Colossians 3:1-4 (Easter Sunday)

Thank you.

Thank you.

It astounds you to hear it.

The shock and surprise is evident on all of your faces at this very moment.

But it's true.

Sometimes they lie to you.

Now, we are even now in the middle of an election cycle.

And I would wager if you pay close attention and keep both your eyes open and both of your ears open, you might catch a lie like this.

You might catch one or two half-truths, a few exaggerations of fact, a few hyperbolic detours, a few taking of liberties.

I know it surprises some of you.

But for those of you who are not surprised by this, perhaps there are a few of you who came into church tonight knowing this particular secret already.

Perhaps the greater surprise would be to hear that there may be a ruler who tells the truth.

Perhaps you listen to the news every night, perhaps on your way home or once at home.

You listen to the news with your defenses held high with thoroughgoing suspicion about all the words that come out of politicians' mouths.

Now, if this more accurately describes you, then I suspect our text and this sermon tonight may actually surprise you.

For this sermon is about a ruler who comes and causes to make, he causes his people to flourish.

A ruler who rules in justice and righteousness.

A ruler who keeps every promise he makes.

If you were to find such a ruler, would you vote for him?

Would you even campaign for him?

Would you put a bumper sticker on your car about him?

Would you put a lawn sign out about him?

What precisely would you do if you found a ruler who never lied to you?

Tonight I want to speak with you about a ruler who keeps every promise he ever made.

You won't find the stories about him in the newspaper.

Instead, we have to go to a different text.

The text we're going to look at to discover this ruler is 2 Samuel 23, verses 1 through 7.

2 Samuel 23:1–7

You can turn there with me.

We'll be there the whole evening.

2 Samuel 23, 1 through 7.

And my hope tonight is that as we read this text together, we'll see one major point.

This is the one point.

God's children celebrate when God's king is crowned.

God's children celebrate when God's king is crowned.

Let's look at the text.

2 Samuel 23, verses 1 through 7.

2 Samuel 23:1–7

Now, these are the last words of David.

The oracle of David.

The son of Jesse.

The oracle of the man who was raised on high.

The anointed of the God of Jacob.

The sweet psalmist of Israel.

The spirit of the Lord speaks by me.

His word is on my tongue.

The God of Israel has spoken.

The rock of Israel has said to me,

When one rules justly over men,

ruling in the fear of God,

he dawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning.

Like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

For does not my house stand so with God?

For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

For he will not cause,

will he not cause to prosper all of my help and my desire?

But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away.

For they cannot be taken with the hand,

but the man who touches them arms himself with iron

and the shaft of a spear.

And they are utterly consumed with fire.

Now in order to understand this text before us this evening,

a bit of context might be useful.

This text tells us that these are the last words of David,

which is a strange designation

because after these last words of David,

David keeps on talking.

He's got plenty more to say after this.

You could read this as a simple error by the narrator,

but even if a cursory proofreading shows us

that this is not the case,

these are not in fact the last words of David,

perhaps something else is intended.

And I suggest that's exactly what is intended.

These are not chronologically the last words of David.

These are rather the culminating words of David.

These words are supposed to describe in a capsule form

the entirety of David's reign.

They epitomize his rule.

These words are presented to us as an oracle,

which is a rare thing for David.

An oracle or a prophetic utterance

that David makes under the influence of the spirit of God.

Do you see that there?

A long introduction.

The oracle of David.

The oracle of the man who was raised on high.

And then in the second verse,

the spirit of the Lord speaks by me.

These are not only David's words.

These are God's words.

David is looking back as a historian over his rule.

But the spirit might be saying something prophetic

as well as historical.

We'll come back to that toward the end.

So there's a little context for what's going on here.

The centerpiece of this passage is verses 3 and 4,

where we find the reason that God's children rejoice

when God's king is crowned.

And that's where I want to spend most of our time this evening tonight,

looking at 3 and 4.

Look at these verses again.

The God of Israel has spoken.

The rock of Israel has said to me,

When one rules justly over men,

ruling in the fear of God,

he dawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

These words David speaks about himself.

He is the Lord's anointed one in this passage.

He is the one who deals justly with his people.

Why?

First off, because he fears God.

He knows himself to be one who is himself under authority.

And therefore, he is supposed to rule over those

over whom he has authority with justice.

And look at the metaphors that are used here

for the reign of this king.

