Extraordinary Grace

Morning, everyone. Great to be in church with you and online with you. One of the things that I

love reading about is military history. I've always had an interest in it and a bunch of

little facts, such as this one. It is known as the shortest war in history. In fact, it's one of the

greatest mismatches of power of all time. It occurred on the 27th of August, 1896. It's known

as the Anglo-Zanzibar War. It turns out a usurper had taken the throne in Zanzibar, which is now part

of Tanzania in Africa. It was an area that was kind of controlled by the British at the time.

The British didn't like the fact that this person had sidestepped the process and taken

the throne. They hit him with an ultimatum for this pretend ruler to step down, for him to stand

down his troops and to evacuate the palace, to vacate the palace. In the meantime, while that

ultimatum was out there, the British forces brought their navy in, their marines, their sailors, and they

managed to get about 900 locals on side. As it turns out, the ultimatum was ignored.

I think the deadline was something like nine o'clock on a Monday morning or something like that. It was

ignored. At 9.01, the bombardment started. The pretender to the throne lost 500 soldiers,

and the British lost one. When they say lost one, they had one soldier wounded. I think a self-inflicted

wound, but that was all. It was a massive mismatch of power. In 38 minutes, it was all done.

38 minutes, and the white flag went up above the palace. One of the biggest mismatches of power in

history. But it's not as big as the mismatch we've seen in the last couple of chapters in Exodus and

what John took us to last week. God's chosen people, Israel, are in slavery in Egypt, and through Moses,

the God of all creation calls Pharaoh to release his people that they might worship him and serve him.

Release them from slavery here that they might serve me over here. And Pharaoh, as we saw last week,

defiantly declares, who is this Lord that I should obey him? In other words, I will not submit to him.

I will not obey that ultimatum. And I'm going to continue on enslaving God's people. And so God

shows him, and in fact, as it says in the early chapters of Exodus, that all the world might see

that he is on the throne alone. And so what he does is, one by one, he defeats the pretend gods of Egypt.

And today, we come to the final one, the final plague. We've had nine. This is the last plague.

This final plague, in fact, gets us to the heart and to the uniqueness of the God of the Bible and

of the Christian faith. So what I want us to see today, three things. If you've got the St. Paul's

app, it'd be great if you open it up, because you can see the outline there. I've got three main points

and a couple of other sub points in there. What I want us to see is what this passage says about the

sacrificial lamb. I want to then trace through the Bible the drama of the lamb, and finally,

to issue a call to look to the lamb. So first of all, the sacrificial lamb. Nine times,

God has called Pharaoh to release his people, or there will be a plague. Nine times, they have ignored it.

And every time, as John said last week, every single plague is a taking down of one of the deities of

Egypt. Nine times, he's called it. Nine times, he said there will be punishment. Nine times,

there have been a plague. Every single time, they've ignored it, and there is a consequence.

And the final straw is in chapter 12, verse 12. This is the final one.

On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and

animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. And so the final plague

is the final defeat of Egypt's deities. And the Pharaoh was regarded as the incarnation

of one of one of those deities, the sun god. The Egyptian deity, who in fact was defeated in the

previous plague, the plague of darkness. And so this final plague, number 10, the final plague

is to kill the firstborn, is to destroy the incarnation. This is the final defeat.

Of the gods of Egypt. And in verse 23, Moses is speaking to the Israelites about what God has

said. And he says this to them, he, that's God, will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses

and strike you down. One of the themes that runs through the whole Bible is that when you violate

God's design for creation, when you violate his design for our bodies and for relationships, in fact,

he's designed for everything in life, what gets unleashed at that point are forces of decay and chaos.

And all this decay and chaos has a trajectory towards a final accounting, final reckoning,

a final judgment for living life as if the God of this universe does not exist, and going about daily

life, violating all of his good purposes for life. And this is what this account here in Exodus 11 and 12

is pointing us towards. When God says the destroyer will come, he is saying that the time of reckoning is upon you.

