Something happened. Something that changed the Roman Empire. Something that changed Judaism. Something that changed fearful and ignorant men into bold and courageous apostles. What was that something?
The church father St. Augustine argued that if someone does not believe in miracles, they are forced into a corner by the facts of history.
Because either Jesus Christ miraculously rose from the dead. And if that is true, then believe on him for salvation.
But if you deny that miracle, Augustine says, you are still left with perhaps an even greater miracle, namely, that without a resurrection, millions upon millions upon millions have freely believed on Jesus and had their lives transformed by him.
And whereas unlike Islam, and other false religions, Christianity has conquered the world not by military threat and force of arms, or by the promise of sensual and earthly gain, but rather through love, through self-denial, by teaching contempt for this world, and repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Which is the greater miracle? That Jesus Christ rose from the dead? Or that he didn’t, and yet so many millions freely and joyfully believe that he did? Augustine contends, you’ve got a miracle either way.
As Christians, we of course believe the former. And we defend against all adversaries that our faith in Christ’s resurrection is by no means in vain.
In the words of the Apostle Paul, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19).
In other words, if Jesus Christ is not risen, then this life is as good as it gets. And so get what pleasure you can while you can.
But if Jesus Christ is risen, then for those who believe, this life is as bad as it gets, it cannot any worse than living here. Eternal life, with all the saints, in a new heavens and new earth awaits us, and as Jesus promised, the pure in heart shall see God.
This is the ultimate desire of the Christian, to know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and it is the resurrection of Jesus that assures us that our desire shall not go unfulfilled.
Here in these 14 verses of Mark, we have God’s infallible witness to the resurrection of Jesus.
And as we come to the end of Mark’s Gospel, and the second to last sermon in our series, we see that Mark’s love for irony continues to the end. For here, Mark has placed before us the greatest news that the disciples could ever hope for, Jesus is alive. He is risen. But instead of believing this news when they hear it, they don’t believe until Jesus himself appears to them.
And so Mark has foregrounded for us the initial unbelief of the disciples, and he has done this in order to help us overcome our own doubts. So that we can find ourselves in these characters and learn the important difference between seeing and believing.
For as Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
It is that blessing that Mark wants to give us by this resurrection account.
Outline of the Text
There are two basic sections to this text.
In verses 1-8, the angel announces the resurrection to the women, and they tremble and are amazed.
And then in verses 9-14, Jesus appears to the women and the disciples.
So we have first the announcement of the resurrection by an angel, and then the actual resurrection appearances by Jesus.
So let us walk through these verses together.
Verse 1
1And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Recall that the sabbath for the Jews ended at sunset on (what we call) Saturday night, roughly 6pm. And when that Saturday sabbath is past, they go out and buy spices.
And then since it would be too dark to go visit the tomb, we read in verse 2…
Verse 2
2And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
So now it is what we call Sunday morning, around 6am, sunrise, and they have risen early to visit what they think will be the dead body of Jesus and a closed tomb.
On their way there we read in verse 3…
Verse 3
3And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
So these women have not the strength to move the stone themselves. But on this day, that is no trouble. Their devotion is rewarded.
Verse 4
4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
In Matthew’s account we are told that “there was a great earthquake, and an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone” (Matt. 28:2).
Verses 5-8
5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
Notice that the very first proclamation of the resurrection comes from an angel. Just as the Virgin Mary was told by an angel that from her Christ the God-man would be born, so also now an angel is first to bring the good tidings to these women, that that same God-man is firstborn from the dead. He is risen. He is not here.
These women are then commissioned to go and tell the disciples that Jesus has gone before them into Galilee, and that is where they will see him.
Why Galilee?
Galilee is the Shire. Galilee is where the story began. It was by the sea of Galilee that Jesus first called the disciples Simon and Andrew and told them, “I will make you into fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).
Jesus has not forgotten that promise, even if the disciples have.
But also, on the night of the Last Supper, Jesus told them in Mark 14:27-28, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.”
So this is the regathering of the sheep. This was the plan all along, and so when the disciples hear from the women that Jesus is risen and waiting for them in Galilee, they are supposed to remember, that’s exactly what Jesus said would happen.
He is calling them back to the beginning, back to their old stomping grounds, He is calling them back home. Because their ministry as fishers of men, which shall take them to the ends of the earth, is going to commence in just 50 days from now in Jerusalem.
This is the apostle’s sabbatical before everything gets crazy. The angel says, “Tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.”
God really is the best storyteller. He knows what the disciples need, and He knows what you and I need when we are low and doubting.
Sometimes, the remedy is to call us back to the familiar places, the places where we first met Jesus. The places where God spoke to us, and changed us, and where our faith was made strong in hearing His promises. For the disciples this was Galilee.
For years they had seen Christ’s power there. He cast out demons, He healed the sick. He multiplied loaves and fishes. He raised the dead. He walked on water. He calmed a storm with His words. Those were the “good ol’ days” that the disciples have forgotten. Whatever faith or hope they had back then, has been shaken by the crucifixion, and so before Jesus appears to them in person, He wants to call their minds back to Galilee by the words of these women. For when they arrive there, they shall see him again.
Where is Galilee for you? Where did God first meet you and change you and give you real joy? Where did you learn the sweetness and freedom of forgiveness, of having your heavy burdens removed?
Perhaps it is not any specific geographic place, but rather for you it is a place in God’s Word, a verse, a story, a Psalm that gives you comfort?
Or perhaps it is a fellow saint, a friend, or group of friends that stirred you up to love and good works, who made you want to love and serve Jesus more fervently.
