Sunday
10/13/19 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “A Descendant of David”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 66:1-12
New Testament
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Gospel Lesson: Luke
17:11-19
Brothers and
sisters, friends, welcome again on this the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Eighteen
Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem nearly
two-thousand years ago. On that day the Christian Church was born, many were
filled with the Holy Spirit, and the mission of the Christian Church began. We who
are gathered here this morning, are part of that continued mission and legacy.
Speaking of legacy, once and a while I meet someone who is
related to someone who is famous. Is anyone here related to someone who is
famous? I have meet people related to famous athletes, rulers, kings, queens,
generals, and etc. When I did my Ancestry DNA test a few years back I was
hoping to be related to a king or queen, to some famous knight or general, or
some great thinker.
Well, those result all came back negative. As of yet, I have
not found any evidence that I am related to someone who is famous. Is it a big
deal to be related to someone who is famous? Sometimes the answer to this is
yes. Sometimes the family name that you have, or who you are related to can be
very significant in the world in which we live. Imagine if you found out that
you were related to President Abraham Lincoln. Say your name is “John Lincoln,”
are you are proven to be a descendent of President Abraham Lincoln. I wonder if,
if people knew that you were related to President Lincoln, if people would
assume great things about you. Maybe you are a genius, or maybe your last name just
happens to be Lincoln.
If you are related to General and President Dwight Eisenhower,
my guess is, this will reflect positively on you if you become a commissioned
officer in the US Army. Maybe you will move up in rank and responsibility
quickly, after all, you are an Eisenhower.
We have had countless Kennedy’s in politics, two President Bush’s,
and it would seem that certain family names and people are worth being
connected to.
In his famous play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare famously
asked the question, “What’s in a name?” (https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/whats-in-a-name/).
In the play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet cannot get
married and be together, because their families are enemies. Basically, the
name that they bear and the people that they are related to, will not allow
them to be together.
Who we are descended from and our names can be very
significant indeed. I wonder what it was like to be the child of General George
Patton, for example. General George Patton’s son, also George, went on to be a US
Army General. I wonder what it was like for him, to be related to such a hero? Easy?
Hard?
As Christians, when we look at our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
it is important that we not only understand who he is, but also where he came
from. Who is Jesus descended from? Is he related to anyone famous and
significant in history? Or did God just send his Son to earth, have him named Jesus,
meaning that Jesus had no prior connection to am earthly family tree? Or was and
is Jesus related to famous people. The answer is yes. Jesus is related to some
big names.
One of the scriptures that many churches read on Christmas Eve
every year, is the Prophet Isaiah 9:6-7. This scripture says:
“For a child has been born for us, a
son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his
kingdom. He
will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and
forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isa. 9:6-7, NRSV).
Now this
prediction of the birth of the Messiah, of Christ, if you notice, is directly
connected to King David of Israel. The scripture says the throne of David and
his kingdom. This means that this Messiah, this Jesus, in order to pass muster
as our savior, must be related to the great King David.
In the Gospel
of Luke 2:11 is says:
“to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who
is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk. 2:11, NRSV).
These are just two scriptures that take special efforts to
connect the fact that Jesus Christ is a descendant of the great King David. So
could he have been the savior of the world, and not have been a descendant of King
David? The answer is no. For when God elevated David to be the King of Israel,
he promised David that his family line would rule forever. Forever is a long
time. Jesus Christ is our King and Lord, and his rule never ends.
Lineage, family name, things such as this, are very
significant for some, and not for others. How significant? Well if you wouldn’t
mind grabbing one of our nice new red bibles for a minute. I would ask you to
open to the first Gospel in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew. Of the
four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Matthew starts his gospel in a
very unique way. Why is it unique? Instead of getting right into the birth of Christ,
or how Christ existed eternally before time itself, Matthew instead offers us a
genealogy of Jesus. Why would he do this?
The answer is, is to show us that Jesus was and is the
savior that was predicted from the very beginning. Not only is Jesus a descendant
or a son of King David, his lineage stretches back to Abraham, Isaac, and many
others. Not only is Jesus the King of heaven and earth, Jesus is related to
great Kings and leaders on Earth. After establishing that Jesus is indeed
related to great leaders and royalty, Matthew then tells us of the birth of Christ
in the rest of chapter 1 (Mt. 1:1-25, NRSV).
