The Pierced One

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

We do welcome you. If you're new with us and you're joining us virtually,

we invite you to connect with us through our digital visitor card,

which you'll find if you go to our homepage at cmpca.net.

There will be a pop-up with immediately a link to go and fill out one of those cards,

and that will help us to connect with you and connect you with our community.

For those of us who are old-timers, of course, I invite you to make comments as they're relevant to what we're discussing this morning

and to greet one another if you missed us at the very beginning,

so that we have a sense of our fellowship with one another even as we're separated,

and also that we have a record that you are here with us.

We're continuing our study in the book of Zechariah, and we're going to be in Zechariah chapter 11 this morning

Zechariah 11 · chapter mention

as we continue through the season of Advent.

You'll remember that Advent comes from a Latin word that means to come or to arrive,

and during the season of Advent, we take a special focus on Jesus coming or arriving to Earth.

And there's two things that we do.

We celebrate what God's done in the past,

and so that's why we sing Christmas songs like Joy to the World,

and we also long and look forward to what He'll do in the future,

and so that's why we sing songs like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

And that is a summary of what we do in all of the Christian life,

because in all of the Christian life, we celebrate what God's done in the past,

we look forward to what He's going to do in the future,

and we live faithfully now in the present in light of both of those things.

And so it's with that that we are turning again to the book of Zechariah.

We're going to be in chapter 11.

You can track with me in your worship guide.

Those of you who are here are also in your Bible or on your phone.

And you'll remember that Ezekiel was a prophet to the nation of Israel during the 6th century.

And he prophesied to them after they had returned from exile in Babylon.

Persia had defeated Babylon.

And just like a collection of sermons would cover a variety of topics,

so this collection of prophecies covers a variety of topics as well.

The chapters that we are in, chapters 9 through 13,

talk about the coming or future kingdom of God.

And you'll remember also that we're asking this question that came to us in chapter 9.

How can we rejoice when it comes to Advent?

How can Advent be for us not like a commercial that's played over and over,

that becomes old and stale,

but how can it be like a cup of water that we desperately need,

something that refreshes us over and over?

We saw in chapter 9 that Jesus is our coming King,

and as our coming King he causes us to rejoice because he's a king on a donkey,

which means that he is a humble king and he's a peaceful king.

Last week we saw that Jesus was not just our humble king but also our shepherd.

And in being our shepherd we realize that we live in a world filled with bad shepherds

and we live in a world that hates good shepherds.

But Jesus is actually the great shepherd and he's a better leader than we deserve.

And he was a shepherd who was rejected by his sheep and he dies for those very same sheep.

This morning as we come to chapter 11,

we are going to focus on the cleansing that Jesus brings.

If you've been in the church for a while, you have heard the phrase,

Jesus washing us clean.

And we're going to take a look at that this morning because that concept is going to come up

in chapter 13, or excuse me, in chapter 13, verse 1.

We're going to see that there will be a fountain open for the house of David

and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Now I'm going to warn you as we get started that there is a lot here in this passage.

We're not going to focus on all of it equally.

So there's a lot of things going on with the relationship between Israel and Judah,

specifically in verses 1 through 9.

We're not going to focus on that.

We're going to talk a little bit about verses 1 through 9.

We're especially going to focus on verses 10 through 14 of chapter 12 and then verse 1 of chapter 13.

And we're going to simply see this morning some simple but profound truths.

We're going to look at the gospel, simple, full, and free.

And so it's with that that we turn to Zechariah chapter 12, verse 1.

Zechariah 12:1

And remember as we read this that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold.

And it is sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read it now, starting at verse 1.

The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

Thus declares the Lord who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth

and formed the spirit of man within him.

Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.

The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.

On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples.

All who lift it will surely hurt themselves.

And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.

On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness.

But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open

when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves,

The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.

Verse 6.

On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood,

like a flaming torch among sheaths.

And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples,

while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place in Jerusalem.

And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first,

that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah.

On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David,

and the house of David shall be like God,

like the angel of the Lord going before them.

And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Verse 10.

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem

a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy,

so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced,

they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child,

and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn.

On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-Rimen

in the plain of Megiddo.