And he's bringing it. He's the one who's bringing the reckoning. And on this one night in Egypt,

the destroyer will come and they will bring, he will bring judgment. Justice will be upheld for the

oppression of Israel. God will hold them accountable for violating his will, his design, and his purposes

for life. And in fact, the Bible, the thing of the Bible is that every single human being will be held

accountable for violating his will, design, and purpose for life.

But in Exodus 11 and 12, alongside this news of devastating, irreversible judgment to come upon

the most powerful nation on earth, there is good news in here. God also reveals at the same time

that there is only one way to stand against the destroyer. There is only one way to be protected.

There is only one way to find refuge when the destroyer comes. And the answer is a lamb.

A lamb. That's it. Our little sheep. How on earth can Israel be protected from the most devastating

power in the universe by Curly and Sean? I mean, how's that possible?

It doesn't make any sense. This is, however, what God instructs here. He instructs his people to kill

a perfect lamb. Put the blood of the lamb on your doorposts and eat the lamb in haste. And when the

destroyer comes, the destroyer will notice that your house is covered in the lamb, the lamb's blood,

blood, and it will pass over you. And then you'll be liberated from slavery.

That's the essence of Exodus 11 and 12.

Now, that is confusing at best. But it's also offensive to the modern person.

This passage here that was just read out to us makes no sense at all unless it's put in the context

context of the whole Bible in its historical context. We need to understand the drama of the lamb

to get the meaning of what's happening here in Exodus 11 and 12.

So let's look at the drama of the lamb.

The first scene of the drama of the lamb in the Bible is Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22.

So if you've got your Bibles, you can flick over to Genesis 22. We'll be there for a little bit.

God instructs Abraham to offer up his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to him.

Now, when I read that as a modern person, my instinct is to think how really inappropriate

thing for God to say to Abraham to go and offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. It's insane to

the modern mind and especially the modern Western sensibilities. Surely Abraham would have thought

exactly the same as I do. Surely Abraham has the same mind on this that I do.

No. No, he wouldn't have. He exists in a different cultural context than we do.

We tend to think, and especially those of us who are marinating in a Western culture,

we think in terms of individualism. Ancient people didn't have individual aspirations.

Aspirations were for the prominence and for the success and for the prosperity of their family.

It was deeply connected to their family and tribe. If a family member acted shamefully,

then the whole family was responsible for that member acting shamefully.

We don't think like that in Western culture and certainly not in Australian Western culture.

We are our own people. We are radically individualistic.

And so if I've got a delinquent brother or sister, that's their problem, not mine.

If they're shameful, that's no shame on me. That's not how it worked in Abraham's culture.

We are radically individualistic. And yet the reality is for us is that we are so much the product

of our family for both good and bad. Abraham also existed in a time and a culture when the firstborn son

got everything. They inherited the entire estate.

And so God's message to Abraham in Genesis 22 was absolutely crystal clear to him,

even if it's confusing or monstrous to us.

In fact, Exodus 22 verse 29 helps us understand what is happening here in Genesis 22.

Exodus 22:29

You must give me the firstborn of your sons.

Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.

The life of every firstborn was God's unless the life of that firstborn was redeemed.

Every year they had to pay the price of redemption for the firstborn.

Otherwise, the life of the firstborn would be forfeited for the sake of the family.

And the clear message to ancient Israel was that there is a debt that hangs over every family.

There's a debt.

The firstborn was liable for the life of that family.

And the way of life of that family.

The family goes stray.

The firstborn's responsible.

That makes no sense to the modern individualistic mind,

but it's absolutely crystal clear to Abraham what's happening here.

And that's why Abraham doesn't balk at it.

But if God...

Take God out of it.

If a voice came to Abraham and said,

Abraham, go into the tent right now and kill Sarah.

He would have gone.

That's not a voice of God.

That is not a message from God.

