Pentecost 6 (A): A Noble Steed and an Easy Yoke

[Music] Welcome to Same Old Song, the weekly lectionary podcast of Mockingbird Ministries. I'm Aaron Zimmerman, your coast. I'll be joined by Jacob Smith, as we break down the Bible passages for the upcoming Sunday. Whether you're in the pulpit or in the pews, we always bring in fact the good news of God's grace, for real people like you. [Music] Oh, say can you see Jake, it's the 6th Sunday after Pentecost. And it's also the Sunday of the 4th of July weekend. So, I'm sure. I don't know. What do you do with Coverstained George's 4th of July? Not much. [Laughter] The Collector for Independence Day. Maybe if you're lucky. So, probably have some fried chicken afterwards. And, you know, real live, previously recorded fireworks. Now, I'm just kidding. But we don't do much, you know? Yeah. So, keep thinking about it. Keep thinking about it. We don't hate to keep the vision of the feathers. Yeah, we're talking about the Kingdom Heaven. And the place where every people nation tribe tongue, etc. We'll bend the knee to our Lord Jesus. But we do, we'll play for him. We'll do the God of Abraham praise. We'll God our helping age is past. God the prophets. So, you know. Good stuff. Yeah. We want to keep the Kingdoms separate. And we, so we'll dive into it, thinking about whatever. You know, so have your barbecue, tell all your stuff. In Waco, Texas, by the way, I have to say, on Saturday night, every year the city of Waco puts on a big 4th of July concert. And there's fireworks. Sometimes there's drone displays. But this year, you'll never guess who the artist is. Jacob, it is the Jackson's. Not the Jackson 5, because one of them died. And the Jackson, it's like Marlon Tito, you know, the whole crew. Minus Miguel. So, we'll get to see how that has like go. So, if you guys, if you want to book a trip to Waco now, I'm just giving you a heads up. All right. That's great. And I'm excited. That's pretty cool. So, we got some readings for Sunday, July 5th. We begin with as we switch. We've been in kind of the prophet of Jeremiah. And now we're kind of going through, we're going to be looking at Zechariah, verse 9, or chapter 9, verses 9 through 12. We get a little preview of Palm Sunday in this passage. And then we'll continue through the book of Romans. And any of you that are doing a preaching series through Romans, this is, I mean, this is so good. Romans 7, verses 15, 25, through Romans 7, verse 15, through 25, a. And then we go to the gospel of Matthew, verses 11 through 16, and then verses 25 through 30. There's some talk about John the Baptist. There's some jazz flute in here and some other stuff. And also one of the greatest comfortable words in our liturgy. So, let's begin. Jake, book of Zechariah. This is a prophet who's, you know, as I said, we were talking about the prophet Jeremiah, which is in the 700s B.C., and we're now in the 500s B.C., the exile has happened 200 years have gone by. And now, during this reign of a Persian king, Darius, the temple is being rebuilt, and there's some good things happening. Maybe it's all going to work out. But this passage is towards the end of the book. The second half of the book. And it's looking at actually, you know, reestablishing a kingdom here on earth is not the, it's not maybe the whole picture, because it's pointing as we know towards the king of kings, Lord of lords, the, our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is in place we get the prophecy of Palm Sunday. "Rgeory, Scriley, O daughter of Zion, shout aloud, or daughter of Jerusalem, "low your king comes to you, low." Do you say that when you come home, Jake, you're like, "low children and home." Your king comes to you, Trump and victorious, to see humble and riding on a donkey on a coat, the foal of a donkey, he will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem. The battleboat shall be cut off, and all that, he should command peace to nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. So not just from the river to the Mediterranean, the traditional boundaries of the land of Israel, but the whole earth will be the lords. And I'll set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. So it's going to, everything's going to be a bright, bright sun, shiny day. The people at the time may think this is applying to their current political situation, but actually it's looking ahead. Jake, make this real for me. Make it, make it sing. Yeah, well, I think, you know, if you're going to preach on Zechariah, it's important just kind of give a little picture of the whole book. And, you know, and it is just divided into two sections. It's the first part that, you know, chapters one through eight, and then nine through 11, and, or nine through 14, excuse me. And the point is, I think, when you read Zechariah, and this is where it really begins to hit to the reader, give it a little overview, but the profit doesn't follow and meet and tidy kind of, like it's not a linear thing. Rather, it's messy and it's all over the place, much like history and our own lives. However, what Zechariah wants everybody to understand is that God is in control of history. And this motivates when we begin to realize that God is actually in total control, then this creates within people's hearts, faithfulness and perseverance in the midst of the messiness of their own life. And so, for example, he says, "Low your king comes to you triumph and victorious, is he humble riding on a donkey on a coal, the fowl of a donkey." If you go to Central Park, you're going to see a bunch of, like, generals and all sorts of things here in New York City. And they're all statues of generals all riding on horses and they are kicking butt. I mean, my favorite is Simon Boulevard. I mean, it's just they've got every general you could possibly think of. And