Grace OPC Sewickley PA

Sermon Series: Life of Elisha

The Tree That Sweetens Bitter Water

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, March 26, 1989.

About this sermon

Three Old Testament stories converge here to shed light on the floating axe head, held together by De Graaf’s three-point approach and the movement of the sons of the prophets. The tree that sweetens bitter water in Exodus 15 is the same tree Christ hung on.

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Sermon transcript

the book of Exodus and then we will move to 2 Kings. We are in Exodus 15 verses 22 through 26. Exodus 15 verses 22 through 26. Hear the word of God. Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, What shall we drink? Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.

There he made for them a statute and regulation, and there he tested them, and he said, If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

Then if you turn over to 2 Kings chapter 6, Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us, please let us go to the Jordan And each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.”

So he said, go. Then one said, please be willing to go with your servants. And he answered, I shall go. So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. And as one was selling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. And he cried out and said, Alas, my master, for it was borrowed. Then the man of God said, Where did it fall? And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, Take it up for yourself. So he put out his hand and took it. Pray together.

Our Father, we thank you that you have given to your church those who have responsibility to oversee the proclamation of the word. And not only so, to oversee the boundaries of the life of your people. So Lord, you give to your church not only those servants of your word who minister in your name, they having been given that calling of minister of the gospel, but also those to whom is committed rule in your church that order might prevail and decency may in fact be the order of the day. We thank you, our God, for your provision. We ask you that the eldership may be increasingly strengthened among your people. We pray, our God, that the eldership may be strengthened here. But in every respect, our God, may there be that attention to the word so that those who are given the responsibility of rule may rule aright. that they might oversee then the lives of your people, but also the proclamation of the word. And be insistent that that proclamation be correct, honest, forthright, always presenting the work and the claims of Jesus Christ. This we pray through Christ. Amen.

Well, here you are, the last in this present series on the floating axehead. Tonight entitled, The Floating Axehead and the Reformed Faith. The Floating Axehead and the Reformed Faith. I am taken back a week in time to a conversation that I had with Dan Knox. he had just had an encounter with an evangelical presentation, and he was trying to present the Reformed faith to a group of people against the background of that evangelical presentation.

And as he went to bed that night, he was thinking about the presentation of the Reformed faith to these people, and he said he dreamt about the floating accents. and decided that trying to convince people of the Reformed faith is like trying to float accents, and thus the application of the text, of course.

Well, we have considered the liberal approach to this text, and we have considered the conservative approach to this text. We could caricature each in these words. The liberal approach to the text with the words, what do I care about the facts? What does it matter whether access flowed or not? particular exposition of one liberal scholar who suggested that the meaning of this text was that Elisha is a compassionate man, and you ought to be compassionate too. He went on to deal with the conservative approach, and I guess the conservative approach could be caricatured with these words. give me the facts, just the facts. The liberal says forget the facts, the conservative says give me the facts, just the facts.

And along these lines then there is a particular concentration on the historical detail and the grammatical details of the text in view. But we have suggested, following S. G. DeGraff, the author of the four volumes, Promise and Deliverance, that the Reformed faith moves us in a direction that is uncomfortable with both of these approaches. And we noted last week three features that play a prominent role in the Reformed perspective.

First of all, the graph wishes us to keep in mind, in view, the wider context of any specific passage. The wider context of any specific passage. That means that we are going to have to take into consideration the broader historical structure and the broader literary aspects of any particular text to which we come. Therefore, a text is more than a collection of isolated atoms. There is the atomistic approach to Bible interpretation. It sees the text as that there are no holes in the pearls. The pearls can’t be strung. Nothing hangs together. All you do is look at a particular text, and you take it apart in terms of the particular aspects of the grammar and the historical detail of that passage.

And that is to suffice. That is to suffice. A text is therefore, according to the graph, part of an integrated whole. We are to grasp hold of the general flow that is operative within a particular biblical writing. This leads us to the second feature of a reformed approach to interpretation, and this second feature is intricately related to the first. From the Reformed approach, there is the necessity for making doctrinal assertions, doctrinal decisions, doctrinal declarations. Of course, this should make sense to us who are of the Reformed faith.

For are we not sensitive to the large, even the largest doctrinal parameters of any given particular text of Scripture? Are we not alert to the whole counsel of God? Do we not look at a particular text in light of the whole counsel of God? Haven’t we prided ourselves even?

Because our approach to the text has been in the interest of proclaiming the whole counsel of God. We are concerned then with seeing a particular text in the light of the outworking of God’s eternal decree. We are concerned with seeing a particular text within the flow of and the progression of the history of salvation, the story of salvation. God’s counsel, his decrees, this history of salvation. Are they not essentially, at their very heart, Christ-centered? Christ-centered. Therefore, Reformed interpretation is supremely and essentially Christological. Christological. insisting upon the centrality of Christ. Did not Jesus claim as much?

You remember the conclusion of John chapter 5? He’s arguing there with the Pharisees and describes. They think that eternal life is found in the Scriptures. They read the Scriptures in order to discover where eternal life is to be found. But Jesus tells them, if you read Moses, you have read of me, for Moses wrote about me.” John 5, verse 46. But it’s not just Moses, it’s David, it’s Isaiah, it’s Micah, it’s Solomon. Whomever you will, they write about Christ.

So that’s the second feature. The third feature suggested to us from a consideration of the graph is this. We refuse to allow any text to operate on a purely objective level. Now, hang with me here. We refuse to allow any text to operate on a purely objective level. Now, that is not to dismiss that objective level. That is to affirm it. and to insist upon the historical foundation of any particular text that we might consider. But we cannot be satisfied with that mere objective reading of the text.

We of the Reformed faith believe in what we call the covenant, that bond established by God for fellowship of himself with his own, with his people. The covenant charter is the Bible, and we who are of the covenant do not view ourselves as spectators of that covenant, nor of that charter document. Rather, we are participants in the covenant, and we are participants within the charter document, the Bible. Therefore, the Reformed faith is not content simply to read things on a purely objective level. It must also consider things from the perspective of the subjective, our own participation in what is being described.

You are in the text. You are in the Bible. The Bible is about you. Okay. Those are just some of the principles that should be guiding us as we form the people and our approach to the scriptures. Now with these things in mind, we turn to 2 Kings 6, 1-7. Oh boy. Are you ready for a sleigh ride? Okay. Second Kings 6, 1 through 7, and the floating asset.

Now let’s look at the text, first of all, in terms of particular aspects that we find in it. It seems to me that we can identify at least two movements within the text if we look at it. The first is that which pertains to the movement of the Sons of the Prophets, presumably from Gilgal, and very likely the city limits proper to the outskirts, eastward towards the Jordan and its banks. There is that aspect of the text. The movement of the Sons of the Prophets presumably from Gilgal proper to the outskirts down to the banks of the Jordan eastward from the city. There is also this aspect to the text as well.

The incident with which the story concludes, the one that has focused our attention here for the last three weeks, the incident of the borrowed axe and the lost axe head, and of course its recovery. Let’s start then with the move of the Sons of the Prophets, and as we analyze that we might have then opportunity to draw into view the significance of that axe head, that floated The move of the Sons of the Prophets demonstrates the growing alienation of this group within Israel, the kingdom itself.

The Sons of the Prophets are a group unto themselves. They have been increasingly alienated and so identified to the point now that they are indicative of a faithful remnant. A faithful remnant within the land. As such, These Sons of the Prophets lay claim to the Prophets. Now it has been suggested that we are to understand the Sons of the Prophets as Prophets themselves. I’m not going to debate that point tonight. It seems, however, that what is particularly clear, these Sons of the Prophets are laying claim to the Prophets and to the Prophet’s message. As sons, we can say that these sons of the prophets are the heirs of the prophets.

Is not a son properly the heir? What does it mean to call Jesus the son of man? He is heir of the dominion of man. What does it mean to call him son of God? He is heir of the dominion of God. What does it mean to call these particular people the sons of the prophets?

As sons of the prophets, they are laying claim to the prophets, to the prophets’ message, and as such, they are the heirs of the prophets. They are the inheritors that are in view with respect to the prophets and the prophets’ message. These sons of the prophets, then, are those to whom the prophets direct their message about the imperatives. As sons They are the ones to whom the prophets leave the inheritance. But note the posture of the prophets, so as to understand the specific inheritance in view.

What is the position of the prophets now in Israel, in the kingdom of Israel? these prophets stand over against the nation. In the prophets themselves, then, we perceive a separation that has been affected within Israel. All Israel is not Israel, and the division that is occurring is speaking to us of a division between true Israel and false or apostate Israel. The sons of the prophets stand with the prophets. As the prophets stand over against Israel as a whole, so now the sons of the prophets stand over against Israel as a whole.

And as the sons of the prophets then stand over against Israel as a whole, and with the prophets, they lay claim to the prophets’ reward. But what is the prophets’ reward? What is the prophets’ estate to which these sons lay claim? this estate for the profit.

This profit’s reward becomes clear to us as we look at the wider context in which this passage appears. Turn back to 2 Kings 4 verses 42 through 44 for some insight. Remember the story? The man from Baal, Shelah-shah, brings to them the firstfruits of the harvest, the twenty loaves of barley, fresh ears of grain.

In his sack he gives them to the Prophet and those who are with him. And here the Prophet and the sons of the Prophet are viewed as virtually dependent upon the provision of others. They are viewed as seemingly destitute, dependent on others for provisions that are brought to them. They even function in this passage like priests. And the man that comes to them from Baal, Shalashah, is bringing to them those provisions as if they were the priests, as if he were bringing those provisions to the temple of God. that the Prophet and the sons of the Prophet in this passage are viewed as dependent, and ultimately dependent upon the provision of God, because you know that the gift that is given is multiplied.

The gift then from this man that comes to them from Baal Shiloshah is the occasion for instruction with regard to a greater provision, yes. a provision that is transcendent, an eternal provision, a provision that comes to the Prophet and to the sons of the Prophet from heaven, by which the Prophet and the sons of the Prophet are to be satisfied. The supernatural provision, then, in that passage.

But if this is not clear to us as yet, it will become clear to us from the story of Elisha and Nin, 2 Kings 5. We move on to the next tale that is told about the Prophet. And this story in 2 Kings 5 ends with the recounting of those events surrounding Gehazi, a son of the Prophet, a servant to Elisha, After Gehazi tries to extort earthly reward from Naaman, you remember how it ends, he goes and tries to take the money, he does take the money, and because of that he is cursed. And when he is cursed, he is told by the prophet Elisha, verse 26, this is no time to be receiving money or clothes or olive yards or vineyards or sheep or oxen or male or female servants. You see what’s being said by the prophet to one of the sons of the prophets. The prophet himself is a sojourner. He is a pilgrim. He recognizes a time in which he is set. His condition, though in the promised land, is like unto Abraham’s.

This is no time for the accumulation of property, for the accumulation of wealth. even though in the land of promise this prophet is looking beyond it to something greater, and that in keeping with the character of those who are the children of faith as it is expressed in Hebrews 11.

The movement of the sons of the prophets then in 2 Kings 6 underscores this What’s happening when these sons of the prophets leave the territories that are theirs within Gilgal? They’re giving up the family plot. They’re surrendering and inheritance within Israel, what we would consider an unsinkable thing, an inheritance given to them, bequeathed to them. They are surrendering because they recognize the times and the circumstances in which they live. They have become, they have made themselves to be, pilgrims in lieu of a greater inheritance. What would it mean for a Jew to give up the family plot? They make their plea to Elisha, come with us, they say.

And in this they are giving expression to what they perceive to be that unbreakable bond that exists between them as sons and this prophet to whom they have been joined. All of this is pointing forward to the even greater relationship that should be sustained between Christ, the last and the great prophet, and those who are his, those who are called by his name, those who are his sons. Heirs of the inheritance that is His. All of this speaks of the Church, her character, and her destiny. The Pilgrim Savior, bounded to a Pilgrim people, and the greater, more glorious inheritance than anything that can be bequeathed in this world is kept in view.

But there is a danger. There is, after all, as we are told from 2 Kings 6, the swelling of the numbers of the sons There is the land as yet. It may not be the family plot, but it is a piece of ground down by the Jordan. There is the timber, the trees to be felled, the homes that are being built from the timber that is cut. There are the things that are sacrificed There are the familial plots that are surrendered, but there are other things and there are other plots to be gained, seemingly.

And even though these sons of the prophets are on the move and turning their back on some things, oh, how easily their hearts can be set on those things that they presently gain. How easily. the church too can become the acquisitor the possessor the church can become that which grasps and holds on to this plot of ground here for all of its worth So it is the borrowed acts and the lost and the recovered acts that again preach in order to set things in order. Now you’re sitting there and you’re saying to yourself, what? The borrowed acts The lost and recovered accent is saying all that? Come on, that’s a bit far-fetched, isn’t it?

Well, in order to understand this, we’re going to have to place this particular story in the company of three other stories that occur in Scripture. One of them we’ve read tonight. The first is about Marah and the bitter waters at Marah in Exodus 15. There you have it. You know that story well. Exodus 15. But if you back up a few chapters in 2 Kings, you find two other stories that are very much like the story you find here. There is the one that occurs at the end of 2 Kings 2. It’s the story about Jericho. and the waters of barrenness at Jericho. Remember that story? And how, with a cup of salt, Elisha healed the barren waters at Jericho?

And then there is also the story At the end of 2 Kings 4, verses 38-41, it’s the story about Gilgal and the poisonous pot of stew. Well, we all remember the exclamation of the man, there’s death in the pot. Alright, you’ve got that story too. In each of these stories, a miracle occurs. in which something is added to the water or to the stew, and by way of this miracle, then the problem that is in view is resolved. The bitterness is removed, the barrenness is removed, the death is removed. You see the pattern. But there’s something else to all of these stories that you must keep in mind. You see, in each one of the stories, there is a correspondence between what is true of the water, or the stew, and the people that are eating it. You see, at Mara, it wasn’t just the water that was bitter, it was the people who were bitter. At Jericho, it wasn’t simply the water that was barren, not producing any fruitfulness within the territory of Jericho, the people were barren. There were no birds. There were no birds.

And when we get to 2 Kings 4, it’s not just that there’s death in the heart. You see, the point of that story is to tell these sons of the prophets, who are liable to be proud in themselves, hey, there’s death in you. Despite your relationship to the prophets, despite what you might think of yourself, there’s death in you. All right, you’re with me so far. I’m the sleigh rider.

But you ask, what possible correspondence is there between the sons of the prophets in 2 Kings 6? and the waters that are spoken of here. What possible correspondence is there between the water and the man, the sons, the people? It’s true in every other instance, but how does it match up here? Well, you see, the waters has stolen the asset. The waters have requisitioned the asset. The waters have taken possession of the asset. And they aren’t going to give it back. They aren’t going to give it back.

You see what’s happening? Atmara, bitter water, bitter people. At Jericho, barren water, barren people. At Gilgal, deadly stew and a dead people. And now at the Jordan. Grasping, devouring, possessing water. And grasping, devouring, possessing The waters must be healed. The people themselves must be healed. And what healing can there be? Where might it be found?

There was a tree shown to Moses at Mar. We know that that tree was the cross. The cross when applied to the waters at Marah, healed the waters, reflective of a healing that is effected by the cross for those who belong to God. And now, once more, there is a tree, and that tree is applied by Elisha to these waters And this tree, no less than that tree at Morrow, is the cross, and the objective is the cure of a people who, like that water, will in fact take and not surrender.

Take and not give back. Covet and continually seek to acquire. and never give up what is accumulated of the things of this world. The borrowed acts speaks itself of the sojourning character of the people of God, they don’t even own an axe. The recovery of the axehead is an eloquent sermon about the nature of possessions in this world. Not to be stored up, not to be even stolen through an acquisitive covetousness. You see, the ax head is recovered in order to be returned, given back.

It is of the earth. It belongs here. The land, the new home, wonderful as it would be, as far away as it would be from the strain and stress of things that the sons of the prophets had experienced in Gilgal, even the swelling of the numbers of the sons of prophets, all of that must be transcended. All of that must be penetrated by an eye that is trained to see the eternal possession an eye that is cured, a heart that itself is repossessed by the cross of Christ, not wedded to or bounded by the things of this creation. So. The floating accent. Recovered to be returned. One’s heart not set upon ends of this earth. Not possessive or covetous. But living As pilgrim people, we, sons of God, for an inheritance that is above.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

March 26, 1989
Prophet, Priest, and King

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, March 19, 1989.

About this sermon

Jesus’ journey ends in Jerusalem, entering as prophet, priest, and king all at once, with an omnipresence and omnipotence the crowd can barely register. Even the ‘lords’ of verse 33 have no choice but to submit to the Lord.

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Sermon transcript

Rather than Matthew 6 this morning, we are turning to Luke chapter 19. And we are reading from verse 28 of Luke’s 19th chapter. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against you, in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, were on yet never man sat loose him and bring him hither and if any man ask you why do you lose him thus shall you say unto him because the Lord hath need of him and they that were sent went their way and found even as he had said unto them and as they were losing the pope the owners thereof said unto them why loose ye the pope and they said the Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”

And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if thee should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city. and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the day shall come upon thee that thine enemy shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round and keep thee in on every side. and shall lay thee even with the ground and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.’ And he went out into the temple and began to cast out them that sold therein and them that bought. saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple that the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him and could not find what they might do, for all the people were very attentive to hearing.

Lord, it is not here alone that your word is proclaimed today. Even, Lord, throughout the earth, your word is proclaimed by servants raised up by you. And, Lord, though we are zealous for the proclamation of your word here, we would likewise be zealous for that proclamation throughout the world. And we are asking, Father, that you may preserve your servants, that they with self-consciousness may reflect upon the truth and proclaim that truth that is in keeping with the Scriptures. So, Father, bless, yes, them and us. And here, Lord, if there be no faith, May faith come, and if faith be weak, may you make it strong. We pray these things through Christ our Savior. Amen.

The journey is coming to an end. If there is any gospel writer who has concentrated upon that journey, it is Luke. He takes up as many as eleven chapters to describe the journey Jesus makes from the north country, Galilee, southward to Jerusalem, and to his appointed end. You read in the ninth chapter of Luke, 51st verse, that Jesus then set his face to go to Jerusalem. And in keeping with that statement that he should make to others, that once you put your hand to the plow, you don’t look back.