In Revelation 2, Jesus says to the church at Ephesus, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
When the fire of your desire for God is waning, when there is no joy, the solution that Jesus prescribes is “Remember!” Go back to your first love. Remember from where you have fallen and do what you did when the love was hot.
Put another way, “Go to Galilee.” Go to where God has met you in times past, and as it says in Jeremiah 29:13, “you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Returning to our text, we have in verses 9-14, three different appearances of the risen Lord.
Verse 9
9Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
The first person to see the risen Lord is a woman, and it is a woman who was formerly demon possessed. In John’s gospel we have a fuller account of this appearance, and there Mary mistakes Jesus for the gardener.
It says in John 20:15-16, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.”
Here we have a new and Last Adam, a new keeper of the garden (the True Gardener), and with him, a new Eve, a new mother of the living. And so to Mary Magdalene is given the first announcement of the resurrection, and the first appearance of our Lord. God has made good on His promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. Christ is the serpent slayer.
So seven devils were cast out of Mary, out of the woman. And now through her witness, the holy gospel is proclaimed.
Verses 10-11
10And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
So here is the first instance of unbelief at the good news. They hear but do not believe.
Verses 12-13
12After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
13And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
This time Luke gives us the fuller account of this resurrection appearance.
We read in Luke 24:13, how “two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.” We are told that one of them was named Cleopas, and the other disciple is unnamed.
Jesus strikes up a conversation with them, they don’t recognize him, and so Jesus walks with them incognito, and it says in verse 27, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Eventually they arrive at their destination, they sit down to eat together, and it says verses 30-32, “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
They then go back seven miles to Jerusalem, and tell the Eleven, “The Lord is risen indeed.” And Mark says, “neither believed they them.”
Second strike against them. And we know from Luke that it was during this same meeting of the disciples that later Jesus appeared.
Verse 14
14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Notice why Jesus rebukes them. Because they did not believe Mary when she told them. And they still did not believe after Cleopas and his companion told them. There are your two and three witnesses.
And so the force of Christ’s rebuke applies to all who doubt what they hear, when the word of God is proclaimed. And conversely, the greatest commendation is reserved for those who Peter says, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And so believe the words of these formerly unbelieving apostles when they tell you, the tomb is empty, He is risen. And if you believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Sermon: Buried Alive (Mark 15:40-47)

Buried AliveSunday, September 8th, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Mark 15:40–47
40There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
41(Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.
42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,
43Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counseller, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
44And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
45And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.
46And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
47And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the devotion of your saints, of Joseph of Arimathea, of Mary Magdalene and the other women who beheld where Christ was laid. And we thank you for teaching us by their example how to adorn your body, with fine linen, with sweet spices, and with the pleasing fragrance of love and good works. Grant us to put on the righteousness of saints, for we ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Introduction
Every Sunday we confess in the Nicene Creed that Jesus Christ “suffered and was buried.” Here in our passage this morning, Mark supplies for us the real inspired and historical basis for that confession, and with it he also introduces a brand-new group of disciples who we have yet to meet in his gospel thus far, namely female disciples.
And so there are three questions I want us to consider in this sermon as we contemplate the burial of Jesus.
Why does Mark wait until now to introduce these female followers of Jesus?
What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea?
Where is Jesus while his body is laying in the tomb?
Q1 – Why does Mark wait until now to introduce these female disciples?
We are told in verse 41 that these women had followed Jesus and ministered to him when he was in Galilee.
In Luke 8:2-3 we read likewise that, “certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, ministered unto him of their substance.”
And so from early on in Christ’s ministry Jesus had female followers who gave him financial/material support. But if that is the case, why does Mark wait until now (at the very end of the book) to mention them? What is significant about this moment that warrants bringing these women into the foreground?
There are few reasons but let me give you just one reason that is primary:
And that is because these same female disciples will be the first to witness Christ’s resurrection.
As we will see next week, these women will come again to Christ’s burial site, find the stone rolled away, and an angel will announce to them, “Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”
So unlike The Twelve, who were scattered and ran away, and who did not believe what Jesus had told them, that he must suffer and die and on the third day rise again, unlike The Twelve, these women stay at the cross and watch.
And because they stayed and kept watch (even from a distance), they become key eyewitnesses to the most important event in human history. The death of Jesus, the burial of Jesus, and the empty tomb.
And so keeping with Mark’s love for irony, he has reserved until now, to show forth that the woman’s deception which began in the garden, is undone by beholding and following Christ.
Whereas Eve was deceived by the serpent and as it says in Genesis 3:6, “the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,” here now these women, these daughters of Eve, behold something far more glorious than the forbidden fruit.
They see through the veil of Jesus’ flesh, an open door welcoming them back into paradise.
Eve desired the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and here these women find a better tree. The cross of Christ, and the One in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found (Col. 2:3).
And so Mark shows for us here, the redemption of the female sex. And rather than Eve sharing the forbidden fruit (her sin) with Adam, God in his providence has so ordained that these women are first to share now the knowledge that saves, the good news of the risen Lord with their fellow male disciples.
This is the infinite wisdom of God at work, who remembers His promise, and who does not forget any narrative thread, and who as the Author of all history has a sweet and glorious resolution for all those who love him.
Do you believe this? Are there threads in your own life that feel broken, frayed, unresolved, or unresolvable.
It says in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes (when the dream is fulfilled), it is a tree of life.”
Whatever hopes you have that have been deferred, God wants you to give those hopes to Him, and for you to make Him your supreme hope.
For as it says in Romans 5:5, the hope of the glory of God “does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given unto us.”
And so while God does not promise to make you understand in this life all the reasons for Him doing what He does (and permitting what He permits), the cross teaches us that He can be trusted to work out evil for good.
