The Savior Crushed

All right, Judges chapter 16, and we're going to read just a few verses here at the beginning,

Judges 16 · chapter mention

and then we'll work our way through the whole story, probably doing less reading today and

more summarizing, just as you know, and I'll do my best to give the appropriate references as we go.

Okay, Judges chapter 16, let's begin reading at verse 23.

Judges 16 · chapter mention

Now, the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their God, and to rejoice.

And they said, our God has given Samson, our enemy, into our hand.

And when the people saw him, they praised their God.

For they said, our God has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.

This is the gospel of Dagon, the gospel of the Philistines.

And when their hearts were merry, they said, call Samson, that he may entertain us.

So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them.

They made him stand between the pillars, and Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand,

let me fill the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.

Now, the house was full of men and women.

All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof, there were about 3,000 men and women

who looked on while Samson entertained.

Have you ever hit a low point in your life?

Like a legitimately low point in your life, and stop to ask yourself, how did it all come to this?

What went wrong for my life to be in such a mess now?

It wasn't always this way.

There were good days before.

There were passionate days before.

There was joy before.

But at that particular moment, all of that is gone.

You've hit rock bottom, and you're just trying to figure out how did it all come to this?

How did we get here?

How did we get here with Samson?

Samson, we left him at the end of chapter 13 last week as a young man, chosen, blessed, empowered by God.

But we pick up the story here in chapter 16.

20 years have passed.

Samson is captured, and he's now the object of entertainment for the enemy.

And even worse, it's apparent that whatever Samson has done to get to this point has given the Philistines a reason to worship and glorify Dagon.

He is the cause for their worship.

The people of God, they're supposed to declare and display the glory of Yahweh, the one true God.

Samson has given them a reason further to reject the Lord and to actually make a mockery of Him.

Everything about this scene that we just read, it shows Samson as a miserable failure because that's exactly what Samson was.

His life was supposed to be devoted to the Lord so that all would know that Yahweh is God, but he failed miserably,

living in such a way as to bring shame to the name of the Lord instead.

And once again, it becomes clear, as we've seen so many times in the book of Judges,

that this narrative really isn't ultimately about Samson fighting against the Philistines.

This is about Yahweh's war against false worship, not only among his people, but in the world itself.

Well, how did it come to this for Samson?

What went wrong for him to be in this position?

And is there actually any hope that the situation can change and to be improved?

Whether we're asking those questions of Samson or maybe we're even asking those questions this morning of our own lives,

there are answers to be found in this particular story and in these three chapters.

So what I want to do is work our way kind of quickly through the story itself to see what went wrong

and then to see if any of it can actually be redeemed.

And so, as I said, it's three chapters that we're going to go through.

I'm probably not going to do as much reading as normal.

We'll do some summarizing, but I'll note those things as we go, okay?

The big thing that this boils down to, we're asking the question, what went wrong for Samson?

Is Samson essentially, at the heart of it all, resisted the call of God on his life?

And that's what I want you to see in these chapters, resisting God's call.

Now, one major thing that comes very clear as we read through the narrative is this.

Samson is the nation of Israel epitomized in a single individual.

Samson is the nation of Israel epitomized in a single individual.

Like the nation itself, he was chosen by God from conception.

He was empowered by God.

He was set apart from everyone else to be a man devoted to the Lord.

God gave the nation of Israel his law.

He gave Samson the Nazarite vow.

Both things were to separate them, cause them to stand out as uniquely devoted to the true God.

And Samson's vow was not for a limited amount of time.

His life from conception to death was to be a life that exemplified the glory of God and the zeal of the Lord.

But while he enjoyed the benefits and the blessings of being God's man,

Samson mostly just wanted to do what was right in his own eyes.

That's the very language of the passage.

If you set your eyes on chapter 14 and verse 7,

then he went down and talked with the woman for she was right in Samson's eyes.

Over and over through the story, Samson sees what he wants and he goes after what he wants,

no matter what it costs him.