He didn’t look back. So Jerusalem was in view. So he traveled, so he progressed. to that end. And now he is arriving. And as he does, he is portrayed for us by Luke in a wonderful way. We are given three pictures of our Savior as he comes close and enters into the city.

They are glances, if you will. They are momentary, they come, they go, but in each, in turn, there is such wonderful content, such grand instruction for us, for our souls, for our benefit. Let’s work through them backwards. Let’s start at the end of the chapter and consider them in reverse. Verses 45 through 48, as the chapter concludes there, Jesus enters the temple.

He casts out those who are buying and selling. He makes statements there in keeping with fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah with respect to the fact that this house which belongs to God is a house of prayer, but It seems that God’s people have made it a den of thieves. Then, having cleared them all out, he sort of sets up shop and begins to teach the people.

The insight here, of course, is of our Savior, our Christ, as He is, the priest. The priest. The temple is, after all, His. the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple and when he does there is a purification and now there begins an instruction in the ways of God the likes of which has been never heard before the priest but we also have verses 41 through 44 Jesus has approached the city, he has surveyed it, we know what city is in view, Jerusalem, and as he does so, he weeps over it. He offers his forecast, he sees yet future years, he sees circumstances not as yet accomplished, He knows, in fact, what will happen there. The city is going to be destroyed, not one stone left upon another.

So he prophesies. And thus we have moved from priest to prophet. But then, of course, we have verses 28 through 40. And as you would expect, in keeping with the pattern that we are establishing here, what comes to the fore is Christ the King. Priest, Prophet, King. Christ all three.

And there has never been anyone better in those offices. But we are focusing this morning on verses 28 through 40 and the passage that pertains to Christ’s kinship. It is a remarkable passage and one the depths of which we could hardly come this morning. But we’ll give it a try make suggestions as to how we might appropriate better what is here for us in God’s word.

You can’t miss the royal office. You can’t miss the royal office. Everything is done so deliberately All of the words so carefully chosen, all of the descriptions laid out for you so that you may be impressed with the royal character of this one presented.

The King. The King. Why he is even ascending to Jerusalem. Verse 28. He is even ascending the hill of the Lord. It’s almost as if you can hear in the background the beat of those measures from the 24th Psalm. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and pure heart. And when he appears at the city gates, the gates ought to be lifted up, that he might enter in, the very King of Glory. The King. There is the description of him as such, you cannot miss it, throughout the passage as a whole.

He describes himself as such. He calls himself the Lord in giving instruction to his disciples as they are to go into that village over against them. When they encounter the owners of the colt, they are to tell them, the Lord, this is Jesus speaking, the Lord has need of it. Jesus is speaking here, he is calling himself the Lord. The term is loaded, filled with all of its regal words, and how strange it is to hear so many say that Jesus never once made such claims for himself with his own lips that would then confer upon himself such honor and dignity as those who followed him gave to him. Here he speaks, the Lord has need of it. So he calls himself, and so he is recognized to be by those owners of the pulse when the disciples come. For they are told by the disciples the Lord has need of it, and they give the pulse because the Lord has sequestered it.

There is also the carriage of the king. We may not be impressed with one riding upon a colt, but the image is in keeping with prophecies of old. You can think of Zechariah, the ninth chapter, the ninth verse. Your king will come to you in such a manner. So they were told, and so he comes in fulfillment of that prophecy. His entrance is a kingly, a royal entrance. The garments are spread, and he is hailed. Hailed is what? The multitude has gathered. They’ve acknowledged his greatness, and they say, Blessed is the king. Verse thirty-eight. So is this one acknowledged to be king and lord.

Unless we be left with nearly some earthly potentate, just another king who rises for a time and then descends and dies and disappears, this is no common king, this is an uncommon one. This is the most extraordinary king. that is ever walked upon road. As of this road of this world. If his entourage of multitude multitudes, if his disciples themselves are silenced, then the stones themselves will cry out.

Nature itself will honor this one as the king, as the lord. But recognizing this, we are being pushed along a line that draws us even deeper. for it’s not merely a matter of his own disclosure of his name and power, or the acknowledgement of others, or an affirmation of the fact that creation itself will affirm him king. It is the way in which he literally controls all things around him.

Jesus is approaching Bethphage and Bethany. He’s near the Mount of Olives. And while staying there, you see, he sends out his two disciples into this unnamed village. They go into the village, and there they find things as he tells them they will find. Now, one may think that all that is being underscored here is the fact that Jesus, in speaking as he does, merely foresees the future. He sees the events that are going to take place in that village when his disciples arrive there.

But that’s not the depth of it. You see, the full power of the passage is this. Not only does he foresee them, but as king, he controls them. The events themselves are working themselves out by his decree, by his ordination, by his appointment. He is the one who is in control. As king, he is in control of all the circumstances and the affairs surrounding him. and his people.

What kind of authority has this one who is here so portrayed for us? What kind of lord is he? What kind of king may he be? So great is his kingship, so land is his lordship that there is nothing to compare with it short of the kingship and lordship of God.

There is marvelous instruction and comfort here extended to you Do you see it? Do you feel it? Do you understand? The one who is Cain is standing in the region of the Mount of Olives as he dispenses his disciples, sends them over into this village. They enter the village. Jesus is back there.

He is absent from the circumstance, yet he controls the circumstance. He is not present in his body, yet he controls the circumstance at a distance from him. Do you realize the dimensions of this lordship, this kingship, which this one claims? You see, there comes a day when in his body he is absent from his people. He is distant, yet his disciples are still operative in the world. What attitude might they have? What spirit might they exhibit? Will it not be that confidence that though he is absent in his body, he is yet present and controlling all the circumstances that pertain to their life?

Such is the kingship and the lordship of this One He has presented for us. Though He is absent from us, though you don’t see Him, He is perfectly and absolutely in control of all the circumstances of His people. and that is precisely why you need not despair or fret do you not know he cares for you? do you not know that he loves you? and into whatever village you may enter He has already preceded you and all circumstances are prepared for your sake and your good.

Now this for our comfort This for your encouragement. But I said there was comfort and instruction here and let’s hear the instruction too. You want the good. Now let’s listen to the hard stuff. There’s a very interesting literary fact about verse thirty-three. Those of you who have marginal notes in your Bible, you might have that word owner rendered for you there out of the literal Greek. And as they were untying the colt, the owners, that’s what it reads in the King James, that’s what it reads in the New American Standard. Look in the margin. You see what it reads there?

It’s lords said to them. You see, the Lord has come to the lords. Those who own in this world have now been confronted with the command of that one who owns everything. And all lords, regardless who they are, are addressed through the disciples of this Lord. and called upon to submit and surrender everything for him. The Lord of the Lords has come and he makes his demands. The Lords themselves must now learn how to be servants, how to submit, how to surrender, how to own his allegiance and acknowledge him. But we’re not done. You see, as the Lords have been now commanded to submit, instructed to give up themselves for him, he presents himself, this one the Lord, as their servant.

What kind of king is this? He comes mounted upon a colt. He comes in the clothes of humility. He comes dressed up as one who is the servant. The Lord makes himself the servant, and thus gives instruction to all lords of the earth, how they might live, how they might behave, how they might think. He does not come as kings ordinarily come. He does not parade himself as they ordinarily would parade themselves. He comes to them in meekness and lowliness. That is his posture. He comes as the servant unto those he would instruct.

So if it is demanded of them that they become servants, they do so after Him who has become the servant. They are not left then out there all by themselves not knowing what to do or where to go or what to imagine. They are given the pattern and they are given the power that is found only in and through Him. If lords are to become servants, they will do so through Christ, the Lord, who has been made the servant in them.

And what extent, what extent will there be then for the servanthood of this one who is the Lord? Truly, to what extent will he go to demonstrate his servanthood, this one who is the Lord? Let me tell you, he will die. Here is a Lord who will die. for the sake of those he loves. He’s come to Jerusalem to die. What kind of king is this? Would you do the same? Or do you imagine yourself a Lord who doesn’t need to be served? Who doesn’t need to submit? In the face of Jesus Christ, what excuse do you have? What excuse can you make?

Well, the priest, we know how that’s going to end the prophet, we know how that’s going to end the king, we know how that is ending and how it is being revealed and manifest for us here. Not just to tell us a nice story about a man who rolled into Jerusalem on a donkey’s back so many years ago, but how you ought to live.

If in fact you would be identified with this one who is the king. he’s coming back you know and when he does not just the rocks but the hills and the trees and the seas and the streams and every aspect of this creation will acknowledge him and you who have learned how to be servants in his image will receive him gladly and you will be blessed by him to live in his kingdom forever. On a day long ago, our father, you observed your son fulfilling prophecy, ordering, controlling events, affirmed and underscored the fact that he was king. What a marvelous demonstration it was. We, Lord, are not far from those events. for even now we are those who have submitted unto him and are found in the company of his disciples and are learning, Lord, how it is that we, though imagined lords, are servants still trained and taught by him who has become servant for us that we might live and reign with him forever. Glory be to you, our God, through Christ. Glory in the highest, peace in heaven, and upon your people here.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

March 19, 1989
We Have Lost the Axe Head

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, March 19, 1989.

About this sermon

Conservative commentary has grown thin, a gap answered here by De Graaf’s grammatical-historical method as a corrective. Read that way, the floating axe head becomes a mirror: we are the ones who have lost it.

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Sermon transcript

Tonight we’ll begin our scripture reading in 1 Corinthians 10 and then we’ll back up into 2 Kings and consider the first seven verses of 2 Kings 6. This is 1 Corinthians 10 verses 1 through 4. Hear the word of God. For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. Now from 2 Kings chapter 6 verses 1 through 7.

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold, now the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.”

So he said, go. Then one said, please be willing to go with your servants. And he answered, I shall go. So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. And as one was selling a beam, the axe head fell into the water, and he cried out and said, Alas, my master, for it was borrowed. Then the man of God said, Where did it fall? And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, Take it up for yourself.” So he put out his hand and took it.

What strength, Lord, we derive from your word. If we are left without your word, We then die in our hunger and by our thirst. But with your word, Lord, we are trained with respect to our satisfaction. That by and with that word, we are educated in the ways of life and Lord built up in that knowledge that our life is found in you we pray our God not merely for ourselves but for your people everywhere in this community throughout the world where the word is received with faith, where it is laid up in the heart, where it is practiced in the life. And we are beseeching you, our God, that your blessing may attend your word wonderfully, so that we even would see of that harvest which you are gathering for yourself, a harvest that is gathered through servants who proclaim the word and do so faithfully. Lord we pray that your word as it is effectual for us may also be effectual for the many and that the voice of your people may be one in acknowledging your greatness and in acknowledging the power and the significance and sufficiency of the scriptures.

We pray this through Christ. Amen. I hope I have enough water tonight. Well, here we are with our second message on the floating accent. We considered last week the liberal approach to this passage. We reviewed their approach quite extensively. But tonight we want to turn our attention to the general conservative approach to a passage like this. The liberals got theirs last week. Tonight the conservatives are on the block. Often, we who are reformed or evangelical or at a disadvantage when it comes to the interpretation of a text of Scripture, specifically a text like this one before us.

I remember my discussion with Dr. Richard Gaffin as I was saying goodbye to Calvary OPC, Glenside, Pennsylvania, upon graduation and upon leaving that congregation. I was given as a gift by that church a large commentary on the Gospel of John. It was a weighty tome, many, many, many pages long. It was also the latest conservative work on that gospel, obviously one of the most extensive written by someone from within the conservative and evangelical circle. Dr. Gaffin’s remarks still ring in my ears.

He said to me apologetically, it’s not very good. Unfortunately, that has been the situation for a very, very long time. Conservative scholars, hard at work, producing an extraordinary number of books, even an extraordinary number of commentaries, but most of them are not very good. Now there are many reasons for this, and we cannot deal with them all tonight. However, let me offer to you some explanation. Some conservative writers, when writing commentaries on scripture, books of the Bible, conceive of their task very narrowly.

And it’s important that you understand just the sort of limitations they put upon themselves, or the tradition, and I would judge it a classical tradition, out of which they write. They understand their responsibility, and this is an admirable assessment of their responsibility. They understand their responsibility to be this.

Namely, to set before their readers a plain analysis of the grammatical and historical considerations of a specific text. That’s the narrow focus. A plain analysis of the grammatical and the historical considerations of a specific text. In other words, they focus upon the factuality of any given textual setting. The historical factuality of any given textual setting. It’s simple historical law.

Their approach, then, along these lines means that when they come to the person of Elisha, they are pushing the fact that, after all, there was a historical figure, a prophet by the name of Elisha, who did, after all, live. He lived during the ninth century B.C. He prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel. He performed many signs. the signs for the purpose of establishing the fact that he was a man of God. One of those signs which he did then perform was that of the floating ax head of first, rather second Kings six.

At the same time, given this historical interest, They have been quick to emphasize the grammatical elements of the specific text in view, so that the passage might be read along the plain line of the meaning of the words in their syntactical relationships.

Therefore, a text presenting itself as narrative is to be read as a historical piece, but at the same time straightforward grammatical features of the text itself provide the commentator with a mountain of detailed work that then focuses him in his exegetical task. If you have tried to work through some commentaries, maybe you are familiar with the features of which I am speaking. The endless attention given to grammatical detail, the mountain of work that seems necessary grammatically in order to come to conclusions about what the text is saying. Now, of course, it wouldn’t do us any good for me to stand up here this evening and simply offer to you a criticism of the so-called grammatical historical method of exegesis.

Since, after all, that method arose out of the Reformation and it has been traced to such exegetes as Calvin himself. We do observe in this approach to interpretation some very remarkable and marvelous things. For instance, it is a marvelous check against mysticism. It is a marvelous check against liberal excess.

Away, says the grammatical historical exegete, away from those flights of fancy. into the arbitrary and subjective approaches to interpretation, away from unwarranted allegorizing, away from the denial of that plain force and obvious statement of certain texts. What a wonderfully simple and apparently foolproof method of exegesis. Just stick to the facts. Historically, grammatically, just stick to the facts.

But so pat has this approach been, so pat has this approach been, that the mood among Reformed scholars over the last so many years has been why, in heaven’s name, write another commentary? Hasn’t it all been said already? Why bother? The historical facts haven’t changed, we believe them, we assert them, there they are, plain for everyone to see. What new facts can we learn from analyzing the grammar one more time? Why bother? It’s there. It’s been done by the best. The historical facts of any text are such and such The grammar is thus and so, so why spend your time merely rehashing or reasserting what is already known, what has already been said, what is blatantly obvious to anyone with a nickel’s worth of brain? How many commentaries have been produced from reformed scholars in the last century.

Well you can think of Hendrickson’s commentaries, don’t you? William Hendrickson? But obviously William Hendrickson is not in the same class as some of the names that some of the personages, some of the scholars that work with me. I can name one substantive commentary on a book of scripture in this century. You know the one I’m referring to?

John Murray’s commentary on Romans. We have another, and we may be able to find some popular treatments, but you know, there’s Hendrickson’s great commentary on the Book of Revelation, Morgan Conquers, you know that, you’re familiar with it. There’s Stonehouse’s treatments of the Gospels, but they’re not, his treatments are not written in commentary form.

So there you are. Why write another commentary? The grammatical historical method leading us there in this position. So what are we left with generally in the conservative world as far as commentaries are concerned? Well, here is an example for you. Are you ready for this example of how in the conservative commentary second King six verses one through seven might be approached. The text of the commentary reads like this. This story seems to assume, I’m going to read in entirety what the man has to say about the passage.

This story seems to assume that we understand that the sons of the prophets lived in a common building. The place is often identified with Gilgal on the erroneous assumption that Gilgal is the one near Jericho. Possibly it was the school at Jericho. Verse 4 mentions the trees. such as willow, tamarisk, acacia, pine, used for light and not heavy timber. Verse 5, axe, literally iron, but obviously an axe. It was borrowed. Hebrew, it was asked or begged, suggesting that the sons of the prophets did not have funds to purchase such things.

Kyle says, The object of the miracle was similar to that of the stater in the fish’s mouth from Matthew 17, verse 27. That’s it. Now, we have given to us in this some interesting information. But with the possible exception of that last statement with regard to Kyle and his assessment of the miracle, Is there anything here that is especially helpful for us in understanding the redemptive historical significance of the story of the floating accent? I would judge that there is nothing whatsoever. So here is our predicament. No reformed commentaries. It’s all been said. What we have left for us are commentary along this line, at this level.

Did you find what I just read especially helping you? As best as you could follow. It is the general bankruptcy of this approach to the text, and I might add its hopelessly boring style that has led to an awakening of what we could call a doctrinal or a biblical theological approach to the text. Now, if you are concerned as to why your preacher does not preach along the lines of what you may have heard formerly in your church experience, But the question has been raised in your own mind as to why your pastor does not approach things along predictable lines in his preaching and in his exegesis. It is precisely along these lines that understanding of my approach and my method is to begin.

We are faced with an exegetical dead end. We are faced with the bankruptcy of current exegetical methods. And in place of substantive work with the text, what the Church is now being given is a series of psychologisms and moralisms. And the church for a hundred years now, having been satisfied with such as that, is having a very difficult time understanding what constitutes proper and appropriate exegesis and proper and appropriate preaching of texts. It is then the general bankruptcy of this approach that we have been looking at, and I add, along with it, its hopelessly boring style that has led to an awakening of what we call a doctrinal or a biblical theological approach to the text. And with that, the possibility once more of the Reformed community speaking substantively about a book of the Bible.

An effort has been made in the direction of this doctrinal and biblical theological approach to the text earlier in this century by the Dutchman S. G. de Graaf and his classic four-volume work on the biblical narrative entitled Promise and Deliverance.

In that four-volume work, The graph is determined to do at least three things. First of all, he is determined to alert his readership to the wider textual considerations of any particular passage, and thus to take his readers beyond the narrow, grammatical, historical features of that particular text.

For example, when he treats 2 Kings 6, 1 through 7, he endeavors to place it in the wider context of 2 Kings 5. As that passage builds then to a consideration of the opening verses of that sixth chapter, the entirety then looked upon as a unit. By approaching things in this way, he helps us to see the sweep of the entire section, and enables us then to get a handle on how, in fact, this entire section is integrated. His approach, then, is as structural as it is historical, looking at the broad sweep of the text. His approach is as much literary as it is grammatical, and he will not be satisfied with anything less than that. That is why In the preaching from this pulpit, there is such an attention given to structural matters, to literary features, as well as to the historical and to the grammatical.

