Jeremiah 16-20

We're in Jeremiah chapter 16, and we're going to get to chapter 20, I hope, by the end of the sermon.

Jeremiah 16 · chapter mention

Next week, your homework is 21 to 25. I'm hoping there's five more sermons in Jeremiah, but we will see.

Jeremiah chapter 16. If you need a Bible, you will need a Bible tonight. They're just by the door, or one of the stewards will bring them to you.

Jeremiah 16 · chapter mention

The Lord of the Rings. I've read the books. I've only read them once.

But I've seen the movies multiple times. We try to watch them once a year.

But I was told this week of a family who watched the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit back-to-back, and no stops at all.

20 hours and 14 minutes. 1,214 minutes. It's too much, isn't it? Just too much, even if you like Lord of the Rings.

If you don't, it's certainly far too much.

It's too much. And I think that's got similarities with Jeremiah 1 to 20.

I don't think there's any sustained stretch of the Bible quite like these chapters, which has been occupying us the last five weeks.

The highly charged emotions, the relentless intensity, the looming reality of terrible judgment, the raw angst of the prophet.

I don't know how you found it. I found it just a little bit too much.

God assaults our emotions and our assumptions through Jeremiah.

Through this prophet, God speaks into the messy world of Judah as they stare down the barrel of a Babylonian exile.

And he tells his spokesman that it's his job to announce to the people who will not listen that it's over.

It's over.

And they're to come back to him, and enough is enough.

And we've watched Jeremiah pouring himself into trying to convince God's people that their religion was killing them.

And he calls them back to the God who can give them life.

He confronts their spiritual hypocrisy and their deafness.

And as he does all this, Jeremiah exposes to us the heart of God.

And he reveals to us what does it mean to serve God, authentic ministry.

And we've seen in Jeremiah something of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The wounded prophet speaks God's word, suffers the pain, does whatever it takes to get the words across,

who sticks to the task, even when it means being broken, and it's almost too much.

These words are an overdose of confronting urgent reality.

And now in chapters 16 to 20, this great wave of intensity reaches its climax.

And we're confronted with not just the shape of what gospel, ministry, church life looks like,

but with the cost of it.

The cost of it.

And I want to walk you through these towering chapters in four steps,

which highlight the cost of serving God our King.

I won't cover every detail, but I want you to get the basic texture of these chapters.

To feel the weight of them.

As again, Jeremiah invites us to listen in as God speaks to him,

and urges and demands that he speak the truth,

and that he embody the truth to his people, and how that will cost him.

And I'm not sure there is anywhere else in the Bible that matches the intensity,

intensity, and the cost of ministry that comes into sharp focus.

We need to feel, and to see, and to grasp.

Now, you know that you are not Jeremiah, and the cost is not identical.

I think we can safely say that none of us will have quite so an important role in salvation history

as the prophet Jeremiah.

But don't forget that there is this basic continuity from the prophets to Jesus.

It is Jesus who pays the ultimate cost.

But that cost is anticipated and sketched out for us ahead of time

by those like Jeremiah who served God faithfully before him.

And then Jesus calls you and I as his people to face up to the real but restricted cost that we have to pay.

There is a connection between the cost that Jeremiah paid before Jesus comes

and the cost that Jesus expects you and I to bear as we follow him on this side of the cross.

So the ministry of Jeremiah in the 8th century BC shows us something of what we can expect.

So first in chapter 16, verse 1 to 21, can you see the cost of being committed?

Flashbacks, flick back to chapter 16, verse 1.

The cost of being committed.

The word of the Lord came to me,

You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.

We don't know if Jeremiah was ever married,

but one thing is clear, there wasn't to be a wife or children for the prophet this side of the exile.

Being committed for Jeremiah meant a real relational cost.

Knowing and speaking the truth meant for Jeremiah that he couldn't just pretend life was going to continue as normal.

He knew that in the words of verses 3 to 5,

that the children of Judah would die of deadly diseases.

And they wouldn't be lamented or buried.

They would lie as dung on the surface of the ground, perishing by the sword or famine.

There'll be food for the birds of the air.

And the sign for that dreadful reality God told Jeremiah was,

Don't get married.

Then in chapter 16, verse 5,

Not only was it a case of no marriage, no sex for the prophet,

but also no sympathy to be shown to the people.

In particular, he wasn't to go to any funerals.

For thus says the Lord God,

Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them,

for I have taken away my peace from this people.