He dawns on them like the morning light,

the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

These are metaphors of flourishing as in a garden,

the things that are required to make the plants

that this king is husbanding flourish,

the unmitigated, unclouded sun,

the mist of rain that waters this garden.

This is a king who serves his people,

who rules on behalf of his people.

That's how you tell a good king,

that he rules on behalf of the people

over whom he has authority.

He does not use the people over whom he has authority

for his own purposes.

He causes them to flourish.

This flourishing metaphor,

this garden metaphor,

I don't think is accidental.

Do you remember what man and woman's first task was?

to go and have dominion,

caring husbanding of a garden,

to bring forth the fruits of the earth,

to cooperate with God in making the world flourish,

to be his agents in the world,

causing goodness and justice and beauty

and love to reign over all the earth.

This is what we were meant for.

This was our first task.

And the good king has not forgotten that.

The good king remembers that he,

as a descendant of Adam,

is charged with the task of being God's agent in the world,

of causing the world to bring forth much fruit,

to beautify the world,

to cause it to abound with goodness.

This is why God's children celebrate

when God's king is crowned.

Because God's king is one who knows

that he is charged with bringing the earth to flourishing.

And the people over whom he rules

rejoice when they see the world

righted from its wrongs,

beautified from its ugliness,

encompassed in love rather than wrapped in violence.

How could God's children not celebrate that sort of thing?

Now, you may be skeptical about this claim

that freedom and flourishing come from

submission to good authorities, rulers.

I'm even using the word kings over and over.

Those of us in the audience who are Americans,

we are taught from our youth

that kings are bad things

and we're supposed to revolt against them.

And here I am preaching to you

about the goodness of a king

that we should indeed even celebrate

when certain kings are around.

Isn't that treasonous to my American citizenship?

Well, I don't think so.

I do think the American ethos

does not train us well

to sympathize with this idea.

We think that freedom and flourishing

mean doing what is right in our own eyes.

But the Bible has something to say about this.

Even this story.

When we remember where this story is

in the overall narrative of the Bible,

we have reason to doubt

our American idea

that freedom and flourishing

are doing whatever is right

in our own eyes.

Do you remember where this story begins?

Even back before the king.

In the book of Judges.

Judges is one of those really depressing books.

Over and over.

They come into the land

and it's racked in evil

and a judge comes up

and takes care of business.

The judge dies

and the text says

there was no judge in Israel.

Every man did what was right

in his own eyes.

We think this is a utopia.

The Bible clearly depicts it as anarchy.

Violence.

The poor and the weak

are not taken care of

when everyone does what he wants.

Something is needed

to solve the problem

of human violence.

And anarchy is not the answer.

And that's where

1 and 2 Samuel come in.

The people want a king.

And God says

okay

you need a ruler.

I want it to be your king.

But if the people

yearn so much for a king

Samuel give them one.

And at first

it seemed like it was going to work.

Saul

the stalwart man

who inspired

hope

and strength

into his people

flourished for a while.

And then he fell away.

And David came.

David

the good king

the man after God's own heart.

Surely

he is the answer

to the problems

of the wickedness

of his people.

Except when you read

the stories of David

it seems like

he is racked

by the same wickedness

of his people.

Samuel.

We know the Bible

the narrative

the long arc

of the Bible

has said that somehow

the answer to our problems

is a king

but not Saul

and not David.

So who?

at the beginning

of 1st Samuel

the passage

that brackets

these ending

songs

in 2nd Samuel

you see the woman

named Hannah

a barren

and lonely

woman

who pleads

with God

for deliverance

for a child.

and when God

provides a child

she sings a song

a song of prophecy

and she says this

the adversaries

of the Lord

shall be broken

in pieces

against them

he will thunder

in heaven

the Lord

will judge

the ends

of the earth

he will give strength

to his king

and exalt

the horn

of his anointed.

She sees

the Lord

is going to do

something

through one

whom she calls

the anointed.

And here in this text

we see David

takes this on

for himself.

Look there

in verse 5

Does not

my house

stand so

with God?

David sees this

as applying

to himself

this is why

he sings this song

toward the end

of his life

David is a historian

chronicling

his own reign

What's the grounds

for him saying

that this

applies to his kingship?

Verse 5 again

He has made with me

an everlasting covenant

ordered in all things

and secure

What's David's

reason for saying

this?

What's the proof

that God has made

a covenant with him?

