A Seat At The Table

Some of you may have watched just a few weeks ago as President Trump did a similar address to that it wasn't technically a State of the Union.

It was an address to the joint session of Congress, and throughout his very lengthy speech, he acknowledged a few guests that he had invited.

They were in the gallery, and if you watch, you recognize you'll remember what had happened.

There were several of them that he went through at various points in his speech, and the point was to put a face on the issues, and then, of course, there were some other motives to that as well.

For example, when he was pressing in the issue for his immigration policy, he recognized the family of a 12-year-old girl who had tragically been killed by an illegal immigrant.

And by doing this, he put a face on the issue to try to gain support for what he's doing, help us understand the reality of the situation as he understood it to be.

But he also gave himself an opportunity to extend a public kindness to the family of that 12-year-old girl who was in attendance.

And in the case of that particular moment, the kindness was to simply rename a wildlife refuge after the name of the girl who enjoyed wildlife and was passionate about that during her lifetime.

Now, a lot of public figures will do this, won't they?

And as they should do.

And these are often actually quite touching moments for us.

Remember, on that particular night especially, there was one moment with a little boy who had survived cancer that was just especially touching.

But even the most genuine acts of kindness in instances like that have a deeply political motivation.

These people are chosen for a reason.

Their circumstances provide a unique opportunity for the public figure to gain some political advantage in something that he wants to emphasize.

And apart from that potential advantage, it's unlikely that they would ever receive the president's personal kindness.

At least in a nationally televised speech.

When we get to 2 Samuel chapter 9, we find a very powerful king showing extraordinary kindness to a subject of his kingdom.

2 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

But in this case, there is no conceivable benefit to motivate the king's act.

His kindness was motivated instead by covenant love.

And this love was lavished not on a faithful friend, but on a potential enemy.

A potential threat to his very throne and to the throne of his children.

It's one of my favorite stories in all of the Bible.

And it is so because it so beautifully pictures the kindness of God extended to you and me.

Let's read it together.

2 Samuel 9 verse 1.

2 Samuel 9:1

And David said,

Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba.

And they called him to David and the king said to him,

Are you Ziba?

And he said,

I am your servant.

And the king said,

Is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him?

Ziba said to the king,

There is still a son of Jonathan.

He is crippled in his feet.

The king said to him,

Where is he?

Ziba said to the king,

He is in the house of Machir, the son of Amiel, of Lodabar.

Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Amiel, at Lodabar.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.

And David said,

Mephibosheth.

And he answered,

Behold, I am your servant.

David said to him,

Do not fear.

For I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan.

And I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father.

And you shall eat at my table always.

And he paid homage and said,

What is your servant that you should show such regard for a dead dog such as I?

Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him,

All that belong to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson.

And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him

and shall bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bread to eat.

But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table.

Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.

And Ziba said to the king,

According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.

So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons.

And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah.

And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants.

So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table.

Now he was lame in both his feet.

The impact of this story is magnified, I think,

when we understand the historical context in which it took place.

And fortunately for us, 2 Samuel gives us a lot of context that helps us understand it.

The book actually opens by describing the death of David's predecessor, we know to be King Saul.

But it actually took years for David to have a throne that was established in Israel, even after Saul's death.

There was an ongoing struggle, an ongoing war, we might say,

between those who were loyal to the house of Saul and those who were loyal to the house of David.

And after Saul's death, the tribe of Judah anoints David to be king,

but they're the only tribe to anoint David to be king and recognize and receive him as king.

All the other tribes gather and they recognize one of Saul's other sons, Ish-bosheth.

Ish-bosheth.

And they anoint him to be their king.

And so, for a period of two years, David reigns over Judah and Judah alone.

And during that two years, one of Saul's sons reigns in the other place.

And there's constant friction between the two, as you might imagine.

War takes place and unfolds time after time.

For two years, they fought.

But we're told in chapter 3 and verse 1 that David grew stronger and stronger

while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

Beginning in chapter 5, everything shifts.

Ish-bosheth was killed and David was anointed king over all of Israel,

which initiated a legitimate golden age of God's blessing to God's people.

David established Jerusalem as the center of worship.

He did that in chapter 6 by bringing the Ark of the Covenant,

the tent of God, and letting it rest in Jerusalem rather than where it had been previous.

Establishing Jerusalem as the heart of the worship of Almighty God.

