Isaiah 6:1-8 Psalm 138
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke
5:1-11
In 1974,
Christians in Chad suffered persecution because of their devotion to Jesus and
because they rejected idolatry. At
the time, hundreds of churches took a strong stand against government-enforced
tribal initiation rites. The believers were severely persecuted, and many of
the clergy were martyred together with members of their churches. They were told that if they renounced their faith in Jesus, they would
be spared. While a few apostatized, the majority preferred death to
renunciation. All foreign Missionaries were expelled as well and Chad remained
a closed country until 1975.
The question one
asks when one reads reports like these is often simply, why? But for me, it is
not why did God allow this or why were humans so cruel to other fellow
humans…no, for me it is more a case of why did these men and women and children
choose death instead of renunciation? Only severely depressed people actually want
to die…most of us would rather choose to remain on this side of the turf,
right?
So what was it
that made these dear children of God choose to die, sometimes in the most
horrific ways? The answer they would give is this: It was their encounter with
the living God…because they knew Him, they chose death rather than deny Him.
In today’s
readings we read about four different individuals from four different periods
in history all of whom had one thing in common and that was each one of them had
a personal, life changing encounter with God.
The first man we
met was Isaiah, a prophet who served under four kings of Judah, Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah. It seems that he had been preaching to the people of Judah
for some time before the event recorded in chapter six, but together with many
believers before him and after him (John Wesley is a good example), it may be
that Isaiah did not have a complete understanding of Who God really was. Many
of us know about God, and we can talk about God, and even tell others about
God, but we have never truly met God…this seems to have been the case with
Isaiah. But all this changed in chapter six.
In this heavenly
vision, the prophet saw himself and, indeed, the nation against the backdrop of
God’s holiness and glory. Meeting the Almighty God face to face in one sense
was for the prophet an epiphany…a moment of reckoning…a moment of exposure…a
moment of clarity. The piercing light of this revelation of the Person of God
cut through the layers of blind self-justification and self-righteousness and
uncovered the depths of Isaiah’s core being.
And what Isaiah saw was that his spiritual condition was no different from
the people he was preaching to…he too was a man of unclean lips. This vision
changed the prophet forever…the glory, the majesty, the purity, and the
righteousness of God became his message…or more pointedly, it became his life.
It is interesting
to note that according to the Talmud, Isaiah suffered martyrdom by being sawn
in two under the orders of the evil king Manasseh. Like the Chadian martyrs,
Isaiah chose death rather than deny his Lord.
The second man we
met was from an earlier period in the history of Israel…the great king David.
In Psalm 138, David rehearsed his personal reasons for worshipping God…one of
which was the fact that God had preserved his life even in the midst of
trouble, struggle, and persecution. But it wasn’t simply the gift of
preservation that brought about David’s declaration of praise…it was his
knowledge of the character of the God he served that undergirded his faith. In
verse two David said, “I bow before Your holy Temple (and keep in mind that
this is God’s heavenly Temple, as the earthly Temple had not yet been built) as
I worship. I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness; for
Your promises are backed by all the honour of Your name.” Holiness, love,
faithfulness, and honour…all character traits of God.
It is upon this
understanding…this personal knowledge of the Creator God…that David built his
request for further preservation. “The Lord will work out His plans for my life
– for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures for ever. Don’t abandon me, for You made
me.” Even when his life was threatened, David rehearsed his full trust in God’s
plan for his life…his repeated experiences of God’s Presence, gave David the
strength to stand even in the worst of times.
The third man we
met was Paul. Like so many other believers throughout history, Paul thought
himself blameless, pure, and righteous…until he encountered Jesus face to face
on the road to Damascus. In that moment, just as with Isaiah, Paul saw the
depths of his soul laid bare in the blinding light of the revelation of the
Person of Christ. Later he would write to fellow believers in Philippi that
everything he once held dear he now considered worthless when compared with the
infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. His tireless ministry was
based solely upon his personal knowledge of the grace and greatness of God.
In 2 Corinthians
11, Paul listed all his trials and sufferings for the sake of preaching the
good news of Jesus to the unbelievers. In verse 27 he wrote, “I have worked hard
and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and
have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough
clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my
concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who
is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? But if I must boast, I would
rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.” Boast in his
weaknesses? How many leaders do you know who boast in their weaknesses? Later,
in chapter 12 Paul said, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ can work through me. That is why I take pleasure in my
weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I
suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Paul knew where
his strength lay – not in himself, but in Jesus. Paul had met Jesus on the road
to Damascus and his life was never the same again. Tradition tells us that Paul was martyred for
his faith in Rome by decaptitation. Again, a man willing to choose death rather
than renounce his Lord.
The last man we met was one of my personal favorites, the Apostle Peter.
The interesting thing about this account of the miraculous draught of fish was
that Peter had been called to follow Jesus before, but had, for some or other
reason, declined. By this time, Simon Peter had known Jesus for quite a while.
He had heard his brother testify that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah…he had
personally heard Jesus teach and had marvelled at his authority together with
the crowds…he had seen him heal lepers and drive out demons…he had even
witnessed the healing of his own mother-in-law. But still Simon Peter was not
convinced…at least not convinced enough to leave behind his apparently
lucritive business to follow an itinerant rabbi. Peter had it all…a boat…business
partners…a rather large house by 1st century standards…why would he
risk losing it all for the sake of following Jesus?
That is until he saw Jesus for Who He really was…the one Who had power
even over creation. Like Isaiah, Peter’s immediate reaction was one of
repentance brought on by a realisation of how sinful he was in the light of the
holy One standing before him. By asking the Lord to leave him Peter was
confessing his unworthiness to be a disciple. He had yet to learn that no human
could ever claim to be worthy…and this is the lesson we all have to learn.
None of us are worthy…even the best of us fall far short of the glory of
God. The Lord’s love for us is not based on our merits, but upon His grace. He
loves us not because we are great but because He is great! Isaiah, David, Paul,
and Peter all encountered the living God and all realised their emptiness,
their sinfulness, their unworthiness…and all experienced that amazing relief as
the burden of their guilt was lifted off their shoulders by one greater than
their sin. This revelation of the Person of God was so life changing that
everything else paled in comparison…even life itself…each one of these men, and
countless men, women, and children throughout the ages, have chosen to die
rather than disown their Lord.
A radical revelation indeed…
Have you seen the Lord? Have you seen Him high and lifted up? Have you
heard the angelic beings crying out ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’? Have you experienced
His care and His protection and His provision? Have you been touched by His immeasureable
love?
Jesus wants to meet with us all…that is why He instituted what we call
the Lord’s Supper…the Eucharist. It is here at His table that every one of us
can meet Him face to face…it is the most intimate expression of His love for
us…the giving of His life for ours. It is the most intimate expression of His
unity with us, His beloved children…He in us…us in Him…it is a preview, if you
will, of heaven. Here we see Him high and lifted up…and here He draws us into
His holy presence.
So, as you come to partake of these gracious symbols of His love and His
compassion, ask Him to open the eyes of your heart…to shine into the depths of
your soul…so that you, like these four men, may experience the reality of His greatness…and
be changed forever.
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2019-02-06
