WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.320 We're going to read 2 Samuel chapter 18 down to chapter 9 verse 8 and Lucia is going to come 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:07.740 and read God's word for us Lucia over to you. 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:16.440 David mastered the men who were with him and appointed over them commanders of thousands 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:23.339 and commanders of hundreds. David sent out his troops a third under the command of Joab 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:32.219 a third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruriah and a third under Itai the Gittite. 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:39.980 The king told the troops I myself will surely march out with you but the men said you must not go out 00:00:39.980 --> 00:00:47.760 if we are forced to flee they won't care about us even if half of us die they won't care but you 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:54.799 are worth 10,000 of us it will be better now for you to give us support from the city. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:01:02.579 The king answered I will do whatever seems best to you so the king stood beside the gate while all 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:10.219 his men marched out in units of hundreds and of thousands the king commanded Joab Abishai and Itai 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:13.719 be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake. 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:21.159 And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:28.640 David's army marched out of the city to fight Israel and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 00:01:29.500 --> 00:01:39.200 There Israel troops were routed out by David's men and the casualties that day were great 20,000 men. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:49.740 The battle spread out over the whole countryside and the forest swallowed up more men than that day than the sword. 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:53.460 Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:55.640 He was riding his mule. 00:01:55.980 --> 00:02:02.879 As the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's hair caught caught in the tree. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:09.939 He was left hanging in mid-air while the mule he was riding kept on going. 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:14.240 When one of the men saw what happened, he told Joab, 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:17.879 I have seen Absalom hanging in the oak tree. 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:21.699 Joab said to the man who had told him this, 00:02:22.079 --> 00:02:22.439 What? 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:23.939 You saw him? 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:26.939 Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there? 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:33.159 Then I would have had to give you 10 shekels of silver and a warrior's belt. 00:02:33.859 --> 00:02:35.340 But the man replied, 00:02:36.020 --> 00:02:43.079 Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lay a hand on the king's son. 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:47.759 In our hearing, the king commanded you and Abishai and Itai, 00:02:49.300 --> 00:02:52.579 Protect the young man, Absalom, for my sake. 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:58.160 And if I had put my life in jeopardy and nothing is hidden from the king, 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:01.140 You would have kept your distance from me. 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:02.560 Joab said, 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.060 I am not going to wait like this for you. 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:11.320 So he took three javelins in his hands and plunged them into Absalom's heart 00:03:11.320 --> 00:03:14.160 while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 00:03:14.939 --> 00:03:21.520 And 10 of Joab's armor bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him. 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:28.900 Then Joab sounded the trumpet and the troops stopped pursuing Israel for Joab halted them. 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:37.000 They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. 00:03:37.900 --> 00:03:40.980 And meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes. 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:50.799 During his lifetime, Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the king's valley as a monument to himself. 00:03:51.359 --> 00:03:56.500 For he thought, I have no son to carry on the memory of my name. 00:03:57.079 --> 00:03:59.439 He named the pillar after himself. 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:04.039 And it is called Absalom's monument to this day. 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:08.359 Now Ahimez, son of Zadok, said, 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:16.019 Let me run and take the news to the king that the Lord has vindicated him by delivering him from the hand of his enemies. 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:20.779 You are not the one to take the news today, Joab told him. 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:31.219 You may take the news another time, but you must not do so today, because the king's son is dead. 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:33.559 Then Joab said to the Gushite, 00:04:33.859 --> 00:04:35.699 Go tell the king what you have seen. 00:04:36.259 --> 00:04:39.219 The Gushite bowed down before Joab and ran off. 00:04:40.219 --> 00:04:44.279 Ahimez, son of Zadok, again said to Joab, 00:04:44.919 --> 00:04:48.519 Come what may, please let me run behind the Gushite. 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:50.379 But Joab replied, 00:04:50.479 --> 00:04:52.819 My son, why do you want to go? 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:56.259 You don't have any news that will bring you a reward. 00:04:56.699 --> 00:04:59.500 He said, come what may, I want to run. 00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:00.839 So Joab said, run. 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:06.759 Then Ahimez ran by way of the plane and outrun the Gushite. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:11.620 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:16.399 the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:19.699 As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 00:05:20.539 --> 00:05:23.679 The watchman called out to the king and reported it. 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.319 The king said, if he's alone, he must have good news. 00:05:27.679 --> 00:05:29.579 And the runner came closer and closer. 00:05:30.419 --> 00:05:32.359 Then the watchman saw another runner, 00:05:32.979 --> 00:05:34.719 and he called down to the gatekeeper. 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:36.479 Look, another man running alone. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.439 The king said, he must be bringing good news too. 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:48.219 The watchman said, it seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimez, son of Sadov. 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:50.800 He's a good man, the king said. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:52.319 He comes with good news. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.759 Then Ahimez called out to the king, all is well. 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.819 He bowed down before the king with his face to the ground and said, 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:04.720 Praise be to the Lord your God. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:09.960 He has delivered up those who lifted their hands against my lord, the king. 00:06:10.880 --> 00:06:15.180 The king asked, is the young man, Absalom, safe? 00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:19.180 Ahimez answered, I saw great confusion, 00:06:19.700 --> 00:06:24.660 just as Joab was about to send the king's servant and me, your servant, 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:28.160 but I don't know what it was. 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.280 The king said, stand aside and wait here. 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:34.339 So he stepped aside and stood there. 00:06:35.119 --> 00:06:36.899 Then the Gushite arrived and said, 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:41.159 My lord, the king, hear the good news. 00:06:41.859 --> 00:06:48.679 The lord has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.519 The king asked the Gushite, is the young man, Absalom, safe? 00:06:53.239 --> 00:06:54.339 The Gushite replied, 00:06:55.239 --> 00:07:00.419 May the enemies of my lord, the king, and all who rise up to harm you, 00:07:00.419 --> 00:07:02.119 be like that young man. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:04.239 The king was shaken. 00:07:05.119 --> 00:07:07.859 He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. 00:07:08.899 --> 00:07:10.059 As he went, he said, 00:07:10.979 --> 00:07:15.399 Oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom, 00:07:15.719 --> 00:07:18.559 if only I had died instead of you. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:23.099 Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. 00:07:23.100 --> 00:07:29.280 Joab was told the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom. 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:37.500 And for the whole army, the victory that day was turned into mourning because on that day, 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:38.920 the troops heard it said, 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:40.800 the king is grieving for his son. 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:46.660 The men stole into the city that day as men steal in, 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.639 who are ashamed when they flee from battle. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:54.219 The king covered his face and cried aloud, 00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:56.580 Oh, my son, Absalom. 00:07:57.260 --> 00:08:00.240 Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.280 Then Joab went into the house of the king and said, 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:09.080 Today you have humiliated all your men who have just saved your life 00:08:09.080 --> 00:08:13.760 and the lives of your sons and daughters and the lives of your wives and concubines. