I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Joshua 5:13-15
Joshua 5:13-15
New International Version
The Fall of Jericho
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and
saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went
up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the
army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in
reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[a] have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off
your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
-- years
ago, NBC began airing a 30-minute sitcom called, “Third Rock from Sun” – the
basic premise of the show was that a group of aliens in human form had been
sent to earth to study humans and report back on their culture
-- the
aliens posed as a family group to better understand and relate to the humans
they had come to study, with a single father, a teen-aged son, and then the
father’s two siblings – a man and a woman
-- in one
episode, the teen-aged son joins the high school basketball team – as the game
begins, his team gathers up in a huddle, and the coach calls for him to come
over and join in – he asks what they are doing, and the coach explains –
somewhat dumbfoundedly – that they were praying before the game
-- Tommy,
the teen-aged alien, looks over and sees their opponent on the other side of
the court gathered together, too – so, he calls out, “Hey, look! They’re praying, too!”
-- and the
whole team turns around and looks where Tommy is pointing – and then the whole
team looks back to the coach
-- the
coach says, “Of course, they’re praying – we all pray before the game”
-- Tommy
nods and says, “Oh, so our god is bigger than their god, so when we pray, we’re
going to win”
-- the
coach responds, “No, we’ve got the same God – there’s only one God – we’re both
praying to Him” – and Tommy responds, “Then I don’t understand why we are
praying – if we’ve got the same God, who wins?”
-- even
though that episode aired over twenty years ago, I still remember it, because
the question that the alien Tommy raised in that moment was paramount – it was
life-changing – it raised a theological and spiritual question that Christians
have considered since the beginning of the church – and it has become a
question that is being asked and answered daily in our country today – even if
we don’t verbalize it in quite that way
-- the
issue that our country is struggling with right now is whose God and whose
Kingdom will prevail?
– and the answer to that
question – and the way we proceed as the church of Christ from this point on –
will determine where we go as a nation and as the people of God
II. Joshua and the
Lord of Hosts (Joshua 5:13-15)
-- this is
the same question that was on Joshua’s lips here in this passage
-- as these
verses open, we find the nation of Israel finally within the Promised Land – God
had miraculously led them out of Egypt through the Red Sea and into the
wilderness, where they had wandered for 40 years because of their lack of faith
and trust in Him
– finally, that unfaithful
generation had passed away, along with their original leader Moses, and God had
raised up Joshua to take over as the leader of the nation – and, in just as
miraculous a way as the parting of the Red Sea, God had separated the waters of
the Jordan River, and allowed the people to cross over into the Promised Land
on dry ground
-- now,
they are encamped at Gilgal, on the outskirts of the fortified city of Jericho,
facing their first test in this new land – in order to take possession of the
land, they would first have to defeat the city of Jericho
-- look
back at verse 13
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and
saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went
up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
-- on the
eve of the battle, we find Joshua alone outside the camp – wandering in the
darkness – surely, he was thinking and worrying about the upcoming battle – and
about the responsibilities that lay with shepherding a nation of over 1 million
people as they began a season of war before they would be able to possess the
Promised Land
-- so, we
find him here, in the darkness, contemplating the battle – planning out how his
group of untrained slaves might somehow conquer the warriors within the wall at
Jericho
-- walking
along – his eyes on the ground – he looks up and sees someone standing before
him with a drawn sword in his hand – was this friend or foe? – was this someone
from his camp or a Goliath-like champion sent from Jericho to challenge him?
-- and so,
he asks the question, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” – Joshua only knew
of two sides – “For” and “Against” – sound familiar?
-- we’re
seeing the same thing in our country right now in the political rhetoric from
candidates – in cultural issues – in social concerns – “Are you for or against us?”
– “Are you on the right side – our side – or are you on the other side?”
-- but see
how this figure with the drawn sword responds
-- verse 14-15
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the
army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in
reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[a] have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off
your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
-- “Are you
for us or against us?” – “Neither”
-- I am
neither for you or your enemies – instead, I am for God and His Kingdom, for I
am the Commander of the Army of the Lord
-- this
person, who identifies Himself as the Commander of the Army of the Lord,
clarified to Joshua that He was on God’s side – the point being that Joshua
should be as well
-- it wasn’t a case of us versus
them – it wasn’t a case of God being on Joshua’s side, but Joshua and the
nation of Israel being on God’s side – at that moment, Joshua realized his
allegiance to God was more important than his allegiance to his country, so he
fell on his face, saying, “What does my Lord say to His servant? – What message
does my Lord have for His servant?”
