What is really good to be with you?
Thank you so much for your prayers for us a few weeks ago.
You know, Emma's dad. My wife's dad had a early onset.
Dementia and so is death was something that we had been
expecting and pairing for for quite some time.
But then he ended up going home to the Lord much sooner than we
expected. And so please continue to pray
for, especially Emma and her family as they grieve.
We're all doing well. It's just it just feels wrong.
Her dad's not there with us. Sure.
Many of you can relate to that. Zechariah.
Wow. Father Aaron just what a gift
you give to all who preach here by having your church go through
sector. Riot you guys seen the movie
Knives Out. Really good mystery movie came
out a few years ago. I'm not going to give any
spoilers this morning though, if you haven't seen Knives Out by
now, you probably wouldn't care. If I spoiled it because you're
probably aren't going to see it. I don't know, but no sounds good
film, good mystery, it begins as mystery, so often do with a
crime, a murder, right? The A man lies dead, and then
the rest of the mystery is, is kind of unfolding who committed
this crime and why and knives out has this, this other
dimension to it? Where Just figuring out, you
know, who wounded this man. But it's also figuring out or
learning about what this man did.
The murdered one, what he did to ensure that one of the
characters, received the gift of his inheritance, and that's what
gets unfolded as the movie goes on.
It's part of why it's so clever. And I say that because our
passage and Zechariah has a similar theme, I'm not sure if
you noticed this, but it begins with a murder, this unnamed, but
very important man lies dead in the middle of the city.
And the unfolding of this Vision, actually isn't focused
at all on on, who did this. That becomes really clear at the
beginning, but the focus is on the gifts that the murdered one
intends to give even in the moment of his being wounded.
Added. And unlike knives out.
These gifts are not meant for the innocent one in the story,
but these gifts are meant for the very ones, we took his life,
the very ones who wounded him, who murdered him, who caused his
death. What Zechariah sees in this
vision? Is nothing less than Good
Friday, and Jesus death on the cross.
In central to his vision, is not guilt or shame though.
Those are deserved for the people who took this man's life,
but Central to his vision is God's love, and mercy, and
forgiveness. Even in the moment of his
ultimate rejection. How can healing come from a
womb? How could God be so kind in this
moment of all moments? That is the real mystery of
zechariah's vision as the wounded one gives three gifts to
heal and restore the very ones pierced him who took his life
in. This is encouraging news.
For those of us this morning, who come here stuck in shame.
Feeling the weight of guilt Upon Our shoulders or feeling stuck
in patterns of sin. We can't seem to escape So look
with me at these three gifts, beginning in verse 10.
There's a lot in here, so I really encourage you to have
your Bibles open or have your bulletin.
So, versed in Zechariah says, or God says through Zechariah, and
I will pour out on the House of David in the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, a spirit of Grace. And pleas, for Mercy, this is
the first gift, a new spirit, a spirit of Grace, meaning
something like warm-heartedness or compassion, Tenderness along
with this Spirit of pleading for mercy of Sorrow, this the spirit
of Contrition of a desire to change of repentance.
So why does God say that? He's going to give this gift of
compassion and repentance? Well, it's because the murderers
are going to realize that they have made a horrible mistake,
see the rest of verse 10. So that when they look on me on
him who they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as One
Mourns for an only child. And we literally over him as
when weeps over a firstborn, this is where we find out about
the murder. At this unnamed person has been
fatally pierced. But do you notice the awkward
construction of this sentence? So that when they look on me on
him whom they have pierced, you know, Hebrew scribes have copied
this, they thought, you know, maybe someone made a mistake in
the past because how could, you know, an invisible and
all-powerful God, how could he suffer injury at the hands of
men? Why would God identify himself?
As the one who's pierced. And somehow in zechariah's
Vision. God.
And this man are so aligned with each other that to wound one is
to wound the other. And of course, as we read this,
through the lens of Christ's death and Resurrection, it makes
perfect sense. That Jesus the perfect
representative of God, the father because he is God's
eternally, begotten son. And in in because he's forever
existed. As the second person of the one,
trying God, he came to do the one thing that God cannot do,
which is to die. To die at the hands of sinful
men. And God says, in verse 10 that
the people will mourn for this man.
As if he was an only child the same word used.
When God says to Abraham will read at the Easter Vigil, take
your son, your only son, Isaac, which interestingly the Greek,
the Septuagint in both places translates as 11th.