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:18.360 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:25.420 You have made it clear today that the commanders and the men mean nothing to you. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:31.060 I see that you would be pleased if Absalom was alive today and all of us were dead. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:33.919 Now go out and encourage your men. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.559 I swear by the Lord that if you don't go out, 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:41.340 not a man will be left with you by nightfall. 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:50.740 This will be worse for you than all the calamities that have come on you from your youth till now. 00:08:51.580 --> 00:08:54.879 So the king got up and took his seat in the gateway. 00:08:55.940 --> 00:08:59.800 When the men were told the king is sitting in the gateway, 00:09:00.300 --> 00:09:01.560 they all came before him. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.920 Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.259 May the Lord have blessing to his word. 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:15.080 Thank you so much, Lucia. 00:09:16.680 --> 00:09:18.580 It's almost as long as the sermon, isn't it? 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:18.960 The reading. 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:19.780 So thank you. 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:23.120 We appreciate you greatly. 00:09:23.259 --> 00:09:24.080 Thank you so much. 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:27.580 Let me pray and ask for the Lord's help as we look at his word. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:32.420 Father, we do want to just pray again that you might speak to us from your word. 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:38.439 We want to thank you for Lucia's reading and we want to pray that we would understand it truly and properly 00:09:38.439 --> 00:09:41.199 and that you might speak to us, we pray in Jesus' name. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:42.219 Amen. 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:50.779 Now, I want, if I can, this morning just to draw out for you three themes from that reading that we have had together. 00:09:51.340 --> 00:09:56.040 Three big ideas which bring us to the point of the story for us this morning. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.259 If you've not been with us before on a Sunday morning, 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:04.660 it would help you to know perhaps that we have been working our way through this book of 2 Samuel. 00:10:04.659 --> 00:10:09.360 This isn't just a random passage that I have chosen for this morning because I didn't, you know, 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:11.779 because I didn't particularly like Lucia and I wanted her to read a long passage. 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:12.600 No, none of that. 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.839 This is just where we're up to in our series in 2 Samuel. 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:22.319 2 Samuel, if you don't know, is the story of the ancient King David, the King of Israel. 00:10:23.199 --> 00:10:27.699 And our conviction as a church is that not only are these stories in the Bible true, 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:31.879 we believe that, and actually most people would recognize that. 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:39.379 Rather, our conviction is that these stories are how God speaks to us today in this moment 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:42.299 as we look at them together and understand what's going on. 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:47.200 We believe that although the Bible is written by numerous different human authors, 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:53.759 it is standing behind all of them, God the Holy Spirit, who inspires them to write these stories for us. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:57.360 And the same Spirit, now he dwells in our hearts as believers 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.480 and speaks to us from these stories as we understand them. 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:07.659 So with that in mind, let me show you these three themes, which I think have massive relevance for us this morning. 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.340 The first theme is this, it's the theme of love, love. 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:17.080 One thing you really can't miss in the story, even if you didn't hear all of it, 00:11:17.379 --> 00:11:22.320 is the theme of David's love for his son Absalom. 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:27.059 Listen to how he speaks about him in verse 33 of chapter 18. 00:11:27.059 --> 00:11:28.299 Look down at it, if you like. 00:11:28.699 --> 00:11:34.259 Oh, my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, if only I'd died instead of you. 00:11:34.359 --> 00:11:35.939 Oh, Absalom, my son, my son. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.159 Or again, in verse 4 of chapter 19, it's the same thing. 00:11:40.219 --> 00:11:42.719 Oh, my son Absalom, oh, my son, my son. 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:48.259 Now, pointing out that a father loves his son might not seem that amazing, 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:52.019 but if you have been with us for the last few weeks for the story here, 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:56.700 really this is an incredible thing for David to say about his son Absalom. 00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:02.819 Absalom, who is David's oldest remaining son, has plotted treason against his father. 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:06.340 He has robbed him of his throne in Jerusalem. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:07.939 He's kicked him out of the city. 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:15.040 He has even had sex publicly with David's wives to bring shame on David 00:12:15.040 --> 00:12:19.280 and to make himself, in the words of the passage, obnoxious to his father. 00:12:19.380 --> 00:12:20.440 That's what he wanted to do. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.700 But it seems that despite everything that Absalom has done against his father, 00:12:25.300 --> 00:12:27.600 still David loves him. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:28.600 He loves him. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.220 Now, so much is that the center of the story, 00:12:32.300 --> 00:12:34.020 that in verse 5 of chapter 18, 00:12:34.019 --> 00:12:38.279 David tells all his soldiers as they head out to battle with Absalom 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:44.539 to say, be gentle with the young man Absalom, chapter 18, verse 5. 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:48.720 Why does he ask them to be gentle with the young man Absalom? 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:51.159 Well, he says, for my sake, he says. 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:53.340 I love my son Absalom. 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:55.759 I know Absalom has turfed me out of Jerusalem. 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:57.079 I know he's taken the throne. 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.620 I know that we're now going into a civil war against Absalom 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:03.240 and all his forces trying to reclaim Jerusalem 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:04.659 and reclaim the throne for myself. 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:08.659 But please, for my sake, be gentle with Absalom 00:13:08.659 --> 00:13:10.779 because I love him, my son. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:14.879 Now, you have to say, don't you, that a love like that is rare. 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:17.180 It's undeserved. 00:13:17.500 --> 00:13:18.519 It's unfaltering. 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:21.139 It's almost irrational, isn't it, in its commitment, 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:22.620 despite the faults of the other. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:24.560 Joab thinks it's irrational. 00:13:24.700 --> 00:13:26.860 Look at what he says in verse 6 of chapter 19. 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.279 He says to David, you love those who hate you. 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:31.399 You're a fool, David. 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:32.579 You love those who hate you. 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:34.399 And you hate those who love you. 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:36.620 And Joab means that as an insult. 00:13:36.819 --> 00:13:38.439 But you can see this morning, can't you, 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:40.740 that this kind of love actually is a wonderful thing. 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:43.379 It's wonderful to be loved like this. 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:48.199 Maybe you've experienced this from a partner or a friend or a parent. 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:52.940 It's a rare and a precious gift to be loved unconditionally, isn't it? 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:55.580 Undeserved, unconditional love. 00:13:55.640 --> 00:13:58.860 It's what sets humanity apart from the rest of creation, doesn't it? 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:00.420 You know, I have a dog. 00:14:00.740 --> 00:14:02.500 My dog, I like to think, loves me. 00:14:03.680 --> 00:14:04.980 Why does my dog love me? 00:14:05.520 --> 00:14:07.400 Because I feed it, right? 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:11.160 If you have a cat, I hate to break it to you, 00:14:11.280 --> 00:14:14.340 but your cat does not care about you at all, right? 00:14:14.340 --> 00:14:17.160 Sorry, Nick. 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:19.960 You know it's true. 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:22.000 It's why you're covered in scratches, right? 