THE SHEPHERDS & THE LAMB OF GOD The Shepherds were out in the fields watching their flocks by night. Read Genesis 35:19-20. It tells how Rachel died "and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)" and how Jacob went on and "pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder." Then read Jeremiah 31:15-16. It tells about "Rachel weeping for her children". It is at Ramah that the people of Judah were gathered, chained and roped together, and led off to exile in Babylon. But verse 16 says, "Keep your voice from weeping . . . they shall come back from the land of the enemy." Putting those two passages together (1) God gives hope for the mothers of Bethlehem whose children were killed by Herod -- "they shall come back." But also (2) the Rabbis expected that the first announcement of the coming Messiah would be at "Migdol Eder;" the "tower of Eder." Eder means flock (as in flock of sheep), so "Migdol Eder" means "Tower of the Flock." Look up Luke 2:8-11 and see if they were right. Why were the shepherds out in the fields at night? Most sheep are brought into the sheepfold where they are safer. But Bethlehem is close to Jerusalem. Sheep that were destined to be sacrificial sheep at the Temple had to be kept outside, in nature not in buildings all the time. Shepherds built towers to more easily watch their sheep. So the angels went to shepherds watching over sacrificial sheep to tell them about the One Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is amazingly appropriate, isn't it?
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The story starts out with David. After he was settled in Jerusalem as king for a while David fell into temptation. First came his sin with Bathsheba (6th Commandment). Then to cover it up he arranged for Uriah the Hittite to be killed (5th Commandment). Nathan rebuked him and said, “the sword will never depart from your house,” (2 Samuel 12:10 NIV) David repented and his sin was taken away, but Nathan said, “because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt” (2 Samuel 12:14 NIV) there would be consequences. David’s sin was revisited by his children. (2 Samuel 13) His son Amnon raped David’s daughter Tamar. David let it go. His son Absalom killed Amnon. David let it go. Then Absalom rebelled and seized Jerusalem. David had to flee. So we come to 2 Samuel 16 where David and his soldiers were riding along. Shimei went up on the hill next to the road. He went along cursing David and throwing stones, dirt and filth at David and the soldiers. One of the soldiers offered to “go over and take off his head.” David answered, “Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.” (2 Samuel 16:11) This is not just about how sins seem to come back generation after generation. Because they do we are to fight against sin so our children and grandchildren will not have our sins visit them. That is one lesson. This is also about life without consequences, which seems to be what so many want. David committed just about the perfect crime. He was rebuked, but didn’t lose his throne. He didn’t fight against the sins of his children. And life went on. He seemed to have passed right by the consequences. But can we live in a world without consequences? Even if we could get away with something would that be good? Finally it all came back to David. But what if it hadn’t? If there are no consequences, then your actions don’t matter – they make no lasting difference. Life just goes on. The world continues. But you have lost something. If your actions don’t matter, then you don’t either. Then you would have no value, and there would be no purpose or reason to your existence. Can you endure living in such a world? (The book “Crime & Punishment” by Dostoyevski, and the movie “Gameshow” talk about this.) David found that it was unendurable. A world without consequences would be a world without God. Those who believe we live in a world without consequences believe that there is nothing after this life, no heaven, no hell and no soul. A world without God could only end in death, darkness and nothing. To act as if there were no consequences, as if there is no God to see and look at the rightness or wrongness of our lives, is to take into our soul the idea that we are meaningless. That idea is poison to us. It would destroy us. Given the choice, David finally has to welcome the abuse he was getting from Shimei. He must have his actions matter. Even if it means being pelted with filth. For him and for us the alternative is unthinkable. It is a perilous thing for a Christian to ignore the Commandments and live as if they do not matter any more. They are the Word of God and we have no connection with God except through His Word. Because God does live, a life without God is a life without faith and that life can end only in being separated from God. David had looked at that world (Psalm 51); and it was horrible – unendurable. Because God does exist, a life of faith is a life of meaning and purpose. What would happen if I began by not saying “The Bible is God’s Word” but instead say “The Bible contains God’s Word”? What happens ends up looking like this:
1. If the Bible “contains” God’s Word, who decides which parts are and which parts are not God’s Word? (Very simply, each would decide for himself. I would decide for myself; you would decide for you.) 1a. If we each get to decide for ourselves we won’t ever agree. (Disagreeing about almost every part of faith is exactly what is happening among the liberal denominations.) 2. If I get to decide what is and isn’t God’s Word I will only accept the parts I already agree with anyway; and reject the other parts (and call them “out of date” or “irrelevant”). 3. And then I will never actually have God’s Word tell me I’m wrong and correct me. I will miss God’s call to repent, again and again. If God is not “just like me” I will miss Him. 4. In all this, I would have exalted myself over God’s Word, judging it instead of being judged by it. That is a place I do not want to be in my relationship with God. We begin with the one truth that is at the center of all we say and do as Christians. Christ is risen! Jesus is the living one and He is with us. He hears our prayers. He rules His Church. He guides our lives. We worship and pray to Him. This changes everything, because we are not talking about ideas, theories, or simple knowledge. We are talking about the relationship we have with a living person.
Scripture is the living Word of the Living God. So the Bible is God's word to us, where God calls us to know Him and live forever. The reason we believe the Bible is because we believe in God and know Him in Jesus Christ. There is a two-way relationship here. We believe the Bible because of our relationship with God and we have that relationship in, through and because of Jesus Christ. Secondly, the Bible is the living word of the living Lord, so it has the power to create faith. We do not simply jump in and believe whatever is written because it is written. We believe because of the work of God. So how does it all begin? Our encounter with God begins as God comes into our world. It is Christmas and Easter. It is Jesus being born, living, dying and rising for us. That is where our knowledge of our Triune God begins, with knowing Jesus. John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only [begotten] God, who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known. So God comes to us; and we begin learning about God as we come to Jesus and learn about Him. |
Rev. Mark WilligPastor Willig is pastor emeritus of Friends in Christ Lutheran Church. Archives
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