But this first point then leads us to the second feature of de Grasse’s approach. Recognition of a unitary theme for a portion of Scripture enables him to make doctrinal assertions, biblical theological assertions, about that portion of Scripture. For example, this particular portion he has given the title, Accepted as a Gift, that 2 Kings 5, through 2 Kings 6 verse 7, accepted as a gift. And then he presents the main thought of this particular portion of scripture as this. What the Lord gives us can only be accepted as a gift.

He then develops the story in chapter 5, the story about the leper Naaman, in keeping with this theme. Thus, the impropriety of Naaman’s attempt to offer Elisha money when he has been cured of his disease, and the impropriety of Gehazi trying to take the money from Naaman after Naaman was healed. The story of the lost axe head also serves the overarching theme. After all, the axe had been graciously lent to one of the sons of the prophets.

The retrieval of the lost axe head is an even more gracious activity by God, one no less than God, whereby this son of the prophets is taught then to possess all things with a different spirit a spirit that has been informed by the gracious activity of God.

The impossibility of retrieval of that accent accents the lostness of all things to us. We are witnessing, then, in this miracle of God’s grace, a literal sanctifying of all aspects of our lives. And the pattern of grace exhibited here is precisely what we observe throughout the sweep and entirety of God’s self-revelation. Namely, that grace summarily exhibited for us in Jesus Christ, his Son. And because this is so, the doctrinal approach to the text that the graph suggests to us is always an approach that insists upon the centrality of the person of Christ for any proper interpretation of any text anywhere in Scripture. And that is what makes psychologizing and moralizing so reprehensible.

So in the end, it cannot proclaim to you grace, and it cannot proclaim to you Christ. The Apostle Paul reads the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness. He reads the story about the rock from which came the water, and he sees there Christ. The rock was Christ. And any exegesis of that passage from the Old Testament, any appropriation of that text, that leads out Christ, has not seen that text appropriately.

Now, you can respond. And you can say that it’s only legitimate for us to call rocks Christ, when in fact we are told to do so by some other text in Scripture. But you see, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10, is giving you the pattern of proper exegesis, which is now to be applied uniformly with regard to all Scripture, so that you are not in the light when in fact you exclude Christ from your consideration.

In the end, if I am going to preach to you properly, the intent of the closing accent, I’m going to have to tell you about Jesus Christ. I’m going to have to teach something about Him. So is it enough for me simply to recount for you the historical details? Is it enough for me simply to review for you the grammar of the particular passage? Get serious! Was he ever enough?

No. The inability of the Church to do this, the unwillingness of the Church to do this in her present time, leads us even at swan cross, feeling upon us not only faced with exegetical bankruptcy, we are faced with spiritual malnutrition. Our God intended us to be fed with Christ. We are meant to feast upon Him. And the Pope that is unwilling to declare that to you and provide that for you is not worthy of the name of the Pope. This brings us to the third feature of de Graaf’s approach.

You see, he’s not going to allow things to operate on a bare historical and grammatical level. He’s not going to allow things to operate in a form that is devoid of a proper theological or doctrinal assessment of a particular passage. And in conclusion, he refuses to allow any text to operate in a purely objective way. Don’t misunderstand me. Don’t misunderstand me. I’ll repeat the statement and then I’ll endeavor to explain it. He refuses to allow any text to operate on a purely objective level. Now, this isn’t to deny its historicity, this is not to deny its objectivity.

But you see what is happening amongst Reformed and Conservative people. Their tendency, increasingly, is to assume the distance between themselves and the text. I lived here 1920, 1940, 1900. I lived here. Jesus lived there, then. There is an unbridgeable historical pattern between me and him. The only way we can overcome that chasm is to invoke the tried-and-true methodology of what we call application. So therefore we demand of scripture that it accommodate itself to us in our circumstance, in order to be meaningful and relevant.

You think only liberals are saying this? Wake up. This is what conservatives are saying. And that’s why conservatives are functional liberals. That’s why conservatives are modernists, because they believe in the primacy of the modern era. That’s where we start. It’s not the approach you search for at all, and it’s specifically against this sort of thing that the graph conveys. You are not to look at any test as a purely objective vein. No text can be looked upon as a purely objective event.

Let me tell you something. How did the Jewish father look at the Passover? I’m not talking about the Jewish father that actually experienced it. I’m talking about the Jewish father that lived 600 years after the event. You know what he said to his family on the night in which the Passover was celebrated?

He said, this is what the Lord did for me when he brought me out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and that you won’t even bear it then. And then the dad says, oh yes I was. If you grasp the whole, if you look at how opportune and appropriate, and a proper and appropriate approach to Scripture, you know exactly what that father is saying. Likewise, you know exactly what Paul is saying when he says, I am crucified with Christ. I am crucified with Christ. When Christ was raised, I was raised.

Listen, you are in a tent. No reading of it on a purely objective level is going to be appropriate. You have to learn how to see yourself in the text. You are not a spectator to it, you are a participant in it. This is your life, this is your history, this is your story. That’s why you read the Bible. You may be strangers and sojourners in the world, but let me tell you, you’re not strangers within the contents of God’s self-revelation through the powers of the Spirit.

You are at home in the Word. So the graph tells us that he will have none of us moralizing or psychologizing or sociologizing of the text. Any kind of operation that places him at a distance from it, rather according to him, we are participants in the drama of redemption. So what are we going to do with the man who lost his accent? You are that man. You are that man.

It won’t be until you see Christ there, and it won’t be until you see yourself there, that you understand Christ. And that’s why proper interpretation of the Gospels is so very hard work. You have to fight against it. until it gives up its creations to you, and you see your Savior once portrayed, and herself so marvelous and gracious indeed. Then you understand. Then you understand. So, we’ve made our start. Last week, the liberals. This week, the conservatives. Next week, the answer. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

March 19, 1989
Miracles Are Supernatural

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, March 12, 1989.

About this sermon

A borrowed axe head sinks in the Jordan, and the story confronts liberal commentators who explain away Scripture’s miracles. Robinson’s approach fails the test. Biblical miracles are supernatural, and the church has no need to apologize for them.

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Sermon transcript

Tonight we’ll read 2 Kings 6. We’ll be reading the first seven verses, and then we’ll be looking at a passage in Matthew. 2 Kings 6, the first seven verses. Let’s hear the word of God. Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, The place before you where we are living is too limited for us. Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.”

So he said, go. Then one said, please be willing to go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water, and he cried out and said, Alas, my master, for it was borrowed. Then the man of God said, Where did it fall? And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. And he said, take it up for yourself. So he put out his hand and took it. And then in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 9, verses 35 and 36.

And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. And seeing the multitudes, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.” O Lord, what strength we derive from being here with your people and in your presence. And is not that strength, Lord, communicated to us by your word?

O Lord, we ask that we might thrive on your word, that it might be food for our souls. We ask our Father that we would be anxious to receive your word, that we would be diligent in hearing it and in rehearsing it. And surely, O Lord, may it be stored up within us in order that we might have within us then that reservoir out of which we might answer everyone who asks of us the reason of the hope that is in us. We pray now, our God, that by your word your people may be strengthened throughout the world, that our concern would not be merely for ourselves, but for all of those who call upon your name in truth. And may their assemblies with this one be well supplied. And may we be satisfied, Father, with what you give, and learn to delight in you all the more. We pray these things for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Well, here we are at the floating axe head story. This is certainly one of the most perplexing stories that we find recorded with regard to this most extraordinary of persons, Elisha. In fact, the story of the floating axe head could be called one of the most perplexing in all of scripture, even ranging beyond simply the parameters of the life and times of Elisha. It is the story of the floating axe head and others that we might attach to it reading them in light of this particular tale that has led many a radical critic to compare Elisha with Merlin the Magician. After reading this story, what some have said is, what we’re dealing with here is a wizard, not a prophet. a wizard a magician and I know not a few from conservative and reformed ranks who after reading this story have expressed similar sentiments floating accents now get serious What in the world are we to do with this story?

On the surface of it, that could be a pun, it does seem to be a bit far-fetched. And if not far-fetched, useless. What meaning could it possibly have? What usefulness for us? Is our life really dependent upon floating assets? Is there any spiritual value here? Any spiritual meetability?

Now, there have been a number of approaches to the passage. And I’m not going to try and cover them all tonight. Rather, I will deal with one. One approach, that of classical liberalism. Now, don’t become dismayed. We’ll try to make it interesting and compelling for you. I will take one liberal, a man by the name of J. Robinson, an Englishman, a liberal scholar, who has contributed a commentary in the Cambridge Bible Commentary Series on 2 Kings.

This is what he says, the story is a legend. The story is a legend. Along the lines of those type of stories that grow up around famous personages and religious leaders, It’s not extraordinary to have this story appearing here because after all we come to expect such things when people enamored of certain personalities and certain religious leaders go to spinning tales. So this is one more tale spun by subsequent admirers.

In this approach by Mr. Robinson, the personality of the Prophet, the personality of the Prophet is foundation, so he says. And the personality of the Prophet is actually the main point of the story, it determines the nature of the story and its meaning.

This then establishes, according to Mr. Robinson, that purpose of this story, which is to communicate to us something about Elisha’s personality. that is thought to be, then, of spiritual value. We are to see something here in Elisha’s behavior, in his response, in the circumstance recorded, that is to be of spiritual value to us. What might that be? So says Mr. Robinson, Elisha in this story is depicted for us as a man of great compassion, devoted to the service of others. That’s the meaning.

Such service exhibited by Elisha stands opposite the private acquisition of power for personal gain. Besides, At the time of Elisha, iron was scarce and valuable. An iron ax head was a valuable implement. Its loss, particularly since it was borrowed, would involve the loser in considerable hardship. that Elisha is shown here using his powers to relieve hardship tells us a great deal then about Elisha.

The moral of the story, since liberalism is wont to give us morals, the moral of the story is that we should be compassionate in the use of power as Elisha was himself. In other words, be like Elisha. Now that is the approach of a classical liberal to the text. The story is a legend. the intent of which is to communicate to us something of the personality of Elisha so that we might derive from that personality something of religious value.

Are you with me so far? Okay. Before we go on to vampoon the approach, though, We might want to take a little time to think about its positive features. For after all, there is a certain attractiveness to the liberal point of view. There is here something of positive value that is of use to us.

We would all admit This approach is hopelessly moralistic. And any time that word is used in our presence, we recoil in horror, and rightly so. Moralism. The reduction of religion to moralism. Ah! Nothing more repugnant than that. We know the drift of such thoughts.

They take us off into the realm of pure behaviorism, away from a redemptive religion altogether, away from a gospel of salvation, away from that message that tells us that something has to be done for us, a sacrifice has to be made, payment has to be made, in order for us to experience the blessings of God.

No, you see, liberalism comes at us along the lines of that which preaches to us abilities, Naturally conceived, we have the ability to save ourselves. We, if we are but moral enough, can chart for ourselves that path that is appropriate and gain for ourselves our rightful spot in God’s Son and in His Kingdom. So yes, there is the obvious moralist But despite this obvious moralism, the figure of the prophet does gain a certain prominence that even we of the Reformed faith are drawn to. If I were to go at it from this direction, for instance, Now, not that the liberal would go at it from this direction, but if I were to go at it from this direction, if you were to go at it from this direction, if we were to see Elisha as a type of Christ, could we then say that there is positive value for us in considering the personality of the man? That there are things there for us to emulate, to imitate? Is there then here an appreciation that we should not avoid, an appreciation of the prophets, something to which then the liberal approach calls our attention to.

After all, Jesus Christ in his miracles, think of them, think of the passage that we read from Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus Christ, in His miracles, in His wonderful works, is presented to us as a man of compassion, devoted to the service of others. He acts out of a deep-seated love that stands opposite the private acquisition of power for personal gain. Truly, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, does indeed relieve hardship. And though we lack the power to do miracles as Jesus did them, we too, in expressing our place and role within the kingdom of his power, are to express ourselves as he expressed himself, namely, compassionately.

So there is that sense in which we can derive from the stories of the miracles a lesson. Yes, be like Elisha, but even more, be like Jesus. Be like Jesus. Well, you see then there is a positive road we might take even when we are taking our cue from a liberal like J. Robinson. However, we dare not lose sight of the tragedy of liberalism. Dr. John Gershner has called liberalism a cult. An appropriate description and definition. A cult! Sub-Christian!

J. Gresham Machen has called liberalism a completely different religion. That’s why he entitles his 1923 book, Christianity and Liberalism.

They are not the same. They are completely distinct. They are completely opposite, one to the other. Now in this day, when evangelicals and reformed people have become preoccupied with themselves, and the only fight seen worth fighting are the fights they have among themselves, We can easily lose sight of the enemy, liberalism. And what an insidious enemy it is. It’s still out there. Do you have any doubt? Did you notice last month?

The visit of the great liberal to Pittsburgh? Dr. William Sloan Coffin arrives in Pittsburgh. Is liberalism dead? Who else escapes front-page coverage? I do say that Billy Graham himself came to town and wouldn’t give front-page coverage. William Sloane Coffin comes, he does. Is liberalism dead? Oh, no. Oh, no. When was the last time you read a summary of a Sunday sermon in Monday’s paper? When William Sloane Cochran was here, the summary of his sermon preached at his Liberty Presbyterian Church here in London. Liberalism isn’t dead. It is now being ignored and that doesn’t even much bother the liberal.

Because while others divert their eyes, they are hard at work. And they know the end of this century belongs to them. You think I’m kidding? You think I’m kidding? Liberalism is coming back on the back of evangelicalism and the end of this century is going to be devastating because the liberal is going to be stronger than ever. You can content yourself now and say it’s not touching me, let me tell you, in 10, 15 years it will and I can guarantee you it’s going to touch your children. the tragedy of liberalism.

And it is exposed well by J. Robinson’s approach to this passage in 2 Kings. He has said that the value of the story is what it tells us about the personality of Elisha. And from this we can judge that his position on Elijah’s personality would be the same as his position on Jesus’ personality. That is, the value of the miracle stories in the Gospels would be, in fact, what they tell us about Jesus’ personality. That is the value, and that is the value alone.

No more, no less. As it was with the story of Elisha and the floating exit, so it is with the story of Jesus and the transformation of water into wine at Canaan. The multiplication of loaves and fishes in the regions of the Sea of Galilee. Virtually the same.

Are you able now to perceive What, those like J. Robinson, are you able now to perceive what they are saying when they deal with the passage as they have dealt with this one in 2 Kings? Let me give you a rundown as to what they are saying. First of all, personality. is separated from person. You start looking at the features of the personality. Elisha is compassionate.

It doesn’t matter really what he was in himself. We can even lay aside the issue of whether or not he was a man called of God, whether he was actually a prophet. Does it matter whether God literally spoke to him or not? No. All we need to know is that the man was compassionate. That is sufficient, and that is religion enough for us. That is what you see the liberal is saying. Do you understand? Do you understand?

Personality is separated from person. So, you see, it doesn’t really matter what rank you assign to Jesus. It doesn’t matter whether he was the son of God, whether he was who he claimed to be. It doesn’t matter at all. All that is necessary is that you know he is compassionate. And then you start being compassionate too, my people. You understand? Does it matter? Separation of personality from person. Next, the separation of person from work. From the work of the individual. Thinking of this in connection with Jesus himself.

The liberal separates Jesus from his work. from his miraculous works, his miraculous supernatural acts. In fact, so says the liberal, the miracle becomes a mere device to convince us about the qualities of Jesus’ personality, just as it was in the case of Elisha. Therefore, you need not get too worked up about floating assets, or water that is turned into wine. or the particulars of any miracle recorded in scripture. These miracle stories are only for the purpose of placing before us positive examples of proper spiritual character that is then to be imitated by us. What we are dealing with here are legends and myths.

So, says the liberal, it doesn’t matter whether they happened at all. It doesn’t matter whether they happened at all. So we’ve moved from the separation of the personality from the person, to the separation of the person from the work, and now we move to the separation of the work from history altogether. By placing the miracles on the side of legend and myth, The liberal now has attacked, deliberately and forthrightly, the historicity of those miracles. So serious is this, that we must understand that he has attacked the historicity of those miracles in such a way so as to render those miracles superfluous to faith. In other words, the truths of the faith, what is important to our faith, can stand whether the miracle actually occurred or not. That is what Luther Brooke is saying. It doesn’t matter whether they ever happened. Faith can remain intact. And all of the miracles of the Bible be denied, so says Philippians.

Do you think I’m inventing this? Have you ever heard a liberal? Have you ever read a liberal? I’d like to tell the story about my wife. She grew up in the shelter of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Whether she ever met a widow in her life, she didn’t know. She met me. I wasn’t a widow. But it just so happened that shortly into our marriage we had the occasion to attend a lecture in South Jersey.

Who was speaking? President James I. McCord President of Princeton Senate Did Jesus actually come out of the tomb? The man was asked the question Did Jesus actually come out of the tomb? What was his answer? No Now that experience shocked who I was. And I hope something of the shock registers on you as you sit here this evening and hear this. The man said no. In fact it doesn’t matter whether Jesus came out of a tomb, because he said faith can be preserved even though the resurrection was denied.

So now you see, the works are separated, they are separated from history. The faith is made to depend only in a literary way upon the factuality of events recorded. The story of the floating axe head is reported as history, but it’s only to be understood in a literary way. But why is any miracle necessary at all to tell us to be compassionate in our use of power? It merely becomes then illustrative material.

But finally, how is it that we’ve moved, that we’ve rechecked my notes, It’s tough to think on your feet up here. You have the separation of the personality from the person. Then the separation of the person from the work. Then the separation of the work from history. And then coming full circle, the separation, the separation of the history from the personality. We’re back to the beginning again. You see? You see what they do? the separation of the history from the personality. You see, in the end, the liberal is not claiming to say anything authenticatable. He is not claiming to say anything authenticatable, historically, about that personality in view in the text.