He just wants to do what's right in his own eyes.

Fact is that living devoted to God as a sinner in a fallen world can be quite a burden.

And like Israel, Samson seemed to continually resist, maybe even resent the call of God on his life.

So whenever what he wanted went against what God said,

Samson, along with the nation of Israel, did what was right in their own eyes.

Let's just see it in the narrative.

First, though God said not to marry the people of the land,

Samson demanded that his parents allow him to marry a nameless Philistine woman.

When enjoying a bit of honey meant touching a dead animal and breaking his Nazarite vow,

Samson took the honey anyways.

He then again despised his Nazarite vow

when he threw his wedding feast by the vineyards of Timnah,

where he and his Philistine friends indulged in drunkenness as, quote,

the young men used to do.

And all of that's just the first 10 verses.

Samson was supposed to be the one to deliver Israel from Philistine control.

But chapter 14 suggests that he much preferred to live among the Philistines

and to behave like the Philistines instead.

He was an Israelite who desperately wanted to be a Philistine.

And like many of us,

Samson wanted to be part of the world

that God had called him to separate from.

But it didn't take very long for him to discover

that the world wasn't nearly as interested in him

as he was in it.

So after this bizarre drinking game

that involved the riddle of the lion that he had killed,

Samson was betrayed by his friends,

betrayed by his new wife,

betrayed by his father-in-law,

and so he retaliated.

He went and he killed 30 men

and then he tied up a bunch of foxes

and lit their tails on fire

in order that he could destroy

all of the Philistines' crops.

Now that, in Samson's mind at that point,

is not zeal for the Lord.

It's zeal for his own vengeance.

They had taken away his future

by taking his new wife

and given it to his best friend.

So Samson retaliates

by robbing them of their future,

by destroying all of their supply of food.

You can read all about it

in 1411 through 158.

But here's the truth about Samson.

Just like Israel,

Samson was on the downward spiral

of apostasy,

moving closer and closer and closer

to fully abandoning

all devotion to the Lord.

But what we find in the midst of that

is that God still

was abundantly merciful

and patient

toward his carnal servant.

Even using Samson's sin

as an opportunity

to fight against the Philistines.

Samson doesn't care about God's zeal

in killing those 30 men

at Ashkelon.

He doesn't care about

the zeal of the Lord

in destroying the crops

with the foxes.

Yet God uses even his sin

to fight against those people.

Samson's over here

doing what's right

in his own eyes

and God's over here

even using what's right

in Samson's eyes

to accomplish his work,

to accomplish his will

in fighting against the Philistines.

But after his own people

even turned against him,

the men of Judah,

they turned him over

to the Philistines

to be executed,

God still empowered him

to kill a thousand men.

An amazing feat.

Probably his greatest feat

until the end of his life.

And you know,

God even used him

as he was breaking

the Nazarite vow.

He killed them all

with the jawbone,

the fresh jawbone,

the text says,

of a donkey,

another carcass,

another thing Samson

wasn't supposed to touch

to begin with.

And that's what he grabs

as his instrument of war.

And God doesn't say,

never mind.

God uses him

even though he's a sinner,

even though

in the act of using him,

he's sinning against the Lord.

But there is a bright spot

here at the end

of chapter 15.

Look with me

at chapter 15,

verse 18.

This is after he's

just defeated those men

and he's on the brink

of death,

physical death.

He was very thirsty

and he called upon

the Lord,

Yahweh,

and said,

you have granted

this great salvation

by the hand

of your servant.

And shall I now

die

of thirst

and fall into the hands

of the uncircumcised.

And look what God did.

This is amazing,

isn't it?

Samson isn't repenting here.

Just like Israel

never repented.

Samson's crying out

for help.

And God helps.

God split open

the hollow place

that is at Leahy

and water came out

from it.

And when he drank,

his spirit returned

and he revived.