God can be trusted to take the seeds of your unfulfilled dreams and your hopes that have been deferred and to bury them with Christ so that in due time, they shall rise again transfigured and better than you could have ever hoped or imagined.
This is what God has promised to those who love him.
And so we learn from these female disciples to cling with love and holy devotion to Christ, even when it appears that all is lost. Even when it seems like God is dead. His body is buried. The bride of Christ knows the truth.
In the words of Job 19:24-27, “I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Does your heart yearn for God? Because this is the love that cannot be awakened too soon. Stir it up. Nourish it. Treasure His truth and His promise so that when you descend into the grave, living hope abides within you.
This is what the burial of Christ teaches us. There is nowhere that you or I can go, that Christ has done not already gone and lit up with his glorious power. The bands of death cannot hold him, because as true man He is also true God.
Now the women of course do not comprehend this all yet, but they exemplify by their presence at the tomb, what the bride of Christ ought to do. And in a similar way Jospeh of Arimathea is also an example for us.
Q2 – What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea?
First of all, who was this man?
Mark tells us in verse 43 he was, “an honourable counseller, which also waited for the kingdom of God.”
By honorable counsellor is meant that he was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the same judicial body that had just condemned Jesus to death.
And so while it is possible that Joseph was in attendance at that trial when Christ was convicted, Luke tells us explicitly that, “He had not consented to their decision and deed. [and that he was] a good and just man.”
In Matthew’s account, he adds that Joseph was also a “rich man.”
And so again, this is an unexpected person to find at the most crucial moment in the story.
Joseph is rich, Joseph is a member of the Sanhedrin, Jospeh is in the Jewish aristocracy of which Christ has been a vocal critic of.
In John’s gospel we are given even more information when he says, “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus” (John 19:38).
So Joseph was a secret disciple. He was afraid of publicly identifying with Jesus lest he lose his position and status amongst the Jews.
Like Nicodemus, who also appears at Christ’s burial (in John’s account), these are men of whom it says in John 12:42-43, “Among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
This is the temptation of the rich and powerful. And it is one of the reasons why it is so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. The rich have so much more to lose than those in the lower classes.
And so it is all the more impressive when such a man risks his own life and wealth and status to bury the body of Jesus.
Mark highlights this for us when he says Joseph “went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.”
The crucifixion of Christ has changed something in Joseph. For him the death of Christ has not made him more afraid like the disciples had become, instead it has had the opposite effect. He who formerly craved and desired the praise of men, now comes boldly before Pilate’s throne, craving the body of Jesus.
And so here again we have an example to imitate. If you would desire to see the kingdom of God, you must be willing like Joseph to risk your job and status and wealth and life to have the body of Christ.
This is how as it says in 1 John 4:18, “perfect love casts out fear.”
When your desire to please God and be approved of by Him exceeds all other loves and all other approval, then your fear of man is extinguished.
The degree to which your love for God burns with zeal, to that same degree your fear of death and your fear of loss is removed.
For as Paul says, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This is what the death of Christ changed for Joseph of Arimathea, and it is what the death of Christ should stir up in you.
If Jesus gave up heaven to have you, how can you not give up your sorry life on earth to have the One who is Heaven?
This is how the rich man enters the kingdom of God. This is how God brings the camel goes through the eye of a needle; He makes Christ to bear our sins and pass through the eye of death.
Summary: Now another important aspect of this burial account is that it proves that Jesus really died. In case there was any doubt that Jesus was truly man, and that he truly suffered and died on the cross, the gospels supply multiple witnesses (men and women) to confirm that he had no pulse.
In verse 44 we read that Pilate himself marveled that Jesus was dead so soon. And so he asks the Centurion to confirm this.
And so lest anyone doubt the true death of Jesus, we have it confirmed by both Jews and Romans, men and women, by those hostile to Christ and those who loved him, that Jesus really died and was buried. The burial further proving that such death took place. For no human mere being could survive all of this.
And so before we consider the resurrection next week, let us consider our third and final question which is…
Q3 – Where is Jesus while his body is laying in the tomb?
Recall what we said last week about the hypostatic union, or the mystery of the Incarnation. Namely that because Jesus is God, and he is One divine person with Two distinct natures, fully man and fully God, therefore,even when Christ’s body is separated from his soul (he was truly dead), that dead body was never and could not be separated from the Son of God.
Put another way, because the union of the two natures (human and divine) takes place at the level of the Person (the eternal Word), and because that Divine Person has “life in Himself” (John 5:26), therefore, the union of Christ’s flesh to His Person cannot be severed. Even in death, Christ is alive!
This is how death is swallowed up by life. Through this unbreakable union between His flesh and His Person, Jesus can say things like:
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).
Or in John 10:18, “No one takes my life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.”
So while his soul was severed from his body, his body was never severed from His Person.
And so returning to our original question of “Where is Jesus while his body is in the tomb?” To this we can give three answers:
1. First, according to his flesh, Jesus is dead. His lifeless corpse rests in Joseph’s tomb and the prophesy of Isaiah 53:9 comes to pass which says, “And he made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death.”
And it is in this sense and in this sense alone (!) thatcan we say, “God died.”
Paul speaks this way in Acts 20:28 when he says, “feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
The Divine Essence has no blood, God has no body that you can cut or wound, except according to the human nature of the Son.
And so Jesus truly died, and that meant his lifeless corpse rested in the tomb. But of course, that’s not the whole story.
2. Second, we can also say that according to his human soul/spirit, Jesus is alive, he descends into hell, and he is in Paradise.
How can all three of those things be true?
First, the human soul by definition is immortal. And so even when we die, and our soul is separated from our body, our soul does not disappear or go out existence, but rather our soul goes into one of two spiritual places, either heaven or hell.