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:27.379 But a good parent, a good parent will love their child 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:30.980 irrespective of what they do unconditionally, 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.960 even though there's no benefit in it for themselves. 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:36.560 And science can't explain that love to you, 00:14:36.660 --> 00:14:38.200 but it's here in 2 Samuel 18. 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.420 Some of us have experienced it and we know it's true. 00:14:41.419 --> 00:14:42.259 Unconditional love. 00:14:42.939 --> 00:14:44.839 The second theme is the theme of frustration. 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:46.679 Maybe you didn't notice this, 00:14:46.719 --> 00:14:49.120 but I think what we're meant to notice as we go through the passage 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:51.339 is that the main characters in the story 00:14:51.339 --> 00:14:53.679 are always frustrated in their intentions. 00:14:54.439 --> 00:14:55.899 Let me try and run through them quickly 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:56.839 and you can see what I mean. 00:14:57.579 --> 00:14:59.019 In verse 2 of chapter 18, 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:01.319 David wants to go into battle. 00:15:02.219 --> 00:15:03.620 So he's divided the people up 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:05.379 and arranged them under the three commanders, 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:07.159 but then in verse 3, 00:15:07.319 --> 00:15:09.939 his soldiers won't allow him to go into battle, 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:12.200 despite the fact that he wants to go into battle with them. 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:14.600 So much so that he ends up telling his men, 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.820 which is an incredible thing for a king to tell his men. 00:15:16.900 --> 00:15:19.200 He says, no, I will obey you. 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:22.160 You tell me what to do, he says. 00:15:23.880 --> 00:15:26.600 There's a sense then that even the battle itself 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:27.480 gets frustrated. 00:15:27.660 --> 00:15:30.100 So this is a war between Absalom and his forces 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:31.680 and David and his forces, 00:15:31.760 --> 00:15:33.000 or not David because he stayed at home, 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:34.360 but David's forces. 00:15:35.020 --> 00:15:36.200 And despite all of that, 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.379 despite everyone waving swords around, 00:15:38.520 --> 00:15:41.140 actually it is the woods that kill more people 00:15:41.140 --> 00:15:42.620 than the sword. 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:43.920 Did you notice that in verse 8? 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:45.740 Imagine that. 00:15:45.800 --> 00:15:47.700 That's some woods, right? 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:48.920 This is not Hampstead Heath. 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:50.340 This is not Paddington Wreck. 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:52.520 This is like woods, woods, yeah? 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:55.040 Serious forest where you can get lost 00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:56.900 and you can get disorientated 00:15:56.900 --> 00:15:58.440 and you can lose your life. 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:01.180 In the weirdness of 2 Samuel 18, 00:16:01.500 --> 00:16:03.320 it is the woods that's the greatest warrior. 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:08.140 Absalom is the next to be frustrated in verse 9 00:16:08.140 --> 00:16:10.320 as we find that his escape is frustrated 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.700 by his beautiful long hair getting caught in a tree. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:16.180 It's almost in comedy fashion 00:16:16.180 --> 00:16:18.140 that he's left dangling in this tree 00:16:18.140 --> 00:16:20.660 as his mule walks under this low-hanging branch. 00:16:20.760 --> 00:16:22.560 His hair, which I can only imagine, 00:16:22.680 --> 00:16:24.100 gets caught in a tree 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:26.260 and he's left dangling there, 00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.460 helpless and hopeless and frustrated. 00:16:29.160 --> 00:16:30.560 We'll return to that in a moment. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:33.579 Next, it's Joab's turn to be frustrated 00:16:33.579 --> 00:16:36.139 because his soldier won't kill Absalom. 00:16:36.459 --> 00:16:37.799 Listen, this is what we're here for, right? 00:16:37.819 --> 00:16:38.419 This is a battle. 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:39.759 This is a war, he says. 00:16:40.579 --> 00:16:42.119 But he doesn't want to risk disobedience 00:16:42.119 --> 00:16:42.959 to the king's command 00:16:42.959 --> 00:16:43.879 and he's suspicious 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:46.219 that Joab would be nowhere to be seen 00:16:46.219 --> 00:16:47.599 if he got in trouble with David. 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:50.279 So Joab, the commander, dismisses him and says, 00:16:50.459 --> 00:16:51.959 I'm not going to wait like this for you. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:53.899 I'm going to go and kill him myself. 00:16:54.699 --> 00:16:55.719 So Joab is frustrated. 00:16:56.939 --> 00:16:58.379 Next, you've got Ahimaz, 00:16:58.379 --> 00:17:00.399 the messenger appointed by David. 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:02.600 So in a world without mobile phones 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:03.679 or radio communication, 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:04.859 the only way to send a message 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:06.680 is to send someone to run with it, 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:07.519 a runner. 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:11.059 But the runner was told not to run. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:12.720 He was told he wasn't allowed to go. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:15.519 It's a message that David won't want to hear this. 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:16.660 You don't want to go with this. 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.019 So he sends a Cushite in his place. 00:17:20.180 --> 00:17:22.160 And then the Cushite himself gets frustrated. 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:22.539 Why? 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:24.880 Well, because Ahimaz outruns him, 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:27.319 only to be told by David to step aside 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:29.639 because he won't answer his direct question about Absalom. 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:33.939 It might be that the inexplicable, 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:35.859 unconditional love that we started with 00:17:35.859 --> 00:17:38.099 is not something that we experience very much. 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:40.019 But I want to hazard a guess 00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:42.439 that you and I know about this kind of frustration. 00:17:42.899 --> 00:17:43.039 Yeah. 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:47.019 We live, don't we, in a frustrating world. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.859 We live in a world where things go wrong all the time. 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:54.199 You live in a world, don't you, 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:55.699 where you go to work 00:17:55.699 --> 00:17:57.740 and despite all your best efforts, 00:17:57.819 --> 00:17:59.019 you get nothing done, right? 00:18:00.919 --> 00:18:03.519 You go to school and your water bottle leaks in your bag 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:04.299 and ruins your homework. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.399 You live in houses where, at times, 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:09.240 or flats where the ceiling falls in 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:11.819 because the person upstairs has left the bathtubs running. 00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:15.399 You know, we try and catch a bus 00:18:15.399 --> 00:18:16.339 and the bus is late 00:18:16.339 --> 00:18:18.599 and then you get caught in the temporary traffic lights 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:20.399 on Carlton Vale for two whole days 00:18:20.399 --> 00:18:21.339 before it moves again. 00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:23.619 You know, we live in a world 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:24.879 where you go out of the house 00:18:24.879 --> 00:18:26.720 with the new brolly that you've brought 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:28.939 and it breaks as soon as you put it up, 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:31.200 where the bread that you bought from the shop 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:32.539 goes mouldy and out of date 00:18:32.539 --> 00:18:34.059 even before it's supposed to. 00:18:34.899 --> 00:18:35.559 You know, whatever it is, 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:38.579 we live in a world that frustrates us all the time. 00:18:38.579 --> 00:18:40.159 And whatever our intention, 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:42.779 nothing ever quite works as we hope it works. 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:45.159 But in our passage this morning, 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:46.819 all those little frustrations, 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:48.919 they're not fighting the woods, 00:18:49.419 --> 00:18:50.199 they're not being able to run, 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:51.019 all of those frustrations 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:54.539 are meant to point to one central frustration in the story, 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:56.939 which is the frustration of David's love. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.659 So David's love, for all its compassion, 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:01.259 for all its unconditional beauty, 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:04.779 still David's love cannot save his son Absalom. 