My steadfast love and mercy declares the Lord.

Now, you might not be a fan of funerals,

but think of this for a second.

It's not just a prohibition on going to church services.

God is telling the prophet that he cannot have normal human relationships.

Both great and small shall die in the land.

They shall not be buried.

No one shall lament them, or cut himself, or make himself bald for them.

No one shall break bread for the mourner to comfort him for the dead.

Nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation.

And God is not finished yet.

The ban extends to parties and wedding receptions.

You shall not go, verse 8, into the house of feasting,

to sit with them, to eat and drink.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,

Behold, I will silence in this place,

before your eyes and in your days.

The voice of mirth, the voice of gladness,

the voice of the bridegroom, the voice of the bride, silence.

And when the prophet says, why all of this?

What is our iniquity?

What is the sin we've committed?

Jeremiah the party pooper has to pronounce,

because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord.

And they've gone after other gods.

They've saved and worshipped them.

And have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.

Verse 12, and because you've done worse than your fathers,

for behold, every one of you follows your stubborn, evil will,

refusing to listen to me.

Therefore, I will hurl you out of this land.

These are the harsh words that Jeremiah has to announce

to his next-door neighbour, to his community,

his schoolmates, his extended family.

And his life is to match the dark message.

For this is the cost of being committed.

And it's always been like this.

The relationship, the intimacy that the prophet has with God

does come at a cost.

The grace that God pours out in drawing us into his family,

and joining us to Christ, and then sending us out into the world,

always comes with a cost.

For Jeremiah, his ministry specifically affected his marriage,

his future, his social life, even his happiness.

There was a real cost.

And you might be sitting there tonight and thinking,

well, the cost actually is relatively low.

And we live and breathe in an environment

which is pretty unusual in the history of the church.

It has been for the last 200 years, really.

But the cost of being committed to Christ

will at some point go through the roof.

None of us has any idea

what the Lord has in store for us in the years ahead.

But if you are committed to the Lord Jesus,

there will be a cost.

And don't take that from me.

Take it from Jesus himself.

Luke 14, if anyone comes to me

and doesn't hate his own father and mother,

wife and children, brother and sisters,

and even his own life,

he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not bear his own cross

and come after me cannot be my disciple.

For which of you desiring to build a temple

does not first sit down and count the cost,

whether he's enough to complete it.

Otherwise, when he's laid a foundation

and he's not able to finish it,

all who see it will mock

and say this man began to build

and he wasn't able to finish.

Or what king going out to encounter another king

in a war will not sit down first

and count the cost of war?

So therefore, any of you

who does not renounce all that he has

cannot be my disciple, Jesus Christ.

Being committed to the Lord Jesus

complicates your relationships.

It introduces tensions with parents, siblings.

It can make life with your spouse more painful.

In some cases, it can narrow down

your marriage options to virtually nil.

Following Jesus complicates family life,

upping the demands on us as fathers

and husbands and wives and mothers

and brothers and sisters.

Being committed to Christ

will drastically affect your finances,

your career path, and your ego.

Being committed to Jesus

may well cost you your life.

So why put up with this?

Why is this a cost worth paying?

And it's a slightly surprising answer

that God gives to Jeremiah,

a compelling answer to that question

in the middle of all his own tension.

Why should he put up with this?

We'll look at chapter 16, verses 14 and 15.

And therefore, behold,

the days are coming, declares the Lord,

when it shall no longer be said,

as the Lord lives,

who brought up the people of Israel

out of the land of Egypt,

but as the Lord lives,

who brought up the people of Israel

out of the north country

and out of the countries

where you've driven them,

for I will bring them back

to their own land,

and I will give to them,

give to their fathers,

that I give to their fathers.

God says to Jeremiah,

remember the pain now

is the precursor to the joy

that will eventually follow.

Yes, there is judgment now,

but there will be dramatic salvation to come,

which leads Jeremiah to cry out,

verse 19,

O Lord, my strength, my stronghold,

my refuge in the day of trouble.

To you shall the nations come

from the ends of the earth

and say,

our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,

worthless things in which there is no profit.

Can man make for himself gods?

Such are not gods.

Therefore, behold,

I will make them know this once.

I will make them know my power on my mouth,

and they shall know,

the nation shall know,

that my name is the Lord.

A day is coming

when the Lord will be recognized

and acknowledged and worshipped

by people from all nations.

And that is why Jeremiah

can put up with the sacrifices,

the abuse,

the pain,

the angst.