That is against everything that God declares to be right and true.

He would not have obeyed that one.

But with Isaac, Abraham realized God was calling in the debt.

This is God calling in the debt.

And God had a right to do it.

Isaac was going to die for the sins of Abraham and his family.

And the emotion of this moment is in Genesis 22, verses 7 and 8,

Genesis 22:7

when Isaac says,

Father, yes, my son, Abraham replied,

the fire and the wood are here,

but where is the lamb?

Where's the lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham answered,

God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

Abraham would have been hoping with all of his being

that that would actually be true.

He's not just distracting Isaac from the truth of this matter.

He is hoping with all of his being that in this moment,

a substitute would be provided.

A lamb.

So that Isaac didn't have to die for his sin.

Now, for the modern mind,

in our individualistic culture,

this whole account here in Genesis 22 is primitive,

and it's monstrous to us.

The first objection that we tend to have

is the fact that every single person

is living wrongly and under judgment

and owes God a debt.

Don't like that concept at all.

Most of us have been marinating in

and therefore bought into the notion

that we live by our own standards,

we determine what is right and wrong for us,

and we do that either as an individual,

we do that individualistically,

or we do it as a family group,

as a tribe.

Now, if that is you,

that is you're bought into that notion,

and if you have bought into that notion,

you've got to know that for the vast majority,

and I mean, say, the vast majority,

of human existence,

no one has bought into that view.

No cultural group has ever bought into that view

for the vast majority.

So it's only just a modern concept,

modern formulated idea.

But if that's you and you have bought into it,

that there's no rights,

no absolute morals,

no right and wrong that I have to comply with,

I live life my way,

then I want you to imagine also

that you have got attached around you

a special recording device

that records everything you think,

you do,

you say,

24-7 for all of your life.

Imagine that it particularly highlights

every single moment

when you declare

how someone else ought to live.

Every judgment that you have

on another person

because they're whatever else,

they're not living up to the standards

that you think that they should live up to.

The standards ultimately

that you say you live by

that you're calling other people to live by.

Imagine every one of those moments is recorded.

If at the end of your life

that device was attached and put there

and we push record,

we push play on it,

let me tell you,

there's not a single person

who's ever lived on the face of the earth

except Jesus Christ

that can stand in that moment.

Not a single person

lives by the standards that they set.

Not a single person.

We can't even achieve

our own standards in life.

Our own moral goals.

Leave the Ten Commandments out of it.

Leave the golden rule out of it.

None of us can even live by our own standards.

Every single one of us is a hypocrite.

To our own standards.

None of us live properly.

None of us can pass

any form of moral evaluation of any sort,

let alone that of a perfect God.

The second objection

is the idea,

and again,

a modern construct,

that this idea of a debt

that needs to be paid.

We don't like that idea.

The modern construct of God,

if he exists,

is that if he's in the business,

if God does exist,

his business is to love people

and his business is to forgive people.

Shouldn't,

if he's God

and he's so perfect

and he's so great,

shouldn't he just forgive people?

Just wipe the debt clean?

And so again,

I have to ask you,

if that's your view of God,

that's your view of life,

where in life are debts ever just wished away?

Where?

Where are debts ever in life just wished away?

When someone wrongs us,

a debt is established.

If you take my phone

and you hit it with a hammer right now

and destroy it,

a debt has been established.

There's a value attached to this phone,

you know,

seven,

eight hundred dollars,

whatever it is,

and there's only two options.

If you take it and smash it,

there's only two options available.

Well,

you pay the debt

or I pay the debt.

That's the only option.

I either say,

well,

that's eight hundred dollars,

please,

or I say,

I forgive you

and release you from the debt.

But the moment I

say I forgive you,

in that moment,

I choose to pay the debt.

The debt doesn't just disappear.

The value of the phone

doesn't just go

into wherever the internet is.

It doesn't just go.

It's still there.

Someone has to pay the debt.