And so when Christ descended into hell, he did not go into the fiery burning place (Greek: Gehenna) where souls are damned and punished, he went to what in Hebrew is called Sheol and in Greek Hades, which had a good side and a bad side, and everyone prior to Christ’s death went down to this Sheol/Hades/Hell.
For example, David says in Psalm 16:10, speaking of Christ, “For You will not leave my soul in hell (Heb: Sheol, Greek: Hades), nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”
Likewise, we see other righteous men (believers) speak of going down into Sheol at death.
Jacob says in Genesis 37:35, “For I will go down into the grave (Sheol) unto my son mourning.”
The preacher in Ecclesiastes 10:9 says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (Sheol), whither thou goest.”
The Psalmist says again and again things like, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol: (Ps. 49:15).
So the place of Sheol/Hades/Hell is often used as a metaphor for death and what happens at death. And prior to the resurrection of Christ, everyone’s soul went down into Sheol.
The bad/reprobate went to the bad side of Sheol, which we might call Gehenna, while the good/saved went to the good side of Sheol which is often called “Abraham’s bosom.” It gets that name from Jesus teaching in Luke 16.
Two men die and are buried, a rich man, and a poor beggar named Lazarus. And it says this in Luke 16:23-26, “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
And so when Jesus died, his soul went down to Sheol, but it went to the Abraham’s bosom side of Sheol to bring all the souls of the faithful into Paradise (which is the beatific vision of God). And this is how Christ’s words to the thief on the cross are fulfilled, “today you will be with me in Paradise,” because the death of Jesus opens the door to Paradise for Old Testament believers.
And now for us who live on this side of the resurrection, believers are always said to go up to heaven when we die instead of down to Sheol.
Summary: Christ’s soul went down to hell, not to suffer (His work was already finished on the cross!), but to announce his triumph and victory to lead captivity captive. For as it says in Ephesians 4:9-10, “(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
Finally, there is a third answer to this question, “Where is Jesus while his body is laying in the tomb?”
3. And that answer is, Jesus according to His divine nature is everywhere. For as it says in Jeremiah 23:24, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.”
So as one who is fully God, Jesus is ever and always omnipresent according to his divinity. He is the one in Whom all things are sustained in existence (Col. 1:17), and as Paul also says in Acts 17:28, “in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
And so this means that even when Jesus’ body is severed from his soul, the very tomb in which his dead body was laid is at the same moment, being held together by His divine power.
There is no place that anyone can go, body or soul, to escape God’s presence. For our very existence itself is efficiently caused by God, and it is Christ the Eternal Word from the Father who holds all things together.
There is no escaping God.
Conclusion
And so let these three answers to “Where is Jesus?” become the great comfort and life of your soul.
Because if death could not separate Christ’s body from His Person, then as Paul says in Romans 8, “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord.”
May God seal up this truth in your heart.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Sermon: Wisdom, Truth, and Silence (Mark 15:16-39)

Wisdom, Truth, and SilenceSunday, September 1st, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Mark 15:16–39
16And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.
17And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,
18And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
19And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
20And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.
21And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
22And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.
23And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.
24And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.
25And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
28And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
29And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
30Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
31Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
33And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
36And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
37And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Prayer
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned every one to his own way;
And You O Father, have laid upon Christ the iniquity of us all.
Heal us by his stripes, cleanse us by his wounds, for we ask this in the name of the great physician of our souls, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Introduction
In Proverbs 29:20, Solomon says, “Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” And then elsewhere he says, “A fool’s voice is known by his many words” (Eccl. 5:3), and “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking…” (Proverbs 10:19).
Many words, spoken in haste, are a recipe for much sin. How many of us have spoken in ignorance, many things we wish we could take back?
Well here as we come to the climax of Mark’s gospel, which is the center of human history and the hinge upon which the whole world turns, we see that the time for words is over.
In these 39 verses that describe the crucifixion, many words are spoken, but on the whole, they come from the mouths of fools.
For example: In verses 16-20, a band of Roman soldiers mock and beat and spit upon our Lord, hailing him in jest as “King of the Jews.”
A little later we find two thieves or rebels, who are crucified with Jesus, one on his left, and one on his right, and they also revile him.
And then there are the passersby, the common folk, the crowds, who also rail against him saying, “save thyself, and come down from the cross.”
And then last you have the chief priests, who have finally gotten what they want, and they mock him and goad him saying, “He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”
Many, many, words spoken in haste, uttered in ignorance by the mouths of fools.This is what Jesus who is divine truth who is divine wisdom, endured for six long hours upon the cross.
Now if we gather together from all four gospels the words that Jesus spoke from the cross, there are only seven sayings recorded. And in Mark’s account, Jesus has only one thing to say, and he only says it at the very last hour (the 9th) just before he dies, he says, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Those are the only “red letters” in Mark’s account of the crucifixion.
And then it is only after he dies, that we hear a true word spoken from someone other than Jesus, and who does it come from? Not from a disciple. Not from a Jew. It comes from the mouth of a Roman centurion, “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
This is the whole purpose of Mark’s gospel which he laid out in the beginning: To make us to believe and to say by the end of it, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Do you believe this? And will you confess this before a world that hates you even as it hates Christ?
You see the way that Mark intends for you and I to not only believe that Jesus is the son of God, but also to find the courage to be unashamed of that confession, is not mainly by hearing Jesus’ teaching. For in fact, Mark has omitted most of Jesus’ sermons that we find in Matthew, Luke, and John. Mark’s focus is elsewhere.
Mark’s focus is upon the actions of Jesus, and here especially he wants to lift our gaze to behold like the centurion, Christ suffering in silence upon the cross. Here more than anywhere else “actions speak louder than words.”