The land shall mourn each family by itself,

the family of the house of David by itself,

and their wives by themselves,

the family of the house of Nathan by itself,

and their wives by themselves,

the family of the house of Levi by itself,

and their wives by themselves,

the family of the Shimaites by itself,

and their wives by themselves,

and all the families that are left, each by itself and their wives by themselves.

On that day there shall be a fountain open for the house of David

and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you again that your word is powerful

and it does not return to you empty,

even if it's coming across the internet rather than in person.

We ask that you would send your Holy Spirit now to us,

no matter where we are hearing and listening to your word,

that you would use it to soften our hearts,

to show us our need for your cleansing,

and you would also assure us that you are the one who cleanses us.

And we ask that you would use that to give us great joy,

no matter what else is happening in our world,

and in our lives.

And we ask these things grateful that we do not have to earn them,

but we ask them instead in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

We just finished an election season,

and no matter which candidate you were cheering for,

candidates, I guess, multiple,

we all know this, that if you're going to have power,

it takes a battle.

It takes a battle to stay in power if you're the incumbent.

It takes a battle to gain power if you're not the incumbent.

And so we saw previously in chapter 9

that Jesus was going to be a king who brings peace.

And if he's going to bring peace,

he's going to be in power.

You can't have power without a battle.

Same thing is true of this kingdom,

and we see it again in this passage.

Verses 1 through 9 are telling us

that the battle that has to happen for Jesus to rule.

Now, we often think of Jesus as this gentle and kind man,

and he is.

He's also a fierce and ferocious warrior.

He is coming to make all things right.

That means he has to destroy his enemies.

We talked about this two summers ago

when we were in the book of Psalms.

We looked at Psalm 5,

which is what we called an imprecatory psalm,

or a psalm that prays for justice.

And I told you then that every time

we say the Lord's Prayer together,

we are praying for God to destroy his enemies

because how else could his kingdom come on earth

as it is in heaven?

And so it's that battle that we see

at the very beginning of this passage.

I'm just going to go over it for you very quickly.

First, verse 2, there's going to be a siege against Jerusalem.

Verse 3, this siege is going to involve all the nations.

So we see at the end of the verse,

all the nations of the earth will gather against it.

That is Jerusalem.

Okay, verses 3 and 5, battle against Jerusalem,

all the nations.

God is going to crush all the nations.

And in crushing all the nations,

the end of verse 5,

we see he's giving his people strength.

The clans of Judah shall say to themselves,

the inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength

through the Lord of hosts, their God.

And then in verse 9,

we're given a summary statement of this entire section.

So 9 sums up verses 1 through 9

when it tells us,

and on that day I will seek to destroy

all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

And the point is this.

Ultimately, the Lord will establish his kingdom.

Ultimately, the Lord will establish his kingdom.

Christ secures victory for his people

and therefore for the church.

That's what we take from this battle against Jerusalem.

It's an image to show us,

it's an illustration to show us

ultimately what's going to happen

in the battle between God

and his enemies in the world.

Moving from that battle then,

we see this idea of cleansing

and we also find out something very surprising.

Remember last week we had a little bit of a twist.

We of course agreed

that the world is filled with bad shepherds.

The counterintuitive twist

was that people also hate good shepherds.

We see here that the Lord defeats his enemies.

Counterintuitive twist.

Verse 10,

The Lord who defeats his enemies also dies.

He dies in this battle

and that's what we see here in verse 10.

When they look on me,

on him who they have pierced.

So these are the people who have won the battle.

This is Jerusalem being victorious

and suddenly they're looking on me.

That's God speaking

as one they have pierced.

Somehow as they win the battle,

they've actually injured their own leader.

And we learn,

remember these passages

that we're going through in Zechariah

are the ones that are quoted in the New Testament.

We learn in John chapter 19, verse 37,

John 19:37

that this one who has been pierced

is referring to Jesus

because John tells us

that this is a fulfillment.

When Jesus dies,

it's a fulfillment of this verse.

And this word pierced,

when it's often used in the Old Testament,

refers to someone who is dying

because of the wound that they receive.

And we know, of course,

that Jesus was pierced in his side

as he died on the cross.