-- the Lord
– literally, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts – Jesus in preincarnate form --
tells Joshua to take off his sandals, for the place where he was standing was
holy ground, echoing His previous command to Moses prior to Moses’ call to
leadership
-- removing
his sandals is an act of submission – of laying aside earthly things to stand
before God in all His holiness
-- there’s
a lot going on here in this passage that we need to synthesize – that we need
to meditate on in the quiet of our hearts – and there’s a message here that we
need to proclaim throughout our land
-- it’s the
same message that reverberates throughout the Bible – from the beginning of
creation and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, all the way through to the
Book of Revelation
-- it’s not
about us and them – it’s not about whether we’re right or they’re wrong – it’s
a question of allegiance – it’s a question of where our faith and loyalty lie
-- are we
part of God’s Kingdom or are we part of an earthly kingdom? – are we putting
our time and effort and energy into the things of this world or are we laying
up treasures in heaven? -- that is the heart of what is being asked and
answered here in this passage
-- what is
more important? – earthly power? – winning the culture war? – or following God
and representing His kingdom on earth?
-- we see
the same question being answered in the New Testament with the coming of Christ
-- sometimes, in the dramatic narratives of the Easter Story -- in the telling
of the gripping passages of Holy Week that lead us from the mountaintop of Palm
Sunday to the valley of the horrors of Good Friday and the cross of Christ --
we forget that what was truly going on was a battle for the allegiance of the
people
-- it was a
battle of two kingdoms -- of two worlds -- the old versus the new -- and it
pitted Jesus against the religious and political establishment of His day
-- when
Jesus emerged on the scene -- God incarnate -- God with skin on -- God clothed
in the form of man -- He came, not as the Prince of Peace, but as the author of
our salvation -- the harbinger of a new life in a new kingdom -- He came to
preach to the captives of this world the good news of the kingdom of God
--
throughout His life and His ministry, Jesus preached and proclaimed this
message -- "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" -- the kingdom
of God was coming, and Christ came to call us to be part of it -- to leave the
old and to come into the new – to stop striving for worldly power and worldly
authority and governments -- and to make our allegiance to the Lord of Hosts –
to our God and our Creator – by entering His Kingdom
-- it was
for this reason that Christ died
-- and, as
we see here in this passage from the Book of Joshua, this tension between worldly
kingdoms and God’s kingdoms has been around forever – as I said a moment ago,
we’re seeing it now in the political and cultural discourses in our country
-- so, if
you would, let’s turn over to John 18 and continue this examination about what
kingdom we belong to and where our allegiances should lie
III. Scripture Lesson:
John 18:28-40
-- look
with me at John 18:28-32
28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to
the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid
ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be
able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What
charges are you bringing against this man?”
30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would
not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by
your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected.
32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he
was going to die.
-- at this
point in the narrative of Holy Week, Jesus has been betrayed into the hands of
the High Priest and the Sanhedrin by Judas Iscariot -- He has been tried before
the high council and been found guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be God's
Son
-- the
council wanted to have Jesus killed, but the Romans would not allow the Jews to
execute their prisoners, so, as this passage opens, they have brought Jesus
before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to be formally charged and executed
by the Romans
-- in this
back and forth between the Jews and Pilate we see the first reminder in this
passage of the tension between the old and the new kingdoms -- when God had
established the nation of Israel as His chosen people, He had given them
rituals and ceremonies that were to serve as reminders of His presence among
them and to serve as signs of the Messiah and the kingdom to come
-- but,
over time, the meaning of the rituals and the ceremonies had been corrupted --
the rituals and ceremonies were now followed -- not as a means of relating to
God -- but simply as something that was law -- something that was to be obeyed
-- something that was followed simply for the sake of tradition – they had
exchanged the kingdom of God for an earthly, religious kingdom
-- we see
that here -- the most important thing on the minds of the council was not the
death of Jesus or the fact that they were executing someone who claimed to be
God's Son -- but the fact that they had to be careful to avoid becoming
ceremonially unclean and miss out on participating in the Passover ritual
-- the
Passover was instituted by God to serve as a reminder to them of God's power in
saving them from captivity and bringing them to the Promised Land -- how ironic
that they would miss God Himself in their midst when He came to do the same
thing again – for Jesus came to save the people from captivity to sin and death
and to bring them into God's kingdom
-- if we
are not careful, we can allow our religious practices -- even the disciplines
of the means of grace such as prayer and Bible reading and church attendance --
to degrade into meaningless practices with the form of Godliness but with no
power whatsoever – we can find ourselves living in a religious kingdom rather
than God’s kingdom – and that’s exactly what is going on in America today
-- there’s
a lot of people in America today who are fighting a political and cultural war
in the name of Christ and Christian nationalism that are not acting or living
like Christians at all
-- it
reminds me of a passage from a book I recently read, Jayber Crow, by
Wendell Berry – it’s the story of a barber named Jayber Crow, who lives in rural
Kentucky in the early part of the 20th century
-- he’s
been struggling with a man who lived in his community, Troy, someone he just
did not like for a variety of reasons
-- one day,
Troy came into the barber shop, and Jayber just had enough with Troy’s hatred
of others in his community and the way he talked about them – let me share with
you a quote from this book:
“It was hard to do, but I
quit cutting hair and looked at Troy. -- I said, “Love your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to them that hate you.” -- Troy jerked his head up and
widened his eyes at me. “Where did you get that crap?”-- I said, “Jesus Christ.” And Troy said, “Oh.” --
It would have been a great moment in the history of Christianity, except that I
did not love Troy.”