It's all worth it

because of what God will do.

Or to sharpen it slightly,

for us,

it's actually worth it

because of Jesus.

And we can easily lose sight

that we belong to Jesus Christ.

And we've been rescued by Jesus Christ.

And we are united by faith

to Jesus Christ.

And we will worship Jesus Christ

around his throne forever.

And sometimes I think

you wouldn't actually know

that we love Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus himself

who makes it worthwhile

following him.

It is Jesus who calls us

to take on his yoke.

It's ultimately about Jesus.

And I wonder if it could be tonight

that you've lost sight of that

and lost sight of him.

And if we've lost sight of him,

then we'll think

the cost is not worth paying.

Unless our gaze

is fixed on Jesus'

beginning and end,

then sooner or later

it will all just seem too much.

It is Jesus

who makes the cost

of being committed

more than worth it.

Secondly,

as is the cost

of embracing the message.

In the next section

of chapter 17,

1 to 18,

the focus is on this

fused words

of God and Jeremiah.

Because remember in Jeremiah

you flip back

and fall

between Jeremiah's words

and God's word

almost without distinction.

It's hard to work out

which is which sometimes.

The focus shifts

from what Jeremiah

must give up

and put up with

to what Jeremiah

actually needs to embrace

at the deepest level

of his personality.

And it all revolves

around the nature

of the human heart.

The chapter begins

with an expose

of the sins of Judah.

The sin of Judah

is written

with a pen of iron,

with a point of a diamond.

It's engraved

on the tablet

of their heart.

And their sin

spills out

from there

in a whole manner of ways.

But it starts

with a heart problem.

And in that,

Judah is typical

of all of us.

That's made clear

in verses 5 to 7,

isn't it?

What do 5 and 7

remind you?

It's Psalm 1 language.

Cursed is the man

who trusts in man

who makes flesh his strength

whose heart turns away

from the Lord.

Verse 7,

Blessed is the man

who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is in the Lord.

He's like a tree

planted by water

that sends out its root

by the stream

and so on.

So the covenant-keeping

man is blessed.

The covenant-breaking

man is cursed.

The problem is,

of course,

and this is the lesson

Judah should have learned

from Israel

and we should have learned

from Judah

is that we are all

the covenant-breaking man.

And it's because

of our hardness

of heart.

In the Bible,

the heart

is the control center

of our personality.

The heart is where we think.

The heart is where we decide.

And it makes

chapter 17,

verse 9,

all the more confronting

and damning.

Can you read it with me?

Look at this.

The heart is deceitful

above all things

and desperately sick.

Who can understand it?

And that is the message

that Jeremiah

and we are called to embrace.

Because God searches

our hearts,

verse 10 to 13,

and he will judge us.

Yet there is hope

for those who don't

forsake God.

But like Israel,

like Judah,

we surely,

even though we know

he's the fountain

of living water,

we turn away.

Why?

Because the heart

is deceitful

above all things

and desperately sick.

And who can understand it?

There is no more difficult,

no more painful,

no more costly truth

to embrace from this.

But embrace it,

we must.

You may have not

thought about it

in this way.

But embracing

Jeremiah 17,

Jeremiah 17:9

verse 9,

may well be

the hardest thing

that you ever have to do.

We are hardwired,

aren't we,

to think well of ourselves.

And we instinctively

excuse ourselves.

Without a moment's hesitation,

we are all able

to explain how

circumstances have conspired

to make us behave badly.

How our actions

look so much worse

than they actually are.

If only you knew

what was going on

in my heart,

you wouldn't see

that it's that bad.

You would see

that I'm much nicer

than you currently think.

But for the sake

of our long-term

spiritual health,

there's nothing

more vital or urgent,

no more painful,

no more ultimately

more freeing

than this truth.

What does it look like

if we embrace this truth?

Well, perhaps,

speaking about

what it looks like

if we haven't

embraced this truth

is easier.

We wander through life

in this kind of haze

of self-congratulation

and self-justification.

We give ourselves

license to act

as if we're nicer

than we really are.

Do you talk too much

about yourself?

Or do you ask questions?

Do you constantly

talk yourself up

and others down?

Do you assume

that you know best?

Instinctively,

do you know,

do you seek

the wisdom of others?

They're hard questions,

aren't they?

Do you resist facing

and owning

your own sins

and instead point out

the sins of others?

Or will you

deliberately

and courageously

face and own

your sin

and seek

to encourage others

to find great

as they do the same?