And so we now understand this passage

in a way that the original hearers would not.

They have killed God.

The victory of God's people

comes through the death of God.

And we see even more echoes of that

in verses 10 and 11

because how are they going to mourn?

They shall mourn for him

as one mourns for an only child

and weep bitterly over him

as one weeps over a firstborn.

And of course, we know that Jesus is referred to

as God's only beloved son,

his only begotten son.

And so we know now

that this battle is telling us

about the battle that Jesus wins

through his death.

The one who is pierced

is Jesus.

The one who dies from this battle

is God.

He cleanses us.

In Jesus' death,

winning this battle,

we'll see that he changes us

and he also cleanses us.

First, we see that he changes us.

Verse 10,

I will pour out on the house of David

and the inhabitants of Jerusalem

a spirit of grace

and pleas for mercy.

Pleas for mercy,

meaning these people

are going to repent.

They're going to cry out

for God to forgive them,

but notice the order.

They cry out for God

to forgive them

after he pours out his spirit,

not before.

In other words,

outside of God

pouring out his spirit,

they are unable

to cry out for mercy.

They are unable to repent.

It is God's spirit

that comes first

and softens

and changes their heart.

It is God's spirit

that makes it possible

for them to actually

see their sin

and confess that they're wrong.

In fact,

this is foretold

throughout the Old Testament.

Prophets like Ezekiel

and Joel and Isaiah

talked about a day

when God's spirit

would be poured out

and it would change his people.

They would have new hearts,

hearts of flesh

rather than hearts of stone.

Of course,

it's no accident here

that the pouring out

is the image of water

being poured out.

It's a cleansing image.

Now,

I won't go off

on a bunny trail,

but that's part of the reason

that we pour out water

on someone

when we baptize them.

We believe that's a continuation

of this imagery,

that it's water

that cleanses

coming from above.

And it brings repentance,

repentance that can only come

from God's spirit.

And so we see here,

first,

remember we saw

a couple weeks ago,

only God can bring peace

to the nations, right?

We actually are not capable

of fixing this world.

The accompanying truth

is this,

only God can bring change

to us.

Yes,

only God can bring peace

to the nations.

Only God can bring change

to us.

It is only

when we are touched

and affected

by God's spirit

that we are able

to change.

And that's what we see

in this passage.

We see people

who are moved deeply

by true repentance

of their sin.

You probably noticed

near the end

we had this phrase

repeated over

and over again.

We heard itself

and themselves

in verses 12-14.

Each family,

verse 12,

by itself.

The family of David,

by itself.

Their wives,

by themselves.

The family of Nathan,

by itself.

Wives,

by themselves.

Levi,

by itself.

Wives,

by themselves.

Shimei,

it's by itself.

Wives,

by themselves.

You get the point.

The question is this,

why is that repeated

over and over?

Remember,

I've told you before,

repetition matters a lot,

especially when we are

reading the Old Testament.

They are telling us here,

when they're repenting

by themselves,

that this is not for show.

It is easy,

tempting at times,

to repent in public

because you know

that's what you're

supposed to do.

It's tempting at times

maybe to apologize

for something

that you're not sorry for

because you know

you need to do that

to fix the situation

and to make people

feel good about it.

Maybe you're holding

your hand,

you know your fingers

crossed behind you.

I'm sorry,

but you know

you're really not.

These people

are actually sorry

because they are not

gaining anything

publicly from it.

They are doing it

by themselves

in private.

It is real repentance

that's not gaining them

anything in the eyes

of other people.

They're not using it

as a manipulative strategy.

They're not doing it

because that's what

their teacher told them

they had to say

to a classmate.

They're not doing that

because they know

what they have to do

to keep their job

or keep moving forward.

These people actually

have a real

and true

and deep sorrow

over their sin.

And so,

they're able to repent

not just in public

but in private.

Now,

you might also ask

why the husbands

and the wives

are separated.

Why are the wives

repenting by themselves?

Probably,

most likely,

for the same reason.

They are not just

sending the heads

of households,

these men,

to repent

on behalf

of the family.

But again,

it's emphasizing

for us

how much

each individual

is repenting.