-- the
point is that we can do things in the name of Christ while not being
Christ-like – we can say all the right things – we can claim that God is on our
side and that God hates the other side – but none of that matters if we are not
truly living for Christ and serving Him with our lives
-- as Skye Jethani wrote: “These
movements twist Scripture to create a Christian God who is loyal to their
country, community, or caste alone. Once they’ve reduced God into a tribal
deity, they then call upon him to defeat everyone they oppose.
“One way to identify the
presence of this false faith is with a simple question: Do you believe God
affirms all of the people you affirm, and does he hate all of the people you
hate? If he does, that’s a pretty strong clue that you’ve transformed the
Almighty into your image, rather than the other way around.”
-- just like the Jews in this
passage, advocates of Christian Nationalism want to advance God’s kingdom by
using political, cultural, and if necessary, military force to overpower their
opponents. – for them, it is a matter of “are you for us or against us?” – it’s
a matter of using Christian language while not living as Christ desires
-- However, as Jesus revealed to
Joshua – and as He’s going to reveal here to the Jews and to Pilate, our God is
a God who transcends tribal identity – God is bigger than that – and His
kingdom is bigger than any earthly kingdom – and He calls us to live in His
kingdom and to live for Him and serve Him, not any worldly kingdom
-- verse 33-35
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned
Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others
talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and
chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
-- Pilate belonged to the
kingdom of the world, but he had heard rumors of another place -- of another
kingdom -- all of us have
-- in
Romans 1:19, Paul wrote, "what may be known about God is plain to them,
because God has made it plain to them" -- embedded in our DNA is a memory
of paradise lost -- of the kingdom that was -- and the hope of the kingdom to
come
-- when
Pilate asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus responded by asking
Pilate why he had asked -- was he asking simply out of curiosity or because the
Jews had told him -- or was he asking because he desired to know the truth and
to enter the kingdom of God himself
-- this
tension -- between choosing to stay in the old or to go into the new – are you
for us or against us -- exists within all of us -- this choice has to be made
by us all -- do we swear allegiance and support the kingdoms of the world or do
we go with Christ into the kingdom of God?
-- verse 36-38a
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it
were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But
now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the
reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone
on the side of truth listens to me.”
38a “What is truth?” retorted Pilate.
– just as He did with Joshua, Jesus
makes the distinction clear here to Pilate – this is not a battle between
Romans and Israelites – this is not a battle about who is for us and who is
against us here on this earthly plane – the battle is greater than that
-- there are two
kingdoms -- there are two choices – but not the ones that Joshua
and Pilate thought of – in God’s economy, all the kingdoms of the earth are the
same
-- the issue is not which
earthly kingdom you belong to – which tribe here on earth you claim allegiance
to – the issue is whether you belong to a kingdom of the world or if you belong
to the kingdom of God
-- as Jesus states here, the
kingdom of God is not of this place -- it is not a kingdom made with secular
hands -- it is not a kingdom of earthly power or might -- it is not a kingdom
that you are naturally born into -- but it is a kingdom that you were created
for from the beginning of time
-- verse 38b-40
38b With this he went out again to the Jews gathered
there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your
custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do
you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
-- the Jews were faced with a
choice between Jesus and Barabbas -- each representing a kingdom -- a different
way of life
-- Barabbas
had taken part in a rebellion against the Romans -- he had sought the path of
worldly power and Jewish nationalism – he was the poster child for Jewish
nationalism
-- Jesus
had also taken part in a rebellion -- but not against the Romans or any earthly
kingdoms -- as a man, God had come to rebel against the kingdoms of the earth
-- against the power of sin and death -- on our behalf
-- and now
the Jews were going to have to make a choice -- would they take Barabbas and
live in the world -- bound up with meaningless religious practices and
transformed idolatry – proclaiming God was on their side while their actions
betrayed their true hearts, demonstrating they were more concerned with worldly
power over anything else
-- or would they choose Jesus --
and follow Him to the new world -- the promised land -- the kingdom of God
-- "Give us Barabbas" they
proclaimed – “we want a Jewish nation,” they proclaimed -- and so made their
allegiance known
IV. The Kingdom of
God
-- when Jesus
appeared before Joshua as Jehovah Sabaoth – the Lord of Hosts – the Commander
of the Lord’s Army – He showed Joshua that the choice wasn’t between which
earthly kingdom you supported, but whether you supported the Kingdom of God or
not
-- Joshua
heard Jesus that night, and bowed in humble worship before his God and King
-- the Jews
were given that same choice as Jesus and Barabbas stood on the steps next to
Pilate – which kingdom will you choose? – your Jewish nationalist kingdom or
the kingdom of God?