And then in chapter 7, we read of God's covenant with David,

that one day he would raise up offspring from David's seed,

who would be a greater king than David.

Such a king that his throne would see no end.

He would be an eternal king over God's eternal kingdom.

And he would occupy the throne forever.

And then we get to chapter 8,

and we see that God gave David victory over all his enemies,

who pressed against Israel literally from every direction.

He had them coming from the south.

He had them coming from the east.

He had them coming from the north.

Pagan enemies.

And in every situation, simultaneously,

God gives victory to David and to his people.

And what's the point of all of that?

What is it telling us?

It's telling us that David was God's king.

And that the Lord blessed his people through David in every possible way.

So that when we get to chapter 9,

and we read of this particular story,

we find clearly this comes at a time when David needs no advantage.

He doesn't need to gain political clout.

He's not trying to raise his poll numbers.

It's as good as it gets for David.

And it's as good as it gets for God's people at this time.

He had the favor of Almighty God resting on him.

God was blessing everything that he did.

But David was also the representative of God,

meant to reflect God's righteousness

and reveal the nature of God's kingdom.

But as God's representative, like the rest of us,

David often fell short of that purpose.

In fact, just two chapters after this,

we see David at his very worst in the scenario with Bathsheba.

But here, in chapter 9,

we see David at his very best.

This man who is to be the representative of God among his people,

who is to point us forward to a greater king,

whom God is blessing in every imaginable way,

we can argue that in this moment,

he does it best as God's chosen.

So that if we want to see a glimpse of God's loving kindness,

we can see it here in 2 Samuel 9.

If you long to get a taste of what God's eternal kingdom will be like,

you get a taste of it here in 2 Samuel 9.

If you hope to just gain a better understanding of the kind of king that Jesus is,

this chapter will give you a lot to meditate on.

Now what I want to do is just kind of lead you on a march through the plot line of the chapter.

We won't be able to stop and examine every detail.

I'll leave that to you.

We're going to look at the big picture here.

We want to see why.

Why is this here?

Why did God see fit to include this particular story of David?

Out of countless others, why this one?

Why is it here?

What are we supposed to understand?

First thing I want you to see here is the king's search.

The king's search.

Let's just read verses 1 through 4 again.

David said,

Well, again, in the United States, we enjoy the peaceful transfer of power, typically,

whenever one presidential administration transitions to another.

Historically speaking, that is quite unusual.

You understand that.

In the ancient Near East, whenever a king overtook another,

his first step was eliminating every potential threat to his throne,

which meant hunting down and killing the previous king's family,

especially his children.

He would find his advisors, and he would eliminate them as well.

Anyone who had a serious loyalty to the previous regime would be imprisoned or killed.

Anyone who might foment some kind of insurrection in the name of the previous king.

The cultural expectation for David,

cultural,

was that he would kill the entire house of Saul.

And it is this expectation that overshadows this entire scene,

this entire narrative,

is founded upon that premise

that what was expected of David

is that in his search for whoever remains of Saul's family and Saul's lineage would be eliminated.

And it's magnified by the fact that in the chapters leading up to it,

there's this constant war,

even after Saul's death between David and Saul's loyalists.

So when David asked if anyone from Saul's family was still alive,

the expectation is that he's asking

so that he might finish off any remaining threat to his own throne.

And surprisingly,

David searched for Saul's remaining relatives,

not to kill them,

but to show him kindness.

This word for kindness,

chesed,

it's often translated as mercy or steadfast love.

It refers to extraordinary kindness that isn't self-seeking.

It arises from personal affection and purity and goodness.

John Woodhouse defines it this way,

it is mercy and kindness shown toward one in need

by one with the power to help,

but not necessarily with any obligation to help.

That's what's being communicated by this language here.

There's three things about David's kindness,

his search to show kindness that I think sticks out here

that would be good for us to know.

First, his kindness was covenantal.

His kindness was covenantal.

He wasn't looking for political advantage,

he wasn't looking for personal praise.

His search to show kindness

was motivated by covenantal love.

Specifically,

specifically,

over the covenant that he made with Jonathan,

who was not only Saul's son

and next in line for the throne

according to Saul's lineage,

but he was David's best friend.

David sought someone to bless

out of his deep,

covenantal faithfulness

and love for Jonathan.

We remember that covenant

from 1 Samuel chapter 20.

1 Samuel 20 · chapter mention

Let me just read it to you.