There is a time for speaking the truth loud and clear, and then there is a time for sealing up what you have taught in blood. This the son of God perfectly shows.
Christ teaches us how to live, and Christ teaches us how to die. And here by his example we are taught to do both.
Outline of the Sermon
The outline of the sermon is as follows:
First, we will look at the Prelude to the Crucifixion.
And then we will observe what takes place at the beginning, the middle, and the end of Christ’s crucifixion, or as Mark has it: the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour.
Those are the three moments that Mark explicitly mentions and so we’ll consider what happens at each.
So starting with the Prelude…
Prelude & Context
Recall that it is the day after the Passover and the first day of the Passover feast, which is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Jesus was arrested in the middle of the night, he wascondemned by the Sanhedrin, and then at first morning light (say 6am), he was interrogated by Pilate, sent to Herod, sent back to Pilate, where he was ultimately sentenced to be scourged and crucified.
And so in verses 16-24 Mark gives us the prelude: Jesus is dressed up like a king, given a purple/scarlet robe, crowned with thorns, Hailed as king, and worshipped falsely.
And as usual, we see here Mark’s love for irony. All of these actions are what these soldiers ought to do in truth if Jesus is who He says He is.
If Jesus is the Son of God, then they ought to clothe him with the most expensive royal robes, they ought to crown with gold and precious stones, they ought to hail him and worship him truly as king of all creation. They should have done what the wise men did at Jesus’ birth. This is what is owed to Christ, and yet these soldiers jest and spit in the face of God.
And if sinful men are willing to do this to a perfectly innocent man, then we should not be surprised when they do this to us who desire to imitate Christ’s perfection.
For as Jesus says in Matthew 10:25, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!”
So notice that from a human perspective living in the moment, this looks like the worst shame and dishonor a man could ever suffer. But from heaven’s perspective, this is the moment of Christ’s glory. The restraint and patience of Christ is here most honorable and admirable.
And so it is whenever you suffer shame for Christ’s sake.
Now after this theatre of mockery, Jesus eventually makes it to Golgotha/Calvary, and he is assisted by Simon of Cyrene who helps him carry the cross.
There are various theories as to why this Golgotha was named “The Place of the Skull.”
One legend is that the skull of Adam, the first man, was buried there. But that is doubtful unless Noah brought it with him on the ark.
Another theory is that this is where David buried Goliath’s head. And thus, the imagery is that Christ, the son of David is here crushing the skull of the serpent, the greater Goliath, sin, death, and the devil.
In either case, it is fitting that God should conquer death at a place so named.
Summary: So that is the long Prelude, and now we arrive at the beginning of the crucifixion.
Verses 25-32 – The Third Hour
25And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
26And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.
28And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
29And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
30Save thyself, and come down from the cross.
31Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
32Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
In our reckoning, the third hour is roughly 9am, or three hours from when the sun rose.
And it is interesting that while Mark could have emphasized and foregrounded the physical agony that Jesus was in (he doesn’t even mention the nails in his hands and his feet), instead he emphasizes the cruelty and reviling of those around him.
First above his head reads the legal reason for his execution, that he is “King of the Jews.” And this of course is the way that Rome enforced Pax Romana. Peace by force. Peace by crucifying and making bloody examples of traitors.
Second, we see two actual traitors crucified with him, one on his left hand, and one on his right hand. And in these two thieves is signified the entire human race.
Adam stole the fruit from the tree. And here Jesus makes restitution for that theft and rebellion.
Of this repayment it says in Psalm 69:4, “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: They that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: Then I restored that which I took not away.”
What humanity stole, Christ restores.
We also have signified here that the cross is the throne from which God judges.
In Matthew 25:33 it says, “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.”
And as we learn from Luke’s account, one of these rebels who at the third hour reviles Christ, later repents, and is told, “today you will be with me in Paradise.”
So you can either die unrepentant like the rebel on the left, or you can die with faith, hope and love in your heart for Jesus, and have all your sins removed. You are going to die either way, so what kind of death shall you choose?
For those who believe, the cross becomes the throne of mercy where all our sins go to die.
As it says in Psalm 85:10, “Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; And righteousness shall look down from heaven.”
The cross is that meeting point between mercy and truth, between righteousness and peace. Between God and sinners. And those who look in faith to Jesus, shall see righteousness smiling down upon them from heaven.
In this sense, God’s judgment becomes our greatest hope.
So three hours go by, and in Mark’s account Jesus ears are filled with reviling. And then in verse 33 it says…
Verse 33 – The Sixth Hour
33And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
The sixth hour is what we would call noon. The time at which the sun shines brightest and highest in the sky. But this is no ordinary day. It is the day of the Lord. It is the day of judgment. It is the day spoken of and foretold by the prophets.
It says in Amos 10:9, “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, That I will cause the sun to go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in the clear day.”
Likewise in Zephaniah 1:14-15, “The great day of the Lord is near, It is near, and hasteth greatly, Even the voice of the day of the Lord: The mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of wasteness and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness…”
These oracles of God’s judgment upon the land are taken up and applied to the body of Jesus. For Jesus is the new holy land. Jesus is the new Israel. Jesus is the temple that must be destroyed in order to be rebuilt three days later. This is how Christ fulfills the Old Testament prophesies (by not saving himself he is able to save others!).
This is the moment that Psalm 88 describes when it says, “For my soul is full of troubles: And my life draweth nigh unto the grave…Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.”
For three more hours it is darkness and silence. Mark tells us nothing of what happens during this time. And then finally in verse 34 we read…
Verses 34-39 – The Ninth Hour
34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
35And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.