Whether it’s the prophet Elisha, or the Messiah, Jesus. All that the liberal can claim in the end is that there have been some people at some time who have revered these individuals and thought this and that about them. There have been some people, some time, who have revered these personalities, the Prophet and Jesus, and wish to convey their own convictions about these personalities. That’s all that the liberal can say, in the end, with any certainty. There were some people living after Elisha, who thought him compassionate, and wished to communicate that. There are certain people who are living after Jesus, who thought him compassionate, and wish to communicate that about Jesus.

Which is not to say, then, that either Elisha or Jesus were actually compassionate. You can’t prove that. On the liberal foundation, you cannot even prove that Elisha or Jesus were compassion. Really, then, the only history we can know anything about is that of those groups responsible for these stories about the prophets and about Jesus. We are left, then, pleading ignorance with respect to the lives of each. Do you see where liberalism leaves you? As far as scripture is concerned, it leaves you in vacuous skepticism. It is utterly destructive. Of course, you and I begin somewhere else, don’t we?

We, having been touched by the Spirit of God, and we do not say that in a vain and self-righteous way, we, having been touched by the Spirit of God, have had our hearts opened to the message of the Word, and have perceived that Word as authoritative and as self-authenticative. And we stand over against all of this which we’ve heard tonight ready to affirm the historicity of the works of the prophets and of Jesus our Savior. We stand ready to affirm the historicity of the personages of the prophets and our Christ as those personalities have been revealed in scripture. From floating axe heads to empty tombs We, without hesitation, declare our allegiance to the miraculous, supernatural message of Scripture. And we would rather die than give it up. from there.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

March 12, 1989
Saved by Faith, Sent to the Priests

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 19, 1989.

About this sermon

Jesus sends the ten lepers to the priests before he heals them, an instruction that shows love for the law. The resurrection language of verse 19 makes clear that faith alone saves the leper, as it saves us.

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Sermon transcript

We are still looking at Luke’s Gospel, the seventeenth chapter. We are looking at verses eleven through nineteen. Here is the word of God. And it came about, while he was on the way to Jerusalem, that he was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

And as he entered a certain village, there met him ten leprous men who stood at a distance. And they raised their voices, saying, And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

He fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him, and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine, where are they? Were none found who turned back to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he said to him, Rise, go your way. Your faith has saved you.

Pray with me now. O Lord, as much as we yearn for those He will serve you in the harvest, and so spread abroad your word. Equally we yearn for those who are given, in order that your church, your people might be ruled aright. And Father, these then will stand as sentinels to your word and its proclamation. Would it please you, Lord, then, to raise up those who rule, those who are elders of the people, who can survey the life of the people in light of the word, who will also survey the one who proclaims the word and gives instruction from it. Lord, we rejoice in those whom you have raised up to give their hearts to their calling and serve with distinction. May it be pleasing to you, Father, to grant to your congregations throughout the world such as will rule wisely, graciously, yet firmly. for your people. Always keeping in mind that gracious yet firm rule which you exercise over your people and for them from heaven.

We pray these things through Christ now. Amen. Our contention has been that verse 11 sets the tone for the passage as a whole. That the language here in this 11th verse is quite deliberate, as veiled as it might be for us, the language is quite deliberate.

The story that we have before us is set in the midst of that story told by Luke concerning the journey, the journey of Jesus from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem, the appointed destination for the Messianic King. The destination which spells for him is death. That we have contended all along that this journey is not simply a single journey, it is a double journey. So as Jesus moves toward Jerusalem, eventually, in time, the Church, those who belong to Christ, will in fact move away from Jerusalem on a journey all their own.

Thus, in the eleventh verse, rather than finding the expected progression of the names moving from Galilee in the north through Samaria to Jerusalem, we find just the opposite. First Jerusalem, then Samaria, then Galilee, as if the order is deliberately couched so as to convey to us that coming journey of the Church in her mission. We have said more with regard to this eleventh verse. We have said this as well.

Jesus carries the Church’s journey in himself as he journeys towards his goal in Jerusalem. The Church is already in him, bound to him by God’s purpose and ordination. But the Church carries Jesus’ journey with her As she journeys from. So that at the center of the church’s journey will be that journey of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, the end of which is the. So wherever the church goes in her journey, she must carry with her the journey of Jesus.

That’s what we said thus far about verse eleven, twelve and thirteen stand together. They first of all present us with this anonymous village, a certain village, unnamed, lending to that a certain universality so that we might see it in terms of circumstances and situations that we know in our lives as well. The unnamed village. These verses present us with this anonymous village. They present us as well with the ten lepers who, because of their disease, are kept at a distance from the community, and also stand at a distance from Jesus. We are given, in the thirteenth verse, Jesus’ response.

The number ten raises two possibilities that are presented before us. On the one hand, There is the suggestion of the law, the ten lepers, the ten commandments. The law seen in relationship to the lepers themselves. That law, good in itself, righteous and holy, we know that, but yet It is the law, is it not, that actually establishes the distance that must be kept by letters from the community, from the camp, even from Jesus. The law indicts. The law judges. The law establishes in its goodness, its righteousness and holiness that distance which must be maintained.

So leprosy, these men infected with this disease, they with the disease typify sinners and their sin. Leprosy speaks to us of that pollution. That pollution of humanity. Humanity itself, now because of sin, standing at a distance, the law then demanding separation between those who are affected and those who are infected, and the camp of the Lord. In this story then, there is presented to us that universal condition of men through these ten letters, Jew or Gentile, Jew or Samaritan.

They are kept at bay by the law, and they are without hope of coming near, except they be cured, except there be mercy found. They’ve come to the right place. They’ve come to the right person. For is it not true that only through Jesus will there be a cure, healing?

Only through Christ will the laws of man be answered and the distance between men and God overcome. that we have said more about this number ten. We have suggested that the ten also signifies something in addition to the law. For this number corresponds. In its proportions. To that number of the last.

How many tribes were lost? To the north, the northern kingdom, Israel, ten tribes were there, two to the south. That this story takes place in the north, in the territory of the ten northern tribes, adds weight to this interpretation, that a Samaritan is present He being one, a descendant of those who were given to the land to repopulate it after the Assyrians had carried away the ten northern tribes into captivity. In these ten lepers, then, do we not see the ten tribes which, according to those ancient prophecies, a prophecy we read last week from Isaiah chapter eleven, for instance, where there was promised a place for the ten northern tribes in the ultimate realization of the kingdom of God. The ten northern tribes are lost.

They are reclaimed, according to Isaiah. So that Ephraim with Judah, in the end, serves God. There are no loose ends. God, through the mission of his Church, is reclaiming all those for whom salvation is All of his people are, in fact, being gathered. While moving to Jerusalem, then, does Jesus give us a moving portrayal of the Church’s move from Jerusalem, the effect of it which will be as the Church touches the ends of the earth to gather together all the loose ends of God’s purpose, thus bringing together again the fullness of the promises made to the Fathers. And is it not our confidence, is it not our conviction, that as Jesus has completed his journey, so we, Christ’s Church, will complete ours? Tonight we move on to a new story. This is 14 to the end.

We are told that Jesus takes notice of the letters. He takes notice of them, surely because he is moved with that divine compassion, but also because he recognizes in these letters the form of faith, a form of faith. He takes notice of the letters then as he does of any who come to him, even these with that form of faith.

The letters in verse thirteen may be confessing actually by their words, more than they know, more than what they presently comprehend. Their words speaking better of them than they actually realize. For they have a knowledge of Jesus. They recognize him as having authority, isn’t that obvious? to them he is a master they call him master and more they recognize him as a wonder worker a miracle worker capable of exhibiting mercy in such a way as to heal their sickness and disease but of course Beyond this recognition, there is something they don’t presently recognize, despite the words and the suggestion of the words that they use. For do they yet acknowledge Jesus’ absolute authority, an authority that is equal to that of God, no less than that? Truly the ultimate master Do they recognize in him such mercy as flows forth from the very heart of God, so that in its demonstration is the very mercy of God himself at work?

But even though the Ten Lepers do not yet see these things, Jesus has taken notice of them. There is a form of faith. operative. Jesus has compassion. There is an incongruity, however, in the story itself and its telling. The incongruity between the leper’s faith being but a form yet of faith and being inadequate an incongruity between that faith and Jesus’ response, for Jesus gives them something much greater than they realize. There is a faith operative, then, in the lepers that is at work at a level that is superseded by the level at which Jesus’ response operates. The intent of the story is not to leave us at the level of the letters, but to raise us to the level of Jesus’ response to them. And as there is that movement in the story, there is the suggestion of a transition, a monumental transition that is taking place in the story as it is recorded here.

The situation and view is not a settled situation. It is not a final situation. It is not the culminating situation. As we observe the lepers in their faith, as they give expression to it, that as we are led through the story and we observe our Christ at work in this story, we are brought to an even higher level. A transition, a monumental transition, is at work in the text to bring us from one circumstance, where one kind of faith seems adequate and appropriate, to another circumstance where it is not, and completely inadequate.

In this regard, then, the faith of the lepers cannot be ultimately normative. Rather, it is merely suggestive. It can only point to something greater, something fuller, that which is complete. In the end, it will be judged to be wholly inadequate. If it were adequate, the story would end with Jesus sending the lepers away. But that’s not where the story ends. The story moves on from that point where the lepers are sent away and they experience the healing through Christ. into that narrative, which has been the point all along, concerning this foreigner, the Samaritan, his return to Jesus, and Jesus’ response to him. the circumstances at one level, and the faith appropriate to it, standing on one side, and circumstances completely different, and faith appropriate to it, standing on the other side. The transition, you see, the transition in the story, reflective of a monumental transition that is not just happening internally to men with regard to their faith, but with regard to the ages. A whole new administration is being unveiled before this American and through him. And when it comes, the old order simply will not do. It won’t do! It is utterly insufficient. As good and as wonderful as it was, as proper as it was in its place, it will not do.

So won’t you move, won’t you move with the Ten Lepers as they move away from Jesus in order to fulfill what seems to be his command. Did he not tell them to go and show themselves to the priests? That was his command, in compliance with the commands, the ancient commands that were given in the law. And even the Samaritan recognizes that, because the Samaritan embraced the Torah. So off to the priests they go, but they are going, don’t you see? They’re going away from Jesus. Ah, it’s a mystery. It’s an irony. But how beautiful. How beautiful. You see, on the one hand, Jesus is no enemy of the law. He is the law’s fiercest defender. No one loved the law.

And he understands the place of these letters in the economy as that place relates to the former administration. So to him, he fell upon God. Show yourself to the priests, just as Moses commanded. But no journey in the literal sense, it happens. They’ve gone in compliance with the command, obviously faith is not repeated in them, they believe what Jesus says, they are going because they believe, they fully expect that as they go they will be healed, and sure enough as they go they are healed. There is a form of faith operative, it is operative even in the older administration. It is not contrary to faith, that older administration. There is a faith that is operative even there, that as they go now, they are healed by the power of this one who comes to them as the agent of the new administration.

They see what has happened to them. But neither did they. Neither. They continued to move away from Him. They made their place in all the administration. Women leaders. But they never won. And whether he understood it all, I don’t know. But instead of increasing the distance between him and Jesus, he turned around and run back. Now what is that return all about? A new day has come.

Do you see it? Do you see it? It’s laid between the lines, but there nonetheless. In turning around and coming back and seeing he’s not going to have a priest after the order of Aaron, or Israel, or Samaria. He’s now going to the last place, the final place. Have you seen it? If he goes with the mind, He remains a leper. Do you understand that?

Because even after showing himself to the priest, he’s just a man. And still an outsider. An outcast. A forerunner. Rehearsing his direction, he comes to Jesus. And now he is gathered in by Christ. The outsider is no longer an outsider. He’s gone. And that’s what he put in the lines too.

If there is that inadequacy of comprehension by those who are under the old administration in recognizing Jesus for what he is, that’s now remedied. For all of the languages convoluted as you move through the passage, all the pronouns are mixing up, are mixed up. The man comes back praising God, but then in the next verse it says, he praises him, thanks him, because it’s God and the one he glorifies as a saint. God and the one he thanks as his life-saving saint. Jesus is God.

So in order to be reconciled with God, he doesn’t go to the priest. After the order of men, he goes to Jesus, and Jesus, following the priest, is out of town. I tell you, there’s no greater reconciliation than that. And it is the reconciliation that is effective now for the administration of an entirely new power of God’s healing, so to speak.

And in that epoch, the forefathers, the saints, and the apostles, they are made to be the household of God. Jesus in conclusion speaks to him of resurrection. The humiliation which the leper now shows as he prostrates himself before Jesus is a death, a death to self. Jesus says, rise! The man is resurrected, the new era, the new era is seen in and through this.

Rise! Go your way! Live your life! Not the recurring priests of the Order of the Spirit. The new order of faith that’s massive, magnificent faith, bequeathing unto us a righteousness which is unfaithful, a righteousness which the law could not give us. Your faith, that is, has saved you. Your faith has saved you.

Now, are you not beloved? Are you not beloved? Are you not a sinner? Are you not a sinner? Are you not now participating in good meditation? found only Him. He is your Prince, and He is your God. By Him, you have not only defeated, you have evaded death. You serve Him in all that you do. to the unity of five things which save us. Amen. Oh. Oh. My Savior died for me. Eternal family to be born when morals break. Me, the heart with grief and anguish, for the body left with pain. of God.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

February 19, 1989
A Certain Village of Lepers

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 12, 1989.

About this sermon

The unnamed village of Luke 17:12 becomes a picture of every sinner: because of the fall, we are the lepers standing at a distance. Christ’s unity with his church in the victory of the cross is what finally saves those who were lost.

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Sermon transcript

Scripture reading in Isaiah chapter 11. We are starting with the tenth verse of reading to the conclusion. Hear the word of God. Then it will come about in that day. that the nations will resort to the Ruth of Jessup, who will stand as a signal for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious.

Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with his hand the remnant of his people, who will remain from Assyria, Egypt, Thathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, and from the islands of the sea. And he will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. and they will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the sons of the east and will possess Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be subject to them. And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and he will wave his hand over the river with scorching wind, and he will strike it into seven streams and make men walk over dry shoals. And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of his people who will be left, just as there was for Israel in the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.” Then turning over to Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 17, beginning with verse 11. And it came about while he was on his way to Jerusalem that he was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

As he entered a certain village, there met him ten leprous men who stood at a distance. They raised their voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When he saw them, he said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed. Now, one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back. Glorifying God with a loud voice, he fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to Him that he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine, where are they? where none found who turned back to give glory to God except this foreigner.

And he said to him, Rise. Go your way. Your faith has made you well. Praise God. Our Father, for the strengthening of your people, Your word is sent forth and it is declared. We trust with power. It is declared to your people. As it is. Declared are not those whom you have ordained unto eternal life. Brought near. And father, we know that.

That word is also given for the structuring of your church. Therefore, while we would pray for those laborers that you raise up for the harvest, we would not forget to intercede on behalf of those that you give to the Church for rule and for the purpose of administrating health. So around the world, Lord, if there are those who are given that office of eldership and those also who are given responsible responsibility as far as the diaconate is concerned. Bless and keep them, Father. May they rise to the occasion of their office and fulfill their responsibilities, and that gladly.

And in all of this, Lord, may your people be wonderfully blessed, having the word and having right and proper oversight and having that support that comes through help that is always scanning the needs of the people of God in order to be of service. We pray these things through Christ our Lord.

Last week we dealt with verse 11 of this seventeenth chapter in Luke, and in this verse we observed a double movement. That double movement involves the twofold journey. On the one hand, the journey of Jesus, towards Jerusalem, on the other hand the coming, the eventual journey of the Church from Jerusalem. And that all packed up into this verse.

We noted the natural order of the sequence of the names mentioned in the passage. But that natural order would have been from the north to the south. As Jesus made his way from Galilee to Jerusalem. So we would have expected Galilee mentioned first, then Samaria, and finally Jerusalem, as he makes his way towards the great city. Now it isn’t that Luke is ignorant of the geography of Palestine, but he does, with deliberate intent, reverse the order of the names in the sequence in the verse. so that we have here Jerusalem mentioned first and then Samaria and finally Galilee and if we translate appropriately and literally the last part of that verse what we have is Jesus passing through the midst of Samaria first of all and then Galilee which makes no sense geographically to us because Jesus is moving north to south.

Now the intention of Luke is so that we might see the two journeys simultaneously. The journey of Jesus north to south, but then the journey of the Church south to north. It is this way. Jesus carries the Church’s journey in himself. Jesus carries the eventful journey of the church within himself as he moves to his appointed destiny. But the church also carries Jesus’ journey to the cross within herself as she moves towards her appointed destiny.

Narrative in scripture is never seemingly their narrative, near narrative. For even the telling of the story is meant to instruct, to communicate doctrine. The scene then is set. for the story of Jesus and the Ten Lepers. And in it, in keeping with what we have said so far, we would find, we would expect to find, not just an instance in the life and ministry of Jesus in which he demonstrates his power and his compassion while on his journey to Jerusalem. No. That, to be sure, but more as well. For in this story we will find that anticipation of the Church’s journey as she carries the message of Jesus and his cross from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. A premonition of the coming fullness of the Church’s mission. in the story of Jesus and the Ten Like Us.

That’s verse 11 for us, and now we move on to verse 12. This may take us a while. Luke tells us in verse 12, Now it’s going to help if you have your Bible with you and are able to look at these things as we move along through the verses. Luke tells us in verse 12 that Jesus has entered what Luke describes as a certain village. The language of Luke is quite deliberate, and it’s not meant to suggest to us that Luke is ignorant of the Palestinian landscape and its geography and its particular villages and cities.

But the anonymity of the village serves a purpose, heightening the universal significance of the village and the events that take place here. A certain village. A knowns village. A village which you may well then be likely to rename. A village upon which you can superimpose your own village. your own circumstance, if read properly, with right intent. Unnamed then, anonymous, this village reaches out beyond itself. And by root of this, the ends of the earth are again touched.

Adding to this anonymity is the fact that we are told that Jesus is passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. So as regards the village, we can’t even be sure whether it’s a Jewish village or an American village. That’s not pointed out for us. It’s not delineated for us. We are told that in this certain village, Jesus was met by ten lepers, or their ten lepers met him.