1 Samuel 20, 14 to 17.

This is Jonathan speaking.

He says,

If I am still alive,

show me the steadfast love of the Lord.

Same word as kindness here in 2 Samuel 9.

Has said,

show me the steadfast love of the Lord

that I may not die.

And do not cut off your hesed,

steadfast love,

from my house forever.

When the Lord cuts off

every one of the enemies of David

from the face of the earth,

and Jonathan made a covenant

with the house of David,

saying,

May the Lord take vengeance

on David's enemies.

And Jonathan made David swear again

by his love for him.

For he loved him

as he loved his own soul.

What is the nature

of this kindness being displayed?

He's not looking to gain advantage.

He's being faithful to a covenant.

Faithful to a covenant.

A covenant of love.

Second,

his kindness is godly.

It's godly love.

In verse 3,

David speaks of this action

when he speaks to Ziba.

He doesn't say

that I may show my kindness.

He says that I may show

the kindness of God to him

is what he sought to do.

He understood himself

to be a conduit

of God's steadfast love to others.

The action,

whatever it is that he would do,

it would not merely be from David.

It would be God's favor

supplied through David

David's kindness,

to someone from Saul's house.

David's kindness,

even in his own understanding,

was meant to reflect

the kindness of God.

He was God's man.

He was God's instrument.

A man who had God's heart.

And it's reflected

at its best here.

Third,

his kindness

was extraordinary.

It was extraordinary kindness.

And we've touched on this already,

but we find here

that after consulting with Ziba,

David discovered

that one of Jonathan's sons

had survived.

And everything we read here

about this young man

points to one thing.

Shame.

There is nothing good

said about Mephibosheth here.

Not because he wasn't

a good guy,

but because he would have

been recognized

in every possible way

with shame.

His disabilities

crippled in his feet.

It's emphasized

throughout the text.

It's mentioned over and over.

In fact,

you'll notice,

even when we get

to the very end of the chapter,

the very last thing

that it says about

Mephibosheth again

is that he was lame.

He was crippled in his feet.

It's emphasized.

Why?

Shame.

Something that might

have gained him pity

in some regards

in our culture

garnered only shame

in his own day.

But how he became crippled

reminds us

that this man

was a potential enemy

of God

and of David.

He was crippled

by running for his life

after Saul's death.

Just flip a couple

of chapters back

to chapter 4

and look at

verse 4.

Jonathan,

the son of Saul,

had a son

who was crippled

in his feet.

And this is how

he became crippled.

He was five years old

when the news

about Saul

and Jonathan

came from Jezreel,

that is their death,

and his nurse

took him up

and fled

and as she fled

in her haste,

he fell

and he became lame

and his name

was Mephibosheth.

How did he even

become lame

to begin with?

He wasn't born that way.

He became lame

because he was

related to Saul

and upon Saul

and Jonathan's death,

everybody expects

whoever's coming next

is coming after us

and they get out

of the house

as quickly as they can.

Five-year-old Mephibosheth

is picked up

by his nurse

and on the rush out,

he falls

and he breaks his legs.

Another reminder

of who he is.

He's a potential enemy.

And then finally,

what do we know

about Mephibosheth

from chapter 9

in this little section?

Well, we learn about

where he is

currently

and his location

suggests a life

of exile.

Lodabar

was somewhere

in the Transjordan area,

somewhere northeast

of the Jordan River.

We can approximate

where it was

but nobody really knows

where it was

and that is

by design.

Lodabar,

it literally means

no word.

This is the kind

of place

that you went

when you didn't

want to be found.

That's where

Mephibosheth was,

the grandson

of the previous king.

He's in hiding.

He's in exile.

He is unwelcome

in Jerusalem

or anywhere near David

and his kingdom.

At least that's

what he believes.

So what do we know

about the grandson

of Saul?

Well,

he lived a life

of shame

in exile

as an enemy

of the king.

This,

this is the one

that David

determined to show

the steadfast love

of the Lord to.

Second,

let's look at

the king's encounter.

So we see his search.

Let's look at his encounter

in verses 5 to 8.

Start with

verses 5 and 6.

Then king David

sent and brought him,

that is Mephibosheth,

from the house

of Machir,

the son of Amiel

at Lodabar.

And Mephibosheth,

the son of Jonathan,

son of Saul,

came to David,

fell on his face

and paid homage.