36And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.
37And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Here are the only words that Mark places on Christ’s lips. This is what wisdom and truth shouts from the darkness, the question, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
What is the meaning of this Why question?
First, let me give you the four incorrect interpretations you must avoid (if you don’t want to be a heretic).
1. The first error, which is the heresy of Arius, says that Jesus is a creature and not the eternal son of God in the flesh. And so for Arius, the created Word/Son replaced the soul in Christ, and so when Jesus says “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Arius interprets it as a proof that Word/Son is lesser than God, because he calls him“my God.”
2. The second error, is that of Nestorius, who said that the creature Jesus was indwelt by God according to grace (similar to how the prophets possessed the spirit of God), and therefore when Jesus cries “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” it is like a prophet lamenting the loss of the Holy Spirit’s presence in him.
Both of these errors make Jesus less than God, or turn him into two persons and not one, and therefore the Roman Centurion is a far superior theologian when he simply confesses in verse 39, “truly this man was the Son of God.”
3. There is a third error more common in evangelical circles which says that when Jesus died, the divine nature was severed from the human nature (in other words, the hypostatic union was destroyed on the cross).
But this misunderstands two things: 1) what human death is, which is the separation of the soul from the body, and 2) it misunderstands the nature of the hypostatic union or Incarnation.
The death of Jesus was his voluntary and willful separating of his soul from his body (he truly died!), but because Jesus is a divine person (he is fully God) even his dead body remained united to His Person, and it was this very union of his dead flesh to His Person that effected his resurrection three days later.
This is what Jesus is referring to when he says in John 10:18, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”
It was easier for Christ to lay down his life and take it up again, than it is for you and I to go to sleep and wake up again. Because Jesus is the Eternal Son of God. Even his dead body is an instrument of his power.
4. A similar and fourth error is that on the cross, the unity of the Trinity was “ruptured” when the Father “turns his face away” from the Son.
And this is one of those places where how you interpret a metaphor can either make you a heretic or keep you orthodox.
If you say there was a breach or rupture in the Trinity, you are contradicting what Scripture says everywhere about God’s essence, namely that He is One, that He is unchangeable, that is He is perfect, that He is omnipotent.
To posit that the death of Jesus “breaks” something in God’s essence is also to confuse the two natures of Christ.Remember, only Christ’s human nature dies (the soul is separated from the body), and his divine nature remains divine (perfect, invulnerable, etc.). The divine nature by definition cannot die, and therefore because the Son is wholly God, no such “rupture in God” is ever possible.
Alright, so there is a sampling of errors and heresies to avoid when thinking about Christ’s death and these words of dereliction, what then is the orthodox and correct interpretation of “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?”
First notice that these words are a quotation from the opening line of Psalm 22. And if you read Psalm 22, you will see that it describes in vivid detail everything that Jesus is experiencing: the piercing of his hands and feet, the casting of lots to divide his garments, his being surrounded by bulls of Bashan, by wicked dogs, his heart being turned to wax, etc.
But how does Psalm 22 end? It ends with God ruling as king and all the nations bowing down to serve him.
Psalm 22:27-29 says, “All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.”
And so Jesus has chosen these final words very carefully, because his death is the answer to the great Why question of human suffering. And his death is the explanatory path for how we go from feeling forsaken by God to worshipping at His feet.
So Jesus says “my God, my God” first,according to his true humanity and second as a spokesperson for the church who is his body, and in doing so he teaches us how to call upon God just like the psalmist did.
And then when he asks, “why have you forsaken me,” He is asking the Father, “why have you willed that I should be handed over to suffering, and that these men should be darkened?” Jesus of course knows the answer (according to both his human and divine knowledge), but he says this to teach us how to pray and talk to God in our suffering.
Or to put it another way, Jesus is asking on our behalf why God permits such evils to afflict our world. Why does God permit the righteous and innocent to suffer?
That is the great Why question that Psalm 22 and the death of Christ gives answer to. And Jesus wants to provoke that “problem of evil” with his dying breath.
So how does the death of Christ answer this question that Jesus poses?
Conclusion
When you or I feel forsaken by God, it is the most natural thing in the world to ask God, why? Where are you? Why have you abandoned me? That is where Psalm 22 starts.
And then depending on how long the darkness seems to prevail, and heaven seems to remain silent, our faith in God is tested.
This is where Christ upon the cross becomes the great hope and anchor of our soul.
Because first we see what we deserve as sinners (a painful and bloody death for our treason), and therefore however much physical pain we might be in, the pain we deserve is far greater. And further, while our sins deserve eternal punishment, everlasting pain and torment, the death of Christ means our pain as Christians is only ever temporary. It will not last forever!
Paul says in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
And in 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 he says, “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
So what makes our sufferings light and momentary (when they feel anything but) is our comparing them to 1) what our sins deserve (eternal conscious torment in this life and the next), and to 2) what Christ’s death has purchased for us (eternal conscious happiness beyond anything our heart could imagine).
The death of Jesus puts an exclamation mark and a deadline on all of our pain. And so when God permits the righteous to suffer, as the book of Job teaches, it is only to reward us more richly afterward. The pain is temporary, but God’s love is forever.
And so I close with the promise of Isaiah 54:7-8, “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer.”
May God show you this grace.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Sermon: Pax Romana (Mark 15:1-15)

Pax RomanaSunday, August 18th, 2024Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Mark 15:1–15
1And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.
3And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.