Take your beloved Son, the mourn for him as a beloved child.
Beloved like when the father Speaks Over Jesus at his
baptism, this is my beloved Son with whom I am.
Well pleased. Back to verse 10, the wheat for
this only beloved child as one weeps for a child who is first
born. like when Paul writes in Colossians that Jesus is the
firstborn, the inheritor, over all creation, all of this to
underline, the atrocity, and the seemingly there, the seeming
irreversibility this awful Act But through this wound comes a
gift of healing. God says, he'll pour out on the
House of David and all Jerusalem, a spirit of Grace,
compassion and pleas for mercy. And then verse 11 on that day,
the sprays that gets repeated throughout.
This passage each time signaling, the gift being given
by God on that day. The morning in Jerusalem will be
as great as the morning for Haddad Rimmon in the plain of
megiddo. You're probably wondering what
Haddad Riemann means and so am I it apparently so are many or
not, really sure. It kind of got lost to history,
the reference to megiddo. I mean, King Josiah, who's this
great king? Perhaps the Exile wouldn't have
happened. If Josiah's rain had just been a
little bit longer He died in megiddo and so maybe there's
some kind of Memorial in Jerusalem that that happened
regularly to remember. King Josiah.
Not sure what that phrase is about, that's what I'm saying
but what's clear is that this murder happened in the city of
Jerusalem and it's the people of Jerusalem who bear the
responsibility And so, look at verse 12, the land shall mourn
each family by itself. And then we get this repetition,
the family of David by itself, and their wives in the family of
Nathan, and their wives in the family of Levi, and their wives
in the family of shimei and their wives, and all the
families that are left. So, what's the significance
here? While these names will, you
know, David, I mean, David the great kind of the paradigmatic
king of Israel. Well, and, you know, that David
had sons and one of those Sons is named Nathan.
And so here, David and Nathan are representative of the royal
family. It's the Royals who bear
responsibility and mourn, and then, you know, Levi, Levi, the
son of Jacob and he's the father of the whole Priestly caste and
Israel. And he had some sons and one of
those Sons his name shimei. And so here, Levi and shimei,
they represent the priest, the religious caste, and the
religious. Leaders in Israel.
And it has the mention of the wives by themselves because
early in the mission of there is this tradition this Jewish
tradition that that during a time of mourning, the genders
would be separated and so that's what's happening there.
And then the whole city of Jerusalem gathers in this, and
all of this repetition is meant to show that all are implicated.
Even the most powerful in Jerusalem, in fact, especially
the most powerful. They're the ones that get called
out by name. It's the Royals, the Civic
leaders and it's the religious leaders in its everybody who
Bears responsibility for this man being killed.
And the effect of this repetition is to show that the
morning is genuine. This is real Contrition.
They're not putting on a show, they're genuinely.
Sorry, there's sorrow throughout the city for this murder.
And so what do we make of all of this?
That sorrow for sin. Is a gift of God.
That's the first gift that's given repentance Contrition
desire to change. All of these are a gift of God.
And we need to remember this because this this can actually
be a source of deep encouragement. because often an
in it when we're stuck in sin, it can feel as if God is very
far away from us, And this is where we need to remember that
repentance. And even that small desire to
change is a gift of God's spirit within us.
So, I experienced this recently, I was going on a high school
Retreat. You know, there are high school
students and in talking to the girl, on the bus who is sitting
next to me and just kind of asking her, you know, tell me
about your spiritual life. You know what's going on for
you. And, and she went on to tell me
that she I felt very far from God.
And that they were. And I said, well, do you know
why that is? She said, I have some ideas.
I said, you know, sometimes it's our sin that can make us feel
far from God and she said, yeah, you know, there are few things
in my life, there's some things that I'm doing that, I know I
shouldn't be doing but the problem is I don't really want
to change. Did any of you relate to that?
Like very clearly, you know, in yourself what the problem is but
you're not yet convicted all the way that you're ready to part
ways, with whatever this thing is.
And so that's where she was. And I said, well, how do you?
How do you feel like, God feels towards you right now.
Like, if you could see his face, what would his face look like?
And she thought about it for a moment and then a very quickly
said, I think he'd feel disappointed.
When she thinks about God, she sees someone who's disappointed
in her. He feels far away. and what I
encouraged her, as I said, And I understand that you feel that
way. But this is this is what I want
to tell you. That here on this bus ride to
the retreat. You would not have told me any
of this. If God's spirit was not actively
working within you, I know that you feel far from God.