This leads me up to our reading from the Apostle Paul’s Second
Epistle or letter to Timothy for this morning. In this Epistle or letter, the Apostle
Paul is encouraging Timothy in sharing the Christian faith with others. As in
many other scriptures in the bible though, the Apostle Paul mentions King David.
Let’s look at our reading from this morning again from 2 Timothy. Once again it
starts by saying:
“Remember
Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for
which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake
of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ
Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:”
“If we have died with him, we will also
live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny
himself” (2
Tim. 2:8-15, NRSV).
So Paul is
telling Timothy to remember Jesus, who he was and is, what he has done for us,
and to teach and live this message. In the process of this, once again, Paul is
very sure to mention, which is my sermon title for this morning, that Jesus is "A
descendant of David”. Paul amidst reaffirming to Timothy all that Jesus was and
is, is also saying, and don’t forget Timothy that he is related to great
leaders. Jesus is related to the king that unified the whole Kingdom of Israel,
the great King David.
So devoted to Christ
is the Apostle Paul, that he says his devotion has lead him to be chained and imprisoned
for preaching the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul is telling Timothy,
above all else, preach Christ, live like Christ, and serve Christ, no matter
what.
Not only is Jesus
our Lord and Savior, who lived, healed, loved, forgave, who gave us a blueprint
for a new way of living, and died for us, he is a descendant of great men and
women. He is related to royalty, and as the living God, is the culmination of
all kings and all queens. Since Jesus’ father Joseph is a very distant relation
to King David however, he was not given title, land, or great wealth. As a
result, Jesus, like his father Joseph was a humble carpenter, or as some
experts think, perhaps a stone mason.
In looking at our gospel lesson for
this morning briefly again, let’s see the sort of savior Jesus is. Let’s see
what this “descendant of David,” the living God, the savior of our souls has to
say. Once again, the reading from the Luke 17 says:
“Remind
them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over
words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best
to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to
be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.”
“On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between
Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they
called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he
said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they
were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back,
praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a
Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine,
where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except
this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith
has made you well.” (Lk. 17:11-19, NRSV).
Jesus says be Godly, live rightly
and explain his truth to the world. Then, Jesus and his disciples encounter Lepers.
Leprosy is very serious condition that can cause lesions and wounds on the skin
and even death. At the time that Jesus lived, Leprosy was often seen as a curse
from God. Lepers were not permitted to be around Jews in good standing, and
certainly weren’t allowed to worship in God’s Holy Temple or a synagogue. As a Jew
in a good standing then, going near a leper or touching a leper was a no no.
Jesus hears the cries of these Lepers
though, and then he heals them. He tells the lepers to show themselves to the
priests or Jewish Rabbis. As the lepers went to show themselves to the Jewish
religious leaders, the scripture says that they were made clean. One of the lepers
turned back, with great love and appreciation for what Jesus had done for him. This
cleansed leper praised God and fell and worshiped or “prostrated” himself as
the scripture says, before Jesus’ feet. Jesus seemed concerned that only one of
the cleansed lepers returned to him. Yet he told this leper, who was a non-Jewish
Samaritan, to get up and depart, as his faith has made him well.
Not only is Jesus our savior, the one who was fully God
and fully human on earth. Not only did Jesus love, heal, and forgive, but he
ministered to everyone, whether they were off limits or not. Jesus served and
sought to heal and save. He also, while being all of these things, and the
savior of the world, and the Lord of the universe, was also “A descendant of David”.
Jesus was and is the savior, as he is
part of the line of heroes. The line that exists eternally with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit. The line that went from Adam and Eve, to Abraham, Noah, Moses,
and etc. Jesus is culmination of many great leaders and heroes. We are a
continuation of this line of heroes.
While we might not be able to say that we are “a descendant
of David,” our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is the King of Kings and the Lord
of Lords. As such, we are all princes and princesses, and our Lord and King, Jesus,
has promised to us that we will inherit his kingdom. We are royalty, we are now
spiritual descendants of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, who is “A descendant
of David”.
In 1 Peter 1:3-5, Peter writes:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By
his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled,
and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5, NRSV).
Through Christ,
our King, we are royalty, and we will inherit the greatest kingdom of all time.
Some people are related to great men and women on earth, but we are saved and
made royal by the greatest of them all, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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