David said,

Mephibosheth.

He answered,

Behold,

I am

your servant.

Now you can imagine

Mephibosheth's anxiety

when David's representatives

arrive at his hideout

in Lodabar.

He must

surely have expected

this to be

the end.

Judgment day

for Mephibosheth

as he might have feared

for many years,

maybe up to two decades

at this point.

it had finally arrived.

All he could do

was plead

for the king's mercy.

And that's exactly

what he did.

He makes it to David,

he stands before the king

and he immediately

falls on his face,

prostrate

before the king

and we're told

that he pays homage,

he gives honor

to the king

and he declares,

Behold,

I'm your servant.

I don't want

your throne.

I'm not serving Saul.

I am your servant.

What is this?

It is a

plea for mercy.

His words,

his actions,

they're all recognizing

that David

is the true

king of Israel

in hopes

that the king

who has all the power

would grant him

mercy

in this moment.

Again,

John Woodhouse

so helpfully,

he remarks here

that David's kingdom

would be one

in which those

with reason

to be his enemies

would receive kindness

if only

they received him

as their king.

And that's

exactly what

Mephibosheth is doing.

He falls on his face.

He understands

his unworthiness.

He understands

the situation.

He understands

what

David would be justified,

culturally speaking,

would be justified

in doing.

And he pleads

for mercy.

Look at verse 7.

David said to him,

Do not fear.

I will show you

kindness

for the sake

of your father,

Jonathan.

And I will restore

to you

all the land

of Saul,

your father.

And you shall

eat at my table

always.

Always.

Now I wonder

what came first.

Shock.

Confusion.

Skepticism.

Here's Mephibosheth.

He's been in hiding.

Now he's summoned

to the king.

There's no indication

that he has

any understanding

as to why

he's being summoned.

He probably expects

he's about to lose

his life

and probably

his son as well.

But what he hears

is those

gracious words

that we so often

read in the scripture.

Don't be afraid.

The one who has

the power

to do whatever

he wants

to Mephibosheth

says,

don't be afraid.

Do not fear.

He must have

expected the

sentence of death.

What he actually

experienced however

was loving kindness.

Surprising.

Unexpected.

Don't be afraid

Mephibosheth.

I mean to show

you kindness

for the sake

of the covenant

I made with your dad.

And then David

reveals the fruit

of that kindness.

What exactly

does he mean

to show kindness?

And he mentions

two things.

The restoration

of Saul's estate

to Mephibosheth.

But then even greater

is this lifelong

seat

at the king's table.

The one

who had lived

in exile

would be brought

near to the king.

He who had

nothing but shame

would be given

more honor

and wealth

than he would

have ever imagined.

He who was

considered

an enemy

would now feast

every day

at the table

of the king.

And he would

receive all of this

not because of

anything that he

had done

but solely

on the basis

of the covenant

love

of the king.

Mephibosheth

receives the

fullness of mercy

and grace

in that moment.

And how does

he respond?

Verse 8

He paid homage

and he said

what is your servant

that you should

show

regard

for a dead dog

such as I?

As Mephibosheth

pleads for mercy

what he wants

is to live.

what he gets

is far more

than that.

And then he

displays this

utter humility

knowing that

he was

unworthy

of all

that the king

promised to him.

And his language

is familiar.

It's similar

to what David

said to God

after God

made

a covenant

with him

earlier in the book.

just flip over

to chapter 7

and look at

verse 18.

God gives

this amazing

covenant with David

and then look

and of course

everything that

follows in that

chapter is

David's response

and prayer.

Just look at

verse 18.

Chapter 7

verse 18.

Then King David

went in

and sat

before the Lord

and said

Who am I

O Lord God?

What is my house

that you have

brought me

thus far?

Similar to what

Mephibosheth

is now recognizing

in chapter 9

and verse 8.

What is your servant?

Who am I David?

That you would show

this kind of regard

for me.

It gives us

a deeper look

into what

moved David

to act

with such kindness.

He did for

Mephibosheth

what God

had done for him.

Those who truly

know the love

of God

will show

the love of God

to others

even their enemies

and that's what

we see coming

forth in David's

life.

But David

and Mephibosheth

together

exemplify

the only

true

response

to the kindness

of God.

Humble

worship.

recognizing

that they are

owed

nothing

of what

they're receiving.