00:19:04.919 --> 00:19:06.339 It's a love that cannot save. 00:19:06.339 --> 00:19:08.259 And Absalom dies in the end 00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:09.960 despite David's best intentions. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:12.099 Don't miss this. 00:19:12.220 --> 00:19:14.119 Absalom, we know, is under the judgment of God. 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:15.920 We've been told that in chapter 17. 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:19.339 Absalom has pushed his father out of Jerusalem, 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:20.500 taking him off the throne, 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:22.660 and he is under the judgment of God 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:24.640 for rebelling against God's chosen king. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:28.839 And David's love cannot stop the judgment of God. 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.019 So the mule that leaves him dangling, 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:33.660 we're not to understand that 00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:35.220 just as a bit of misfortune 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:36.660 or a bit of comedy detail. 00:19:37.360 --> 00:19:38.940 This isn't like fail army 00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:40.860 or you've been framed or whatever it is. 00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:43.160 No, Absalom is hanging from a tree 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:45.660 because he is under the judgment of God. 00:19:46.620 --> 00:19:47.960 If you know your Bibles, 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:50.559 you might know that hanging on a tree 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.160 is a metaphor in the Bible 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:54.660 for being under the judgment of God. 00:19:54.660 --> 00:20:01.040 He is the condemned man of Deuteronomy 21. 00:20:01.580 --> 00:20:03.759 A hanged man is cursed by God, 00:20:03.860 --> 00:20:05.200 says Deuteronomy 21. 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:08.720 Even the pile of stones that gets loaded onto him 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:10.440 is a pointer back to Achan 00:20:10.440 --> 00:20:12.759 who stole the devoted treasure of Jericho 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:15.259 in Joshua 7 and died under God's judgment. 00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:17.400 And then there's a monument, isn't there, 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:18.440 in verse 18, 00:20:18.840 --> 00:20:21.120 which Absalom had built presumably 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:22.639 to honor his successes, 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:24.819 but actually becomes an honor to his failure. 00:20:25.439 --> 00:20:26.399 You can imagine, can't you, 00:20:26.439 --> 00:20:28.199 a young Israelite boy 00:20:28.199 --> 00:20:29.579 walking past that great statue 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:29.959 and saying, 00:20:30.239 --> 00:20:31.339 who built this, man? 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:32.459 Who built this? 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:33.979 Oh, that was Absalom. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:34.879 He was king for a bit, 00:20:34.939 --> 00:20:35.959 but he died under God's judgment. 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:37.299 He got his hair caught in a tree. 00:20:37.659 --> 00:20:39.259 He dangled, he got speared. 00:20:39.479 --> 00:20:40.439 And then he was piled 00:20:40.439 --> 00:20:41.500 under this great pile of stones. 00:20:41.699 --> 00:20:43.899 He was judged by God's son. 00:20:46.439 --> 00:20:48.819 Which brings us to the final theme this morning 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:51.339 of this, which is substitution. 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:52.319 Substitution. 00:20:52.460 --> 00:20:53.259 This is more subtle, 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.079 but I think is really, really important. 00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:57.359 If you have happened to zone out, 00:20:57.439 --> 00:20:59.399 zone back in just for this. 00:21:00.179 --> 00:21:02.099 Notice where the two main characters 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:03.319 of the story are, right? 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.519 We've got Absalom hanging by his hair in a tree, 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:06.439 the cursed man, 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:08.980 a sitting duck for Joab and his spears. 00:21:09.559 --> 00:21:11.819 And where is David at the same time? 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:13.819 Take a look at chapter 18, verse 24. 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:14.679 Look down at your Bibles. 00:21:15.220 --> 00:21:16.599 Chapter 18, verse 24. 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:20.059 While David was sitting 00:21:20.059 --> 00:21:23.059 between the inner and outer gates, 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:25.179 the watchman went up to the roof 00:21:25.179 --> 00:21:26.740 of the gateway by the wall. 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:28.799 Here's David. 00:21:29.179 --> 00:21:32.199 He is sitting at the gate of the city. 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:34.699 It's the same again in verse 33 of chapter 18. 00:21:35.399 --> 00:21:36.000 What does it say? 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:36.899 The king was shaken. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:38.639 He went up to the room 00:21:38.639 --> 00:21:40.480 over the gateway and wept. 00:21:41.679 --> 00:21:43.559 Now that might not seem super significant to you, 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:45.139 but there are two things to notice about this. 00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:48.000 One is that in ancient times, 00:21:48.100 --> 00:21:50.420 the gateway of the city was the place of judgment. 00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:52.880 It's where the court of the city sat. 00:21:53.020 --> 00:21:56.100 It's where you went for justice and for judgment. 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:58.000 So David, if you like, 00:21:58.100 --> 00:22:01.860 is in the place of justice and judgment, 00:22:02.280 --> 00:22:03.940 while Absalom, his son, 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:06.640 is hanging condemned in a tree. 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:09.720 So David is in the court 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:12.100 and Absalom is under justice. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.360 But historians and archaeologists 00:22:14.360 --> 00:22:16.299 will also tell you that David is in a room 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:17.940 that is literally hanging 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:19.539 between the gateposts of the city. 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:20.860 And in a way, 00:22:20.940 --> 00:22:23.360 the writer is just trying to paint a picture 00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:25.839 to show you exactly what's going on here 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:26.579 so that you can see it, 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:29.259 that Absalom is dangling in the tree 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:30.779 under the curse of God's judgment, 00:22:31.100 --> 00:22:33.259 while David is hanging in the court, 00:22:33.360 --> 00:22:35.200 the place of judgment and justice, 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:37.539 as if to spell out what's happening. 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:38.360 And what's happening? 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:39.580 Verse 33, 00:22:40.100 --> 00:22:40.840 the king was shaken. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:42.500 He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. 00:22:42.600 --> 00:22:43.880 And as he went, he said, 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.360 oh, my son, Absalom, my son, my son, 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:50.279 if only I was in your place, 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:53.220 if only I had died instead of you, 00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:55.900 if only I could be in the place of judgment 00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:58.100 and you could be in the place of justice. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:00.480 Do you see this? 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:03.519 David wishes while suspended in midair 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:04.500 in the court of justice 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:07.220 that he was dangling in the tree, 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:08.680 but he wasn't, he couldn't. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:10.599 Because for all of his love, 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:13.480 even the undeserved great love, 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:15.799 still Absalom is under the curse of God. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.440 And despite David's passion, 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:21.339 he still can't stand in for him. 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:25.400 Now, I want to suggest to you this morning 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:28.660 that that is the great problem in our universe. 00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:32.140 This trouble that gets pictured here 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:34.960 in David above the city 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:36.860 and Absalom hanging in the tree 00:23:36.860 --> 00:23:38.600 is a picture of the problem 00:23:38.600 --> 00:23:40.220 that we all face this morning. 00:23:40.300 --> 00:23:41.759 Whoever you are, wherever you're from, 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:43.480 however many times you've been to church, 00:23:43.580 --> 00:23:44.820 this is our problem, isn't it? 