That's the basic

choice we face.

Whether or not

to face the reality

of our sinfulness

and the truth

of Jeremiah 17,

Jeremiah 17:9

verse 9.

No decision,

no doctrine,

no admission

matters more

in real time

than the real world

for the future

of your life

with Christ

than this.

Killing off

self-love

will allow

the Holy Spirit

to take this truth

and plant it deep

in us

so that it explodes

at the nerve center

of our spiritual self.

The death

of our pride,

that's no small thing.

And this,

I suggest,

is the reason

why Jeremiah cries out

in chapter 17,

verse 14.

Look what he says.

He says,

Heal me, O Lord,

and I shall be healed.

Save me,

and I shall be saved.

For you, my praise.

It's hard to embrace

this message.

The cost of embracing

and speaking

the truth about sin,

verse 15.

Behold,

they say to me,

where is the word

of the Lord?

Bring it on,

let it come.

I've not run away

from being a shepherd,

nor have I desired

the day of sickness.

You know what came

out of my lips.

It was before your face.

I spoke about all this,

and they attacked me.

It's so hard,

Jeremiah says.

Be not a tarry to me.

You are my refuge

in the day of disaster.

Let those be put to shame

who persecute me.

Let me not be put to shame.

Let them be dismayed,

but let me not be dismayed.

Bring upon them

the day of disaster.

Destroy them

with double destruction.

For Jeremiah,

the only relief

and the only vindication

in the face of his enemies

is the coming judgment.

For you and I,

it is a bit different.

For us,

the cost of embracing

this message

is instantly met

with the tender

forgiveness of Jesus,

running to Christ

in repentance

and faith

in the light

of this brings.

James sums it up,

doesn't he?

James says,

and God opposes the proud.

He wants nothing to do with them,

but he gives grace

to the humble.

He can't keep away from them.

Submit yourselves,

therefore,

to God.

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God,

and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hearts,

you sinners.

Purify your hearts,

you double-minded.

Be wretched.

Mourn,

weep.

Take Jeremiah 17,

Jeremiah 17:9

verse 9,

to heart.

Let your laughter

be turned to mourning,

and your joy to gloom.

Humble yourselves

before the Lord,

and he will exalt you.

It's the sweet,

sweet cost

of embracing

the message

of the gospel,

and finding relief

in Jesus Christ himself.

The third aspect

of the cost

is in verses 19 and 27,

and you see the cost

of calling for a response.

Jeremiah switches

back to prose

and records

how he urges

God's people

to respond specifically

to his teaching,

and he calls

for a very particular response.

You pick up the thread

in 17,

in 17,

verse 19.

Thus said the Lord to me,

go and stand

in the people's gate

by which the kings of Judah

enter,

and by which they go out,

and in all the gates

of Jerusalem,

and say,

hear the word of the Lord,

you kings of Judah,

and all Judah,

and all the inhabitants

of Jerusalem

who enter by these gates.

Thus says the Lord,

take care for the sake

of your lives,

and do not bear a burden

on the Sabbath day,

or bring it in

by the gates of Jerusalem.

Keep the Sabbath day holy,

as I commanded your fathers.

Yet they did not listen

or incline their ear,

but stiffened their neck

that they might not hear

and receive instruction.

It's classic Deuteronomy.

He says,

you'll be blessed

if you obey,

you'll be cursed

if you disobey.

If you obey,

there will be

Davidic kings

ruling in Jerusalem,

and everyone will be happy.

If you disobey,

you'll go into exile.

In all likelihood,

this is one of his

earliest sermons,

where there's still

some hope

that people might listen.

And what happens,

what's the response

to this sermon

by this great preacher?

We'll look at the end

of chapter 17,

and you'll see nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

And Jeremiah

preaches his heart out.

He preaches his heart out,

knowing something

that we never will,

knowing that every syllable

that comes out of his mouth

has come from God himself.

It's truly an inspired sermon,

and the result is nothing.

God's people don't

pay any attention at all.

They keep careering

to the curse of exile.

And how hard

that must have been.

I don't know

if you realize

this,

but there is,

isn't there,

an emotional cost

to calling people

to respond.

Every time you urge

people to repent

and believe,

every time you lay

before them

the stunning beauty

of our God and King,

and you invite them

to gasp in amazement,

every time you seek

to persuade people

to bring every part

of their lives

under the lordship of Jesus,

whether it's parenting,

whether it's

talking about

your children's

social media activity,

whether it's

talking about giving,

whether it's

talking about our priorities

in life,

every time you proclaim

God's word

in whatever context,

and you call for response,

you're laying yourself

wide open.