Each individual

is moved

by their sin.

Each individual

sees the part

they play

in the death

of this king.

And so,

when God's spirit

is poured out

in this way,

it leads to true

and real,

personal,

individual repentance.

These people

understand

how much

they have offended God

and they are able

to grieve over it.

You'll remember

if you were here

with us

when we went through

the book of Nehemiah,

when I preached

on Nehemiah chapter 1,

Nehemiah 1 · chapter mention

I shared with you

the story

about the English writer

G.K. Chesterton.

You'll remember

he read

a question

in the newspaper

asking for a response

and the question

was this.

Write in

to the editors

and answer the question,

what is wrong

with the world?

And you'll remember

Chesterton wrote

in a famous

one-sentence answer.

He said,

Dear sirs,

I am.

I am what

is wrong

with the world.

I'm not going

to point my finger

at everyone else.

I'm not going

to point it

at institutions

and say,

if we could fix those,

everything would be right.

I'm not going

to point it

at politicians

and say,

if we could fix them,

suddenly everything

would be right.

I'm not going

to point it

at government

or rulers

or pastors

or elders.

I'm going

to say

at the end

of the day,

what is wrong

with the world

includes me.

I cannot

just point my finger

at other people.

That is what's

happening with

these people.

They are experiencing

repentance.

They have just won,

by the way.

Remember,

verses 1-9

is a victory.

These people

are on the right

side of history.

They have every

reason to be proud,

every reason

to believe

that they have

done nothing wrong.

And yet,

their response

after their victory

is to repent.

They're on

the right

side of history

and it doesn't

cause them

to gloat.

Instead,

being on the

right side

of history

here causes

them to have

a sense

personally

of their sin.

It causes

them to be

moved in

repentance

towards God.

And so for us,

as we talk

about rejoicing,

many people

want joy.

Few people

are willing

to do

what it

takes.

You want

to sing

joy to the

world?

Joy

comes

from

repentance.

Joy

comes

from

repentance.

There

are all

sorts of

things we

can try

to do,

all sorts

of money

we can

spend,

and things

we can

buy to

try to

make ourselves

feel whole.

None of

them will

work.

Repentance

will.

It's when

we know

that we are

free of

guilt and

shame,

a guilt

and shame

that relationships

and experiences

and products

cannot free

us from,

that we're

able to

experience

real and

true joy.

And it's

not repentance

as we've

talked about

as a

performance.

It's not

saying,

okay,

I need to

say this

to get

this person

off my

back.

No,

when God's

spirit

is at

work in

our lives,

we actually

want what

is right

and good.

There is a

humility that

comes with

it,

rather than a

smug self-righteousness.

Remember,

these people

have won.

Their king

is victorious

and they're

repenting.

They want

what's good

and right

and wanting

what's good

and right

causes them

to see

what's not

good and

right in

themselves.

Their desire

for righteousness

leads them

to repentance.

Of course,

Jesus tells

us the

very same

thing about

cleansing.

In John

John 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

he's at

the Feast

of Booths

and he

decides he's

going to

stand up

and give

a speech

and he

says this.

This is

verse 37.

If anyone

thirsts,

let him

come to

me and

drink.

Whoever

believes in

me,

as the

scripture

has said,

out of

his heart

will flow

rivers of

living water.

water,

we see

this idea

of life

and water,

of pouring

something out,

goes not

just from the

Old Testament

but to the

New Testament.

Actually,

if you fast

forward to

Zechariah

Zechariah 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

or verse 8,

you'll hear

about streams

of water

flowing out

from Jerusalem.

Jesus fulfills

this for us.

He is the

one who is

pierced.

He is the

one who

brings life

to people.

He is the

one who

allows living

waters to

flow from

within them

if they

believe

in him.

I was at

the post

office on

Friday

mailing

something and

the man

ahead of

me in

line,

I'm not

sure why,

turned around

to me and

he said,

the world

is no

good anymore.

I'm sure

he was

referring to

all the

things going

on in

our nation

with politics

and coronavirus

and the

government

and whatever

else.

I didn't

really have

a lot to

say.

But this

is telling

us we

are no

good.