5But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
6Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
7And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
9But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
10For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
11But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
12And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
Prayer
O Father we desire to know more than anything Christ and him crucified. For here in this text, as we behold his passion, and his silence, and his scourging, we uncover a fountain of salvation that wells up in us to eternal life. Grant us your spirit in full, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Introduction
In John 14:27, just a few hours before Jesus was arrested, he told to his disciples the following: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
According to Jesus there are two kinds of peace. There is 1) the peace that comes from God which gives quiet to the heart, and then there is 2) the peace that the world gives which leaves the heart restless and afraid.
Here in our text we see these two kinds of peace on display.
In Jesus we behold the very peace of God which surpasses understanding. It makes Pilate to marvel.
And then in everyone else we see angst and fear and a striving for peace, but one that is willing to literally sacrifice God in order to get it.
Now at present, our world, and our nation, is hardly at peace. And most people are willing to admit that. The American Empire is as divided now as it has ever been. And this is because you cannot simultaneously worship different gods and be a unified people. What is true of individuals is true of nations, no man can serve to masters.
And so as we study this passage, and consider the different groups involved (the Jews, Pilate, Barabbas, etc.) I want you to think about how the same motivations that put Christ on the Cross, are at work in various groups today. Motivations that are at work even in your own heart if you live according to the flesh: envy, greed, fear, vainglory, anger, murder, etc.
All these spirits and more can be found in this scene. And then, in the middle of that storm of sin, in the eye of the hurricane as it were, is Jesus. Perfect. Tranquil. Serene. Peaceful.
And therefore, when Jesus says, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives,” this is what he is referring to. You can have peace with God, and peace within your own soul, even when there is open hostility everywhere else. That is the peace that Jesus possesses and offers to all who will follow him.
Context
Remember the context of our passage.
Last week we saw that Jesus was first arrested and tried in the middle of the night by the highest Jewish authorities (the Sanhedrin). And while the verdict was pre-determined (Jesus must die), the Jews needed to find a charge that would stand up before Pontius Pilate.
This was because Rome alone possessed the death penalty (John 18:31), and so although the Jews considered Jesus’ crime to be blasphemy, they must translate this religious charge into one that Rome will accept as being worthy of death: treason or sedition.
And so we see here at the beginning of Mark 15, that thecouncil delivers Jesus to Pilate with the charge that he is “King of the Jews.”
The great irony here of course is that unlike all their false witnesses against him, this charge is true. But it is a true charge that they personally reject.
Jesus confessed this truth and more when the high priest asked him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” and Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
So starting in verses 1-2, let us begin our exposition.
Verses 1-2
1And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.
We have here fulfilled the words of Micah 2:1-2 which says, “Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.”
The Jewish authorities are greedy to plunder the man Jesus and his rightful inheritance (the world), and so they devise iniquity, they plot evil on their beds, and then straightway in the morning they consult to put Christ to death.
It was customary for Pilate to hear and try cases as soon as the morning light had dawned, and Mark will tell us a few verses later that Christ was crucified at the “the third hour,” which is what we would call (roughly) 9am in the morning.
So everything that happens between now and the crucifixion takes place between about 6am and 9am, sunrise and the third hour.
We see in verse 2 that Mark jumps straight into Pilate’s interrogation, “Art thou the King of the Jews?”
But we read in Luke’s account that just before this, “they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.”
So mingled with the true charge that Jesus is “King of the Jews” are still other false charges such as “forbidding to give tribute to Caesar.” Even here the Jews continue to twist the words of God and misrepresent his teaching.
Jesus’ response to Pilate is curious in that he says, “You have said so.”
Meaning, “I am the King of the Jews but not in the way that you or the Jews think.”
John’s account gives us the fuller conversation where Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
So yes, Jesus is King, and He is king of the Jews and the Romans and everyone else. But the source of his kingdom’s power is from above.
And so even Pilate’s lawful authority is only his insofar as God has ordained and permitted him to have it. And therefore, Pilate has it backwards. It is not Pilate who has authority over Jesus, but Jesus who has authority over Pilate.
As Jesus tells him in John 19:11, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.”
Continuing in verses 3-5, we see Jesus again silent before his accusers.
Verses 3-5
3And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.
5But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
The principle of wisdom that Jesus is employing here is that we speak truth to the ignorant but are silent to the obstinate.
If someone is genuine in their desire to know and they ask, we answer.
But if someone is asking and seeking only to refute us or argue with us, we can simply refuse to answer (we walk away).
For three years Jesus had taught openly so that the Jews might have their ignorance cured, and indeed many of them had their eyes opened and followed Jesus.
But this group of chief priests, scribes, and elders, rejected the light. In the words of Romans 1:21-22, “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…”
So this is the Sanhedrin, obstinate in their accusations, whereas Pilate is ignorant and willing to hear Jesus out.
In verses 6-11, Mark then describes a custom that Pilate attempts to use to pacify the crowd, but instead it backfires.
Verses 6-11
6Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
7And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
9But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
10For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
11But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
So recall that it is now the first day of the Passover feast, the feast of Unleavened Bread. And at Passover the Jews remembered how God had miraculously delivered them from oppression and tyranny in Egypt.
Now in the Jewish mind of the 1st century, who is Egypt? Rome. Who is Pharoah? Caesar.
And what we find in the history books (both biblical and secular) is that the Passover festival was an ideal occasion for Jewish revolts.
This was the time when Jerusalem was flooded with pilgrims, religious fervor was at its peak, and the whole nation was remembering how God had killed the firstborn sons of Egypt and delivered Israel as His firstborn son.
And in that atmosphere, it would be very easy to stir up insurrection against Rome and try to reclaim Jewish independence.
Much of their expectation for the Messiah was that He would be this kind of revolutionary figure who would restore their former glory.
And so by the time of Jesus it had become customary not only for Pilate to be physically present in Jerusalem for the feast, with a great military presence to keep an eye on things. But to also “throw them a bone” by releasing one prisoner to them.