The construction now places the emphasis upon the actions of the lepers. They seemingly take the initiative. as if they have gone out deliberately to intercept Jesus as he moves towards Jerusalem. And as verse 13 proves, these ten know who Jesus is. They’ve heard of him. They have received information about him, and it appears that they have believed him. So when he approaches the village, they are prepared, they move out to intercept him, they recognize him, they call him by name, and they make their approach to him.

But the text tells us they had to still end at a distance. They draw near, they recognize Jesus, but nevertheless they stand at a distance. The distance is prescribed. Now as to its exact measurement, just how far distant they had to stand, that was a matter established by circumstance and tradition, the tradition of the elders. But that they had to stand at a distance was prescribed.

That was in keeping with the law. The leper had to live apart. He was set outside the camp. Outside of the community, he was ostracized from the people. The law so stipulates. Numbers, chapter 5. Leviticus, chapter 13. And how thorough and complete this ostracism was. Not only was the leper ostracized from society generally, but he was ostracized from the temple and its worship specifically. So here is the circumstance.

The lepers drawing near, but then running into a barrier, a barrier that is established, distance prescribed, and that by the law. Now the introduction of the matter of the law has fired the imaginations of some, for they have seen in relationship then with the letters themselves the number 10 bearing a correspondence to the law itself. As there were ten letters, so there are ten commandments. The ten being representative, then, of the legal administration, the administration of the law. The story, so it is suggested then by some, takes on greater proportion than we would have ordinarily imagined.

The distance at which the lepers stand, despite their desire to come near, suggests the distance at which the law keeps even those who wish a blessing of God through Christ. But does the law do this because it is possessed of some sort of inherent malevolence? Because it is inherently the product of a mean-spiritedness that takes delight in keeping those desirous of blessing at bay? God forbid! To quote someone else on the law. Quite the contrary.

Do we not know that the commandments, the law itself, is righteous and good, and that the cause of the distance now, spoken of here, is not found in those who, is not found in the law, but rather is found in those who stand at a distance? In this regard, then, the disease of leprosy stands for the impurity and the deformity of sin. It is our sin that keeps us at a distance. The law, being God’s righteous centering, serving to ensure that we do not trespass, All we can do then, given this circumstance, is what these poor, wretched lepers did, cry out to Jesus, the Lord, for mercy. Of His grace, as the story progresses, so we learn of His grace, of His unmerited love His undeserved favor, of His grace, He responds. Out of His grace, He has pity upon us.

Now, you have probably noticed that I have progressed from speaking about leprous Jews and Samaritans outside a certain village that lay in the path of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem speaking about sinful people that virtually lay in the path of the Church’s journey to glory, speaking about sinners such as ourselves. And the reason that I have done that is because leprous Jews within Israel are reminders to Israel of their chronic debilitation due to sin. Her chronic debilitation due to her moral degeneracy, the compromise of her character.

But the leprous Jew is no better off than leprous Samaritans, isn’t it interesting? And Jews who hate Samaritans are here bound together with a Samaritan in their common uncleanness. What is there to distinguish them, really? So the leprous Jew is no better off than a leprous Samaritan, and together they are no better off than leprous Gentiles. We might even well expect a Gentile to be part of this company. For just as leprous Jews were cut off and kept at a distance, so Samaritans and Gentiles are cut off and cut and kept at a distance.

Certainly, we ought to see Israel in her sin in this story, as if Israel in her totality is leprous. But similarly, we ought to see the totality of sinful humanity. The whole world accountable before God. The whole world those seeking redemption kept at bay, at a distance, and that by the righteous law of God.

Profoundly, then, deeply, can we not conclude, beyond the Jew, past the Samaritan, we ourselves are these letters. Should you not learn how to read yourself into the text? Should you not come to understand how the Bible is not just the story of ancient people, but your story? And how you yourselves are participants in the history of redemption. Profoundly then, deeply, past the Jews, beyond this Samaritan, is it not true? You are a leper.

For though the law kept you at bay, at a distance, God now in the mercy displayed through the gospel has extended to you forgiveness and cleansing. and you have been brought near. There’s another dimension. There’s another dimension to this whole story as suggested to us out of this 12th verse. We have already looked at the suggestion that the number 10, the 10 letters, reminds us of the law as an administration. We kept at a distance as these were by the law. But the fact that there are 10 letters takes us in another direction. Are we only to see in that number ten a reference to the administration of God’s law? Some in dealing with this number have seen its significance in relationship to Israel’s past history. the geography that is peculiar to that past history.

You see, the territory presently traversed by Jesus is the territory of the northern tribes. And how many tribes were there? in the northern kingdom. As there were ten northern tribes for the kingdom of Israel set up against the two tribes of the south in Judah. So now here we are presented with ten in the territory that was once the territory of the ten northern tribes.

What do we make of the Samaritan in the midst of these Jews? Is that not also suggestive of Israel’s past history? For we know that the Samaritans were those who were transplanted from Assyria back into the decimated territory of the northern tribe, after the ten northern tribes had been taken away into exile by the Assyrians. So this Samaritan in the midst, together with the proximity of Samaria itself, For this story brings into view the territory of the ten northern tribes and the Samaritans themselves, who were those transplanted peoples from the Assyrians after the ten northern tribes were overrun, their capital destroyed, and they taken into captivity in 721 B.C. Do we then proceed in these ten leopards the Ten Tribes.

If we do, to what end? I know how we have ordinarily thought of things as regards those Ten Northern Tribes. In fact, entire religious movements have been generated around the destiny of the Ten Northern Tribes. We have been told that they live in England, that they were the American Indians, that they came out of Asia. Whole religious movements have been developed around the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.

But what does Isaiah say? That’s why we read the end of Isaiah 11, and that’s not a passage that stands in isolation, but is representative of any number of other passages that you find throughout the Prophets. What of the lost tribes of Israel, Ephraim? As they are described at the end of Isaiah 11, what happens to them? Are they lost? Are they gone? Are they forgotten? Not according to Isaiah.

For Isaiah in that passage speaks about a restoration of even those tribes and a melding together again of Ephraim and Judah for an incomparable day of conquest and glory under the regency of that one who comes forth from the stem of God. Indeed, then, as the gospel goes forth, remember the twofold movement that’s going on here. As Jesus is descending into Jerusalem, the Church is ascending out of Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. And Jesus is going down from Galilee, so the Church is moving to the ends of the earth.

All of that compressed now into this passage. Do you see it? As the gospel goes forth, will it be? Will it be into a world in which there is no connection for that gospel, no preparation for it at all? No, you see, as that gospel goes forth, it shall be for the gathering of all of God’s displaced children.

And as we hear this, we also learn that their displacement was by His design. Certainly they were judged. They were displaced, but by His design. So that when they come and present themselves before Jesus, It may be seemingly by their own initiative as it was for these lepers, but in the final analysis, is it not plain and clear to us that they have been drawn, prepared unto this end, so that the glorious destiny that has been promised them and spoken of by the prophets would be fulfilled?

There are no loose ends. There are no loose ends to God’s sovereign plan and purpose. None. And though they all be sinners handed over to death through debilitating skin-caused disease, yet all who are appointed for salvation shall come. And when they cry out, Jesus Master have mercy on us. They will be answered. Have you asked an answer? Are you any less reckless than those spoken of here? Are you not a sinner kept at bay by God’s righteous commandments? Have you not received mercy? Well then, respond as an old ignorant Samaritan. He rose to Jesus’ feet, praising Him for so great a salvation. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

February 12, 1989
Christ’s Journey, the Church’s Journey

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 5, 1989.

About this sermon

Luke’s Gospel keeps returning to journey, and the confusion over Christ’s route in chapter 17 clears once the church’s journey lies over his. Christ’s victory on the cross already guarantees the church’s own.

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Sermon transcript

Our scripture reading is from Luke’s gospel, and first of all we will be reading from the ninth chapter. Our reading in the ninth chapter is from verse 51 through verse 56, and then we will turn over to chapter 17 and verses 11 through 19. Hear the word of God.

And it came about when the days were approaching for his ascension that he resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he set messengers on ahead of him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. And they did not receive him because he was journeying with his face toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven to consume them? And he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. And then turning over to chapter 17, beginning of verse 19, beginning of verse 11.

And it came about while he was on the way to Jerusalem that he was passing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a certain village, there met him ten leprous men who stood at a distance. And they raised their voices, saying, And when he saw them, he said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And it came about that as they were going, they were cleansed.

Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks to him, and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said, Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine, where are they? Were none found who turned back to give glory to God except this foreigner?

And he said to him, Rise, and go your way. Your faith has made you well. Our hope is in you, our God. With your word you come and by that word slay our pride. You review us, not just our actions but also our thoughts. Your word active to penetrate even to the thoughts and the intents of our hearts. O Lord, before you we stand, yet we are confident, not because we are found to have anything in us to commend us to you, but rather by your word, this very word that comes and scrutinizes us, there is that ministry, the ministry of your gospel whereby We are encouraged through Christ to come and present ourselves before you.

Now, over the face of the earth, Lord, your elect are gathered, and you are assembling them out of the tribes of the earth so that they would praise you, not only presently, but forever. Lord, we would confess that you are our God, that Jesus Christ is Savior. Knowing these things and confessing them, we then, with confidence in your word, take our place in the assembly which you have convened. Lord, we pray that as we assemble we will hear, and in hearing obey, and that for your glory.

Tonight we are beginning our consideration of a passage in Luke’s Gospel that takes us on a bit of a detour from our considerations of Elisha’s life and times. So we are moving from 2 Kings into the territory of the New Testament gospel of Luke. In turning to this specific gospel We come to a story that bears some connection to the story we have been presently considering about Elisha, and that is the one concerning Elisha and Naaman, the leprous Syrian. And this story in Luke’s gospel is joined to that story in 2 Kings, because in each we find a treatment of the subject of leprosy and those who are leprous. In Naaman, we have confronted one, or we have been confronted by one, who is a Gentile, one who stands at a distance by his race as well as by his disease. And in the story of the ten lepers, and specifically the Samaritan leper, we are likewise confronted with one who is at a distance not just because of his race, but because of his disease.

This evening we will be setting the stage for our consideration of this very familiar story from Luke’s Gospel. And in that we will be thinking a bit about Luke, his mindset, his intention, and we will be looking specifically at the first verse of this specific story which we have read, that verse being Luke 17, 11. So let me set the stage for you.

Luke, as a writer, Luke as a writer is quite taken with journeys, with trips. He has been described as the gospel writer, as that New Testament writer preoccupied with pilgrimage, sojourn. Now, as you think of Luke’s writings, there may be a number of journeys that he records that come to your mind.

At the outset of the gospel, there is the journey of one Zacharias to Jerusalem to perform his duty, he being of the tribe of Levite, a Levite with a yearly office to perform in the house of God. There is as well the journey of Joseph and Mary from the territories of Galilee southward, past Jerusalem to Bethlehem. If we think of Luke’s other New Testament writing, the book of Acts, we are taken with that trip that trip of Philip’s as he moved southward from Jerusalem on the road to Gaza, there encountering the Ethiopian eunuch that recorded for us in Acts chapter eight. And there are a number of other little journeys sprinkled throughout the writings of Luke, be it his gospel or the book of Acts. But Luke records for us in these two narratives which he gives us, the narrative concerning Christ’s life and the narrative concerning the life of the Church. In these two narratives, he presents us with two specific journeys that dominate the landscapes. You might not have realized it, but a great part of the Book of Acts is taken up with the matter of a journey, a specific journey.

And that journey centers in the figure of the Apostle Paul as he moves from the Jewish capital of Jerusalem to the Gentile capital of Rome. Through many episodes, through many lesser journeys, this one great journey unfolds, possibly beginning as early as Paul’s journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, but ending, of course, with the conclusion of his third missionary journey, as that finds its culminating point in Rome itself, moving from Acts 9 to Acts 26, taking in the majority of the territory covered in the Book of the Acts. The Gospel of Luke also tells us about a great journey. The great journey in this Gospel belongs, of course, to Jesus himself, as he moves from Galilee in the north. Keep in mind the geography, because the geography of the territory of Israel at this point is going to be very important for the development of this message. Jesus, in his journey moving from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious activity as well as the center of its political activity, of their political activity.

Now this journey is marked out quite deliberately for us by Luke, and his account of it begins for us in that passage that we read tonight from Luke chapter 9, verse 51, which reads, “…and it came about, when the days were approaching for his ascension, that Jesus resolutely set his face to go to Jerusalem.”

That’s where the journey commences. Now, the description of the journey moves on through the next ten chapters. So you see, it’s a sizable portion of this gospel, and it progresses in three distinct phases as you move from chapter nine through chapter nineteen. Each phase of the journey is marked out for us specifically with a reminder that the goal is, after all, the city of Jerusalem. Each time we see that city mentioned in this narrative, it seems as if to mark out another phase of the journey.

The first phase, then, moves from chapter 9, verse 51, through the 13th chapter, verse 21. That’s the first installment of the journey as Luke records it. The second Phase of the journey then moves from chapter 13, verse 22, where you will notice that Jerusalem is again mentioned as the destination. From the 13th chapter, verse 22, through chapter 17, verse 10. And now, the third phase kicks in, the final phase. Once more, verse 11. of that seventeenth chapter.

Jerusalem is mentioned once more, and this section will culminate with the twenty-seventh verse of the nineteenth chapter of Luke. But the story of the Ten Lepers, then, is the first story in that final installment, descriptive of this grand and great journey taken by Christ. Now that’s somewhat the overview for us here. But now we want to look at the text specifically.

17 verse 11. It will help if you have that verse in front of you. The mention of Jerusalem you note, and then after that the mention of Samaria. and Galilee. This opening verse is phrased, constructed in such a way that with a careful reading of it, we are taken off guard. A careful reading of this text takes us off guard. And you might compare what you find in your version, if it in fact is a New American Standard or a New International, comparing that with the King James. This verse tells us that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem.

But then, and that quite oddly, quite strangely, It says in the literal translation, which the King James preserves, I might add, he was passing through the midst of, those are the words, the midst of, literal translation here, the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Now, if you’re sensitive to the geography, and that’s why I wanted you to keep the geography in mind, have that map. Have that map of Israel in the time of Jesus and Moses. If you have a map in the back of your Bible, turn to it and look at it. You know how things were arranged. Galilee was to the far north, Samaria was in the middle, Judea was to the extreme south, and Jerusalem at half of the length. You got it? You have it?

Galilee, Samaria, That is very important. But this verse, as it is phrased for us now, as I’ve been trying to say, presents us with a difficulty. And that difficulty is specifically the lay of the land which I have just described for Galilee, Samaria, Jerusalem, Judea. Moving toward Jerusalem from Galilee, one would move into or along the Samaritan territory, since it lay to the south of Galilee and to the north of Jerusalem.

You see the problem that is beginning to arise. The point made by many critics as they’ve reviewed this text has been that in looking at Luke’s treatment of Jesus’ journey from the North Country to Jerusalem in the South, the most natural order would have been to mention Galilee first and Samaria second. You see? You see?

He’s going to Jerusalem, but his point of departure is Galilee, then Samaria, and then after that he will arrive at his destination. But you note what is done by Luke in this 11th verse. He reverses the order. He speaks of Samaria first and Galilee second. The charge then by the liberal critic has has actually been laid at the feet of Luke, well, it’s obvious the man doesn’t know Palestinian geography. He’s a Gentile. Where did Paul pick him up, after all? Somewhere in Asia Minor, I suppose. Maybe in the territories of Macedonia. But, obviously, this man is ignorant of Palestinian geography. His statement here is evidence of his ignorance. He simply doesn’t know the lay of the land.

Now, some translators of this verse have squirmed. It may not seem like a very important issue, a very pressing matter. But many translators, including the translators at work in the New American Standard Version, have squirmed under the scrutinizing eye and the critical eye of those who have raised objections and suggested that Luke didn’t know, after all, Palestinian geography.

So they have come up with their own suggestions. They have suggested the following translation. If you have a New American Standard Version in front of you, you can follow along. Jesus was passing, this is what they had, between Samaria and Galilee. As if with the formulation of the words in this fashion, it wouldn’t make any difference which one you mention first. Okay?

Now, the force of this statement could be read somewhat along the line which places Jesus in the company of those Jews of his time. And what was their attitude? Their attitude was to avoid at all costs any contact with or contamination through the Samaritans, who were judged to be unclean. They were not purebred Jews, they were half-breed. They had their own view of things, they had a truncated Old Testament, an abbreviated version, compressed, compact edition, and they had their own estimation of religious practice. You remember Jesus’ exchange with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob? She gives voice to it. She says, we believe that it’s right for us to worship on Mount Gerizim. You Jews worship in Jerusalem.

So they had their own approach to religious practice. And in all of this, they are judged to be unclean by the Jews. Thus, the Jews would make an extended trip. It didn’t matter how the prophets moved. It didn’t matter what the shortest distance was between their home and Jerusalem. they would make an extended journey just to avoid the territory of the Samaritans. They would move southward first, till they hit the boundary of Galilee and Samaria, then they would turn eastward towards the Jordan, cross the Jordan even, go down along the banks of the Jordan on the east side, and once they had passed the territories of Samaria, they would recross the Jordan, enter the territory of Judea, and belong to Jerusalem. All of that in order to avoid contact with the Samaritans.

So it is suggested that Jesus here is passing between Galilee and Samaria along the lines of the habit of those Jews during his time. Now, all of this has added to it the fact that we gain, added to it the fact which we gain from our consideration of the outset of Jesus’ journey. Having read now from Luke chapter 9 and the story of the outset of the journey and his contact with the Samaritans there, not only is Jesus then suggested to be moving along this route that was frequented by the Jews of his time, But he had already entered the Samaritan village and the Samaritan territory, and when he did that, he was rejected, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem, and the Samaritans themselves would countenance that. Therefore, the route he chose took him back, backward, along the traditional road.

This, then, is the explanation for this eleventh verse. So rather than reading the literal translation which is given to us, that he passed through the midst of, which means that he went right down through the middle Samaria, as well as through the midst of Galilee, we are told that he passed between the two territories on that approved route to the south. in salvaging Luke from the charge that he doesn’t know Galilean or Jewish or Palestinian geography has a certain logic to it. But as we pointed out, it skirts the plain reading of the text. For the force is in keeping with the literal presentation of it in the King James. Jesus is, in fact, going through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. But having said that, we still have our problem.