Yes,

the world

is broken.

We are

broken as

well.

Jesus and

only Jesus

offers streams

of living

water.

He says,

whoever believes

in me as

the scripture

has said,

streams of

living water

will flow

from within

him.

It's the

one who

is pierced

that offers

us that

and the

joy that

comes with

it.

And so

remember,

first,

God changes

us.

But repentance

is a scary

and dangerous

thing.

It's an

understandable

that most

people avoid

it, right?

It is risky.

It might even

be in some

situations foolish

to admit you've

done something

wrong, that you

are wrong,

at least from a

worldly

perspective.

Repentance

makes no

sense unless

there's also

forgiveness.

Repentance

makes no

sense unless

there's also

forgiveness.

There are

few things

more dangerous

than admitting

that you're

wrong.

And so

that's why

it's important

that God

not only

change us,

but he

also cleanses

us.

He doesn't

just change

us, he

also cleanses

us.

I've noted

before in

chapter 10

this water

imagery from

verse 10.

We see it

more fully in

chapter 13

verse 1.

On that

day,

that's the

day that God

is victorious

and these

people repent,

there shall

be a fountain

opened for

the house of

David.

And the

inhabitants of

Jerusalem to

cleanse them

from sin and

uncleanness.

And so there's

not just a

pouring out of

God's spirit,

there's not just

the change,

there's also the

cleansing,

there is this

fountain.

And the idea

of this fountain

is that this

is a place

where people

would go and

wash and

they would be

set free from

the guilt and

shame and

power of sin.

That it would

be safe to

confess because

it wouldn't

lead to

condemnation,

it would lead

to forgiveness.

forgiveness.

That's the joy

that is coming

for these

people.

It does not

lead in their

repentance to

condemnation but

forgiveness because

this one who is

pierced will

wash them and

cleanse them of

our sins.

Now this image in

chapter 1 or

verse 1 of

chapter 13 is a

simple one.

Simply it's one of

cleansing in a

fountain.

And so I'm not

going to go on

explaining fountains

to you.

You all know

what it's like

to take a

shower and a

bath to wash

away the dirt

that's on you.

It's a simple

image here for

us.

The point is

this, because of

Jesus' death,

because he is the

one who is

pierced, it is

safe to repent

and confess our

sins.

Because Jesus is

the one who is

pierced, it is

safe to confess

our sins.

Our righteousness,

our standing

before God and

other people does

not hinge on our

performance.

Our standing

before God and

other people doesn't

hinge on our

performance.

And so admitting

that we are wrong

is no longer

dangerous.

For us, it means

this, as God

changes us and

he cleanses us, we

are finally able to

admit to ourselves

and others and to

God the places

where we need help,

we need to grow.

We are able for

the first time to

speak with a

trusted friend about

our struggle with

pornography.

Maybe you're able

for the first time to

finally tell someone

about your abortion.

You are able to

recognize what is

good and right about

people from the

political party that

you hate.

You are able to

know that those who

disagree with you,

while they may be

flawed and corrupt,

there's also things

about them that are

admirable.

people.

While your party,

you think, has

things that are

admirable, but there

are also things about

it and you that are

flawed and corrupt.

It is safe to

finally admit that.

Your righteousness

does not stand on

there being nothing

wrong with your

political party.

It is being able to

confess to your kids

that you're not a

perfect parent.

Not as a general

statement, but able to

name specifically the

ways you failed and

ask for their

forgiveness.

You no longer have

to hold up the

image of never

making a mistake.

You have a fountain

opened for you to

cleanse you from sin

and in cleanness.

And so we don't have

to just choose anger

over what's wrong in

the world, although

there are plenty of

things that are wrong

and a lot to be angry

over.

We can also choose

grief and sadness

and recognize the

ways that we

contribute to it as

well.

Remember G.K.

Chesterton's answer,

Dear Sir, I am.

And so we see here,

as I mentioned

earlier, the gospel.

Simple, full, and free.

We can rejoice because

God changes us and

he cleanses us.

In his third book,

I believe it is in

the Narnia series,

The Voyage of the

Dawn Treader, C.S.