You can imagine how this custom signifies different elements of both the Passover and the Day of Atonement rituals.
As Passover, a firstborn dies, and a firstborn goes free.
On the day of Atonement, one goat dies, and the other is released.
The high priest knew it was expedient that one man die for the nation. And Pilate knows he can release one prisoner and that scapegoat will buy him some peace until the next festival.
And so this debate between the Jews and Pilate is ultimately over which goat dies and which goat gets released.
There are already three men in custody awaiting crucifixion: Barabbas and what are probably his two associates, that we call “thieves.”
In Greek the word is λῃστής and in John 18:40 this same word λῃστής is used of Barabbas, “Now Barabbas was a robber (λῃστής).”
So Pilate already has some actual rebels to crucify, and because Barabbas is manifestly a murderous rebel, and Jesus is manifestly innocent, he forces the Jews to own the decision of who dies and who goes free. Pilate tries to abdicate, and the Jews are happy to take responsibility for Jesus’ death.
In Matthew’s account, Pilate washes his hands and says, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person. You see to it.” And then it says, “And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’”
In John’s account, the chief priests shout, “We have no king but Caesar.”
Those are shouts of actual blasphemy and actual idolatry, andthey are coming from the mouths of the Jews, who are supposed to be a light to the gentiles but have become even darker than they.
So despite Pilate’s knowledge that Jesus is innocent and the Jews are acting from envy, He does not have the backbone to do what is just and right in the eyes of God. Pilate opts for the false and surface peace of the world, instead of suffering the consequences of a Jewish riot on his watch.
So while the Jews are motivated by envy, Pilate is motivated by fear, by the optics, and the pressure of Pax Romana. Peace by force or whatever is politically expedient.
What was the result of this policy? The greatest injustice in human history. The only perfectly innocent man to ever walk the earth was crucified at his command. As we say in the Nicene Creed every Lord’s Day, “he suffered under Pontius Pilate.”
One bad decision can have many unintended consequences.
So the Jews, having chosen Barabbas instead of Christ, Pilate then asks what the sentence ought to be for Jesus. What will make them content?
Verses 12-15
12And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
Notice that Pilate is now learning firsthand why Jesus was silent. Because there is no dialog, there is no negotiating with those intent on murder.
Pilate tries to reason with them. He appeals to Jesus’ innocence.
In Luke’s account we learn that Pilate even sent Jesus to Herod for examination, and Herod sent Jesus back finding nothing of guilt in him.
But for all this evidence in favor of acquitting and releasing Jesus, the mob prevails.
And why? Because as it says in verse 15, “And so Pilate willing to content the people,” had Jesus scourged and crucified.
If the governing principle for your decision making is how can I pacify the mob (this very loud person or vocal minority), you got another thing coming, and you certainly don’t belong in leadership. And yet this is how much of American politics operates.
Emotional bribes, actual bribes, and organized temper tantrums (a.k.a. “mostly peaceful protests”) until people get what they want.
This can happen on the macro level with nations and governments and groups of people. But it also happens every day at the personal level. Between husbands and wives, parents and children, bosses and employees, etc.
And this is why the first quality that God desires for a judge or ruler is that he “fears God,” and then also that he be “a man of truth, and [one who] hates covetousness” (Ex. 18:21).
David says likewise in 2 Samuel 23:3, “He that ruleth over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God.”
Pilate lacked the fear of God. Pilate lacked the knowledge of the truth. And although he could see the envy of the Jews, he has not the backbone to uphold justice. And therefore Jesus is handed over to be scourged.
A Roman scourging, unlike a Jewish disciplinary whipping, did not have a 40-lash limit. And while Mosaic law does not permit torture or crucifixion, the Romans had no problem with such cruel and unusual punishments, especially for rebels of the state. This was how Pax Romana was enforced.
Scourging was usually done with a leather cord that had pieces of bone or lead or glass on the ends and that cut into and tore off the flesh. And so it was not uncommon to die from the scourging.
The Jewish historian Josephus records one such scourging where a man was whipped until you could see his bones. He was essentially flayed alive.
And so however severe this scourging of Jesus may have been, he survived, but Isaiah 52:14 says he was marred beyond recognition, more than any man.
This is likely why Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. Because the scourging made carrying that crossbar physically impossible.
Now as much as that description of Christ being scourged can turn our stomach and make us want to turn away our face from his pain, it is in the very looking upon Jesus in agony here and upon the cross, that we find an infinite source of strength.
Conclusion
How do you endure your trials? You look at the trials of Christ.
How do you endure slander and misrepresentation, and the twisting of your words? You look at the holy silence of Jesus.
How do you not cave and compromise like Pilate did? You look at the steadfastness of Jesus the immovable rock.
How do you endure pain unto death (your own future passion narrative)? You think upon the scourging of Jesus’ flesh as it was torn off his back, and you believe Him when he says, “I did that for you. I did that because I love you and I want to give you my peace.”
The only way peace can be had between God and sinners, is for you to become a sinner no longer. You must become a saint. And that is what the death of Jesus Christ offers you. It gives you way to die to sin and rise again to newness of life.
It says in Romans 4:25, “[Jesus] was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Faith is that looking upon Jesus and locking eyes with him. And when you are moved by His love to love Him in return, you receive what Philippians 4:7 calls, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, [which] will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
And so while the Jews were moved by envy, and Pilate by fear and ambition, Jesus is only and ever moved by love. Because love is God’s very nature. Love is God’s very essence. And therefore, whosoever is united to Love through love in the savior, has the promise of peace in this life, and perfect and everlasting peace in the next.
May God give you this peace that comes from His love. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.