For why would Luke mention Samaria first? I mean, does he really mean to suggest to us that first of all, Jesus went through the territory of Samaria, that is to the south, then he went back up north and went through the territory of Galilee? Why then does he mention Samaria first? should not the order be to pass through the midst of Galilee and Samaria on his way to Jerusalem?

The answer to the problem presented here, though it may seem quite minor, actually introduces us into a world that is quite profound. and into the intricacies of the thinking of this gospel writer. The answer to the problem is not to question Lut’s knowledge of geography. It is rather to question our knowledge of salvation history. The answer to the problem is not to question Lut’s knowledge of Jewish geography than our knowledge of redemptive history. We are not to see here then some sort of boundary straddling by Jesus as he makes his way south to Jerusalem.

The issue is resolved for us, when in fact we grasp hold of Luke’s dual purpose, his two-fold purpose. Now this is a complexity, and you’re going to have to stretch your mind a bit and hold on. On the one hand, you Luke is interested in telling us the story of Jesus. That’s plain to us, is it not? He gives us a gospel. But on the other hand, he is interested in telling the story of the church. That too is obvious, is it not? He gives us the book of Acts. But there is, you see, for both of these two stories which he tells.

A common geographical point. A common geographical point. And that common geographical point, whether you’re talking about the life of Jesus or the life of the Church, is the city of Jerusalem. That city is both Jesus’ destination and the Church’s starting point. It is Jesus’ destination and the Church’s starting point.

It is important to remember, however, as you take stock of this dual purpose of Luke’s, that the story of Jesus and Jesus’ journey are not irrespective of Luke’s consideration for the church itself, nor is the church’s journey devoid of Jesus, her Lord. Although the stories are told separately, one in a gospel, one in the account we find in Acts, these stories are unavoidably bound together. And at this point, here, Luke 17, 11, lest we should forget the Church while reading the story of Jesus, Luke literally, literarily jolts us with what appears to be a geographical mistake, error. The foundation, the ground, The foundation of and the ground for the Church’s journey, which will be described for us in the book of Acts, as the Church moves away from Jerusalem, is Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem.

Therefore, at this juncture, Luke overlays his account of Jesus’ journey from Galilee through Samaria to Jerusalem with an anticipation of the Church’s journey from Jerusalem through Samaria into Galilee. That’s why the notations It is even more astounding than that, you see. With the anticipation of the Church’s journey from Jerusalem through Samaria into Galilee, there is brought to mind those classic words from Acts chapter 1 verse 8. and ye shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”

The reverse direction is anticipated in the direction that Jesus is moving. The Church’s mission is included in the journey which Jesus is taking. The foundation for the Church’s mission and the accomplishment of her mission, the certainty of that, is already established for us as Christ moves southward from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Here then is the setting of the story, rather the setting of the stage for the story that follows. For just as the story of Elisha and Naaman previewed the coming day of blessing and redemption for Gentiles, so the story of Jesus and the lepers anticipates the same day. The same day. But there is one more thought here for us before we close.

Jesus in his journey to Jerusalem and to the cross carries within him his church And thus, in the success of his journey, he guarantees the success of the Church’s journey. Just as he has arrived at his destination, so the Church shall arrive at theirs. Just as he has fulfilled his mission, so the Church will fulfill her mission. But, that being true, There is also this to consider.

The picture is only completed as the church in her journey then carries the significance of Jesus’ journey with her as she goes to the ends of the earth. And what is the significance of Jesus’ journey? the cross. And that marvel illuminates and defines for the church her message and her life. Is it any reason then that that apostle who was so close to Luke should say, I am determined to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.

There is a depth here. There are riches to be mined. A glory to perceive. A magnificence to acknowledge. Yes, Jesus in his journey literally moving from Galilee to Samaria to Jerusalem. But he lived his journey imbibing and anticipating the movement of his people from Jerusalem, through Samaria, through Galilee, to the very uttermost part of the earth. Is it not true? Are you not sitting here tonight because it is true? You are. You are. You are the testimony to the success of the Saviour’s mission and the very big success of the Church. All I believe…

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

February 5, 1989
Gehazi’s Duplicity, Elisha’s Godlikeness

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 29, 1989.

About this sermon

Gehazi resents Elisha and the Gentile Naaman alike, and the chapter’s ending exposes him. The irony of verse 27 sets Gehazi’s duplicity directly against Elisha’s Godlikeness.

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Sermon transcript

Tonight we are in 2 Kings 5, and we are reading from the 20th verse through the 27th. Dr. Hazar, a servant of Elisha, the man of God, doth thought, Behold, my master hath spared this Naaman, a Syrian, And after receiving from his hands what he brought, as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.

So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, just now Two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a pallet of silver and two changes of clothes.” And Naaman said, “‘Be pleased to take two pallets,’ and he urged him, and bound two pallets of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them before him. When he came to the hill, or to Ophel, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

But he went in, and he stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. Then he said to him, Did not my heart go with you? when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and a time to receive clothes and olive yards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of men shall cleave to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence, a leper, as white as snow.

Let’s pray again. Lord, you, by the sentence of your son to your servants, have said that we are to pray the Lord of the harvest that he might send forth laborers for the harvest, and may we commit ourselves, our God, to do just that. In this day, Lord, there have been your servants working hard, and in their labors presenting the word to the world. You have been faithful in raising up those in response to the prayers of your people who would go forth and sow the seed of the kingdom. We ask you, our Father, that we may see that harvest and that we might be assured that the word in the world is being proclaimed truly and faithfully.

We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. So we come to the end of the story of Elisha and Nahum. And we have taken it piece by piece, and each part of the story has added to our appreciation of the interaction between this prophet of the Lord and this Syrian, this Gentile. this warrior from amongst the tribes of the earth.

But tonight we come to the conclusion of the story as if this is where we were headed all along. As if the intention was by God’s Spirit in the presentation of this story to get us to this point. where we might consider the figure Gehazi, servant of Elisha, the man of God.

Tonight, the question is, who is Gehazi? Who is Gehazi? And to this end, we want to look at these verses, dividing them into three parts. First of all, we want to look at Gehazi as he reveals himself in verse 20. Secondly, we want to look at Gehazi as he is presented to us in contrast with Naomi. When the two of them meet in verses 21 through 23. And finally, we want to see get his eye and that most clearly. In the confrontation between him and Elisha, the man of God in verses 24 through 27. First of all then, verse 20, Gehazi reveals himself in part, and we gain in part an understanding of him from verse 20.

Gehazi is the servant of Elisha. He has been already introduced to us in the story that was presented for us in the fourth chapter of Second Kings. You remember the story of the Shunammite woman and the kindness that Gehazi pleaded for on her behalf when she was cursed with barrenness and then by the intercession of the Prophet, she is given a child. Gehazi was instrumental in that wonderful occurrence and miracle by which that woman was blessed. Gehazi has been introduced to us the servant of Elisha.

His name means the Valley of Vision. And with that, there could be associated all kinds of prophetic overtones, the valley of vision. And it will become apparent to us by the end of this story of Gehazi in 2 Kings 5, just how much he contradicts, confuses, confounds his own name. How separate he is from the whole enterprise of the prophets. a servant of the Prophet, a man whose name brings before us the significance of prophecy. Moving in those circles, he is one who is particularly associated with the prophetic movement and servanthood generally.

As a rule of thumb, for the understanding of Gehazi, it might be well to say this much at this time. Gehazi bears a special relationship to Elisha as a servant of that prophet, but you’ll remember that Elisha himself bore a relationship to someone who stood before him, and that was Elijah. So if we’re going to understand Gehazi, we might put it along these lines. In terms of his relationship to the Prophet, and in terms of his servanthood, Elijah is to Elisha as Elisha is to Gehazi. So Gehazi should become all that Elisha is, or he should serve in the spirit of that one to whom he is bound. Now, also accenting all of this business about servanthood is the fact that as you move through this fifth chapter of 2 Kings, it seems that all along it has been about servants, has it not?

From the very outset, who was it that told Naaman that he should find a cure in Israel? It was a little slave girl, a servant in Naaman’s house, a servant to Naaman’s wife. Servanthood emphasized there. Naaman himself is a servant. He has a master, the king of Syria.

Elisha’s servant, namely Gehazi, is mentioned in verse 10. When the servant is sent out, Gehazi, to communicate the message of the prophet to Gehazi concerning the cure that is being offered by God. Then we have Naaman’s servants, those servants that plead with him. Go wash yourself in the Jordan, they plead. Even though there were rivers in Damascus, in Syria, the prophet here has given you something which you obviously can perform, and he’s asking you to submit. And in that submission, Naaman himself is submitting to the servants that are under him.

There is Naaman also to Elisha, where Naaman calls Elisha his master, his lord. He, proving himself servant to the prophet of God. And Gehazi, Gehazi as well, a servant. So the passage is about servanthood, what it means to be a servant, and that servanthood specifically coming to expression now in the figure of Gehazi. But we are considering here how Gephesai opens up himself by the thoughts of his heart recorded for us in verse 20.

This is what he thinks. Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian. The comment is contentious. It is contemptuous of Elisha, his master, suggesting that there is something wrong with what his master Elisha has done, and it is contemptuous of Naaman also. The implication is that Elisha has been needlessly gracious, and maybe even unlawfully gracious, Or should he not secure payment from this Gentile for the act which has been performed? Would not even the law extract from Naaman some sort of offering or payment in light of what has been done? But even more, focusing yet the contempt of Gehazi is the racial overtones of the comment he makes. Behold, my master has spared this Naaman, the Syrian. Naaman is a Gentile and is such especially unworthy.

And in Gehazi’s estimation, while clean from his leprosy, he is still an unclean Gentile. Worthy of his contempt, this Nehemiah, or this Syria. In his attitude, Gehazi compares with Nehemen, as Nehemen expressed himself before he was converted. Do you remember the arrogance expressed by Nehemen?

He’s come into the territory of Israel. It isn’t that he especially wants to be there, and he’s told about the rivers of Israel, the Jordan. Contemptuously, he looks upon this prescription that is laid out before him by the prophet as if it is demeaning to him, while in fact he has rivers at home that are better than all the rivers of Israel put together. It is that racial contempt that Naaman is exhibiting in his attitude towards Israel and whatever Israel might extend to him.

But now, you see, the situation is reversed. It is no longer Naaman that is expressing this contempt, rather it is Gehazi, the servant of the Prophet. But setting himself in such a posture, Gehazi has now starkly set himself in contrast to the attitude and operations of the prophet, and in contrast to the ends and desires and aims of heaven. In thinking about Gehazi in this, we are struck with how In other portions of scripture, a similar attitude is exhibited.

Do you remember the prophet Jonah, who draws back when in fact God is being gracious to Gentiles? How he cannot stand the thought that God would be so kind to those that he hates, those he considers to be unclean. And yes, isn’t it precisely that attitude which is exhibited by the Jews in Nazareth, when Jesus preaches to them, an event that is recorded for us in Luke chapter 4. Jesus makes mention of the fact that there were many, many lepers in Israel during the days of Elisha the prophet, but the ministry of mercy was extended but to one, and that one was a Gentile, namely Nahum. And at that, the Jews picked up stones and were ready to stone him and to destroy him.

So strong, that spirit. The contentiousness then, exhibited by Gehazi, seems to be that racial bigotry that is bound up in the heart of man, from which even the Jew is not immune. The racial thing is not all that we find here, however. There is also the mercenary, economic, monetary dimension, as the succeeding verses prove. First of all, then, we have seen this revelation, Gehazi makes of himself, and in that we gain a partial understanding of the man. But now we go on to verses 21 through 23, and Gehazi’s identity for us is opened up further when he meets with man.

Note man. The man has been converted. The man has been completely changed. He is a new creation. and look at the way in which he behaves. He sees Gephasi running after him, and in a genuine humbleness, a genuine humility, he gets down from his chariot, and he, in effect, greets the man not as an equal, but as a servant himself.

The presentation of man in here, although it’s not extensive, is one that places before us a man who is positive in his outlook and open. He is a man, truly, who fulfills his name. Do you remember what his name means? It means pleasantness. This man is indeed pleasant. What a gracious individual. he has become in fulfillment of the very name he bears.

And in keeping with his loving disposition, which indeed thinks no evil, he does not even suspect that he is about to be the dupe of deception from this servant of the man of God. He believes all things. the incredible trusting character of the man, and the openness of him. The thought that he is about to be deceived never enters his mind.

I’m a cynic, I always think I’m going to be deceived. even from those who are claiming to be religious. I think I’m about to be had, so I ought to have my guard up. Here’s Naomi, this man who’s been transformed in the openness of the man. Maybe he might say, well, he’s a bit naive yet, he’s still young, he says. Wait till he finds out a day by election, we’ll see what he says then. Wait till the report comes back to him that he’s been taken in. Then we’ll find out what he’s made out of. All right.

That’s verse 21. Verse 22. the nature of the things like consider himself an irreligious man. Did he consider himself as a man devoid of the Lord, not what he said in verse twenty says, As the Lord lives, he’s even invoking the Lord as he goes off to perform this deed.

He seems to think he’s doing the Lord of service. His master might be blinded, but he’s not. He’s certainly going to take advantage of the situation and that to the glory He thinks, maybe, I don’t know, the glory of the God that he serves. Gehazi’s deceit is overlaid with religious pretense. As the Lord lives, he says in verse 20, and now the deliberate premeditated use of a religious ploy. He asked but for a tenth, a tithe of Naaman’s silver. There it is. He asked for the tenth. How many talents of silver did Naaman bring with him? Ten. Gehazi says, give me a tenth. Give me the tie. Two changes of clothes.

He’s going to receive them for the purpose of caring for these unsuspected guests, these two sons of the prophets who’ve come from the hill country of Ephraim. It’s all done under the guise of religion. Gehazi, in the name of religion, exploits the common grace of the ancient Middle East and the special grace of God. that has been the province of the people of Israel.

Laman, an Easterner, can be counted on for his hospitable spirit. Strangers, guests coming, Elisha without provision, sure I’ll provide. The hospitable spirit, but also the time that shall be given. and used in the Lord’s name. But note the magnanimity, verse twenty-three, of Naaman. He doubles the time. I’ll give you twenty percent. I’ll give you two talents of silver.

His sincere innocence here exhibited. The man is fresh. He is vibrant in his newfound faith. His concern, in fact, is hardly for the things of this world. What does he care about another child? It might be just as well to give him all ten. And you get the impression that Naaman wouldn’t have cared if all ten had been asked for. He was prepared to give it initially anyway. And so he is prepared now.

His concern is hardly for the things of this world. But as such, he has become vulnerable. He has become vulnerable to the deceitful worldliness of those religious types who are akin to Gehazi. Here you are, a sincere Bible-believing individual. Here you are devout, your eyes focused upon the Kingdom of Heaven. You don’t care about prosperity in the world. You don’t care about amassing for yourself a fortune here.

If someone comes to you and asks for your money, yes, you give it. But you, in your sincerity and in your simplicity, are so utterly vulnerable, are you not? You don’t care about the things of this world, but there are some parading a religious road who care for those things and care for them because they’re the most important things to them. And they come and they take advantage of your simplicity and your devotedness. Well, is it a strike against you because you give graciously and lovingly and openly? It hasn’t hurt you, but it certainly hurt me. Your treasure was elsewhere. So, Naaman the Magnificent. Naaman the Magnificent. Greater this servant in the army of God than the captain of the armies of sin. Note in this verse, Naaman is urging again, he had already urged Elisha.

Back in verse 16, he said, Takeeth Elisha, Elisha refused, when Elisha refused, Gehazi now grabs Can’t you just hear him? Oh, no, not, not, not two pounds. In fact, I don’t, I don’t even think I can carry two pounds. Just, I’ll give you two of my servants. They’ll carry the silver. Listen to this man. What if he knew he was being taken and he just goes the second mile anyway? There’s too much dirt in this. Take them. They’ll carry the silver for you. How tragic. How tragic, then, the conclusion of this 23rd verse. Oh, it’s a glorious moment for Gehazi, isn’t it? But how tragic it is when you see it for what it is.

This one who is a servant, I don’t think that I can get everything that needs to be gotten out of this man. I’ll say that to you. This verse is so rich, it is so complex, it is so deep. You’re going to have to think about it, yourselves, for a long time. Try to penetrate it. The tragedy, however, how sizeable How monumental that tragedy is. You see what’s happening here in that 23rd verse as you come to the end.

Elisha’s servant, this man who is the servant of the prophet of God, the servant of God’s prophet or God’s spokesman, the servant of God’s Messiah. Let’s put it straight out. Let’s take back the veil. Elisha is like unto the Messiah, or he is like unto the Holy Spirit who comes through the ministry of the Son.

This one who is a servant of Elisha now literally turns himself into a king. Look at the imagery. Lamb and servants are made part of a royal procession. That’s what’s going on as they go before King Gehazi with the testimony of his glory. Precede. The imagery is fraught full of all kinds of political overtones. in which this servant of the man of God has literally made himself into a ruler. A king. A political ruler and king. Who is Gehazi? Who is Gehazi?

Verses 24 through 27 will finish out the matter. His identity now most clearly seen for us in the confrontation between him and Elisha. Behezai with his entourage come to the hill and the house. Verse 24, the language about the hill and the house is not accidental. In fact, the word there that is translated hill is actually Ophel. Ophel is one of the hills, the pinnacles, in the territory of Jerusalem, in the territory of Zion.

There’s a transformation of the scene as Gehazi makes his approach with his entourage. That transformation of the scene literally transports you to the environment of Jerusalem, and the house is not to be understood innocently. This house is to be understood under the imagery of the palace, the throne room, the sanctuary that oversees the affairs of the king.

So here he comes. To his I cannot bring his worldly gain into the presence of the Lord’s spokesman. He must sneak it in. He is a man of duplicity. He must live in two worlds because, you see, he serves two masters. He serves God and mammon, or at least he tries. But he can’t tell God he serves men. But he’s always telling them that he serves God. This man serves two masters.