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:46.900 That for all of our experiences 00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:49.360 of great love and kindness, 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.380 despite all the little frustrations 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:52.200 of day-to-day life, 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:54.480 still the big issue for you and for me 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:58.240 is that we stand under the judgment of God 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.440 and we cannot shake it. 00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:03.920 I mean, perhaps that sounds a little harsh. 00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:05.039 I mean, it's easy, isn't it, 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:05.980 to understand why Absalom 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:07.200 would be under the curse of God. 00:24:07.299 --> 00:24:08.900 I mean, he'd stolen a city, 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:10.700 he'd stolen wives, 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:14.360 he had threatened to kill his own father. 00:24:14.860 --> 00:24:15.980 He's a brute, isn't he? 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:17.759 But if you think about it, 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:20.980 the truth is that you and I do to God 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:23.279 exactly what Absalom has done to David. 00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:24.680 We've seen this time and again 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:25.839 in the last few weeks, haven't we? 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:29.019 Absalom treacherously boots his father David 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:30.200 out of his kingdom. 00:24:31.019 --> 00:24:31.920 Now he effectively says, 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:33.299 shove off David, 00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:35.539 I'm gonna be in charge, 00:24:36.099 --> 00:24:37.059 no to your rule, 00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:38.420 yes to me. 00:24:39.099 --> 00:24:40.579 He rips the kingdom away from him 00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:42.180 and takes over the city and the palace. 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:44.200 And the Bible will tell you 00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:46.160 that you and I have done exactly the same. 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:48.299 We say, shove off God, 00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:50.480 I'm in charge of my life. 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:52.180 No to your rule. 00:24:52.900 --> 00:24:53.759 I'm in charge. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:55.920 Oh yeah, I know. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.620 Thank you for that life that you've given me, Lord. 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:59.480 I will now live it for myself. 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:00.420 Thank you very much. 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:01.059 It's for me. 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:04.319 I'll pretend to be interested in you at times. 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:07.059 I might even at times call myself a Christian 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:08.819 when people ask me. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:11.599 But really God, what you need to know about me 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:12.980 is this is my life 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:15.160 and I'm living it my way for my own glory 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:16.079 and for my own sake. 00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:17.819 I will decide what I do. 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:19.680 I will decide what is right and wrong. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:22.460 This is my life, not yours. 00:25:23.100 --> 00:25:23.840 Shove off God. 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:25.420 I'm in charge. 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:27.039 No to your rule. 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:31.180 And in effect, we are spiritual Absalons, 00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:33.700 full of sinful treason. 00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:36.960 And what you're meant to see in this story 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:41.080 is that Absalom is getting exactly what he deserves, right? 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:44.139 There is a fitting nature to what happens to Absalom. 00:25:44.419 --> 00:25:46.699 If you've not been here for the story before, 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:49.460 you'll have missed the fun of 2 Samuel 18 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:51.639 when it was read for us by Lucia. 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:54.259 The fun of 2 Samuel 18 is that Joab 00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:56.720 was super proud of his hair, right? 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:58.639 He loved his hair. 00:25:59.220 --> 00:25:59.659 He used to... 00:25:59.659 --> 00:26:01.019 Sorry, I mean Absalom. 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:02.960 Absalom loved his hair. 00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:05.119 He absolutely adored his hair. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.219 He used to grow it for a whole year 00:26:07.219 --> 00:26:10.039 and then cut it in a big ceremony 00:26:10.039 --> 00:26:11.899 that everybody thought was fantastic. 00:26:11.979 --> 00:26:13.099 What a great guy. 00:26:14.239 --> 00:26:17.099 And here, his great pride in his hair 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:19.239 has been undone 00:26:19.239 --> 00:26:22.779 as he dangles by his hair in a tree. 00:26:23.679 --> 00:26:25.339 What was his pride 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:27.539 has now become his downfall. 00:26:27.639 --> 00:26:29.259 His vanity has undone him. 00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:31.799 Let me tell you that the Bible 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:33.000 is very much the same 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.279 about hell and judgment that we deserve. 00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:39.200 You are meant to read this story 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.920 and say, Absalom, this is right. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:42.299 You're getting what you deserve. 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:44.180 And as we read the Bible, 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:46.140 we read and we understand, don't we, 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:47.799 that the judgment of hell 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:50.660 against our wickedness and our sin 00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:53.579 is not injustice, but it is justice. 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:54.440 It is fitting. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:56.480 You know, we say to God, 00:26:56.879 --> 00:26:57.720 shove off God. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:26:58.940 I'm in charge. 00:26:58.940 --> 00:26:59.960 No to your rule. 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:00.960 This is my life. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:02.960 I'm going to live it my way for me. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:06.120 And God says, there you go. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:08.600 Have exactly what you want. 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:10.740 Have your own desires. 00:27:11.580 --> 00:27:12.420 And what do we get? 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:14.799 What comes from God 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:16.120 handing us over to that desire? 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.640 What happens when we're in charge 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:18.519 of our own lives? 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:19.799 Well, we're like toddlers 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:21.140 driving sports cars, aren't we? 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:23.000 We are out of our depth 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.680 and we make a terrible mess. 00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:26.700 And the hell of this life, 00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:27.920 the chaotic relationships, 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:28.680 the violence, 00:27:28.800 --> 00:27:29.720 the substance dependence, 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:30.500 the dishonesty, 00:27:30.620 --> 00:27:31.060 the anger, 00:27:31.600 --> 00:27:32.940 the perpetual anxiety 00:27:33.580 --> 00:27:34.680 that we all live with, 00:27:35.060 --> 00:27:36.680 that is just a pale shadow 00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:37.800 of a judgment to come 00:27:37.800 --> 00:27:41.120 when God removes his blessing eternally 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:42.119 and eternal life. 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:43.179 And eternal life is lived without him. 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:45.879 The only source of grace and mercy 00:27:45.879 --> 00:27:47.439 and kindness and love. 00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:51.159 You imagine the sort of damage 00:27:51.159 --> 00:27:52.819 that we can do in 70 years. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:55.079 Imagine what that's like 00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:56.799 if it's 10,000 years, 00:27:57.679 --> 00:27:59.019 100,000 years, 00:27:59.719 --> 00:28:01.059 a million years. 00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:03.879 And here's the point of the passage. 00:28:04.659 --> 00:28:05.579 In this moment, 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:08.119 as we face the judgment of God 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:09.359 hanging in that tree, 00:28:09.879 --> 00:28:11.379 David's love for Absalom, 00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:12.500 as great as it was, 00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:13.619 is not enough. 