Therefore,

the name of it

was called

En-Hakor,

which means

spring of him

who called.

It is at Leahy

to this day.

And he judged Israel

in the days

of the Philistines

20 years.

So Samson's

on the brink of death

and as Israel

had always done

when facing ruin,

he cried out

to God for help.

And the God of grace

heard his cry.

It's amazing.

Out of love

for his chosen one,

the Lord

supernaturally

sustained him.

Which was a crucial

experience for Samson

that will later

influence his actions

at the end of his life.

We'll come back to that.

Here's what God

was teaching him.

He was teaching Samson

in that moment

that if he cried out

in faith,

the Lord would save him.

That no matter

how far he'd run

from God's call,

the Lord would hear

the prayer of faith

and he would answer him

and he would help him

and he would restore him.

Well, chapter 16

is where Samson

hits rock bottom.

It begins

in the first three verses

by him taking a prostitute

in Gaza,

which was a major

Philistine city.

And the people,

of course,

when he gets to Gaza

in the night

to sleep with this prostitute,

they recognize him.

They set a trap

to kill the man

who had been such a pain

in their necks.

But again,

even though he was there

because of his own sin,

God delivers him.

He again strengthens him

to remove the gates

of the city

and escape

back to Israelite territory.

But still,

Samson's greatest sin

comes next.

Look at verse 4

in chapter 16.

After this,

he loved a woman

in the valley of Sorek

whose name was Delilah.

And the lords

of the Philistines

came up to her

and said to her,

Seduce him

and see where

his great strength lies

and by what means

we may overpower him

that we may bind him

to humble him.

And we will each give you

1,100 pieces of silver.

That is an enormous

amount of money.

We've seen pieces

of silver offered

for wickedness

once before

in the book of Judges.

It was with Abimelech.

He was given money

in order that he could

hire worthless fellows

to go and fight

against all of Gideon's sons.

He received 70 pieces

of silver.

There were five lords

of the Philistines historically.

Five lords

of the Philistines

telling this one woman,

each of us will give you

1,100 pieces of silver

for you to do

this thing for us.

This is an enormous

amount of money.

Verse 6,

So Delilah said to Samson,

Please tell me

where your great strength lies

and how you might be bound

that one could subdue you.

Samson said to her,

If they bind me

with seven fresh bow strings

that have not been dried,

then I shall become weak

and be like any other man.

Then the lords

of the Philistines

brought up to her

seven fresh bow strings

that had not been dried

and she bound him with them.

Now she had men lying

in ambush

in an inner chamber.

And she said to him,

The Philistines

are upon you, Samson.

But he snapped

the bow strings

as a thread of flax snaps

when it touches the fire.

So the secret of his strength

was not known.

Now surely you would expect

that any reasonable man

would say,

I don't think this woman

has my best interest

at heart.

But notice what he does.

Delilah said to Samson,

Behold, you have mocked me

and told me lies.

Please tell me

how you might be bound.

And he said to her,

If they bind me

with new ropes

that have not been used,

then I shall become weak

and be like any other man.

So Delilah took new ropes

and bound him with them

and said to him,

The Philistines

are upon you, Samson.

And the men lying in ambush

were in an inner chamber,

but he snapped the ropes

off his arms

like a thread.

Then Delilah said to Samson,

Until now,

you have mocked me

and told me lies.

Tell me how you might be bound.

And he said to her,

If you weave the seven locks

of my head

with the web

and fasten it tight

with the pen,

then I shall become weak

and be like any other man.

So while he slept,

Delilah took the seven locks

of his head

and wove them

into a web.

Can we just appreciate

his ability to sleep

at this moment?

And she made them tight

with the pen

and said to him,

The Philistines

are upon you, Samson.

But he awoke from his sleep

and pulled away the pen,

the loom, and the web.

And she said to him,

How can you say I love you

when your heart

is not with me?

That's ironic, isn't it?

You have mocked me

these three times

and you have not told me

where your great strength lies.