What are you laying

yourself wide open to?

Discouragement,

disappointment,

self-doubt,

self-recrimination.

There is a cost

to calling people

to respond.

And nowhere,

I think,

in the Bible

is that clearer

than in the life

and ministry of Jeremiah.

It's not just sharing

what you've learnt.

There's this horrific phrase

in,

oh,

I go to preach places,

and they say,

well,

now Paul will come

and explain the Bible

as if I'm some kind

of English teacher.

That's not what

preaching is at all.

It's much,

much more than that.

It's not just sharing

what you've learnt,

but persuading others

to take hold of the truth.

As God takes hold

of our hearts,

so we long,

don't we,

for others to respond

in the same way too.

And that's what it means

to follow Christ,

to speak the words of Christ,

to weep the tears of Christ,

to suffer the pain of Christ

in the strength

that he supplies.

And then in chapters 18 to 20,

there's the cost

of saying the hard thing.

The final cost.

In a way,

the cost of saying hard things,

but that's what he does.

And it reaches a real climax

in this long section.

Jeremiah has to arise.

He goes to the potter's house

in chapter 18,

verse 2,

where the potter

is having another go

at his first messed up pot.

Oh,

house of Israel,

can I not do with you

as this potter

has done?

God could smash them,

or he could remake them.

It's over to them.

Verse 11.

Now therefore,

say to the men of Judah

and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

thus says the Lord,

behold,

I'm shaping disaster

against you

and devising a plan

against you.

Return everyone

from his evil way.

Amend your ways

and your deeds.

And unfortunately,

God already knows

what their response

is going to be.

Verse 12.

But they say,

this is in vain.

We'll follow our own

but it's announcing

judgment to God's people.

And he does it again.

Well,

what happens to him?

Shock,

horror.

Verse 18,

they attack him.

Come,

let's make plots

against Jeremiah.

For the Lord

shall not perish

from the priest,

nor counsel

from the wise,

nor the word

from the prophet.

We're not going

to give up

everything that everyone

is saying

to believe,

Jeremiah.

Let's strike him

with the tongue.

Let's not pay attention

to any of his words.

Verse 19,

Jeremiah cries out,

hear me,

O Lord,

and listen to the voice

of my adversaries.

Should good be repaid

with evil,

yet they dug a pit

for my life.

Remember how I stood

before you.

Therefore,

deliver up their children

of famine.

Give them over

to the powers

of the sword.

Let their wives

become childless

and widowed.

May their men

meet death

by pestilence.

Their youths

be struck down

by the sword

in battle.

May a cry

be heard

from their houses

when you bring

the plunderer

suddenly upon them.

For they've dug

a pit

to take means.

So on.

Don't forgive them.

Do not blot

out their sin.

Let them be

overthrown before you.

Deal with them

in the time

of your anger,

Lord.

Now I think

on balance,

it's fair to say

this isn't

Jeremiah's finest hour.

But we need

to hold on

to two things.

The first is

that Jeremiah's

enemies

are really

God's enemies.

That he has

brought a direct

word from God

and they've

attacked him.

And that in itself

heightens it

above any situation

that you are

I'll face.

Secondly,

his words are

recorded in part

of the least

to show you

the real cost

of saying

hard things

when they're

obviously true.

Same patterns

repeated in chapter

19.

God tells

Jeremiah

to go and

take some

pottery

and gather

the elders

and priests

and go to

the interestingly

named pottery

fragment gate.

I wonder

what's going

to happen

there.

Chapter 19

verses 3

to 9

brings another

horrific message.

Chapter 10

says,

well then you

shall break

the flask

in the sight

of the men

who go with you

and you shall

say to them,

thus says the

Lord of hosts,

so will I

break this people

in the city

as one breaks

a potter's

vessel.

And then just

for good measure

verse 15,

thus says the

Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

behold I'm

bringing upon the

city and upon

all its town

all the disaster

that I've

pronounced against

it,

because they've

stiffened their

neck refusing

to hear my

words.

Jeremiah,

like no other

man in the

Bible,

sticks relentlessly

to a thankless

task of saying

hard things

that it costs

him.

Jeremiah 20,

Pasho,

the priest,

sticks him in the

stocks.