They're worthy

of the opposite

of what

they're receiving

and yet

in grace

God

shows them

amazing

extraordinary

covenant

kindness.

kindness.

And what

is their

response?

Who am I?

Not

it's about

time

you came

to your senses

and did this.

No.

Who am I

that you

would do

this for me?

Those

who do

not

worship

suggest

that they

have not

come to

understand

the steadfast

love of

the Lord.

Because to

truly

understand

who you

are

in

relationship

to God

will

produce

only one

thing

humble

worship.

But those

who recognize

their true

unworthiness

before a

holy God

will burst

forth in

humble worship

and praise

as they

acknowledge

and experience

his

unexpected

extraordinary

kindness

to them.

What does

your worship

suggest?

Does it

suggest you

have known

the kindness

of God?

Third,

we see

the king's

kindness.

We've seen

his search.

We've seen

his encounter

with Mephibosheth

and now we see

the details

of his

kindness.

Verses 9

to 13,

let's read

them together.

Then the

king called

Ziba,

Saul's servant,

said to him,

All that

belong to

Saul and

to all

his house

I've given

to your

master's

grandson.

You and

your sons

and your

servants

shall till

the land

for him

and shall

bring in

the produce

that your

master's

grandson

may have

bread to

eat.

But

Mephibosheth,

your master's

grandson,

shall always

eat at

my table.

Now

Ziba had

15 sons

and 20

servants

indicating

substantial

wealth for

a servant.

Then

Ziba said

to the

king,

According

to all

that my

lord the

king

commands

his

servants,

so will

your

servant

do.

And

here's

the

summary

of it

all.

So

Mephibosheth

ate at

David's

table like

one of

the king's

sons.

And

Mephibosheth

had a

young son

whose name

was

Micah.

And

all

who

lived

in

Ziba's

house

became

Mephibosheth's

servants.

So

Mephibosheth

lived in

Jerusalem,

for he

ate always

at the

king's

table.

Now

he was

lame

in

both

his

feet.

So

in

these

final

verses,

David

repeats

the

promise

to

Ziba,

whom

he

designated

to be

Mephibosheth's

chief

servant.

He,

his 15

sons,

and his

20

servants

were to

become

the

caretakers

of what

is now

Mephibosheth's

estate,

while Mephibosheth

himself

remained

close to

the king.

And

then the

narrator

expounds

on the

details of

David's

kindness.

I think

there's

five things

worth noting.

First,

most

profoundly,

Mephibosheth

was given

a seat

at David's

table.

This is

intimacy.

This is

blessing

that cannot

be exceeded.

But

this time,

there's a

different

note.

It's not

only that

he will

sit at

the table,

he will

sit at

the table

as if

one of

the king's

sons.

The

grandson

of

David's

greatest

enemy

became

as one

of

David's

own

children.

Amazing.

Second,

there's a

statement here

about

Mephibosheth's

young son

Micah.

It's just

a quick

statement

and it

moves on,

but why

is it

here?

This

whole

ordeal,

it was

not just

about an

act of

kindness

to a

disabled

man

who

showed

no

reasonable

threat

to the

throne.

I

mean,

who's

really

going to

be

afraid

of

Mephibosheth?

Micah.

But that's

not what

this kindness

is about.

Included

in this

kindness

is his

own

family.

Micah

ensured

the

survival

of

Saul's

line,

which

did pose

a significant

threat

to the

future of

David's

throne.

So

why

would

David

show

such

kindness

to

someone

who

was

such

a

potential

threat?

The

only

answer

for

that

is

that

he

had

his

own

faith.

David

fully

trusted

that

God

would

be

faithful

to

his

covenant.

The

covenant

that he

gives

to

David

in

chapter

seven

when

he

says

there

will

be

no

end

to

your

throne.

There's

going

to

be

an

offspring

that

comes

from

you

David

and

he's

going

to

be

perfect

he's

going

to

reign

forever

he's

going

to

bring

my

kingdom

in

a

way

that

you

wouldn't

even

imagine

David

and

David

says

I

believe

you

David

has

no

fear

of

Micah

David

has

no

fear

of

anyone

else

that

would

come

from

Saul's

line

not

because

humanly

speaking

they

wouldn't

be

a

reasonable

threat

but

because

David

trusted

God

he

trusted

!