And when she pressed him hard

with her words

day after day

and urged him,

his soul was vexed to death.

And he told her

all his heart.

And he said to her,

A razor has never come

upon my head,

for I have been a Nazarite

to God

from my mother's womb.

If my head is shaved,

then my strength

will leave me

and I shall become weak

and be like any other man.

For the first time

in the whole narrative,

we meet a woman

with a name,

Delilah.

She was in league

with the Philistine rulers,

but Samson gave her

his heart.

But Delilah doesn't love Samson.

She loves money

far more than she loves Samson.

And the Philistines,

as I said before,

were prepared to make her

a very rich woman

in order for her

to expose the secret

of his strength

so that they may get

some kind of advantage

over the ravager

of their people.

And after a few blatant

yet failed attempts,

Samson eventually tells her

all of his heart.

The truth is that

his strength

didn't come from his hair.

There's no point

in the text

anywhere

in the whole text

until now

that connects

Samson's strength

to his hair.

His hair didn't give him strength.

God gave him strength.

But Samson makes

a correct theological judgment

here with Delilah.

His hair was the only sign

of devotion to God

that he had not

already violated.

He's violated

everything else.

He's tried to marry

a woman that's not Israelite.

He has,

on multiple occasions,

touched dead bodies,

the carcasses of animals.

Implicit in the text

is his own drunkenness

at his wedding feast.

There's nothing left

for him to do

in violating his devotion

to God

except bring a razor

to his head.

And he correctly

makes that judgment.

He knew that

cutting his hair

would be a final step

toward apostasy.

And though he didn't

do it himself,

and I think that's significant,

he chose to drink,

he chose to touch

the lion

and the jawbone

of the donkey,

he chose to go

after the other woman,

he does not choose

to cut his own hair.

Though he does not

do it himself,

I think he knew full well

that Delilah was going

to do it.

Samson's not an idiot.

After three times

of him telling her one thing

and her immediately

doing that thing,

that's when he tells her

the truth?

Isn't it as if he

kind of wants

this strength to be gone

at this point?

Seems that way,

doesn't it?

Why would he want her

to do this?

I think the answer

is he just,

as he said,

simply wanted to be

like any other man.

But God had not called him

to be like any other man.

God had not called him

to live like any other man.

But all he wanted

was to just be

like everybody else.

And his sin

had deceived him such

that he believed

that if he could

just be ridden

of the burden

of God's call

on his life,

that he would then

be able to find

true satisfaction

and true fulfillment

in the way

that he wanted to live

and at the same time

he'd be able to have

the love of his life.

Which was a foolish judgment.

Because the pleasures

of sin never live up

to what they promise.

And the consequences

are always worse

than what we ever

imagined them to be.

Look at verse 18.

When Delilah saw

that he had told her

all his heart,

she sent and called

the lords of the Philistines

saying,

Come up again

for he has told me

all his heart.

Make sure to bring

the silver.

Then the lords

of the Philistines

came up to her

and brought the money

in their hands

and she made him

sleep on her knees

and she called

a man

and had him shave

off the seven locks

of his head.

Then she began

to torment him

and his strength

left him.

And she said,

the Philistines

are upon you,

Samson.

And he awoke

from his sleep

and said,

I will go out

as other times

and shake myself free.

But he did not know

that the Lord

had left him.

And the Philistines

seized him,

gouged out his eyes,

brought him down

to Gaza,

bound him

with bronze shackles

and he ground

at the mill

in the prison.

When Samson awoke

from his sleep

on that night,

the situation

was worse

than he probably

ever thought

it would be.

sin always promises

more than it

can actually deliver.

It never actually

comes through.

The Lord

had left him.

He didn't even know it.

He awakens

knowing

that he's just

told her all his heart.

Yet he still expects

that the strength

will be there.

Another sign

that it really wasn't

about the hair itself.

Even Samson

thinks he'll still

have the strength

but then

there's no strength.