Verses 25 and 26 When Gehazi goes in to stand before Elisha, the scene that we’ve already depicted is heightened immensely with the tones and hues of the sanctuary of God, and more than that, it is heightened with the tones and hues of the coming day of judgment, when all the thoughts of men will be exposed. The truth about their hearts will be made known. The Hesai walks into the presence of Elisha as one walks into the presence of God, into the presence of the Lord’s Messiah. And notice then how this one, Elisha, here is portrayed for you. He displays divine characteristics. He displays omniscience and he displays omnipresence. I know what you were doing. I know where you went because I went with you.

As strange as it seems… the whole is transformed, the man is brought into the presence of God, and through Elisha we see here the very characteristics, the attributes of divinity, omniscience, omnipresence, and the reality of the covenantal union that exists between God and his servants.

Yahazi attempts to cover his tracks with a lie. I didn’t go anywhere. But how can one hide anything from God? How can anyone hide anything from Christ? And you see, it’s not just the deeds. Those concrete sins that have been dogging your step. It’s the condition of the heart that it affirms in the presence of the Word of God. What is it that you want? What is it that you want? What is it that Gehazi wants? He wants the world. He wants the world. He wants position and power and prominence in the world.

But now we come to verse 26. And after that incriminating interrogation by the initial question from Elisha, we get the concluding and most devastating of all, the one that really places things well in perspective. You see, there was a day in which those who were servants of the Lord could in fact amass for themselves money, and a cattle, and olive gardens, and vineyards, and cattle, and horses, and millions and millions of servants, and God even smiling, But the one who speaks here, the righteous, is speaking of a circumstance in which that is no longer important as the mode of operation for the people of heaven. Now it’s all plain and clear, is it not? When we see Elisha working with Naaman, it is the drawing of the nations by the gospel into fellowship with God. The gospel has been proclaimed, and now in the power of the Spirit, that message is going forth, and the nations themselves are being cleansed and brought up into Zion.

But that’s not the end of the story. For the age in which all of that is true and appropriate is the age of the Spirit and the age of the Church. And now Gehazi is the servant of the Spirit, or the servant of the Messiah Spirit, is the embodiment himself of the Church in that age. And the liability, you see, is that the Church may set itself in this time in which it lives, between Christ’s first coming and his second coming, to a maximum self. Silver and gold. Decorative apparel and robes. Power and prestige. Political might. cattle and oxen, a mode of life that demonstrates them to be the masses, accumulating for themselves, nailed into the earthlings.

Is this the time? Is this the time, asks the Lord? No. And as Elisha says and speaks those words, he is giving to the Church this charter until the age of the Spirit is completed. It will never be completed until Christ comes again to act in the way in which the Holy God has done.

Who is Gehazi? Truly Gehazi is, yes, an expression of that bigotry that was found even in this room of old. We see in Gehazi that spirit of duplicity and strung out between God and man, but most specifically we see in Gehazi that one in whom the very deceit that accompanies the probing of God for this day is met. the church living in terms of power, in terms of property, in terms of wealth and prestige.

He isn’t learning. Is he not, verse 27? Is he the iron in verse 27? No one really wants the world. So why should we be in the world? And what comes with the world? Lessons. Lessons. And what does lessons to me mean? Firmly and firmly separated from God. If you choose the world, you shall have the world. And you shall have the world certainly. If you choose it, you’ll have it. And you’ll have it for sure. that choose God, choose his Christ, choose against the world, and eternal blessedness, Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

January 29, 1989
The Grateful Naaman

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 22, 1989.

About this sermon

Naaman makes his request and Elisha answers in careful positive and negative pairs, first in verses 15-16 and then in 17-19. The exchange shows gratitude still working out its own boundaries.

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Sermon transcript

Tonight we will begin our picture reading in the New Testament with the book of Ephesians. It starts with the second chapter, verse 11. This is Ephesians chapter 2, verse 11 through the end of the chapter. Let’s hear the word of God. Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands, remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now, in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the enmity which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in himself he might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross by it having put to death the enmity. And he came and he preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have our access in one spirit to the Father.

So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a growing of God in the Spirit. Then turning back to 2 Kings 5, we read from verse 15 through verse 19.

When he, Naaman that is, returned to the man of God with all his company, he came and stood before him. He said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel, so please take a present from your servant now. But he said, As the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will take nothing. And he urged him to take it, but he refused. And Naaman said, if not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’ load of earth, for your servant will no more offer burnt offering, nor will he sacrifice to other gods but to the Lord.

In this matter, may the Lord pardon your servant when my master goes to the house of Rimen to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of women, and I bow myself in the house of women, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” And he said to him, go in peace. So he departed from him some distance.

Our Father, we are grateful to you for the order of your assembly, for the ordering of your church. For surely, Lord, you have given your spirit for the ordering of your people. and you have provided the word that we might have that infallible guide for our own good, for our own well-being. We thank you, our Father, too, that according to your spirit and in keeping with your word, that order which you have ordained for your church is one which you have supplied your church with servants, servants of the word, and then servants of your name, who shall then oversee the affairs of your people and guard the proclamation of the word. May it please you not only in this place, but throughout the land and in the world, As your church congregates, assembles, and takes shape, may it please you, Lord, to grant servants to your church who are blessed by your Spirit for the performance of those responsibilities given them. Lord, may it please you that we, your people, are ourselves encouraged by such oversight provided us. All of this we ask now through Jesus’ name. Amen.

We come to verses 15-19 of this marvel story in 2 Kings 5 regarding Elisha, the prophet of God, and Naaman, the leper, the Syrian, the captain in the army of Syria, who has made his way to the territory of Israel, wrapped through the promptings of a little girl’s servant who had been taken captive from the land of Israel, she having spoken to her mistress, her mistress to her husband, her husband to the king of Syria, the king of Syria to the king of Israel, and now the prophet of God to Naaman himself. We followed the movement of Naaman, and to this point his compliance then, finally, not without protest, his compliance with the word of the prophet, that he would wash himself seven times in Jordan, and then in light of that obedience to the word of God, graciously delivered from his leprosy and his uncleanness. That brings us up to date. Of course, as we have been reading all of this and preaching through it, we have been endeavoring to see this story, this very familiar story, in light of the revelation to which it points, that revelation that we find in Jesus Christ and his ministry to his people and specifically his ministry as it shall extend to the nations. Naaman is not a native Israelite, he’s a Gentile. And in this cleansing of a Gentile we see that pattern of things that shall be realized in and through Jesus Christ, as the nations themselves are blessed, and that in keeping with the covenant that has been made to Abraham, to Israel.

In time, the nations themselves shall be blessed through the seed of Abraham. All right, well, here we are then, verses 15 through 19. be the seed. We will divide the passage this way, verses 15 and 16 first, and then verses 17 through 19. And we are going to look at this division, or each division, in a double light. Look at it one way, then we’ll look at it another verses 15 and 16 in that initial blunt, that preliminary blunt. This is how we might describe these verses.

Naaman’s return to Elisha. Naaman’s return to Elisha. When he comes back to Elisha, that return by Naaman prefigures the gathering of the nations to Christ. Naaman going up from the Jordan to the house of Elisha prefigures the nations going up into the house of God, going up into the temple of the Lord, ascending Zion for that final and full blessing.

That then, the preliminary light in which we will view these verses. Now this gathering of the nations, the streaming of the nations up into the hill of the Lord, or unto the house of the Lord, underscores, as we have these verses unfold for us, the change that has taken place in the nations themselves as they are brought to God, as they come unto Christ, as they are brought unto Him, having been baptized into the name of the true and living God. Remember the waters of Jordan, anticipating the baptism experience for the nations. They will be washed, they will be cleansed. So Naaman is anticipating that marvelous cleansing of the nations, that baptizing of the nations. He comes up now, and as he comes, the nations are in him, and the changes that we observe The changes that we observe in him are those changes that we will in fact see in the nations themselves as they come to present themselves before their Lord.

First of all, a change that isn’t obvious from a surface reading of the text itself. Remember what we said about Naaman thus far. What does his name mean? What does the name of Naaman mean? It means pleasantness. It means pleasantness. Well, here is this man who has the name pleasantness, and he is afflicted by that which is pleasant at all.

He has been afflicted by leprosy. He has been defiled by this uncleanness, which is the contradiction of his name. The man who bears the name Pleasantness testifies to an unpleasantness in the corruption of his flesh. There is that contradiction in him.

But now you see, as Naaman comes, and the nations are coming in him up to the house of God, up to the place where the prophet of the Lord lives, there is this transformation that has occurred in him a confirmation of the name that he bears, a fulfillment of that name, in fact, the unpleasantness has been removed, and now his name can be appreciated in its fullest sense. His name formally was a testimony to Gentile folly.

For all of its aspirations and all of its dreams, for all of its self-importance, for all that it might have thought about itself, it is marred, it is corrupt, and its end is death. But now through regeneration, now through baptism, the man can become what he was intended to be. He can fulfill, and does fulfill, his name. All right, that change. Naaman, a man consistent with the name he bears.

But secondly, you’ll note that in The 15th verse, this change that has come about in Naaman is underscored for us in another way. How have things progressed thus far? If this chapter is a study in anything, it’s a study in servants. We have a little girl servant.

We have Naaman himself who is servant to the king of Syria. We have Elisha, who is a servant of God, but we also have Naaman, as he makes his trek to Israel, very much self-possessed, and as he enters this land which he considers inferior, he’s not servant to anyone.

In fact, as command is given to him by the prophet of God, his first response is not to submit at all, but to maintain his own position and refuse to submit. But now note what he says to the servant of God, to the prophet, to that one who in fact reflects the being and the person of God, that one in whom we see even the pattern of the truest and the most profound of prophets, the Lord Jesus Christ, the messianic figure, that one in whom redemption is found. Notice now Naaman’s response to this one who embodies all of that. So please take a present, he says at the end of verse fifteen, from your servant. So, man has finally submitted, yes, to baptism, to the waters of the Jordan, that now he is living a life in which he is confessing his continual servanthood to that one who embodies the form and pattern of the Messiah, of the Christ. So please receive this present from your servant, now. in Naaman, as he becomes a servant of the Christ figure in the story, namely, Elisha.

We have then that return by Naaman which underscores the change that has now taken place in him, and that change, how wonderfully evident it is to us. But, these verses, verses 15 and 16, also present to us Elisha himself. And Elisha’s actions here underscore the change that has now occurred in the divine disposition. We’ve had a change in Naaman, indicative of the change that is coming in the Gentile world, but we also have change that is portrayed for us in the actions of Elisha, and those actions by Elisha underscore the change that has occurred in the divine disposition. Note what takes place. Do you remember verse 10?

How when Naaman first came with his entourage, He stood outside the house, and Elisha didn’t even as much as come out to him. Instead he sent his servant, an emissary, to speak to Naaman. But now notice the change that has occurred in these verses. For while formerly Elisha dealt through an intermediary, Formally, he dealt from within his house, removed from Naaman, removed from that one who represented the nations, if you will, removed from the uncleanness, not only of Naaman’s leprosy, but of his Gentileness. But now, Elisha goes out to meet Naaman directly. For Naaman has returned with all of his company and he stands before Elisha. There is direct access now where formerly there was none.

The uncleanness has been removed and that is prerequisite to In order to be received directly into the presence of God, the uncleanness has to be removed. The nations must be cleansed. They must be healed. Remember that picture given us in the book of Revelation, the tree of life. It has the leaves of that tree portrayed for us as those through which then the nations themselves will be healed. The leaves are for the healing of the nations. The uncleanness, the leprosy must be removed. The nations must be cleansed. Their corruption must be removed. Righteousness must be conferred upon them.

That removed, that uncleanness, that unrighteousness removed, they then have direct access to God in Jesus Christ. And isn’t that precisely what is being spoken of and expounded for us in Ephesians chapter 2. Those formerly outside, those formerly set apart, those formerly unclean Gentiles having no place at all, they have been brought near through the work of Jesus Christ. so that in that work there might stand one new man, the middle wall of partition having been removed, the offense having been taken away, which was defined unto us in the law commence, administered through ordinances, which Christ has abolished in his election. Unto what end? that those Gentiles with the believing Jews, believing Israel, might be made into a house of God, a temple, a dwelling place in the Spirit.

Well, there was a change in the disposition then of God himself as Naaman returns to the of Elisha. But there’s also something else here, something somewhat subtle. You’ll notice that this story takes place on the background of an entire Old Testament legislation with regard to the matter of leprosy, its detection and its cleansing and provision upon cleansing for appropriate sacrifices and offerings, it might well be said that there’s nothing giving as elaborate treatment as the whole matter of leprosy in the Levitical legislation. If you turn to the book of Leviticus and you read chapters 13 and 14, it just goes on and on and on, and by the time you’re done with those two chapters, it’s, ah, get on with it, please. We’ve had enough of this.

Nothing is given such elaborate treatment as the whole matter of leprosy. Nothing is given more prescriptions. There’s no point at which you find the administration of the detail of law more painstakingly presented than at that point. And there’s nothing of it here. Nothing.

Now, it’s just not a matter of the fact that we are here in the northern territories of Israel during the time of the division of the kingdom. The real shrine is down in Jerusalem, and Elijah realized that he has no obligation to the administration that pertains to the cult and the shrine in Jerusalem. being conveyed to us here is that premonition of the change in the divine disposition.

So there will come a day, you see, when all of those prescriptions that we read of in chapters 13 and 14 of Ovidius will be completely and utterly irrelevant. Removed. Not taken out of the way. Abolished. in the fulfillment, in the fulfillment that has come about in the work of Jesus Christ.

Now, not only is that our entrance into this text, it is also the only vantage point from which we can view now Leviticus 13 and 14. What was Leviticus 13 and 14 all about? What was physical leprosy all about in this corruption of the flesh. And it is through the painstaking detail of the ministry of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice, His death, that that leprosy has now been removed.

That unquenched, that sin has been removed. that you have been washed, you have been cleansed, you have been sanctified from Jesus Christ. Okay, the absence of any legal requirement here, any reflection upon that Old Testament legislation anticipates the new administration in which all of those little requirements have been displaced by the fulfillment that is found in Christ.

All right, well that’s the first, that’s the first track through verses 15 and 16, and we’ve looked at them quite positively. Now we’ll flip the page and turn things over. See, it’s not just a matter here that you’re able to see the positive tavern of the nations coming.

But this is still a passage that appears in the Old Testament. And while We can look at things in a very, very good light, in a very positive light, anticipating the fullness of the day of Christ. Naaman’s return to Elisha, however, still reflects the circumstances of that old era and the persistence of the old world and man. We haven’t arrived yet. history must move on to the fulfillment in Christ we can’t stop with the prophets in the northern territories of Israel ministering in this fashion and meeting out little miracles piecemeal it’ll never do you can’t stop there so even here you have the testimony to the inadequacy of what is taking place through one as magnificent as Elijah. We haven’t reached home yet. Alright, so we have then those things that are not positive but rather place before us the reality of the old era, the old world, the persistence of that older administration. Here we have then Nehemiah.

He has the revenues of the old man. Where did he get the wealth that he brought with him? Where did he get that currency? Where did he get all of those possessions. He brings with him those things into this new circumstances, and now he wants to pay Elisha with them.

You see? Man is still acting like a man who belongs to the old world. He still looks at religion as something that is understood, seemingly, along economical lines. You pay for the best, and you pay well. Religion, after all, is an economical matter. It is measured in terms of income and outgo. To a degree, you see, it is that way not just for distant Gentiles, but also Israelites close at hand.

For they think along the same lines. You might recall the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 9. He’s going out to look for his father’s asses, you remember? And what does he say? Let’s take a little money so if we find the prophet, we can pay him for some advice. Saul’s not a Gentile, he’s a Jew. But he has the same attitude with regard to the administrations of the Lord.

The administration of religion. Religion based upon economy. economics. Now you have Elisha’s refusal. And Elisha’s refusal to accept anything underscores the gracious character of the salvation offered. And the fact that true religion breaks the pattern of world religion. It alone stands over against worldly religion which always, in the end, is a matter of money. Always, in the end, is a matter of money. Grace is God’s unmerited love, his undeserved favor. You don’t buy it. You can’t even pay for it. The gift that’s extended to us is a gift the value of which you cannot estimate. It is a gift given freely.

So through this there may come that admonition to the church for the church age. Freely you have received, freely give. There might even be an anticipation of the rhythm of the church in its missionary activities. I know the philosophy present. You send out missionaries to another place where the gospel has not been received or the church is not strong. And the demand that is being made in our generation is, you may go, you may stay. That’s the only way you’ll respect the gift given to you. The only way you’ll encourage them to appreciate the ministry.

I’m not so sure that there isn’t a better reason, always opposite, rising out of the page description. We send our missionaries to give the word freely, without charge. Without charge. Not a church location. And the church must be instructed in stewardship. That’s true. Maybe it is. A difficulty is that, as the word has gone out to the ends of the earth, the churches that have been established haven’t always been so willing to pay their own way, or to pay for their taxes, or whatever. They haven’t learned stewardship well. But that doesn’t exonerate us. It’s seen in other places. What about the whole matter of evangelism? Have you been shocked? Freely you’ve received, freely give. Have you been shocked?

The team comes to town. They have the map. They have the tapes, the three-ring binder. They have all of the notes. They can put it in front of you. You all go, you sit down, you save your money. Why for $300 it will keep you high for the rest of your life. For $300, they teach you how to win.

Friends, something is wrong. These are pretty curious. Something is wrong. Well, There you have it, verses 15 and 16. The new age prefigured, the old age still hanging on. Verses 19 through 20, and we’ll hurry up here. I realize that these verses are problematic, and they’re not easy, but let’s Consider a few thoughts here as we try to resolve the difficulties.

Verses 19 through 20, we have the request by Naaman. He’s been, in a sense, put off by Elisha. No, I don’t want anything from you. Naaman says, well, then give me a couple of loads of dirt. Verse 17. All right. Verse 18. He is saying, please forgive me in this matter, which is certainly going to take place when I get home. That is verse 18. Verse 19, you have Elisha blessing the man. Go in peace. We are a little bit befuddled.

We got the dirt, we got this wild prayer on the part of Naaman, understand when I do this in the house of women with my master, the king. we have a life of their raising his hands as if it’s all you want to go away. Name is request and prayer request verse seventeen prayer eighteen positively anticipate the life of the redeemed nation of God, the Church of Christ living in the midst of a world that is hostile to it. That’s first of all, that’s the positive light.