Well first off

God has spoken to him

Second and thirdly

David over the course

of the last several

chapters

has destroyed

the enemies of God

something that today

looks to us

like a needless

senseless bloodbath

but here's what

he's done

little by little

he has cleared

out a space

of peace

for his son

to construct

the temple

Solomon will not

need to marshal

grand armies

to defeat

any more Philistines

David's already

done that

Solomon can

muster the strength

of Israel

to build the

dwelling place

of God

this is one of

David's greatest

feats

but

if we read this

passage only as

history

then it certainly

must be

pure mockery

for we've already

seen the dreadful

things that David

has done

and this next

chapter after this

one will be no

different

the list of his

mighty men

those come next

the mighty men

that did all

these things

that won all

these battles

with David

do you know

who that last

name in that

list is

Uriah the

Hittite

the narrator

mentions last

Uriah the

Hittite

ensuring that

no matter

who else

the listener

remembers

what other

names

this long

list of

names

the listener

remembers

he will

remember

Uriah the

Hittite

what's so

special about

Uriah the

Hittite

well this

one

of David's

mighty men

had the

prestige of

being killed

by his

king

of having

his wife

stolen

by his

king

David

is guilty

of the

blood

of Uriah

the Hittite

and the

narrator

won't let

us forget

it

he puts

his name

right at

the end

of the

list

and right

after that

David

will take

a census

which shows

his desire

to trust

in his

own

military

strength

rather than

God

and God

is angry

about this

and causes

a pestilence

to come

and kill

70,000

of David's

men

David is

the one

who rules

in perfect

uprightness

the narrator

does not

want us

to read

it so

simply

when these

two

contradictory

pieces

apparently

contradictory

pieces of

information

are presented

to us

side by

side

the narrator

wants us

to think

on the one

hand

the just

one

rules

over

men

this

is

David

ruling

in the

fear

of

God

causing

the people

to flourish

on the

other

hand

he's

imperfect

at best

what the narrator

I think

wants us

to see

is this

that David

in this

passage

is pointing

beyond

himself

indeed

all of

Samuel

is pointing

beyond

itself

it ends

and culminates

with David

but it

ends with

David's

failures

as well

as his

successes

the Bible

has told us

that a king

is necessary

to restrain

human wickedness

and to cause

the earth

to flourish

but David

is not a

great

a perfect

candidate

for this

do you

remember

what I

said

here

that David

speaks

not only

as a

historian

but in

the

Holy Spirit

speaks

also

as a

prophet

David

is looking

forward

to

another

king

that is

to come

that rules

in justice

and righteousness

look here

in verse

five

again

David

says

God

has made

with him

an everlasting

covenant

ordered in

all things

and secure

historically

we know

that a

united

kingdom

only lasted

for about

one more

generation

after David

and the

whole thing

went to

pot

how can

this be

said to be

an everlasting

covenant

Christians know

the answer

to this

the answer

is

that David

was always

supposed to

point to

somebody

the better

David

the true

king

who would

truly

cause

justice

to reign

on the

earth

who would

restore

the garden

that once

was lost

that would

cause

the earth

and all

the people

in his

care

to flourish

and this

king came

in

riding

on a

donkey

was crowned

not in

gold

but in

thorns

was lifted

up not

on a

throne

but on

a cross

and did

not live

over his

people

but died

for his

people

how can

this one

be a

king

Jesus

can be a

king

because he

did not

stay

dead

and after

his death

he rose

again

and after

his resurrection

he ascended

he ascended

not simply

like a

divine elevator

bumping up

into the

basement

of heaven

no he

ascended

like a

king

ascends

to a

throne

and all

the way

back here

in Samuel

hundreds and

hundreds of

years earlier

we have it

foretold

that a

true king

would come

God's

chosen king

would be

crowned

and God's

cherished

children

would celebrate

so when we

read this

we ought not

think only of

it as

the history

of David's

reign

but also

as the

prophecy

of the

coming

king

the one

who is

the desire

of all

nations

the joy

of every

longing

heart

what is

in this

text

for us

what does

this mean

for us

who no

longer search

for kings

but nevertheless

find ourselves

to be in an

election cycle

I think

this text

tells us a

few things

first for

those who

are in

authority

notice the

way a

just ruler

exercises

authority

they exercise

authority

in such a

way as to