There's no strength

to fight.

Not because

his hair was gone

but because

the consequences

of his sin

had caught up to him.

So the Philistines

captured him,

they took his eyes

and they imprisoned him

in Gaza

until it was time

to celebrate

what they thought

was a victory

for Dagon.

In reality,

Samson

wasn't the victim

of Dagon's judgment

but Yahweh's

judgment.

But there's still

a glimmer of hope.

Look at verse 22.

But the hair

of his head

began to grow

again

after it had been

shaved.

True to the book

of Judges,

though Samson

sinned against the Lord

again and again

and again

and again.

God's limitless mercy

shines through here.

An encouragement

to those of us

who live more

like Samson

than we do

like Jesus.

Barry Webb said,

Samson may

want to be

as other men

but God

won't let him

be so.

There in the

dank,

miserable,

degrading prison,

God reclaims

his wayward

child.

But we're left

wondering

how much more

glorious of a

servant of God

he might have been

if only he had

embraced his calling

rather than

resisting it.

I think Samson

would have

quite loved

to sing the song

that we often

sing here.

When I fear

my faith will fail,

Christ will hold

me fast.

When the tempter

would prevail,

he will hold

me fast.

I could never

keep my hold

through life's

fearful path

for my love

is often cold.

He must hold

me fast.

If I will be held,

it must be him

that does it.

The regrowth

of Samson's hair

is a sign

of God's

relentless

pursuit

of his people.

Although Samson

continually

failed the Lord,

the Lord

would not

abandon him.

And what a glorious

thought that is

for those

who belong

to God

cannot

out sin

his grace.

It can't

be done.

Here is Samson

doing everything

he could possibly

do to get away

from the call

of God

in a similar way

to Jonah

and yet God's

grace is still

there.

He will not

let him go.

So his hair

begins to grow

again.

He'll not

let my soul

be lost.

His promises

shall last.

Bought by him

at such a cost,

he will hold

me fast.

That's resisting

the call.

Now let's look

at experiencing

God's grace.

Experiencing

God's grace.

You're in chapter

16.

Now jump down

to verse 28.

Now we're

back in Gaza.

Samson has

been brought

out for the

people to mock

him and to

mock the Lord.

Verse 28,

then Samson

called to the

Lord.

Remember he's

done that once

before?

You think he

learned something

there?

Yeah, I think

he did.

Because he's

doing it again

here.

He calls to

the Lord,

oh Lord God,

please remember

me and please

strengthen me

only this once,

oh God,

that I may be

avenged on the

Philistines for

my two eyes.

Samson grasped

the two middle

pillars on which

the house rested

and he leaned

his weight against

them, his right

hand on one,

his left hand on

the other.

And Samson said,

let me die with

the Philistines.

Then he bowed

with all his

strength and the

house fell upon

the Lord's and

upon all the

people who were

in it.

So the dead

whom he killed

at his death

were more than

those whom he

had killed during

his life.

Then his

brothers and all

his family came

down and took

him and brought

him up and

buried him between

Zorah and

Eshtail in the

tomb of Manoah,

his father.

He had judged

Israel 20 years.

For all Samson

did wrong,

he understood

and he

acknowledged that

his strength

did not come

from within

him.

It came from

God.

And you have

to dig through

a lot of sin

to get to it,

but underneath

all the foolishness

of Samson's

life was a

sinner who

believed God.

We can even

still discern a

vengeful motive

in his prayer,

but it was

indeed a prayer

of faith for

God to save

his people by

defeating the

Philistines,

which is exactly

why the author

of Hebrews

named Samson

as a man of

faith whose

life encourages

us to look to

Jesus who is

the founder and

perfecter of our

faith.

That's Hebrews

11 and Hebrews

12.

Samson's there.

Of all the

people in the

book of Judges

that we were to

say there's no

way they're saved.

There's no way

they made it.