Naaman’s request for the two loads of dirt is for the purpose of constructing now a portable earthen altar. A portable earthen altar. That’s why he wants the dirt. He’s going to take it with him, upon which then he can offer sacrifices to the true God.

Now, his request for a transportable shrine, this transportable altar, is an indication of a coming day, a yet future day, when worship, though of Israel, though of Israel, will not be bound. to Israel, will not be restricted to Israel. There is a day that’s here, and there is a when the true worshippers come, who worship in spirit and in truth, not in burials amongst the Samaritans, not in groups, where that proper and true shrine is, but wherever.

Even here. Even here. Okay? Now, his prayer, verse 18, must be viewed, first of all, positively. I know that’s hard for us to accept, but there is a good light in which to see it. It’s reflective of the condition under which the redeemed will be constrained to live.

Even those in public office and in governmental service, Christians they are. Yet in governments that are utterly secular, humanistic, those that are even dedicated to that which is not the truth, they find themselves in those positions and they find themselves there as servants. These are then alien strangers, exiles if you will, in their own native lands, who nonetheless are laboring for the good of those native lands in which they find themselves present. They are not revolutionaries. They are not those who are seditious. And in this light, the appropriateness of Elisha’s benediction, verse 19. It is utterly Go in peace. Go in peace. As it is now for those who those servants of Christ find themselves in alien circumstances.

But there’s also the other light. In conclusion, Raymond’s request in prayer reflects negatively the provisional character of the Old Testament administration. You see, Naaman still is constrained to ask, make his request in relationship to altars and burnt offerings. Why?

There’s coming a day when there won’t be altars. This is no altar. And some people will be shocked about the table. This is not an altar, it’s a table. We don’t have sacrifices here. Comes a day when sacrifices and altars of this earth are completely irrelevant. You don’t need them anymore.

So you see, Naaman, in his request, is still bound by that older world. His prayer, verse 18, it falls short. It falls short as that standard in the coming era in which the ultimate demand will be made upon the servants of God who, for the sake of their conscience and for the sake of the testimony that they bear before God, cannot be those upon whom caves lead, cannot be those who die in healing and profane trials. It’s an accommodation for the coming. If they come today, even the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ will in fact pay with their lives, because they are guilty. Goodbye.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

January 22, 1989
Naaman’s Pride, Naaman’s Healing

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elisha” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 15, 1989.

About this sermon

Naaman’s pride and nationalism run headlong into Israel’s own weakness and the plain power of the Word, the collision read through Luke 4:27 as much as 2 Kings. Seven washings later, healing comes only through the same humility that got him there.

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Sermon transcript

The scripture tonight is from 2 Kings 5. We are reading from verse 8 through the 14th verse. Here is the word of God. And it happened when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the King of Israel had torn his that he sent word to the king, saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.

But Naaman was furious and went away and said, Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Farfar the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel?

Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, My father, had the Prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, wash and be clean? So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God. And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. And then over in Luke’s Gospel, 4th chapter, in 27th verse, And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, but only Neb, the sealed one. It is you by your word who makes us responsive now. Have we known those times in which we have been seemingly far from you? In which we have been unresponsive? Those times when we find ourselves pushing you away and even willfully forgetting.

Forbear with us, Lord, that we now, at this time, with this opportunity before us, may find ourselves made willing again, made responsive by the promptings of your Spirit in our hearts. We ask, Lord, that you may be pleased with such obedience as you find in us. May You glorify Yourself by Your Word in us. We ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

That verse in Luke’s Gospel, the fourth chapter, provides entrance to the passage that we have in front of us tonight. It is as if, with that passage in Luke’s Gospel, this story is now made clear. Before the time of the coming of the gospel, the gospel itself was being prefigured in the events that were taking place in Israel at the time of Elisha. And in and through those events that took place surrounding this man, Naaman, from Syria. So we read the story in 2 Kings in light of the gospel. And failing to so read it, we do not read it aright. Alright then. Let’s move through these verses which we’ve read this evening in light of the gospel. Verse 8. Here is the message.

Despite Israel’s failure, despite Israel’s political impotency and relativity, the Word of God still issues forth from her. Despite Israel’s failure, despite her political impotency and relativity, the Word of God still issues forth from her. The King of Israel is more than a mere individual. He is a people, a people included in and under him. In the king, you see the people. In the king, you see the nation. In the king, you see the history of the people and the history of the nation.

So when the king of Israel tears his clothes, it’s as if the nation as a whole is tearing its clothes. And why? Ordinarily, when clothes are torn in Scripture, it is due to grief or it is due to the revelation of sin. An act of sorrow or an act of repentance is in view. But when the King of Israel and the nation in the King now tear It is not for sorrow, it is not for repentance. Rather, it is an act of fear and terror.

What has happened? A nation that claims God as its Lord, terrified? How can it be? Israel now is but a state, a nation. In keeping with her own expectations and hopes, she is but a state and a nation like all other states and nations in the earth. And as is true with regard to all states and nations, Israel is paranoid about power.

She feels threatened. She believes that treachery is in the air. She is about to be victimized by Syrian power. Naaman’s presence in the courts of Israel is but a ploy. It is intended to open up the possibility of assault from the east. Israel now is no different than any other nation on the face of the earth, and she is paranoid about power.

She is also, in her king, ignorant of the salvation that is present within her. She is ignorant of her own status. She is ignorant of her own calling with regard to the program of redemption. She is ignorant of God’s salvation as it focuses in his purposes for her. She is even ignorant of her messiah.

In the political arena, what has been sacrificed by Israel, as she has become a nation like any other nation, is her special place in the saving purposes of God, as those saving purposes focus upon the Messiah, the Messianic figure, the King of Israel. He bears a Messianic title. He doesn’t even know who he is. But over against him, there is one in whom the messianic purposes of God are focused.

The prophet, who still speaks in Israel, and in and through him, the purposes of God, with respect to God’s word, are kept alive. Israel then is viewed as a failure, politically impotent, politically relative, but at the same time the word of God prevails, survives, and issues forth from her in the prophet who now stands as the messianic figure. through whom God’s salvation shall be effected. The voice of the prophet then is heard. The king has spoken, and through him the nation may have confessed the hopelessness, if you will, of the situation. But now we hear the voice of the prophet. and that voice of the prophet is the word of God that arises out of Israel for the salvation of the world. Naaman’s journey to Israel is anticipatory of the gathering of the nations to Zion in which they shall be redeemed, saved, and glorified. But here now is the voice of the messianic figure, Elisha. It comes as the word of God arising out of Israel for the salvation of the world. For we know, salvation is of the Jews. Salvation is of the Jews. So says Jesus to a woman of Samaria, John’s Gospel, 4th chapter, 22nd verse.

But it is specifically in this circumstance in which Israel’s failure and weakness, her impotence and relativity are proven, that the great strength, the greatest strength of God and his intention stands front and center. contrasting the weakness of Israel, her failure, contrasting her in all that now speaks to indict her, is the power of God manifest in the word of the prophet. That power, manifested through the prophet accentuates the weakness of Israel so that there is no opportunity for pride left in her whatsoever.

How foolish the ghost of the flesh from an Israelite. There are many in Israel who might boast after the flesh. There is one who considers himself capable of boasting most in the flesh. He was a Jew, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the stock of Benjamin. As to the Pharisees, a member of that sect, as to zeal, pursuing the law blameless before it. Yet now what boast is left to him in light of the incomparable glory that has been manifest in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no opportunity for boast left for him. Despite Israel’s weakness than her political impotence and relativity, the word of God, the gospel, if you will, issues forth from her.

Verses 9 through 13. The world is addressed by a gospel that is utterly offensive in its simplicity and foolishness. But that gospel is the antidote to all of the world’s pride. And it alone is the source of the world’s salvation. Verses 9 through 13. The world is addressed by a gospel that is utterly offensive in its simplicity and foolishness. But that gospel is the antidote to all the world’s pride, and it is alone the source of the world’s salvation.

Verse 9. whoever wrote the second Kings is very clever this verse speaks volumes you see we haven’t heard much of the retinue that accompanies man as he makes his journey as yet in the story. But here at this point, verse 9, we are told that Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots.

The portrait, the description is quite deliberate. For Naaman here is portrayed for us in all of his worldly might and splendor. He is the image of the world’s glory and power. Here is a portrait of the world’s strength and of its boast. For in the end, the world’s boast will be in its armaments, in the power that it can accumulate to itself and parade before the face of humanity. But the verse goes on to position this man in all of his worldly splendor and might.

He stands before a humble abode. merely a house, maybe even a shack, if you will, the house of the prophet Elisha. This humble abode is the seat of God’s redemptive power, as over against now this man and what he represents, carrying with him the testimony of all of the might and power of Syria, if you will, the might and power of the world. A kingly figure, a military figure, a warrior standing before this door, He positioned before the seat of God’s redemptive power, the place from which God is now going to manifest his might, his glory.

Amir Shaikh. There is something else here to the house of Elisha. Is it but a house? Are we to see something more, is it? I tell you that Naaman has come to the sanctuary of God. God lives in that house. In fact, that house is now the temple in the territories of the northern tribes. And that’s where God resides.

You wouldn’t have ever guessed it. It would not have occurred to you. But that little shack to the north is now gleaming forth brightly and even more brightly than the sanctuary that sits upon one of the hills in Jerusalem to the south. Naaman has been brought to the very sanctuary of God and to the seat of God’s redemptive power. Naaman can’t see it. The world in its unregenerate state can’t see it. but he being brought here now by the sovereign power of that one who dwells in that house has been humbled by the mere act of having to stand there.

Verse 10. Not only must Damon This one who epitomizes the power of the world stand here before the shack. The prophet won’t even come out to him. Don’t you know who I am? I’ve just been talking to the king of Israel. I’m an emissary of the greatest king on the face of the earth presently. I come bearing letters with me from him. Don’t you know who I am?”

But the prophet won’t as much as come out to him. Instead, he sends out his servant. And once more, you see, the humility that is now being demanded of man is compounded. He must deal with a lowly servant, and not the man himself. But there’s more going on. You’ve come to expect that, haven’t you? If the house of Elisha is the temple, is the sanctuary of God, then who is Elisha when he refuses to come out? Elisha is God.

Who is the servant? The servant becomes the prophet. He carries the message from God to the world. He washes the God-figure in the temple. The servant becomes the prophet, the emissary of the king. Elisha, like God, sends out his servant to give the message to the world.

And that message, with that messenger, demands submission. By his very person, one to whom you would not ordinarily submit yourself. But that one who comes, comes in the mode and the manner of a servant. The messenger demands submission, the message itself demands submission.

That message comes as the gospel itself, the means of salvation. It comes with a command to the nation. in which, through its instruction, it comes to know God and submits then to the administration that God has ordained, by which then the peoples of the earth will be identified with God and with his people. That gospel then comes with commands demanding submission. It comes with commands with regard to the waters of the Jordan, with regard to washings, with regard to a sevenfold ablution. It comes with a message about restoration and cleansing.

Why, this is a gospel message that sounds very much like that message that emanates from Christ on the mount in Galilee, the ten northern tribes once more to the north, in which then the disciples of the Lord are sent out to the ends of the earth to disciple the nations, teaching them to observe whatsoever the Lord is command, and baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It’s here, all in civil form, in the story of Elisha and man. Verses 11 and 12. The reaction of man. He’s going to fight to the bitter end, showing you that left to themselves the nations will not come. They must be overcome themselves by God and His power at work in them. It will be in the end that power that convinces and converts. Naaman, in his reaction, in his reaction he is completely and utterly convinced of his superiority. religiously and ethnically. He is convinced of his superiority. What in the world am I doing here after? Why am I listening to this? Why in the world am I talking to some lowly servant? What am I doing in front of this stupid house?

Naaman reacts as the world reacts when confronted with the gospel, the world convinced of its own superiority. That superiority of Naaman expressed with regard to his religious commitment. He knows, verse 11, he knows what constitutes proper religious practice. Surely he’ll come out to me in the manner of those that practice their arch in Syria. He will come out to me. He’ll stand and call upon the name of the Lord is God. He will wave his hand like a magician over me, and I will be cleansed.

Religiously superior, knowing better than the prophet of God from Israel. Knowing better than God himself what constitutes proper religion, he in his autonomy knows better the truth of religion than does any prophet in Israel. The world is convinced of its religious superiority when standing over against the gospel.

It knows that. It knows there’s no help. And if there is, it knows how to escape it. It knows what God is like and how he operates. It can tell you how he functions. It is utterly confident in itself. There are no surprises for it. For if there is a God, that God shall operate in keeping with our expectation. But Naaman is also expressing his superiority with regard to his ethnic background.

He’s a Syrian. He’s a Syrian. He’s from Syria. There’s no place on the face of the earth like Syria. There are no waters in the world like the waters that come to us from the streams and the rivers of Syria. Why? To be a Syrian. Obviously, we have demonstrated our superiority in that we have now risen to the top of the heap. We control, we control the world. If anyone is to do anything in the world, they must in fact come and get permission from us. It is not just the ethnicity of the circumstance. It is the nationalism of the circumstance. one of the greatest clinics in the world in the last 200 years.

And one that in fact conspires against the gospel ultimately. Will you take pride in your ethnicity? Will you take pride in your national heritage? your citizenship within this land, will you hold that up? You are, in fact, superior upon the face of the earth.”

Such an attitude breeds a paganism, not Christianity. over against this professed superiority now is that command that comes from the prophet that man and the nations in him must submit to God’s purpose as it is manifest in and through Israel from the messianic figure who lives presently in Israel that submission to God’s purpose in Israel, then reflected in the command that Naaman must be baptized in the Jordan. Just as Israel was baptized in the Jordan when she entered the land, now Naaman must identify himself with Israel and God’s purpose by washing himself there.

The cleansing rite that is in view asserts the God of Israel’s prerogative in redemption. Not the ablutions of pagan religions, not their rites, but that rite that is prescribed by God in and through his servant, by his word. The sevenfold washing indicates the completeness, the perfection of that washing that is in view. It carries one beyond the mere washing of Israel in the Jordan to something greater yet, reaching out beyond itself. It is indicative of the arrival of that time when the nations, with Israel, will be the beneficiaries of the completed work of redemption. They all together wash by the Lord himself, in his spirit, for their salvation.

Verse 13, in Humiliation, goes even further. Man in his wisdom now rejects the gospel that he is humiliated even further when he is approached by his servants. You see how it’s a story about servants? The servant figure, even the little girl servant at the beginning of the story sets the tone for the entire story. Manon’s submission, his pride being unmasked, it being remedied by this gospel. Now he is humiliated further by being approached by his servants, those who are lower than himself. He must submit to those who seem to be inferior to himself in order that he might be exalted in the end.

The first must become last, that they might become first. It’s gospel. Who are these servants? Well, if you can see it, they are evangelists. for the message of the gospel. Operating to convince this proud gentleman of his arrogance and his stupidity.

Not approaching him without love, not approaching him without respect, but with love, with respect. but in all seriousness, confronting them with the issues of life and death. Nonetheless, they are in anticipation of Gentile evangelists, through whom many a Gentile will be one. The bottom line, we can move through their argumentation, I don’t want to take a lot of time with it, but the bottom line of their argument seems to be a contrast between the easiness of what Elisha offers and the difficulty that would, after all, appeal to one like me.

But it is also the contrast between the foolishness of the message that has been given to Naaman in his own estimation, and the wisdom which he in his own estimation possesses. But in the end, you see, it is a contrast meant to accentuate the powerlessness of man for all of his wisdom, for all of what he supposes to be his might, The contrast between that and what might be procured by the power of God through the gospel of salvation.

Verse fourteen, by root of the gospel, the nations. come to submit to the Lord, and become, through baptism, newborn babes. By the gospel, the nations come to submit to the Lord, and become, through baptism, newborn babes. Naaman is, shall we say, convinced, moved It seems now that he is humbled that he demonstrates his humility by going to the Jordan and submitting himself in actuality to the command of the Prophet, to the demand of the Lord.

He obeys, therefore, the Gospel, and he is baptized with a baptism that identifies him with the people of God. and the purposes of God manifest in and through Israel. And this action brings him in touch, this Gentile, with the realities of and the blessings of the Messianic age. He touches the future in his submission. So then, down to the Jordan he goes to bathe.

His washing indicative of the cleansing of the gospel, and of that cleansing and washing with the fact that he has gone down. Don’t miss the adverb, he went down. You see, the one who is high, goes down. The one who is exalted in himself, goes down. he goes down. And in this act, and in this submission to the right prescribed, there is the expression of the death of self. He dies. Naaman dies.

And then he’s restored. But note what it says. He is restored in the flesh. There is a restoration of the flesh. The death for Neron is unto a resurrection in the flesh, in the body. We preach the resurrection of the whole body. The sanctification of, the glorification of the flesh. Jesus is raised in his body, in the flesh. And so shall we be. He is restored in the flesh. But then, the most amazing statement of all, so suggestive, so powerful, the stuff out of which entire stories in the gospel is constructed. And how many of them? How many of them? When Jesus, in fact, takes a child and places it in the midst of the disciples, they engage in an argument about who’s the greatest in the kingdom. That’s Matthew 18, read it for yourselves. Matthew 19, the children are being kept at bay by the disciples. Jesus says, don’t keep them at bay, bring them to me, for such is the kingdom of heaven.

Naaman becomes like a child, the perfect expression now of the humiliated. He’s coming to his consummation. He’s childlike now. The one who is great, the one who is surrounded by his horses and his chariot, the one who is surrounded by this retinue of servants, this one who comes with the epistles from the king of Syria, this one. who is the manifestation of all the glory and splendor of the world. He becomes, as a child, the very epitome of humility and simplicity. Naaman’s child-likeness now is indicative of his own humility. The humility, we might say, natively bound up in the figure of a child.

But that’s not all. So you see, the way in which Jesus treats the child figure in the Gospels is not simply to say to you, who are adults, you must become like a child. No, you see, what Jesus says is that the kingdom is made up of children and those like them. That’s what he says. The kingdom is made up of children and those like them. Not just of those who become childless, but of children and those like them.

The pattern of the covenant is consistent. even as we take up the matter of this figure, the matter of this person. Namely, it is not a matter simply then of adults submitting themselves to the right that God has described. No, the child-likeness that is in view places before you the child in this person, the child.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

January 15, 1989