Either you

or me.

If I choose to forgive you

so that you do not have to repay me for this,

I have to pay for it.

I either pay for it

by going and buying a brand new one

and therefore the value of it

is costly to me

or I pay for it

by buying a Nokia

or carrier pigeons

or something,

do something different.

In one way or another,

I pay for the debt.

That is,

you pay for the debt

or I absorb the debt myself.

It's one or the other.

This happens on every area of life.

If someone robs us

of an opportunity

or of happiness

or reputation

or something else,

what happens in that moment

is a debt is accrued.

A sense of a debt

is accrued.

Justice has been violated

and a debt

has been accrued.

And there are only two choices

in that moment.

You can make them pay

by destroying their opportunities

and ruining their reputation

or you can forgive them.

But forgiveness is agony.

Forgiveness is agony

because you choose in that moment

to absorb that debt yourself.

You don't attempt

to get your reputation back

by tearing down

their reputation

or getting your opportunities back

by ruining their opportunities.

Forgiveness

always requires suffering.

Always requires suffering.

And when you don't

forgive forgiveness,

when you do not forgive,

you suffer yourself.

Evil wins.

It bottles up inside of you.

Debt never just vanishes.

Either they pay

or you pay.

There is no such thing

as forgiveness

without a payment of the debt.

And that's for you,

that's for me,

and that's for Abraham.

And the good news is

back in Genesis 22

at the very last minute,

God,

just before Isaac

is sacrificed

for the sins of the family,

God says,

stop!

And a ram

was caught in a bush

and it became

the sacrificial sacrifice,

the substitutionary sacrifice.

And so then we jump back

or forward as it may be,

but back into Exodus

and the Passover

for scene two

of the drama of the Lamb.

And notice

these two principles here

are played out for us again

in this context.

The first principle is

that we are all

equally sinful

and lost.

We have failed to live

by God's standards.

We are deserving of judgment

because the debt

has been accrued.

Have a look at Exodus 22,

sorry,

Exodus 12,

Exodus 12:22

verse 22.

Take a bunch of hyssop

and dip it into the blood

in the basin

and put some of the blood

on the top

and on the door,

both sides of the door frame.

None of you

shall go out

of the door

of your house

until morning.

That is saying

when the destroyer

comes in the night,

the destroyer

will come

for everyone.

Israelite

and Egyptian.

The destroyer

is coming

not just

for the firstborns

of Egypt.

One nation,

yes,

was the oppressor

and one was the oppressed.

One worshipped false gods

and one worshipped

the true God.

but in

and of themselves,

neither Israel

nor Egypt

could stand

in that moment

of judgment.

Neither of them.

Israel

is no better

than Egypt.

Christian

is no better

than non-Christian.

No matter

our race,

our ethnicity,

our social standing,

our morals,

our beliefs,

our doctrine,

our religion,

if we are not

covered

under the blood

of the Lamb,

taking refuge

under the blood

of the Lamb,

we are lost.

The destroyer

will come

and we will die.

And so the second

principle is that

our only hope,

only hope for Israel,

the only hope for Egypt,

the only hope for anyone

is a substitute.

Every single

house

in Egypt

on that night

there was either

a dead son

or a dead lamb.

It was one

or the other.

Either a dead son

or a dead lamb.

The lamb

got what the son

deserved.

The lamb got,

in fact,

what the family

deserved.

The lamb got

what we deserve.

Either the lamb

pays the debt

or the son

pays the debt

for the family.

It's one

or the other.

The lamb's blood

is not simply

marking the doorpost,

not simply marking,

putting a cross

on top of the house

so that,

you know,

identifying it

as an Israelite family.

The blood

is a sign

that a sacrifice

has been made,

a substitute

has been offered.

So just think about it

for a moment.

Just imagine.

Imagine if there

is a God

and I owe

this God

a debt

and the value

of that debt

is my life

for not living

up to his standard.