Samson's probably

at the top of

the list,

and yet he

made it.

Why?

Not because he

had his life

together, but

because he was a

man of faith.

He believed

God.

He believed

God.

There is irony

in his final cry

though, isn't

there?

Please remember

me, Samson

prayed.

He asked for

God to do for

him what he

and all of

Israel had

repeatedly failed

to do.

Remember the

Lord their

God.

Yet no amount

of sin will

turn God's

ear away from

the one who

cries to him

in faith.

Though we are

unfaithful to

him, he is

ever faithful

to those who

call upon

him.

So Jesus

says, come to

me then, all

who labor

and are

heavy laden

and I

will give

you rest.

And then he

says, whoever

does come to

me, I will

never cast

out.

Which is why

Paul is so

confident to

say, everyone,

whoever calls

upon the name

of the Lord

will be

saved.

Samson shows

us that

salvation is

not earned

by what we

do.

Even the

good that

Samson did

was tainted

by his sin.

All of it

was.

Even in his

dying moment,

he's crying out

for vengeance

for himself.

It's all

touched by his

own depravity.

And yet

despite that,

God is

gracious.

Why?

Why is God

so gracious?

Because salvation

is received by

faith in the

gracious and

merciful God

whose steadfast

love endures

forever.

And for us,

it is through

faith in the

person and the

work of our

Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ,

whom the writer

of Hebrews says,

for the joy that

was before him

endured the

cross,

despising the

shame,

and is seated

at the right

hand of the

throne of God.

God heard

Samson's prayer

and answered

him accordingly.

knowing it

would take

his death

to deliver

his own

people,

God

strengthens

Samson one

final time,

which just

remembers,

which just

reminds us

that we can

escape the

ultimate penalty

for our sin,

but that

doesn't mean

that we'll

escape the

immediate

consequences of

our sin.

Samson.

Don't mistake

that.

Samson pulled

down the two

pillars,

resulting in the

destruction of

all the Philistine

governing officials,

which was also a

clear statement

of Yahweh's power

over Dagon.

And tragically,

Samson dies

with them.

he was crushed

so that his

people might

live.

And there's

beauty to the

last verse there,

isn't there?

Samson might have

died with the

Philistines,

but he was

buried with his

family.

Now think about

that.

Israelites

buried their

dead rather

than burned

them.

They buried

them as a

sign of

preparation for

what they

believed would

be a future

resurrection.

God used

Samson to

deliver Israel

for 20

years,

but in the

end,

Samson's

body was

laid to

rest in

anticipation

of a

greater Savior

who would

bring him

true and

eternal

salvation.

It's all

right there.

Yeah,

God used

him to

help,

but even

Samson needed

a greater

Savior.

Even

Samson

died.

Even

Samson

needed a

resurrection.

And that

Savior is

Jesus,

who Paul

wrote to

the

Corinthians

in 1

Corinthians

15,

has been

raised from

the dead,

the first

fruits of

those who

are fallen

asleep.

For as in

Adam all

die,

so also in

Christ shall

all be made

alive,

but each in

his own

order.

Christ the

first fruits,

then at

his coming,

those who

belong to

Christ.

It's an

experience of

grace, a

grace that I

believe Samson

enjoys today

with Jesus

in heaven.

How do we

see Jesus

through the

Samson cycle?

There's a few

elements of

Samson's story

that do

foreshadow the

gospel of

Jesus, and

of course we're

always looking for

that in the

Bible.

All of the

Bible is about

Jesus.

It doesn't

matter if we're

in the Old

Testament or

New.

We get to

Jesus in the

scriptures because

the scriptures are

ultimately about

Jesus.

And the

Samson story,

really to be

honest, is not

that difficult to

find the

connections.

There's been

other stories in

the book of

Judges that

have been much

more difficult

to see it.

It's pretty

clear here.

There's a few

of them.

Both of their

births were

miracles, showing

God's purpose and

using them in

particular to

bring a

salvation to

his people.