none of them are riding on a donkey. That's just a reality. Now, why would a nearer Eastern King ride on a donkey? Well, a nearer Eastern King rode on a donkey when things were peaceable and when things were, he had everything under control. And so, this is why he's riding on a donkey, is because although history is a mess and history isn't tidy, God is in total control. And then you begin to see that this King is going to do battle. And this battle, though, ultimately, when we look to Jesus, comes through the blood of my covenant with you. And that covenant is a new covenant. Shed in Jesus' blood, the great King, whom we would shout, "Hosanna to one week, and we would shout, "Crucify the next." But by his blood, indeed, prisoners are set free from waterless pits. You know, return to your strongholds or prisoners of hope. Today, I declare that I will restore to you double. And not only has he, by his blood, restored to you double, it is infinite. All of God's grace, all of God's mercy, all of his love given to you in this King. And so, we can join our voices with Zion and say rejoice. Yeah. Yeah, I think about how different it would feel to have a King coming in on a donkey, versus coming in on a horse, and to put it in current context. It's like driving in an Abrams tank or like a monster truck, like if you're in that little turret up there in the tank waving at people, you're so far away, you're so much more powerful than they are, you could crush them in an instant. There's no way they could get to you. You're putting yourself at a higher level above them, and making yourself inaccessible. Being on a donkey, I can come right up to you. You're basically at my level. Those donkeys are short. I mean, I think about donkey in the Shrek movies, and he's like, "Come on, she called me a noble steed." And the whole joke is that he's the opposite of a noble steed. He's just a little donkey. And it's like, you know, if you're returning victorious and trowemphant, we like to make big entrances, and maybe I pull up in my hummer. But Jesus is saying, like, your King will, he'll come riding a golf cart, and which is not impressive. But that's the whole point. Like, there's no doors in the golf cart. Everybody can get to him. He's like accessible. He's here, and he's not going to hurt you. There's no guns mounted on the hood of the golf cart. And it's just, it's God's attitude towards you being one of peace and grace and humility. If there's ever big displays of military power and human strength or corporate power or whatever, big flashy things, those may have their place in the world, but they're not, they don't come from a Christian origin. That's not the heart of the gospel. The heart of the gospel is Jesus Christ coming on a donkey, and this is where this comes from. And it's, you know, this kind of theme is going to get picked up again in the gospel reading where, you know, Jesus says, my Yoke is easy, my burden is light. Like, I'm humble. I'm down here with y'all. So that's Zechariah for the five of you that are preaching on that. For those of you who are doing a Roman series, Roman seven, this stuff is too hot to handle, too cold to hold. It's like Flo Radis said, the club can't even handle me right now. Now this passage is so. So great. So I don't understand my own actions, Paul says. This is the whole thing about sin and the life of the believer and how do we understand it and how do we be righteous and all that sort of stuff. I don't understand my own actions. I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree the law is good, etc. If I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin dwells in me. And he says, even when I want to do what's good, I find an evil eyes close at hand. I delight in the law of God, but there's a war in my mind making me captive the law of sin. And then he ends this question, who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, your Lord. Now any New Testament scholars out there, the new perspective on Paul is wrong. They've all other people who want to say this is like this is not Paul's experience or this is some pre, this is a person who doesn't know Jesus, this is not a Christian. No, this is Paul describing the struggle of every human, Christian and non-Christian struggles with knowing that there's a good thing that they want to do, but can't do, and there's a bad thing you don't want to do, but they still do it anyways. That thing that's universal human beings, that's what Paul is talking about and your congregation will get this. So Jake, where do you go with this? What's any sin that you want to talk about to connect with your congregation? I mean, yeah, I've got a lot, but you know, I think what's so wonderful about this is that especially the first years of this for the first time, you know, I mean, I heard this passage over and over and over again and never, you know, is always confusing, but when I really began to understand the idea of low anthropology, I began to really find it comforting. I mean, there are things about me that I wish I could do, and even right now there are things that generally that I do that I hate about myself. And you see really Paul's pastoral heart here, say Paul, you know, if he would have said, do the things you should and don't do the things you shouldn't get it together, gosh, darn it. Well, as congregants, the people in Rome would have turned them right off. They would argue with him and tried to justify themselves. I got into this conversation with my wife yet the other day, you know, she mentioned something that I really irritates her. And you know what I mean? And I immediately went into a self-justification project, you know? And so, but St. Paul has the right approach. This is what I call the AA approach. It's the Christian approach. He begins with I instead of you. And this is why