cause the

earth to

flourish

again these

garden metaphors

restoring Eden

bringing the

fullness of

earth

the fullness

of God's

creation

to blossoming

those of you

who exercise

authority in

ways big or

small either in

elected office or

even in a

parent being a

parent or even

in an office

do you have

anybody in your

life whom you

serve over whom

you have

authority

if you do

you have the

opportunity

to work with

God to

cause the

earth to

flourish

to make it

like David

for Solomon

easier for

your children

and those who

come after

you to

worship God

that's a

choice you

have

or

you can be

like those in

verse 6 and

7

worthless men

are like

thorns that

are thrown

away

do you

remember what

Adam's curse

was in the

garden

that his

work would

be marked

by thistles

and thorns

that now

Eden would

be overcome

with these

thorns

and here

David speaks

worthless men

as these

thorns

the very

thorns that

the one who

is to

shepherd and

husband the

garden needs

to cut down

with iron and

steel and

throw into the

fire

for those of

us who

exercise

authority this

is our

choice

to work

with God

in causing

the earth

to flourish

or to be

one of those

thorns that

needs to be

pulled up

and thrown

into the

fire

use your

authority

therefore

to cause

the earth

to flourish

to cause

your children

and your

co-workers

and your

family and

all those

around you

over whom

you have

authority or

not

to flourish

set an

example in

your life

of justice

and mercy

and love

ruling like

this king

in the fear

of God

is your

life lived

in the

tangible

fear of

God

knowing that

you will

give an

account one

day to

this king

Jesus who

now sits

enthroned

over heaven

and earth

this choice

is yours

and David

would beg

you

exercise

your authority

in the fear

of God

causing those

around you

to flourish

pray for the

people that

surround you

be a good

example for

them

encourage them

strengthen them

what about

those of us

who don't have

authority or

who are under

authority

none of us

is president

in this room

and that means

we are all

at least under

one authority

what should we

do what does

this text teach

us about how

we are to

behave under

authority

the first thing

it tells us

is this

do not be

cynical

do not be

cynical about

your leaders

a cynic

is one who

has given

over to

despair

who has

thought our

leaders are

so corrupt

that there is

nothing for

which to

rejoice any

longer

I will never

get my hopes

up

I won't be

fooled again

but this

passage

talks about

just rulers

who bring

flourishing to

their people

and worthless

men who grow

up like weeds

and are fit

only to be

cut down

and burned

this text

thinks there's

a real difference

between these

people

we should pray

that God

might send

good rulers

so that the

lands in which

we dwell

might flourish

like a garden

not wither

like a desert

we ought to

pray to God

that we have

occasion to

celebrate

the crowning

of one whom

God has chosen

to lead

us

we cannot

be despairing

the Christian

is commanded

to hope

hope for what

not that this

world will be

somehow transformed

into heaven

little by little

no

we cannot

be given over

to despair

so this text

teaches us

that we ought

not despair

it also teaches

us that we

ought not

follow false

messiahs

humans

are hard

wired

to seek

for messiahs

that's why

we believe

high flying

rhetoric

every four

years

but that

rhetoric

and those

messiahs

will always

disappoint us

those messiahs

share our

sins

they participate

in our

flaws

you know

the only way

to ensure

that you

will never

be disappointed

by your

rulers

is to plan

to be

disappointed

by your

rulers

the only

way never

to be

disappointed

by your

rulers

is to

plan

to be

disappointed

by your

rulers

they won't

let you

down

if you

plan on

them

letting

you

down

don't

make them

into

messiahs

we

incline

toward one

of these

directions

either

being

messianic

about our

favorite

person

our

favorite

elected

official

or being

cynical

they're all

the same

crooks

thieves

bums

throw them

out

we're tempted

to think

this way

about all

of those

in authority

over us

our bosses

probably

even more

proximate

to us

than the

president

are the

particular

objects

of our

scorn

don't

mess

don't make

a messiah

out of

anybody

above you

don't

be

cynical

claiming

that

there

is

no

real

justice

in

this

world

instead

pray

for your

leaders

pray

for your

leaders

pray

that

God

would

give

us

the

occasion

to

celebrate

the

rule

of

justice

pray

that

God

would

send

ones

to

us

who

would

come

to

us

like

the

morning

light

like

sun

shining

forth

on a

cloudless