Like Samson,

Jesus was

arrested by his

own people and

turned over to

the enemy for

execution.

But of course,

at the end of

the day, only

Jesus is

Jesus.

Samson's only

pointing us

forward to

him.

Samson was a

sinner like the

rest of us.

Jesus is the

eternal God who

Peter said

committed no

sin, neither

was deceit found

in his mouth.

But it's

Samson's death

that most

points us to

Jesus.

Both brought

salvation through

self-sacrificing

deaths.

But there is an

important distinction

that needs to be

made.

Samson got

himself into

that position

because he was

unfaithful to

God.

You know why

Samson was in

Gaza tied to two

pillars being

mocked without

his eyes?

Because Samson

blew it.

That was the

result of his

own sin.

He was crushed

for his sin.

Jesus was

crushed for

our sin.

That's the

distinction that

must be made.

Hear the words

of the prophet

from Isaiah 53.

Surely he has

borne our griefs

and carried our

sorrows.

Yet we esteemed

him stricken,

smitten by God

and afflicted.

But he was

pierced for our

transgressions.

He was crushed

for our

iniquities.

Upon him was

the chastisement

that brought us

peace.

And with his

wounds we are

healed.

All we like

sheep have gone

astray.

We have turned

everyone to his

own way.

Just like

Samson.

And the Lord

has laid on

him the

iniquity of

all of us.

He was

oppressed and

he was

afflicted yet

he opened

not his

mouth.

Like a

lamb that

is led to

the slaughter.

Like a

sheep that

before its

shearers is

silent he

opened not

his mouth.

By oppression

and judgment

he was taken

away.

And as for

his generation

who considered

that he was

cut off out

of the land

of the living

stricken for

the transgression

of my people.

And they

made his

grave with

the wicked.

With a rich

man in his

death.

Although he

had done no

violence and

there was no

deceit in his

mouth.

Yet it was

the will of

Yahweh to

crush him.

He has put

him to

grief.

And when his

soul makes an

offering for

guilt he shall

see his

offspring.

He shall

prolong his

days.

This is

resurrection.

The will of

the Lord shall

prosper in his

hand.

Out of the

anguish of

his soul he

shall see and

be satisfied.

By his

knowledge shall

the righteous

one my

servant make

many to be

accounted

righteous.

And he

shall bear

their iniquities.

Therefore I

will divide him

a portion with

the many and

he shall divide

the spoil with

the strong because

he poured out

his soul to

death and was

numbered with

the transgressors.

Yet he bore the

sin of many and

makes intercession

for the

transgressors.

Samson was

crushed for his

own sin.

Jesus was

crushed for

our sin.

And the

resurrection bit

is perhaps the

most important

bit.

Death had no

claim on

Jesus because

Jesus never

sinned.

sin.

How could he

never sin?

Because he's

God who

cannot sin.

And his

crucifixion

absorbed the

wrath of God

that was meant

for us.

He lived the

life we were

meant to live.

He lived the

life Samson was

meant to live.

And he died the

death we

deserve to die.

And then God

raised him.

And why did

God raise him?

To show that

his sacrifice on

the cross was

sufficient to

forgive our

sins.

And then Christ

graciously,

lovingly, the

Lord of all

creation,

turns and he

invites you to

receive this life

through faith in

what he's done.

Not to earn it

by being the

anti-Samson.

To receive it in

the same way that

Samson received it.

As a sinner

with no hope.

But with faith in

the one who is

the true Savior.

Who has done what

no other Savior

could ever do.

And he invites us

to it freely.

come to me

and I will

give you

rest

and I will

never cast you

out.

Sin against me

every day of your

life.

I won't let you

go.

I won't cast you

out.

Because you're

mine.

Because the

price that I

paid on the

cross was not

just the price

for the sins

you've committed

up to the

moment of your

faith.

But even for

the sins that

you commit

after.

And what a

glorious gospel

that is.