Is it possible,

is it at all

possible

that a substitute

could still stand in

and pay that debt

for me?

You see,

as incredible

as this deliverance

is for the Israelites

in Exodus 11 and 12,

it points

to something

much deeper.

It has to point

to something

of a greater deliverance,

a more significant

deliverance.

You see,

their deliverance

here in Egypt

was a socio-political

deliverance

for one people

at one point

in history.

That's it.

That's it.

As important

as the lamb

was on the Passover night,

surely that event

points to something

greater,

a need

for something

bigger,

a more significant

one.

The sacrifice

of the Passover lamb

means that there

is unfinished

business.

How do I know

that?

Who actually

thinks

that Sean

the sheep

is a fair exchange

for human life?

Who actually

thinks that?

How do I know

that Israel

didn't think

it as well?

Because God

says every

single year

you must

celebrate

this Passover

meal.

You must

remember

every single

year

and replay

it and

replay it

and replay

it.

Remember the

liberation

that you

had from Egypt

until

until a

greater

substitution

comes,

a greater

liberation

comes.

And so we

fast forward

to scene

three

in the

drama

of the

lamb.

And over

1,000 years

later

this

unfinished

business

was still

waiting

to be

resolved

and then

John

the

Baptist

sees

Jesus

Christ

walking

towards

him

and

he

says

look

look

the

lamb

of God

who

takes

away

the

sin

of

the

world.

And so

we push

fast forward

again

to the

night

that Jesus

was

betrayed

to death

and Jesus

Christ

is celebrating

the Passover

meal

with his

disciples

and Jesus

takes the

traditional

place of

the presider

of the

meal

who

explains

the meaning

of the

meal

and there

are two

shocks

in this

moment

as Jesus

explains

the meaning

of the

meal.

The first

is

when he

picks up

the bread

he doesn't

say

what is

normally

said

at the

Passover

this

is

the

bread

of

our

suffering.

Our

ancestors

suffered

so that

we could

be

liberated

from

slavery

in

Egypt.

Instead

he

picks up

the bread

and he

says

this

is

my

body

broken

for

you.

This

is

my

suffering

for

you.

I

am

going

to

suffer

for

your

freedom

from

sin

and

death.