the new perspective Paul is wrong. This isn't like some sort of abstract articulation of Israel. This isn't the first person singular. He says, I'm, I'm flesh. I'm sold under sin. Wretched man that I am. And that leaves you thinking if that's how it is with the apostle, then can it be any less true with each of us? And the fact of the matter is, is that all of us agree with self-improvement principles. I mean, I'm out there running like a crazy man because I need to get a little skinnier. I love the idea spiritually of doing the will of God, you know? And that today is the day I'm finally going to be like really, really pious. And then all of a sudden, you know, right after breakfast, some old button gets pushed by my, you know, kid or by the dog or the neighbor, you know? I'm not talking about anybody listening. I'm talking about me. But you know, someone cuts me off. I miss a train. You know, that like an employee misses the most obvious thing. Your customer doesn't pay you. And by the end of the day, you're just so enraged with everything. And the best we can say is forgive me. And this is the Christian life. God forgive me. This is what Luther brilliantly coined, "Seem ill used to set the cateur." The saint in the sinner at the exact time. And the Christian life isn't necessarily victorious as one hears about. It is exactly the opposite. And it's the recognition that the saint in the sinner exists at the same time. The sober and the attic at the same time. It becomes ultimately so comforting and gives us the freedom to receive the best part of Rome in 7, which is 8.1. There is therefore now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Yeah, you can definitely mention that in your sermon. Go ahead and skip to that. But speaking of skipping ahead, let's get into Matthew chapter 11 verses 16 to 19, 25 through 33. Very much related to what Paul was talking about. In the sense that John the Baptist, Jesus is cousin, can't handle the fact that Jesus is letting people off the hook and forgiving sinners and giving away the goods to people that don't deserve it. He's hanging out with the wrong kinds of people and blessing him and forgiving sins. And they haven't earned it or deserved it. And John sends a message from prison because he's gotten some trouble with the leadership of Judea. And says, "Are you the one? Even though I bet everything on you." And it was pretty sure you're the one. And I heard God's voice from heaven say you're the one. I'm now doubting it because you're being too friendly with the sinners. You're being soft on crime, Jesus. And are you the right one? And Jesus says, "Yes, I'm the one." Also, you know, this generation around me and these people, it's like, "You can't decide what you want." You didn't like John the Baptist and he was singing a really sad song. And you know, I'm singing a happy song, hanging out with the sinners and doing the Macarena. And you don't like me either. So you're calling me a friend of tax collectors and sinners, a glutton of drunken, drunkard, look, like I'm here doing the work and he says that at the end, what he is here to do in this passage, I mean, this verse 30 here is just amazing. Come to me all you that are weary and caring, heavy burdens, and I will, or verse 28 through 30, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me from gentle and humble at heart. You'll find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is like. So again, that battle was sin or whatever, all that that we tried to do our own. It's a heavy yoke to carry, a heavy burden to carry. What Jesus comes to you is forgive you and remove that and to be a friend of sinners and friends of tax collectors. So if you or someone who can relate to any of those things, if you have ever listened to a country song and felt like that was your life, Jesus is your friend and comes to set you free and forgive you. So that is good news. You're carrying a heavy burden. Jesus is for you. And when you're preaching this text, this is exactly how you need it. I mean, you could roll right out of Romans into this text. Jesus is our savior. You know, this is, I mean, right here, this is the second part of our comfortable words. Come to me, all you who are every laden, what you need to know and what Jesus wants you to know and what you're here is to know is that God's will to you is gracious. You never forget a yoke was something you put on like beasts of burden to do lots of things, namely plow a field. The soul that we wear in our Sunday services is reflective of this verse. It's a yoke, but it's easy and light. And Jesus saw religion, climbed the ladder to God, be good for goodness sake, religion as a heavy burden. And here he is presenting himself to these crowds. And through your words, you need to present him as the savior of people in need. And all of us, when we really preach the law properly and we present the gospel properly, it leaves us in a place of need and it points us to where our need is met and our salvation is found. The one who calls us to come, the one who calls folks with heavy burdens to come because he's the one who gives rest. Amen. Well, that'll do it for this July 4th weekend preaching extravaganza. Amen. For Sam old song. So go out there, enjoy your forgiveness, put something on the barbecue and remember Jesus is yoke is easy and his burden is light on the sixth Sunday of Pentecost and every day. Until then, God bless you and read your Bible. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thanks for listening to Sam old song. Hope you found some gospel nuggets for the pulpit. Or for your life. If you like what you heard, leave a review or rating in Apple podcasts. Dave is all will be sad if you don't. Thanks to TJ Hester for audio production and remember to keep that Bible by your bedside ready to rock and roll. [BLANK_AUDIO]