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:15.359 And so for us, 00:28:15.500 --> 00:28:17.240 standing before the judgment of God, 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:18.440 it does not matter. 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:21.000 It does not matter who loves you. 00:28:21.579 --> 00:28:22.960 It doesn't matter whether you're single. 00:28:23.159 --> 00:28:24.399 It doesn't matter whether you're married. 00:28:24.819 --> 00:28:25.819 It doesn't matter whether you have 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:26.819 a loving group of friends 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:28.500 or you spent many years in loneliness. 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:30.920 It doesn't matter whether your life 00:28:30.920 --> 00:28:31.859 seems successful 00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:33.420 or whether it seems a failure. 00:28:34.039 --> 00:28:37.319 Because even David's inexplicable love, 00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:39.700 the greatest thing that we know of 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:40.480 in this world, 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:43.480 even that cannot save Absalom 00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:45.119 from the justice that he deserves. 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:48.420 And nothing else can save you either. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:49.440 Right? 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:51.440 Absalom needs something better. 00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:53.319 In chapter 18 and 19, 00:28:53.480 --> 00:28:55.339 Absalom is left needing something better 00:28:55.339 --> 00:28:56.440 than David's love. 00:28:56.440 --> 00:28:58.140 And of course, 00:28:58.200 --> 00:28:59.100 in the story of the Bible, 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.700 that's exactly what we find, isn't it? 00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:04.480 Jesus is the great successor to King David. 00:29:05.799 --> 00:29:07.180 It's amazing. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.880 When you think that the Bible is written 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:11.100 over such a long period of time 00:29:11.100 --> 00:29:12.440 by so many different people, 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:13.539 that what you've got here 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:14.680 is a brilliant picture 00:29:14.680 --> 00:29:17.120 of King Jesus who is still to come. 00:29:17.660 --> 00:29:19.220 Because King Jesus comes 00:29:19.220 --> 00:29:20.980 with this kind of love, doesn't he? 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:22.620 An undeserved love, 00:29:22.619 --> 00:29:25.259 an unconditional love for his people, 00:29:25.459 --> 00:29:26.819 for his children. 00:29:28.159 --> 00:29:31.599 And he too hangs in the place of judgment 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:33.219 on the edge of a city. 00:29:33.719 --> 00:29:35.000 Not in a room above a gate, 00:29:35.059 --> 00:29:35.739 but on a cross. 00:29:35.819 --> 00:29:36.839 Hanging not by his hair, 00:29:36.879 --> 00:29:38.039 but by nails in his hands. 00:29:38.479 --> 00:29:39.399 Driven by love, 00:29:39.459 --> 00:29:41.419 an inexplicable, undeserved love 00:29:41.419 --> 00:29:42.119 for you and me. 00:29:42.479 --> 00:29:43.759 And here's the contrast. 00:29:44.239 --> 00:29:45.279 Jesus in his love 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:46.859 does not say with David, 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:50.259 if only I had died instead of you. 00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:51.079 He says, 00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:53.799 I give my life as a ransom for you. 00:29:54.899 --> 00:29:57.279 I am dying instead of you. 00:29:57.439 --> 00:29:58.599 I am the good shepherd 00:29:58.599 --> 00:30:02.019 who lays down his life for the sheep. 00:30:03.379 --> 00:30:06.099 Jesus, God the son in human flesh, 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:07.319 suffering the justice 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:09.059 of his own judgment at our sin. 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:11.259 Calling out from the cross, 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:11.559 isn't he? 00:30:11.619 --> 00:30:12.799 My God, my God, 00:30:12.899 --> 00:30:14.119 why have you forsaken me? 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:16.199 In a way which is almost impossible 00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:17.180 for us to fathom 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:19.640 that the eternal son in human flesh 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:22.580 is bearing the silence 00:30:22.580 --> 00:30:23.819 of his father from heaven 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:25.960 as he is handed over 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:26.779 to the judgment 00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:27.819 that you and I deserve. 00:30:29.360 --> 00:30:30.559 This shove off God, 00:30:30.700 --> 00:30:31.440 no to your rule, 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:32.340 I'm in charge. 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:33.960 God hands us over to it 00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:34.259 and says, 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:35.120 that's what you want. 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:36.019 That's what you'll get. 00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:38.299 No, that's what my son gets. 00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:40.240 My God, my God, 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:41.500 why have you forsaken me? 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:44.759 It's worth just chewing on this 00:30:44.759 --> 00:30:45.340 some more, isn't it? 00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:45.860 Think about it. 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:49.959 Why is it that Jesus can do 00:30:49.959 --> 00:30:51.699 what David cannot do 00:30:51.699 --> 00:30:53.699 in 2 Samuel 18 and 19? 00:30:54.439 --> 00:30:55.740 What is it about Jesus 00:30:55.740 --> 00:30:57.759 that means he is able to do 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:59.259 what David cannot do? 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:01.639 Why can Jesus die for sin 00:31:01.639 --> 00:31:02.359 and David not? 00:31:02.939 --> 00:31:03.740 Now, let me tell you, 00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:05.000 there are loads of right answers 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:05.819 to that question, okay? 00:31:05.979 --> 00:31:07.019 Let me give you some of them. 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:08.639 David, for a start, 00:31:08.699 --> 00:31:09.919 is full of his own sin. 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:11.500 Of course he can't die 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:12.219 for Absalom's sin. 00:31:12.219 --> 00:31:12.759 Why can't he die 00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:13.479 for Absalom's sin? 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:14.799 Well, because David 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:15.839 is a murderer 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:17.059 and an adulterer as well. 00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:18.660 He's as wicked a sinner 00:31:18.660 --> 00:31:19.200 as Absalom. 00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:20.539 He can't die for Absalom. 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:21.700 He can't die in his place. 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:22.700 He has his own wrongs 00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:24.039 and his own judgment to face. 00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:26.920 If David dies for Absalom, 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:28.400 it makes no scrap of a difference 00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:29.480 because David, 00:31:29.579 --> 00:31:30.160 like the rest of us, 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:30.779 deserves to die. 00:31:30.860 --> 00:31:31.819 We've seen it time and again. 00:31:32.639 --> 00:31:34.539 But Jesus is the sinless saviour. 00:31:35.419 --> 00:31:36.899 Jesus can die for your sin 00:31:36.899 --> 00:31:37.859 because he has no sin 00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:38.759 of his own to die for. 00:31:38.859 --> 00:31:41.179 He is the perfect Lamb of God, 00:31:42.259 --> 00:31:43.939 the sacrifice without blemish. 00:31:44.859 --> 00:31:45.519 Now, that is true. 00:31:45.579 --> 00:31:46.599 That is gloriously true. 00:31:46.659 --> 00:31:47.299 And that's why Jesus 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:47.980 can die for your sin. 00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:48.859 But that's not the focus 00:31:48.859 --> 00:31:50.039 of the passage, I don't think. 00:31:51.419 --> 00:31:52.740 Let me tell you another reason 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:54.019 why Jesus can do 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:54.720 what David can't. 00:31:54.819 --> 00:31:56.059 David is clearly too weak, 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:56.500 isn't he, 00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:57.759 to die for Absalom's sin. 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:00.559 The story of David 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.019 in 2 Samuel 18, 00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:02.619 like I've shown you 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:03.299 over and over again, 00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:04.660 is his frustration. 00:32:05.220 --> 00:32:06.099 Let me go to battle, 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:06.559 says David. 00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:07.640 No, no, you stay at home. 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:10.160 Be kind to Absalom. 00:32:10.259 --> 00:32:11.059 Oh, they've killed him. 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:13.160 David is completely out of control 00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:14.519 in 2 Samuel 18 and 19. 