I know that you don't feel ready to change certain things in your
life, but you would not have even told me as much as you did,
if God's spirit, we're not in you motivating.
You convicting, you even that little amount.
Do you believe that That do you believe that God's spirit is
actually very near to you even in this moment where you feel
completely conflicted? Tears.
Begin to fall from her eyes, she hadn't considered that God was
near to her. That's what I said to her is the
rest of this week and you're going to be given opportunities
to think about these things that you don't know if you want to
let go of and my encouragement to you would be to Simply keep
doing what you just did. Keep leaning in to that voice
saying, share confess confess about precisely where you are
right now confess that little amount of conviction and see
what the Lord does with that. That's the gift that God gives
us sorrow. Over sin, is a gift of God, and
even when you're not ready to, let go of sin in your life, just
lean into that get and he will provide the strength.
We go forward will always put the opportunity before you and
you have to you have to take them up on the opportunity.
You won't put these words in your mouth.
It'll put the opportunity before you confess.
Repent. See what he does with that.
Spirit of repentance is a gift. Let's look.
Now at the second gift of the Wounded one, we could 13:1 this
gift of forgiveness. And that day there shall be a
fountain opened for the House of David in the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin, and uncleanness again that
phrase on that day and that very day.
When God's representative is pierced, not only is the gift of
Sorrow for sin given but a means of atonement is provided, a
means of making things right, again is provided It by the very
one who suffered the injury. This, the image is of a fountain
which throughout the scriptures and even another literature is
you know is representative of a source of life.
And I'm sure you've seen throughout this sermon series
that Zechariah, he borrows imagery from other Major
Prophets, like Isaiah and Ezekiel Ezekiel to had this
theme of water throughout his writings that God would bring
his people home and he would sprinkle clean water on them so
that they would be clean from all their uncleanness.
And from all of their idols. On that day, the day of his
wounding, the gift of God is Not Just repentance, but cleansing.
Forgiveness of sin and we live in a culture that demands
atonement, we live in a culture that is so good at identifying,
what's wrong? In this world?
And that's a good thing. But we're also a culture.
That's very confused and lost when it comes to how things are
made. Right, again, In this concept of
forgiveness is Scandal it. And are you guys did a sermon
series this fall? This very topic of forgiveness.
And so in our culture needs stories about forgiveness, I
mean, ways of making sense. How is this supposed to look?
And so, the story that came to mind is thinking about this text
forgiveness, in the very moment of a wound, comes from a book,
have any of you read this Called Peace?
Like a river. I think it's by Leaf anger.
If you're from the Midwest, I mean, it's a very Midwestern
novel, it precedes. Very, very slowly and
methodically and some would say it's boring, but I would simply
say it's Midwestern. And if you're from Minnesota,
it's very minnesotans, you should check it out.
In this novel, you know, boys reflecting on his father his
father's, a good man who's come under hardship around him in his
life. He's working at a job as a
janitor at a school. Not exactly a glorious job for
your dad to be doing and one day, all the students are in the
lunchroom and in the principal, or the superintendent walks into
the lunchroom, the superintendent's, pretty evil,
man, and his space, even reflects this.
He's he's got boils on his skin and kind of this redness that
comes through and he's always Getting and angry and he gets
angry at the kids and goes to do something about it.
And the superintendent knocks over, you know this this tray of
milk bottles shattering them. And just at that moment, the
boy's father walks in the janitor, the clean it up, the
superintendent's embarrassed. And so, he's gonna take out his
embarrassment on somebody else, he's going to shift his
embarrassment on to somebody else.
Since we shifted onto the janitor, who he's seen walking
around the school muttering to himself.
Oh really? What the dad was doing was
praying, but the superintendent in front of everybody, Shane's
him. Accuses him of being a drunk
walking around the school's weird time, saying things to
himself. And the boy says that, that most
boys have never had to watch something.
Like, most boys have never had to watch as their father was
stripped of his livelihood of his dignity in the, in front of
many other people. But the cruelty of that moment,
still impresses all these years later.
The superintendent fires, his father takes out his
embarrassment on this man. And then this moment happens,
the father reaches up and so quickly me you blink and you'd
miss it the father touches the superintendent space, he said it
was almost like a slap and then it was just it was gone.
And with that, touch the superintendent space was healed.