morning

and rain

that

makes

the earth

bring forth

grass

be

thankful

for the

small ways

we see

that now

Christians

are taught

to expect

very little

from the

rulers

of this

world

we are

also taught

to thank

the Lord

for every

shred

of grace

that we

see

and for

those who

have eyes

to see

and ears

to hear

there are

millions

of shreds

of grace

for which

to be

thankful

do you

thank the

Lord

when you

come to

a red

light

which has

prevented

you from

smashing

into another

car

coming in

the opposite

direction

there's a

sign of

good

governance

do you

praise

the Lord

with eager

rejoicing

when in

the middle

of the

night

in a

thunderstorm

you are

awoken

by the

scraping

of a

snowplow

out on

the

street

doing

a

job

to

make

sure

you

can

get

to

work

the

next

day

this

is

a

little

shred

of

grace

good

governance

is

happening

when the

mail

arrives

at your

home

assuming

it

doesn't

include

only

bills

we

should

rejoice

something

has

gone

right

in

the

world

today

I

was

not

falsely

imprisoned

there

are

plenty

of

countries

in which

that's

not

the

case

we

ought

to

rejoice

and

be

thankful

for

every

shred

of

grace

we

see

in a

world

that is

given

over

to

cynicism

what

kind

of

people

would

we

be

if

we

were

pervasively

thankful

for

all of

the

shreds

of

grace

that

we

see

we

can

in

fact

in

this

world

get

dim

visions

of

what

it

would

look

like

for

the

dawn

to

come

on

us

like

a

morning

light

and

for

the

sun

to

rise

on

cloudless

mornings

and

the

waters

to

water

the

earth

bringing

forth

grass

we

can

see

these

things

when

we

see

them

we

ought

to

rejoice

and

finally

this

text

teaches

us

to

hope

hope

for

the

coming

king

the

king

that

David

himself

looked

forward

to

because

this

king

is

coming

this

Jesus

has

said

behold

I

am

coming

quickly

with

a real

crown

on his

head

this

time

and

a

real

white

horse

upon

which

he

is

riding

this

king

is

coming

the

flourishing

garden

of Eden

that our

parents

forsook

will

one

day

flourish

again

and

those

who

love

Christ

can

live

there

there

in

this

garden

in

the

middle

of

the

city

of

the

new

Jerusalem

where

God

himself

sits

enthroned

this

is

the

king

that

our

hearts

yearn

for

every

election

cycle

every

campaign

promise

we hear

that we

allow

ourselves

to

believe

even

slightly

is a

picture

of our

yearning

for

this

good

king

the

failures

and the

successes

of this

world's

leaders

are both

designed

to point

our

minds

to the

coming

of

God's

true

anointed

one

the

successes

of these

leaders

because

they're

only

a dim

picture

of what

full

flourishing

will look

like

when

Christ

is

finally

enthroned

and

subdues

all of

his

enemies

and

the

failures

of this

world's

leaders

ought to

cause

us

to

raise

our

eyes

higher

up

to

that

divine

king

as

well

knowing

that

he

will

never

let

us

down

none

who

trusted

in

the

Lord

were

ever

put

to

shame

this

Messiah

does

not

disappoint

this

is

the

ruler

who

keeps

every

campaign

promise

he's

ever

made

this

is

the

Messiah

our

hearts

truly

yearn

for

and

this

Messiah

is

coming

and

when

this

chosen

king

of

God

comes

God's

children

will

celebrate

at his

coronation

how

will we

celebrate

well

we are

told

in the

Bible

that

not

only

will

this

king

come

and

rid

the

world

of

his

enemies

but

he

will

also

wed

himself

to

his

bride

this

is

a

king

betrothed

to

a

bride

and

we

who

are

in

his

church

are

that

bride

the

celebration

that

will

be

ours

when

this

king

comes

is

a

bridal

feast

it's

a

wedding

supper

it's

a

meal

with

bread

and

wine

there

for

the

taking

and

union

with

our

king

what

a

celebration

that

will

be

and

that

celebration

is

precisely

what

we

look

forward

to

now

as

we

come

to

the

Lord's

table

to

drink

the

cup

and

take

the

bread

so

as

we

come

think

on

the

fact

that

this

king

died

for

us

to

cleanse

us

of

our

sins

and

to

give

us

new

life

think

also

of

that

great

wedding

feast

that

it

foreshadows

to

which

all

those

who

love

Jesus

are

invited

to

come

let's

pray

Lord

we

do

thank

you

for

this

promise

that

you

will

come

and

right

all

of

the

world's

wrongs

that

when

your

king

is

coronated

your

children

will

celebrate

thank

you

that

you

have

put

before

us

the

possibility

of

real

joy

no

the

promise

of

real

joy

promises

from

a

king

who

never

broke

a

promise

stir

our

hearts

with

eager

longing

for

your

reign

Lord

Christ