What does he do,

verse 3,

when he's released

from the stocks?

Jeremiah said to him,

the Lord does not

call your name

Pasho,

but terror on

every side.

The Lord is

going to judge

you.

He's got guts,

hasn't he?

And when it's

all over,

Jeremiah collapses

in a heap.

And the words

in chapter 20,

verses 7 to 18,

are probably the

most intense

outpouring of

discouragement

in the whole of

the Bible.

He's drained,

defeated,

depressed,

exhausted,

empty.

Oh Lord,

you've deceived

me,

and I shut up

the word and

it burns within

me.

If I speak it,

they just

mock me.

Verses 11 to 13,

his theology

momentarily kicks

in to steady

him before verse

14,

he plunges deeper

into despair

than ever before.

Cursed be the

man who brought

the news to my

dad,

a son is born

to you,

making him

very glad.

Why did I

come out of

the womb?

Verse 18,

why did I

come out of

the womb to

see sorrow,

toil and sorrow

and spend my

days in shame?

Now imagine

for a moment

you are

Baruch the

scribe,

and you're

writing this

down.

He lifts his

pen and he

says to

Jeremiah,

are you sure?

You want me to

write this

down?

You want me to

include you?

This isn't

exactly you at

your best,

Jeremiah.

And Jeremiah

nods and says,

stays in.

It's exactly how

I felt,

it's what I

said,

it's what it

cost.

And you can

imagine the

same conversation

being rerun

after Jehoiachim

has thrown all

of Jeremiah's

work into the

fire,

and Baruch

is having to

write it out

all again,

and he comes

to the same

bit,

we're at

chapter 20,

Jeremiah,

do you really

want this

in?

It's got to

stay in.

Because Jeremiah

knows that

saying hard

things is

costly.

And often

speaking the

truth of the

gospel into

the lives of

our friends

or relatives

is not

something that

we're thankful

for.

In fact,

we are more

than likely to

be misrepresented

and slandered

and sidelined.

And often

things don't

change when we

speak the

truth,

even when we

speak it

lovingly.

Because when

God is at

work through

his word,

he exposes

and he

confronts,

and he

often breaks

down before

he builds

up.

God's word

in our

lives is

often painful.

And just

as often

those who

speak the

truth into

our lives,

they suffer,

don't they,

the collateral

damage.

You think

about it,

they don't

like it.

You probably

didn't like

it when

your parents

or whoever

it was

spoke God's

truth to

you at

first.

Christ.

But we

are prepared

to say

hard things

lovingly for

the sake of

Jesus Christ.

Well, if we

want to be

faithful, we've

got no

option.

Because as

John says,

whoever follows

Christ must

walk as he

did.

And that just

about brings us

to the end of

this fiercely

intense first

half of

Jeremiah.

From here on,

it seems that

Jeremiah has

embraced the fact

judgment is

coming.

And from

this point

on, he

calmly and

courageously

devotes the

rest of his

life to

persuading his

people, his

peers, that

this is what

is happening.

And he

holds out to

them the

hope.

The hope of

a new

covenant on

the other

side of

judgment.

So what

are we to

make of

this?

Well, I

think we

are to

marvel at

the sheer

commitment of

this man who

paid an

immense cost.

For

speaking the

truth.

To marvel at

him embodying

and living and

teaching the

very words of

God himself.

And he did

it all before

the coming of

the Lord

Jesus.

But we

have, of

course, seen

the one whom

Jeremiah only

caught glimpses

of.

The one whom

as God in

the flesh became

the perfect

suffering servant.

The one who

pressed on

even at points

where Jeremiah

wilted.

The one who

loved where

Jeremiah raged.

Even dying on

a cross for

us.

And it

is this

prophet, the

Lord Jesus

Christ, who

holds the

keys for

us.

Because he

is the

one who's

worth following.

And he

is the one

to whom we

commit ourselves.

And he is

the one we

receive when we

embrace the

message of the

gospel.

And he is the

one who we are

calling people to

respond to.

And he is the

one who calls

us to love

one another

with a real

truthful

costly love.

And he is the

one in whom

and for whom

and through

whom we live

and suffer

and rejoice.

And it is

worth it

because he is

worth it.

His love

has no limit.

His grace

has no measure.

His power

has no boundary.

No none to

man.

For out of his

goodness in

Jesus he

gareth and

gareth and

gareth again.

The cost

is worth

paying

because he

is worth it.

Let's pray.