All of the redness, went away, all of the sweat, dried up all
the boils receded, the principal himself didn't understand what
was happening. And the boy says it is not an
easy thing to watch a miracle happened.
And we think oh we'd love to see Miracles.
He says, in this moment it was not an easy thing to see this
miracle happen. Why did my dad heal him?
Why did my dad? He'll the one who had just
insulted him in front of everybody.
He said the Injustice of this miracle took my breath away.
That's the kind of thing we have Happening Here.
In the moment of this wound, a fountain appealing is opened up
the piercing leads to this Fountain of cleansing for the
murderers themselves. I mean, the gospel writer John,
he quotes this very passage in Zechariah John chapter 19, they
will look on him whom they have pierced.
As Jesus is on the cross. When he tells this story about
Jesus was dead in the soldier, brings a spear just to make sure
that he's dead. He pokes, the dead body of Jesus
in the side and out of Jesus side, come blood and water
blowing. See the prophet.
Ezekiel had a dreamed that someday there would be a new
Temple in out of this Temple would flow a river and wherever
this River went life, would spring up from the ground
animals. Would swarm in these trees would
come up from this river, that comes from the temple, and these
trees would bear fruit. And, and those fruit bearing
trees would never be out of season.
But day in and day out, they would, they would bear fruit.
Earlier in John's gospel, Jesus said about his own body.
That it's a temple, destroy this Temple and I will raise it in
three days. That's what's happening on the
prop blood and water flow out. Blood given to us even today in
the Eucharist blood for the Forgiveness of sins water in
baptism given that we might be cleansed.
In the very moment of his death comes cleansing, even for the
ones who have injured an assault it It's incredible.
Second gift is the gift of forgiveness.
Now look at verse 20, the final gift of the Wounded one.
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts.
I will cut off the names of the idols of the land so that they
will be remembered no more. For the Jews Idols were images
used in worship of other gods, Gods named asherah or bail.
And we know them today for the things that these Idols promised
to provide money, sex, and power, and influence, and
fulfillment. All of these things that can be
good in their place, but when they become the thing, that our
lives are missing the thing that would bring us happiness and
security, then they become deadly to ourselves and to
others. Zechariah says, on that day,
those things will be cut off. I mean, don't you long for that
temptation? Just cut off.
No more. The things that you struggle
with cut off no more. Zechariah then says that God
will remove from the land. The prophets, meaning the false,
prophets in the spirit of uncleanness, he's talking about
these false prophets, that entice, the people with these
promises of fulfillment. But leave them hurting instead.
you see verse 3, if anyone again prophesize, Is father and
mother, Who Bore him will say to him, you shall not live for you,
speak lies in the name of the Lord.
And what he's referring to is, you know, this part of the law
in Deuteronomy that says, if a prophet is prophesying, falsely,
should be put to death. And so the implication here, is
that even the false prophets own family will have the discernment
to know right from wrong. They're not going to put up with
it just because that profit is there.
Son? And false prophets.
You know they trafficked and false hope just like they do
today. They're the ones who say that
that you can go around suffering in this life.
The false prophets are the ones who say that your most important
job is for you to be happy. And that this is what God wants
for you to. But the truth is always more
subtle and what the false prophets say?
You cannot Escape suffering in this life, but the Lord will
deliver you one day from all suffering in.
Your most important work, is not to be happy that the Lord can
and will satisfy the longings of your heart.
We don't use the language of false prophets often anymore.
Our profits. They don't they don't go around
and Harry cloaks like Elijah War you'll parading themselves as
prophets. They go by other names today.
I think the the name that came to mind is influencer Those
might be some of the false prophets today.
They don't have a hairy cloak but they have this nice pleasing
background that somehow they figured out how to make you
watch that video and think oh this person knows what they're
saying and they come to us with different voices, you know,
there's the shaming voice of the the mommy Instagram influencer
that make you feel kind of smug and self-satisfied about how you
are choosing to parent which is so much better than how they
chose to parent. Or are choosing to parent.
It's it's the voice, you know, those angry diatribes of these,
in a political influencers, on one side of the other that make
you feel better than the less enlightened around you.
