Romans 5 Luke 15:11-24
Treachery and Triumph
In August 480 BC, during the second Persian invasion of Greece, a small Greek force led by the Spartan king Leonidas stood valiantly against the advancing Persian army under Xerxes, the same king mentioned in the Book of Esther. As the Greek fleets clashed with the Persian navy at Cape Artemesium, Leonidas and his men defended the narrow pass at Thermopylae.
For three days, they held their ground until a Greek traitor, Ephialtes, revealed a hidden path that allowed the Persians to outflank them. Realizing the situation, Leonidas sent most of his troops to safety while he, together with 300 Spartans and about a thousand other soldiers, chose to remain to delay the Persian advance. Their courageous stand, though ultimately ending in their deaths, inflicted significant losses on the Persians, gave the Athenians time to retreat to safety, and allowed the Athenian navy to regroup.
Now, you may be wondering why I told you that story. Well, because I think it’s a good story and I wanted to use it in a sermon and so I thought this would be as a good a time as any.
No, seriously, I told you this story because I think it is a good illustration of the truth Paul now develops in Romans 5 by building on what he had just described in chapters 1-4 as the great equalizer…that all humans have sinned…that all humans fall short of the glory of God…that all humans are dead in trespasses…and because we are dead, being cut off from our Creator and our only source of life, we are all equally impotent and unable to do anything about our predicament as sin and death festers in every one of us because of the treacherous and traitorous act of our first ancestors.
This, by the way, is the point of the parable of the lost sons…for too long the church has focused on just the one son…the so-called “Prodigal Son”…but the parable was designed to illustrate that both sons were lost and thus both needed to respond to the grace of the Father. So, the focus should be on the Father, not on the sons…
In like manner, here in Romans 5, Paul places the spotlight on the Father by stressing that the hope as believers we have is based on the Father’s gracious reversal of the consequences of Adam’s rebellion through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus. For Paul, Adam and Jesus are the two major formative influences on human history. All the offspring of Adam were infected with sin and therefore cut off from their only source of life. So, as we read through the Old Testament, we see the longing of the people of God for the fulfilment of the promise God made in the Garden…that one day he would set the world to rights through the Seed of the woman. But the Law repeatedly exposed the fatal flaw that prevented any human seed from achieving it…all were stained by sin. Like Ephialtes, the treachery of Adam opened the pathway for the enemy to destroy us all.
But thanks be to God, the sacrificial act of the one Paul calls the second Adam in 1 Corinthians, namely Jesus, who became like us in every way, yet without sin…his sacrifical act on our behalf – as a man for humanity – secured a decisive victory over death and the devil.
Just as the treacherous act of Ephialtes brought about the annihilation of the Spartan forces, so Adam’s defiant rejection of God’s command brought about the death of all his offspring.
But, just as Leonidas’ sacrifical act ultimately led to victory, so Jesus’ sacrifice of himself ultimately defeated the enemy triumphing over him in the cross.
Now, of course, at this point the analogy breaks down because Jesus was both the one sacrificed as well as the one who won ultimately the victory, but the concept of triumph over treachery through sacrifice holds true. Triumph over treachery was achieved through sacrifice. Adam’s rebellious treachery brought in death. Jesus’ obedient submission, even unto death on the cross, brought in triumph, life, and peace.
This is the foundation upon which we build our lives as believers. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on our behalf we not only have peace with God, but also, because we live in and by grace, we have an unshakeble hope. Salvation by grace through faith gifts us a new perspective on life itself. Everything that happens to us…every circumstance whether good or bad, can now be seen through a different lens, as it were…the lens of a certain security and a certain hope.
And this hope is not a speculative thing…it is certain because it is founded upon a love that has been demonstrated decisively through selfless sacrifice. As Paul says, while some might die for a friend or a family member or a fine upstanding citizen, very few will die for an enemy or a villian or a felon. And yet God’s love was lavished on us while we were capital offenders.
Consequently, if God demonstrated and proved his love for us while we were still sinners…reconciling us to himself when we were still his enemies…well then, we can be assured that for those who have been declared just by faith and who are at peace with him, no sin, past, present, or future, can ever overtake the graciousness of God.
Adam’s capitulation in the garden stained all his offspring – like a comunicable virus, sin was passed on from parent to child thus rendering all humanity incapable of ever gaining victory over the consequence of sin, namely death. But the one act of obedience by one who is sinless leads to justification and life for all who quit the realm of the dead under the 1st Adam for the realm of life under the 2nd Adam.
Now, in our contemporary context, the themes of both Romans 5 and the parable of the lost sons in Luke 15, offer us vital lessons about human nature, redemption, and the transformative power of grace. As I have already stated, just as the treachery of Ephialtes led to temporary defeat but ultimately contributed to a greater victory, so too does our story with sin and redemption unfold.
Today, we live in a world rife with betrayal, pain, and the consequences of sin. At times it may feel like we are facing a scenario much like that faced by Leonidas and his men. Someone in our world, our nation, our social circle, our church, our family has betrayed us.
Yet, through Christ’s sacrificial act, a path to ultimate triumph has been laid out for us…and as we have already seen this is an act that has an impact on every aspect of our lives. If God loved us to that extent while we were not his people, how much more will he not love us now that we are his people? This puts a whole different spin on how we ought to react in the face of suffering…because of what we know about God’s love, we may view suffering in any form as a tool in the hands of a God who only always wants the very best for us…a tool that shapes and molds us and also helps to make sense of the present by gifting us a hope for the future.
As in the parable of the lost sons, both the younger and the older, despite their differing paths, were lost and both were in need of the father’s grace. This is a powerful reminder that regardless of our personal journeys…our pedigree, our ethnicity, our education, our wealth…we all require God’s redemption…and we can have it by grace through faith.
But then, as believers, we are called to live in the light of this hope and grace. The story of Leonidas and his army can also be applied to us…it can serve to remind us that our courageous acts…refusing to budge and to stand firm on what we know is true…can have a significant impact on us and those around us.
In our daily lives, we are encouraged to emulate the obedient courage of Jesus, not necessarilly through physical battles or physical sacrifices, but by standing firm in our faith while still showing love and grace to those around us…even those who consider themselves our enemies…and by trusting in God’s ultimate victory over sin and death, past, present, and future.
In practical terms, this means embracing a life of humility, recognizing our own inabilities and weaknesses, and always seeking reconciliation with others knowing that we are all in need of grace. But it also involves living with the assurance that our hope is secure—not in our own strength, but in the steadfast love and sacrifice of Christ.
Therefore, as we navigate the treacheries and triumphs of our own lives, let us remember that through Jesus, the most significant victory has already been won. Let this truth empower us to live boldly, love deeply, and offer grace abundantly, knowing that regardless of the challenges we may face, our future is secure in Christ’s triumph over sin and death.
Shall we pray?
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024
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