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:15.819 But when you read 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:16.680 the gospel accounts, 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:17.379 King Jesus, 00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:18.960 the great fulfillment of David, 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:20.119 is in control 00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:22.099 at every single point. 00:32:23.019 --> 00:32:24.279 David is weak. 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:25.900 Jesus is strong. 00:32:26.339 --> 00:32:27.119 David is in charge 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:27.719 of nothing 00:32:27.719 --> 00:32:29.479 and is perpetually frustrated. 00:32:29.979 --> 00:32:30.879 Jesus is in charge 00:32:30.879 --> 00:32:31.559 of all things 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:32.579 and never frustrated. 00:32:34.579 --> 00:32:35.779 Jesus is in command 00:32:35.779 --> 00:32:36.479 all the way through. 00:32:37.339 --> 00:32:39.099 He never turns over his will 00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:40.439 to people like David 00:32:40.439 --> 00:32:41.319 does in verse 4. 00:32:41.739 --> 00:32:42.899 Now, that's definitely right. 00:32:43.459 --> 00:32:44.759 Jesus can pay for your sin 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:45.500 in a way that David 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:45.859 could never 00:32:45.859 --> 00:32:46.959 because Jesus is stronger 00:32:46.959 --> 00:32:47.979 than David, right? 00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:50.239 He is God the Son 00:32:50.239 --> 00:32:50.899 in human flesh. 00:32:50.979 --> 00:32:51.699 He's not just a man. 00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:53.019 He's the God man. 00:32:53.239 --> 00:32:53.739 He has a power 00:32:53.739 --> 00:32:54.879 that David will never have. 00:32:55.199 --> 00:32:56.979 That is absolutely true, right? 00:32:57.659 --> 00:32:58.299 It's not the point 00:32:58.299 --> 00:32:58.819 of the passage, 00:32:58.879 --> 00:32:59.599 I don't think. 00:33:00.419 --> 00:33:01.139 Let me tell you, 00:33:01.219 --> 00:33:01.699 here I think, 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:02.439 this is why Jesus 00:33:02.439 --> 00:33:03.219 can die for your sin 00:33:03.219 --> 00:33:05.279 in the point of 2 Samuel 18 and 19. 00:33:05.879 --> 00:33:08.259 Jesus can die for your sin. 00:33:08.399 --> 00:33:09.859 He can die for my sin. 00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:10.899 He can rescue 00:33:10.899 --> 00:33:13.159 spiritual Absalms like us 00:33:13.159 --> 00:33:16.559 because he loves us 00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:17.839 even more 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:19.759 than David loved Absalom. 00:33:20.239 --> 00:33:21.559 That's the point, I think. 00:33:21.559 --> 00:33:24.700 You see, over and over again, 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:26.359 David calls out his love, 00:33:26.460 --> 00:33:26.740 doesn't he, 00:33:26.740 --> 00:33:28.059 for his rebellious son Absalom. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:29.039 Oh Absalom, 00:33:29.159 --> 00:33:29.740 oh Absalom, 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:30.460 my son, 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:31.220 my son, 00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:33.279 deal gently with Absalom 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:34.119 for my sake. 00:33:34.919 --> 00:33:35.759 Yet at the end of the day, 00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:36.799 no matter the strength 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:37.419 of that feeling 00:33:37.419 --> 00:33:38.319 or even the closeness 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:39.139 of their relationship, 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:40.159 still David's love 00:33:40.159 --> 00:33:40.960 is frustrated 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:41.740 and insufficient 00:33:41.740 --> 00:33:44.319 and Jesus' love 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:45.619 is never frustrated 00:33:45.619 --> 00:33:47.419 and never insufficient. 00:33:49.219 --> 00:33:50.459 Let me tell you two ways 00:33:50.459 --> 00:33:51.879 that Jesus' love is greater. 00:33:52.059 --> 00:33:54.139 It is greater 00:33:54.139 --> 00:33:55.339 both in its intensity 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:56.659 but also in its power. 00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:58.659 Think about it with me. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:00.359 The love that Jesus has 00:34:00.359 --> 00:34:01.000 for his people, 00:34:01.179 --> 00:34:02.579 like David's love for Absalom, 00:34:02.679 --> 00:34:04.279 is completely undeserved. 00:34:05.559 --> 00:34:07.959 But David's love for Absalom 00:34:07.959 --> 00:34:08.519 is undeserved, 00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:09.559 but Jesus' love for us 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:12.440 is even more undeserved, right? 00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:13.719 What do I mean? 00:34:13.839 --> 00:34:15.299 Well, Jesus' love 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:16.180 is not just the love 00:34:16.180 --> 00:34:16.760 of a father 00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:17.960 for a rebellious son, 00:34:18.140 --> 00:34:19.460 it's the love 00:34:19.460 --> 00:34:21.560 of a perfect triune God, 00:34:21.700 --> 00:34:22.820 father, son and spirit 00:34:22.820 --> 00:34:24.700 for a wicked humanity 00:34:24.700 --> 00:34:25.620 that have lived 00:34:25.620 --> 00:34:26.340 without thought 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:27.539 or reference to him. 00:34:28.680 --> 00:34:30.539 This is not just a breach 00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:31.560 between people 00:34:31.560 --> 00:34:32.519 spanned by love, 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:33.480 this is a breach 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:35.700 between heaven and earth, 00:34:36.080 --> 00:34:37.140 between eternity 00:34:37.140 --> 00:34:38.400 and time itself, 00:34:38.560 --> 00:34:40.800 between creator and creature, 00:34:41.220 --> 00:34:42.780 between perfection itself 00:34:42.780 --> 00:34:44.080 and wickedness. 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:46.099 Think about it like this. 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:47.880 Imagine some stepping stones 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:49.460 across a stream in a park. 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:51.279 You all know what those are like, 00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:51.579 don't you? 00:34:52.159 --> 00:34:53.179 Stepping stones across the stream. 00:34:53.279 --> 00:34:54.199 There's a sense in which 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:55.059 you might want to say 00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:56.299 that the stepping stones 00:34:56.299 --> 00:34:57.119 across the stream 00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:58.199 are marvellous. 00:34:59.039 --> 00:34:59.639 They're wonderful. 00:35:00.139 --> 00:35:00.960 What a great way 00:35:00.960 --> 00:35:01.659 of getting across 00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:02.340 that little stream. 00:35:02.460 --> 00:35:03.360 Without getting my feet wet, 00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:05.400 I can go on the stepping stones. 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:07.239 What great and marvellous 00:35:07.239 --> 00:35:08.259 stepping stones they are. 00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:10.420 But then think about 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:12.400 the Golden Gate Bridge 00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:14.020 spanning the San Francisco Bay. 00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:16.220 It's a mile long. 00:35:16.620 --> 00:35:18.500 It carries six lanes of traffic. 00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:21.800 It is marvellous 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:22.560 in a way that 00:35:22.560 --> 00:35:23.940 those stepping stones 00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:25.200 can never match 00:35:25.200 --> 00:35:26.000 the marvel 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:26.980 of the Golden Gate Bridge. 00:35:27.140 --> 00:35:28.000 Why not? 00:35:28.720 --> 00:35:30.020 Well, because the span 00:35:30.020 --> 00:35:31.380 that they cross 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:32.920 is much bigger, right? 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:35.180 The gulf it crosses 00:35:35.180 --> 00:35:35.700 is much bigger. 00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:37.180 So with God's love. 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:39.180 God's love is more marvellous 00:35:39.180 --> 00:35:39.800 than David's, 00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:41.180 like the stepping stones 00:35:41.180 --> 00:35:42.200 to the Golden Gate Bridge. 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:43.579 Because David's love 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:45.780 spans the treachery 00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:47.079 of a rebellious son 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:47.780 to his father. 00:35:48.340 --> 00:35:49.980 God's love in Christ for us 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:51.200 spans the rebellion 00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:52.900 of wicked humanity 00:35:52.900 --> 00:35:54.119 against the eternal 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:54.840 creator God. 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:56.680 He is the one who made us, 00:35:56.920 --> 00:35:58.139 to whom our lives belong. 00:35:58.139 --> 00:35:59.440 The one who is perfect 00:35:59.440 --> 00:36:00.800 in holiness and righteousness. 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:03.800 And still he loves you and me. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:06.720 Creatures who are frail, 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:07.960 creatures of dust. 00:36:08.860 --> 00:36:11.039 Who live but for a short time 00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:12.700 and live in rebellion 00:36:12.700 --> 00:36:13.680 and wickedness. 00:36:15.240 --> 00:36:16.480 But also the love 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:17.720 of the Lord Jesus 00:36:17.720 --> 00:36:19.440 rests on a stronger bond 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:20.539 than David and Absalom. 