-- when the
choice is before us of who to choose -- of which kingdom to enter -- we must
take this into consideration -- we must count the cost -- for the things of
this kingdom cannot enter into the kingdom of God
-- that is
the purpose of the cross -- the cross of Christ put to death all the things of
this world for those who choose to follow Him -- it puts to death our former
allegiances -- our former way of life -- our sins and our sin nature -- our
very life
-- the
Bible tells us that we were crucified with Christ -- that we died with Him --
died to self -- died to sin -- died to destroy all the things of old
-- the old
must give way to the new if you want to enter the kingdom of God – and our
allegiances must be to God above all
V. Closing
-- so, what
does this mean? -- it simply means this -- when you were born, you were born
into captivity in the kingdom of the world -- you were enslaved by death and by
your sin nature -- but Jesus came to proclaim release to the captives -- to
proclaim salvation and a new way of life in a new kingdom -- an eternal kingdom
ruled by God
-- but you
have to choose to be a part of this kingdom -- you have to decide for yourself
where you want to be -- do you want to continue to live in the old -- in the
familiar -- or do you want to enter the kingdom of God?
-- in the
movie, "The Matrix," the character Neo is offered a choice by
Morpheus -- does he take the blue pill and stay where he is -- living the same
old life in the same old way with the same old things -- or does he take the
red pill and live in the truth?
-- but,
Morpheus warns, there is a cost -- taking the red pill and entering the kingdom
of truth requires that you leave all the old behind -- nothing will ever be the
same again
-- Jesus
tells us the same -- if you choose me, then you have to separate yourself from
the old -- you have to completely sever yourself from your past -- all the
things of the old world must be put to death -- your self -- your life -- your
sins – everything
-- our time and resources should
not be wasted in supporting one earthly kingdom above another – we shouldn’t be
choosing sides and saying, “Are you for us or against us?”
-- God is not interested in
setting up a Christian nation on earth ruled by man – nowhere in the Bible are
we commanded to seek political and earthly power – God’s focus is on the
eternal – and He already has a Kingdom that He invites us to join – one that
will be ruled by Jesus for all eternity – and that will be established on the
new earth and the new heaven at the end of time
-- quoting Skye Jethani once
again, “Once we reach the New Testament, through Christ and his Apostles, we
see any lingering tribal vision of God obliterated entirely. Rather than
standing with Israel against all other nations, Jesus Christ is declared to be
Lord over all the earth and those from “ever nation, tribe, people, and
language” are welcomed into his presence.”
– rather than striving to
promote one political party or one political leader, our time and our resources
and our lives should be lived in support of our God as we live in His kingdom
and spread kingdom values through our service in this place
-- as
Watchman Nee points out, "The Cross was the means God used to bring to an
end the old things" and our old life
-- Jesus is
the door and the gate to the new kingdom -- by choosing Him -- by choosing to
enter the new kingdom through Him -- we are deciding to leave the old and to
allow Him to destroy it through the cross so that we might be made fit for the
new kingdom
-- so, as I
close, I want to ask you to take a moment and think about yourself -- think
about your allegiances -- about your time -- about your life -- what kingdom
are you living in? -- what king are you serving?
-- have you
chosen Christ over the world? -- or are you caught up in the age-old game of
seeking political and worldly power?
-- are your
days filled with trying to spread Kingdom values and Christ’s love to others? –
or are you choosing political sides and pointing fingers and saying, “It’s us
versus them?”
-- regardless
of where you find yourself this morning, I want to encourage you to spend some
time in God’s word – see where His focus is – see what He commands us to do –
and spend your time and energy and resources in supporting His Kingdom above
anything else
-- let us
pray
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