God's

covenant

And

therefore

he

showed

great

faithfulness

to the

covenant

that he

made

not only

to

Jonathan

but

also

to

Saul

that

he

would

not

bring

an

end

to

his

progeny

this

was an

act of

faith

from

beginning

to

end

amazing

third

Saul's

servants

were

made

Mephibosheth

servants

meaning

Mephibosheth

shame

was

turned

to

honor

there's

much

more

we could

say

about

Ziba

I'll

restrain

myself

at this

point

but

it

would

be

worth

you

looking

into

number

four

Mephibosheth

was

brought

out

of

exile

to

live

the

rest

of

his

days

in

David

city

Jerusalem

where

the

presence

of

God

was

now

where

the

king

was

enjoying

his

seat

at

the

king's

table

and

then

finally

the

final

note

we're

reminded

once

again

of

his

own

disability

the

king

doesn't

heal

his

legs

he

just

brings

him

to

the

table

anyways

in

the

narrative

this

disability

it

represents

brokenness

it

represents

shame

it

represents

sin

Mephibosheth

isn't

brought

to the

king's

table

because

of his

disability

he was

brought

to the

king's

table

in

spite

of

his

disability

that's

the

idea

being

pressed

This

is not

a

come

as

you

are

situation

this

is

a

come

in

spite

of

who

you

are

situation

the

one

who

was

despised

by

his

culture

was

loved

by

his

king

and

in

this

way

David's

best

moment

gives

us a

beautiful

picture

of

Christ

eternal

kingdom

in which

the

outcast

are

welcomed

and

the

lame

leaped

for

joy

which

brings

us

to

our

final

consideration

why

is

this

here

it's

a

great

story

but

is

that

all

it

is

is

it

just

meant

to

encourage

us

that

there

is

goodness

in

the

world

despite

how

much

wickedness

we

see

well

no

I

think

it's

more

than

that

on

the

one

hand

it

is

an

example

of

how

God's

people

are

to

display

God's

character

to

the

world

David

is

God's

representative

to

God's

people

he

is

to

show

forth

the

character

of

God

in

the

way

that

he

rules

and

reigns

over

Israel

David

was

kind

because

God

is

kind

and

if

like

David

we

are

to

be

people

with

God's

very

heart

we

must

learn

to

show

extraordinary

kindness

and

covenantal

love

even

to

those

who

hate

us

this

is

precisely

what

Jesus

commanded

Matthew

5

in the

Sermon

on the

Mount

Jesus

says

you've

heard

it

said

you

shall

love

your

neighbor

and

hate

your

enemy

but

I

say

to

you

love

your

enemies

and

pray

for

those

who

persecute

you

why

Jesus

says

so

that

for

the

purpose

that

you

may

show

that

you

are

sons

of

the

father

in

heaven

now

why

does

he

say

that

he

continues

because

the

father

who

is

in

heaven

makes

his

son

to

rise

on

the

evil

and

on

the

good

and

he

sends

rain

on

the

just

and

on

the

unjust

for

if

you

love

those

who

love

you

what

reward

do

you

have

Jesus

says

do

not

even

the

tax

collectors

do

the

same

and

if

you

greet

only

your

brothers

what

more

are

you

doing

than

others

do

not

even

the

Gentiles

do

the

same

you

therefore

must

be

perfect

as

your

father

is

perfect

now

there

is

something

in

that

for

us

David

as

God's

representative

demonstrates

God's

kindness

even

to

his

enemies

there

are

also

times

he

demonstrates

God's

justice

to

his

enemies

in

this

case

we

see

his

kindness

and

then

Jesus

says

just

like

God

is

kind

you

are

to

be

kind

if

you're

going

to

come

after

me

you're

going

to

have

to

be

kind

you're

going

to

show

grace

and

mercy

and

love

just

like

the

father

does

and

what

is

it

that

the

father

does

even

those

who

are

evil

Jesus

says

even

those

who

are

unjust

he

feeds

them

he

sends

rain

so

that

their

crops

will

grow

and

so

that

they

can

survive

he

people

that

are

persecuting

those

who

love

God

God

pours

out

his

kindness

on

them

and

here

we

are

deciding

that

we're

going

to

isolate

from

everybody

imaginable

who

doesn't

think

like

us

and

isn't

like

us

and

doesn't

love

God

like

we

love

God

that

is

not

what

Christ

did

and

it's

not

what

he

calls

us

to

do

and

David

in

his

best

moment

shows

us

that

even