00:36:21.640 --> 00:36:24.019 David was only Absalom's father. 00:36:25.220 --> 00:36:26.039 Absalom was his oldest 00:36:26.039 --> 00:36:26.800 remaining son, 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:27.340 his heir, 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:28.320 his flesh and blood. 00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:32.019 David had known Absalom 00:36:32.019 --> 00:36:33.720 since he took his first breath. 00:36:35.220 --> 00:36:36.440 But the Bible tells you 00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:38.059 that God's love for us in Christ 00:36:38.059 --> 00:36:38.860 is a reflection 00:36:38.860 --> 00:36:40.460 of a stronger bond than that. 00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:42.660 Ephesians 1 tells you 00:36:42.660 --> 00:36:44.120 that God loved his people 00:36:44.120 --> 00:36:46.380 before the foundation 00:36:46.380 --> 00:36:47.240 of the world. 00:36:48.019 --> 00:36:48.900 That God in Christ 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:50.180 set his love on his people 00:36:50.180 --> 00:36:51.220 not before they took 00:36:51.220 --> 00:36:51.980 their first breath 00:36:51.980 --> 00:36:52.940 but before they'd ever 00:36:52.940 --> 00:36:53.800 been conceived. 00:36:54.820 --> 00:36:56.300 That in eternity past, 00:36:56.300 --> 00:36:58.100 as God transcends 00:36:58.100 --> 00:36:59.760 over time and history, 00:37:00.260 --> 00:37:01.940 he sees the accomplishment 00:37:01.940 --> 00:37:03.440 of his plan to save, 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:05.080 saying in effect, 00:37:05.460 --> 00:37:06.200 from you, 00:37:06.560 --> 00:37:07.140 for you, 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:08.680 from eternity past, 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:11.220 O my son Steve, 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:13.860 O my son Nick, 00:37:14.560 --> 00:37:15.780 O my son Ray, 00:37:16.580 --> 00:37:18.039 O my daughter Jen, 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:20.100 O my daughter Dawn, 00:37:20.380 --> 00:37:20.860 Sylvia, 00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:21.820 O my son, 00:37:21.820 --> 00:37:22.960 O my son, 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:24.039 O my son, 00:37:24.039 --> 00:37:25.099 O my son, 00:37:25.099 --> 00:37:27.420 O my daughter, 00:37:27.420 --> 00:37:28.340 O my son, 00:37:28.340 --> 00:37:28.900 O my son, 00:37:28.900 --> 00:37:29.000 O my son, 00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:29.480 O my daughter, 00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:31.840 though you deserve my curse, 00:37:32.260 --> 00:37:33.780 you will receive my blessing. 00:37:35.160 --> 00:37:36.500 Listen, if you're not a Christian 00:37:36.500 --> 00:37:36.940 this morning, 00:37:37.039 --> 00:37:37.980 this is the invitation, 00:37:38.539 --> 00:37:38.760 right? 00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:40.760 I want to tell you 00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:42.940 there is nothing like this 00:37:42.940 --> 00:37:44.660 anywhere else in the world. 00:37:45.240 --> 00:37:47.440 There is no invitation like this. 00:37:47.900 --> 00:37:48.960 This is the invitation 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:50.559 to come and experience 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:51.639 the kind of love 00:37:51.639 --> 00:37:54.039 that you can never experience 00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:54.960 anywhere else. 00:37:55.059 --> 00:37:56.519 A love that is undeserved, 00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:57.900 that is unconditional, 00:37:58.460 --> 00:37:59.840 that is never frustrated, 00:38:00.099 --> 00:38:01.519 a love that has no equal, 00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:03.679 a love that can and will save you. 00:38:04.059 --> 00:38:05.639 Not so much from the difficulties 00:38:05.639 --> 00:38:06.340 of this life, 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:07.860 but from the hell of life 00:38:07.860 --> 00:38:09.599 without God now and eternally. 00:38:11.860 --> 00:38:12.880 Perhaps it's not too much 00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:14.320 of a stretch of our imaginations 00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:15.780 to think of an alternative ending 00:38:15.780 --> 00:38:17.280 to 2 Samuel 18 and 19. 00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:19.840 You know, imagine at the beginning 00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:20.760 of 2 Samuel 18 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:22.480 as they're marching out to war, 00:38:22.579 --> 00:38:24.099 the Absalom just suddenly 00:38:24.099 --> 00:38:24.940 has an epiphany 00:38:24.940 --> 00:38:25.960 and he comes to his senses. 00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:27.639 What am I doing? 00:38:28.260 --> 00:38:30.340 I'm a rebel against my father David. 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.360 And so instead of marching out to war, 00:38:34.460 --> 00:38:36.300 he comes waving a white flag, 00:38:37.539 --> 00:38:38.539 shouting on his knees, 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:40.519 I surrender, I surrender, 00:38:41.200 --> 00:38:42.260 I'm sorry. 00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:44.940 And there he finds his father 00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:46.800 hanging between the gateposts 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:47.780 in the place of judgment, 00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:48.900 shouting back, 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:49.800 I forgive you, 00:38:49.980 --> 00:38:50.960 I love you, 00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:52.700 I've paid for your judgment. 00:38:54.160 --> 00:38:54.980 Well, it doesn't happen 00:38:54.980 --> 00:38:55.760 in 2 Samuel 18, 00:38:55.940 --> 00:38:56.820 but that's the gospel. 00:38:58.280 --> 00:38:59.140 You and I will wave 00:38:59.140 --> 00:39:00.480 the white flag to Jesus. 00:39:01.039 --> 00:39:01.840 I surrender, 00:39:02.560 --> 00:39:03.519 I give up, 00:39:04.140 --> 00:39:04.980 I'm sorry, 00:39:05.660 --> 00:39:07.120 I've lived my life as a rebel, 00:39:07.200 --> 00:39:08.180 I come to you. 00:39:08.860 --> 00:39:10.260 You will hear him shouting back, 00:39:10.260 --> 00:39:10.940 I love you, 00:39:11.500 --> 00:39:12.460 I forgive you, 00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:14.180 I've paid for your judgment. 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:17.220 Can I encourage you, 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:18.140 if you've never done that before, 00:39:18.220 --> 00:39:18.860 do that this morning. 00:39:19.600 --> 00:39:21.240 Come to Christ and trust in him. 00:39:22.020 --> 00:39:22.700 And for those of you 00:39:22.700 --> 00:39:24.100 who've been Christians for years, 00:39:24.740 --> 00:39:26.200 the truth is the wonder of this 00:39:26.200 --> 00:39:27.520 should never fade. 00:39:28.660 --> 00:39:30.000 That at the heart of your life 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:31.400 is not your love for God 00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:32.400 or your love for others 00:39:32.400 --> 00:39:33.740 or your efforts in the church. 00:39:34.080 --> 00:39:35.500 This is the great reality 00:39:35.500 --> 00:39:37.300 that stands at the heart of our lives, 00:39:37.300 --> 00:39:38.640 that Christ, 00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:41.260 with a love that we don't deserve, 00:39:41.500 --> 00:39:44.700 died in our place for our sins. 00:39:46.120 --> 00:39:47.480 The song we're about to sing 00:39:47.480 --> 00:39:48.100 goes like this. 00:39:48.160 --> 00:39:48.440 It says, 00:39:48.539 --> 00:39:49.360 Who could imagine 00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:51.120 so great a mercy? 00:39:52.160 --> 00:39:53.560 What heart could fathom 00:39:53.560 --> 00:39:55.080 such boundless grace? 00:39:55.720 --> 00:39:57.100 The God of ages 00:39:57.100 --> 00:39:58.740 stepped down from glory 00:39:58.740 --> 00:40:00.080 to wear my sin 00:40:00.080 --> 00:40:01.460 and bear my shame. 00:40:02.080 --> 00:40:03.660 The cross has spoken. 00:40:04.380 --> 00:40:05.460 I am forgiven. 00:40:05.460 --> 00:40:07.260 The king of kings 00:40:07.260 --> 00:40:08.480 calls me his own. 00:40:08.619 --> 00:40:09.740 Beautiful savior. 00:40:10.539 --> 00:40:11.760 I'm yours forever. 00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:13.639 Jesus Christ, 00:40:14.340 --> 00:40:15.220 my living hope. 00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:16.800 Let me pray as I clean. 00:40:24.699 --> 00:40:25.780 Heavenly Father, 00:40:25.900 --> 00:40:27.199 your love for us 00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:31.099 is so unimaginably brilliant. 00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:34.820 We couldn't have made it up. 00:40:35.460 --> 00:40:38.659 We do get in this life 00:40:38.659 --> 00:40:40.280 to experience the love of others, 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:41.179 which is brilliant. 00:40:42.240 --> 00:40:43.199 The love of friends, 00:40:43.340 --> 00:40:44.079 of parents, 00:40:44.179 --> 00:40:45.280 of partners. 00:40:46.280 --> 00:40:48.139 But nothing compares to this love, 00:40:48.220 --> 00:40:50.579 which spans such a great chasm 00:40:50.579 --> 00:40:53.440 of our rebellion against you, 00:40:53.720 --> 00:40:55.260 of creature and creator, 00:40:56.320 --> 00:40:58.780 of wicked sinner and holy God. 00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:02.260 love has been so eternal 00:41:02.260 --> 00:41:03.440 and so long standing 00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:05.060 and so solid and certain. 00:41:06.560 --> 00:41:07.640 And so we thank you 00:41:07.640 --> 00:41:10.080 that Jesus in that great love 00:41:10.080 --> 00:41:11.620 died instead of us 00:41:11.620 --> 00:41:12.660 for our sin, 00:41:13.220 --> 00:41:14.240 that we might be forgiven. 00:41:14.940 --> 00:41:16.680 And we rejoice in that love. 00:41:17.380 --> 00:41:18.800 Help us never to forget it. 00:41:19.560 --> 00:41:20.380 Never to pretend 00:41:20.380 --> 00:41:20.980 that there's anything 00:41:20.980 --> 00:41:22.740 that we could do to match it. 00:41:23.400 --> 00:41:24.860 But help us to revel in it 00:41:24.860 --> 00:41:25.760 and enjoy it. 00:41:25.760 --> 00:41:27.740 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:41:28.320 --> 00:41:28.760 Amen.