It's the false prophets you know who have the the cynical
confidence of the deconstructor, right who can take something
that spiritually you held dear, you know they can take your
faith like a child and just pick it apart that you're left with
nothing. It's the voice of, you know, the
self-assured kind of machismo of that, that big tough man,
promising, you know, muscular gains and and a steady stream of
income, you know, from like passive income, you know, that
sort of thing. Yeah, these are the false
prophets and every time you get on an Instagram or YouTube, you
see these people. Why?
Because they have a message that's appealing.
And so you stick around long enough to listen to what they
have to say. And then that social media says,
oh man, they like this stuff. Let's give him some more.
Let's keep feeding them these messages.
And they influence us. And Zechariah seize the day when
such false prophets will be ashamed of their words.
Ashamed of the things they said the promises they made about
what would bring fulfillment in verse 5.
They'll deny that they ever pretended to be an influencer.
Verse 6, if somebody asks the false prophet, you know what are
those wounds on your back? Maybe that.
What is he talking about there? So, apparently this, you know,
wounds on your back, it actually means, you know, wounds
somewhere between your hands, it could be on the back or it could
be on the chest. If you remember that, that story
of Elijah on Mount Carmel. Now he's going toe-to-toe with
all these false prophets and in there, you know, passionate
desire for bail to show up and act.
And defeat the god of Yahweh. What do they start doing?
Is start adding themselves. Start wounding themselves.
It's a Zechariah sees this day that somebody would see these
wounds of the false prophet and say, how did you get those
wounds in the false prophet would say this?
And this actually really important, he says these are the
wounds that I receive in the house of my friends.
False prophet bought into this message of fulfillment to this
message. This false hope that will only
leave you wounded if you're to follow it.
He says yeah that's I got it from my friends.
The ones I thought would take care of me from from the voices,
the false promises. That's where I got these wounds.
The gift. The third gift that's given
after repentance and forgiveness is victory.
Over Idol has victory over these false hopes.
And of course, we know that this is day that Zechariah sees
knows. It was a long day, right?
It started on Good Friday but this day isn't yet over.
We're still waiting for the Fulfillment of this day when
these Idols are put away forever.
But we are given now a gift of discernment.
The sermon to know truth from falsehood in the measuring line
that were given is the cross. So anytime you hear a message
that promises fulfillment of some kind judge it by the cross,
The Cross isn't a symbolic victory of Jesus, but it's a
real Victory. It's a real actual historical
victory of Jesus, over the powers of sin, the Flesh and the
devil. And so, beware, beware of any
message that would say you can find fulfillment separate from
Suffering. The Lord's going to lead you
Through suffering and out of it. That's the message of the Cross
and we can't escape suffering. But the message is that the Lord
can redeem any suffering. So, beware of a message that
says, you can get around it. Beware of any kind of message
that says, you can get around your responsibility to love your
neighbor that you can get around any responsibility to love God.
That's not the message of the Cross message of the Cross is
sacrificial. Love, and Jesus were to ask is
to take up your cross and follow me beware of any message that
says, otherwise, Beware of any message that says, you can be
fulfilled. Apart from communion.
With Christ and his body. You cannot, we are not made for
fulfillment separate from the Lord Jesus.
So beware of any message that says, you can find fulfillment
outside of the church or somewhere else.
You can't, you can only find fulfillment in Jesus.
That's the message of the cross. The gift is discernment of his
victory, over these powers. Well, conclude there.
This is what Zechariah sees these three gifts, the gift of
repentance, it gift of forgiveness, that gift of
Victory, given these gifts given to the ones who are the very
most undeserving, but given, because God's love will have the
final Victory. Amen.
Given to the ones who are undeserving, because God's love
will have the final Victory. And so, the encouragement for us
today, Day. This is wonderful timing halfway
through land. Just over halfway through Lent.
Is to receive the gifts that God wants to give you.
We take this time to meditate on Christ's death and resurrection
and when he looks at you he has not disappointed with you.
But his spirit is in you saying come home.
Now is the time to come home. Maybe you've started these
Lenten disciplines And so far you failed at most of them, you
don't have to say, Amen. But I'm sure that some of us in
this room, you picked up some Lenten disciplines, the ones
that you knew you needed and it's just been a total failure.
Well, today's a new start. Lean into the grace that Jesus
provides pick those up again to become weak before the Lord's
that he can fill you up with his strength.
This is what lent is all about going deeper into the mystery.
The true mystery of God's love for us in the death Resurrection
his son Jesus Christ. The name of the father and the
son and the holy spirit. Amen.
The name of the father and the son and the holy spirit.
Amen.