And

the

second

shock

for

them

as

they

sit

at

the

Passover

meal

is

the

bread

is

there

the

four

cups

of

wine

are

there

where's

the

lamb

anyone

seen

the

lamb

there's

a

lamb

out

the

back

somewhere

has

anyone

seen

the

lamb

where

is

the

lamb

none

of

the

gospels

refer

to

any

form

of

lamb

at

the

Passover

meal

because

the

lamb

was

not

on

the

table

the

lamb

was

at

the

table

Jesus

is

the

lamb

his

death

as

the

sacrificial

lamb

is

the

central

event

in

which

all

of

God's

relationship

to

the

world

has

in

fact

been

moving

that

night

Jesus

was

going

to

remove

the

debt

that

hangs

over

every

person

and

every

family

he

was

covering

it

with

his

blood

Jesus

is

the

substitute

lamb

of

God

he

paid

the

price

for

our

debt

and

he

liberated

us

from

slavery

to

sin

and

death

human

life

for

human

life

and

so

we

fast

forward

to

the

final

scene

of

the

drama

of

the

lamb

this

one

is in

the

book

of

revelation

where

the

slain

lamb

is

now

sitting

Jesus

Christ

sitting

on

the

throne

of

the

universe

victor

over

sin

and

death

and

the

judge

of

all

humanity

and

the

one

who

offers

eternal

life

and

salvation

and

he's

gathered

people

those

who

have

come

and

found

refuge

under

the

blood

of

the

lamb

and

now

sprinkled

with

his

blood

around

his

throne

worshipping

his

praises

forever

and

ever

and

ever

in

liberation

and

freedom

and

perfection

he is

worshipped

and served

by all

creation

as the

gracious

king

over

all

creation

and

so

thirdly

with

John

the

Baptist

there's

a call

here

to

look

look

the

lamb

of

God

who

takes

away

the

sin

of

the

world

John

got

it

in

that

moment

he

saw

it

in

that

moment

he

got

that

the

first

born

of

Israel

were

not

saved

throughout

history

by a

woolly

animal

the first

born of

Israel

was saved

because

God gave

up his

one and

only son

that's what

Abraham and

Isaac was

pointing to

God

was going

to

walk

as

Abraham

walked

Isaac

up the

mountain

carrying

the

wood

so

God

was

going

to

walk

up

the

mountain

with

his

son

and

lay

the

wood

on

him

for

our

sakes

God

would

not

say

stop

in

that

moment

as

Jesus

is

crucified

on

the

mountaintop

outside

of

Jerusalem

the

only

way

Abraham's

beloved

son

didn't

have

to

die

was

because

God's

beloved

son

did

so

when

John

says

look

the

lamb

of

God

who

takes

away

the

sin

of

the

world

he

isn't

saying

to

the

crowd

hey

hey

hey

look

there's

Jesus

the

lamb

of

God

there he

is

this

is

not

a

where's

wally

moment

can

you

find

him

there

he

is

it's

not

one

of

those

it

manatee

to

your

saviour

behold

him

notice

him

think

about

him

dwell

on

him

hear

him

grasp

him

respond

to

him

find

refuge

in

him

and

only

him

there

is a

debt

against

God

that

must

be

paid

and

Jesus

died

to

pay

that

debt

as

your

substitute

as

my

substitute

it's

either

you

or

it's

him

either

you

pay

it

I

pay

it

or

he

pays

it

for

us

and

Jesus

calls

us

to

come

to

him

and

put

our

trust

in

him

to

find

refuge

from

destruction

in

him

find

eternal

freedom

in

him

that's

why

I've

got to

say

again

and

again

that

statement

which

is

on

the

wall

behind

me

up

here

it's

why

we

exist

as

a

church

we

exist

to

treasure

Jesus

to

make

much

of

Jesus

to

make

him

the

main

thing

for

God's

glory

and

joy

of

all

people

we

exist

to

make

Jesus

our

greatest

hope

and

our

greatest

delight

God

it's

why

the

major

push

over

the

next

five

years

is

to

see

the

majority

of

us

grow

much

in

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

what

I

want

for

you

is

what

I

want

for

myself

and

that

is

to

grow

and

grow

and

grow

in

a

sense

of

liberation

and

freedom

that

we

have

in

Jesus

to

grasp

him

more

and

more

growing

in

faith

is

about

growing

more

in

freedom

from

slavery

to

sin

this

brings

joy

to

us

your

personal

devotional

life

is

meant

for

joy

it's

not a

drudgery

it's

not a

rule

it's

not a

regulation

it's

a joy

as

you

grasp

Jesus

more

and

more

and

it's

a joy

that

brings

brought

to

others

you

see

when

we

grasp

his

grace

and

his

love

to

us

it

transforms

us

transforming

us

it

changes

us

coming

to

Jesus

means

we

also

grasp

hold

of

the

reality

the

very

fundamental

reality

that

we

are

no

different

than

anyone

else

we're

not

better

than

anyone

else

Israel

and

Egypt

all

in

the

same

boat

all

of

us

have

a

debt

hanging

over

us

which

have

been

released

for

every

single

one

of

us

and

it

changes

your

view

of

other

people

the

truth

of

Jesus

Christ

is a

truth

that

does

not

lead

to

oppression

of

others

it

does

not

lead

to

slavery

of

others

it

leads

to

serving

of

others

sacrificing

for

others

this

God

is a

God

of

extraordinary

grace

and it

transforms

his

people

into

people

of

grace

and

service

and

radical

generosity

in

every

area

of

life

�

love

Thank you.