Lewis tells the story

of King Caspian, who

goes on this journey

at the beginning of

his reign to find the

seven lost lords of

Narnia.

And as he goes on

this journey to find

the seven lost lords,

we meet a character

named Eustace.

And Eustace is kind

of a jerk.

He's very selfish.

At one point, there's

a problem because

they have to ration

out the water and

Eustace is taking

water that's not his.

He's taking rations

that aren't his.

He tries to get out

of work whenever he

can.

He is a problem to

the whole group.

In fact, he has this

very tense relationship

you'll remember with

Repacheep, the mouse.

And there comes a

point at which they

land on this island

and Eustace decides to

get out of work.

He's going to go on a

walk, conveniently,

right as all the work

is being done.

Walks away.

He gets lost,

unfortunately, and he

finds himself in a

dragon's cave.

Now, he falls asleep

in this cave.

When he wakes up, he

has turned into a

dragon.

Lewis gives us this

image of him turning

into a dragon as part

of what it looks like

to have sin as part of

our world.

We lose some of our

humanity.

Eustace is unable to

communicate now with

his friends.

They're not even sure.

They don't even know it's

him for a while until

they finally guess it.

But he's trapped in

this dragon body.

However, Edmund, one

night, sees this person

approaching him and

he realizes that it's

Eustace.

Eustace has lost his

dragon form and has

returned to a boy.

Of course, he wants to

know how this has

happened.

And so Eustace tells

him the story of how

he stopped being a

dragon and he was able

to become a boy once

again.

First of all, a lion

comes to him.

And if you're familiar

with the story, you

know that this is

Aslan, the great

lion who's meant to

represent God.

Aslan comes to this

dragon and as Eustace

tells it, the lion told

me, I must undress

first.

So Eustace tries to

undress himself.

He realizes he's

talking about shedding

his skin and so he's

scratching all over

himself to take the

dragon scales off and

he's able to take one

set of skin off.

He thinks he's good,

but there's another set

of dragon skin.

He tries to take that

one off.

He's successful.

I believe he takes off

three different sets of

dragon skin until the

lion finally tells him

the truth.

The lion says this,

you will have to let

me undress you.

We see this truth here.

We must be cleansed.

We cannot cleanse

ourselves.

We must be cleansed.

We cannot cleanse

ourselves.

And so the lion begins

to take the dragon skin

off him.

The first tear he made

was so deep that I

thought it had gone

right into my heart.

And when he began

pulling the skin off,

it hurt worse than

anything I've ever

felt.

The only thing that

made me able to bear

it was just the

pleasure of feeling

the stuff peel off.

Then he tells us

after that it's been

peeled, there I was

smooth and soft as a

peeled switch and

smaller than I had been.

Then he caught hold of

me.

I didn't like that very

much for I was tender

underneath now that I

had no skin on.

And listen to this,

threw me into the

water.

Cleansing.

It smarted like

anything but only for

a moment.

I turned into a boy

again.

After a bit, the lion

took me out and

dressed me.

After this experience,

Eustace begins to

change and the chapter

ends like this.

It would be nice and

fairly true to say that

from that time forth,

Eustace was a

different boy.

To be strictly

accurate, he began to

be a different boy.

He had relapses.

There were still many

days when he could be

very tiresome.

But most of those I

shall not notice.

The cure had begun.

Eustace needed to be

cleansed.

He could not cleanse

himself.

And so the lion came

and did it for him.

Eustace needed to be

changed.

He could not change

himself.

And so the lion did it

for him.

He did not become

perfect, but as Lewis

tells us, the cure

had begun.

Brothers and sisters,

how can we rejoice

at Advent?

We rejoice because God

cleanses us and he

changes us so that we

can have true and full

joy.

Please pray with me.

Dear Father in heaven,

we thank you for the

good news that you

have given us in your

word.

We thank you for the

gospel, simple, full,

and free.

We ask that you would

use this story and

these words that you've

given us in your word

to encourage us that we

would rejoice in you

because you have made it

safe to repent.

And you are the one who

has provided a fountain

for us to wash free from

our sins.

We ask these things

grateful that we don't

have to wash ourselves,

but instead we can ask

them in Jesus' name.

Amen.