First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

Text: 2 Chronicles 34:1–3; 35:20–27
Theme: Our last hope: Josiah
Psalm 30; Revelation 21:1–6b; Luke 23:26–31
Hymns: LSB 436, 532

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

B. The reading from 2 Chronicles 34-35 serves as our sermon text for this
evening.

C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
1. Holy God, I carry the burdens of words spoken that I wish I had not; of
acts done in anger or pride that I wish I could undo.
2. I hold grudges for a long time, and I do not reconcile with those from
whom I am estranged.
3. Forgive me.
4. Forgive those words and deeds and inactions that cause You and others
sorrow.
5. Restore me, renew me, and give me the strength, courage, and love I need
to be Your gracious child and effective witness.
6. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I pray.
7. Amen.

Introduction

A. This is our final Lenten midweek service, and we turn to Josiah, the
last of the good kings of Judah.
1. Over the previous fifty-seven years, Judah had suffered under two of the
worst kings she ever had.
2. The first was Manasseh, who reigned fifty-five years and was succeeded
by his son Amon for two years.
3. Amon was assassinated, and his son Josiah was made king.

B. Fifty-seven years of worshiping idols and an ever-weakening kingdom took
its toll on Judah.
1. Imagine for a moment if since 1966 our nation had been led by
persecutors of Christianity.
2. The faithful remnant remained, but it was very weak.
3. Several generations had passed without regular celebration of Christmas
or Easter and teaching of the Bible.
4. Instead, they were accustomed to worshiping sports or spending time or
communing with nature.
5. The church was again in disrepair; this is what always accompanied long
periods of faithlessness.

A. Josiah was Judah’s last hope.

A. At this time, the boy Josiah, just eight years old, began to reign.

A. 2 Chronicles 34:2 (NASB95)
2He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his
father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

B. Even as a boy of sixteen, he sought the God of David.

C. Josiah’s reign began in the chaos of an assassination and foreign
enemies on every side.

D. Could Josiah stave off the destruction of Judah and lead the people back
into glory?

E. It sure seemed that he was the last hope of Judah.

B. But Josiah died opposing God’s Word.

A. At the age of twenty-six, Josiah began to repair the house of the Lord
again, as his faithful ancestors had done.

A. As the carpenters and builders were working, amid the clutter, Hilkiah
the priest found the Book of the Law, the Torah of Moses.
B. This book, more precious than all the money that was found in the
temple, was brought to King Josiah.

B. And so it was that the people of Judah were reminded of the great
promises and curses of the Mosaic covenant.

A. There was a renewal of faith as all the people, great and small, heard
the words of the Book of the Covenant.
B. There was repentance and turning away from idols.
C. There was a renewal of the covenant as Josiah kept a Passover in
Jerusalem.
D. It is written that:
1. 2 Chronicles 35:18 (NASB95)
18There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days
of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a
Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel
who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
E. But hanging over the reign of King Josiah was the word of the prophetess
Huldah, who had prophesied impending disaster, only delayed until the death
of Josiah.

C. Not long after this, Josiah, the king who was given God’s Word, was
confronted with a very worldly problem.
1. Pharaoh Neco of Egypt was marching his army north through Judah in order
to fight further north at the Euphrates River, probably against the newly
expanded kingdom of Babylon.
2. We don’t know exactly why Josiah opposed it, but there are many possible
reasons.
3. It’s unsettling for any government to have foreign troops travel through
its land.
4. Whatever the motivation, Josiah was disturbed and went out with an army
to meet Neco.
5. Remember, Neco was not intending to fight Judah.
6. But Josiah sought to pick a fight with Neco.
7. Neco was headed north to fight at Carchemish.
8. In fact, Neco apparently had the command of God for this mission and
declared as much to Josiah.
9. In a remarkable exchange:
A. 2 Chronicles 35:21–22 (NASB95)
21But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What have we to do with each
other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today but against the
house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for
your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not
destroy you.”
22However, Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in
order to make war with him; nor did he listen to the words of Neco from the
mouth of God, but came to make war on the plain of Megiddo.

D. Nevertheless King Josiah couldn’t resist interfering in international
politics and was determined to fight Pharaoh Neco.
1. So Josiah was found opposed to God’s Word, spoken by Neco, one of the
most unlikely prophets of Scripture.
2. It’s clear that Josiah knew he was doing wrong, because he did not call
on God and go into battle leading his forces.
3. Instead, he disguised himself, as wicked king Ahab of Israel had done
many years before.
4. He was trying to oppose Egypt without having to do so publicly.
5. But King Josiah was not disguised from God, and an arrow hit and
mortally wounded him.
6. The arrow, a long-range weapon, was not aimed at the king, but found him
by God’s will.
7. And so the words of Pharoah Neco were fulfilled as King Josiah was
destroyed in the valley of Megiddo.

E. Thus the last hope of Judah had fallen in an unnecessary war with a king
acting by God’s command.
1. Josiah’s son Jehoahaz reigned in his place for only three months until
the Egyptians installed a puppet king, that is Jehoiakim.
2. Soon Babylon invaded and set up one of its own puppet kings with
Zedekiah.
3. One thing led to another, and Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed,
the chosen people exiled.
4. The prophecies of Huldah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah were all fulfilled.

C. Now what hope is there when a good king dies?

A. While the future was unknown, it was clear at Josiah’s death that the
kingdom of Judah would never be the same.
1. The glory days were now gone, and foreigners would have the upper hand
in the land of David.
2. Thus the death of Josiah was a time of weeping and lamentation.
3. Weeping for a good king whose death was untimely and unnecessary.
4. Weeping for a lost nation whose future was certainly a shadow of her
past.
5. This weeping would continue for at least two hundred years.
6. With the lament of Jeremiah and others by men and women singing, the
Judeans continued to mourn the death of their king and his kingdom.

B. King Josiah was a good king—truly a great king.
1. But even his righteous repentance and sacrifices were unable to stop the
destruction of the kingdom.
2. After all, what good is a king if he can only give his people peace
until his death and then comes the end?
3. What hope is there when all that a man works for is passed on to the
next generation, who sees its destruction?

D. The Son of Josiah died fulfilling God’s Word.

A. One generation follows another, and this pattern continues.
1. So it was that the Son of Josiah came to a wicked and sinful generation.
2. The kingdom of God was at hand, but there was much opposition to it.
3. The faithful had been prepared by the prophet John the Baptist.
4. He called the people of God to repentance in the Judean wilderness by
the Jordan.
5. So the Son of God brought out the Torah and Prophets while teaching in
the temple, synagogues, and countryside.

B. Moreover, the Son of David suffered according to the Word of God.
1. Jesus often taught that the Son of Man must suffer and die and be raised
again.
2. So the Son of David entered Jerusalem when he knew that it meant certain
death.
3. It wasn’t just a matter of divine foreknowledge.
4. His disciples noted closely that the chief priests, scribes, and
Pharisees had been eager to stone him for months.
5. Jesus wasn’t going for a coronation but an assassination!

C. Yet Jesus would not be deterred.
1. The Son of Josiah would not disguise himself or hide from the enemy like
Josiah or Ahab had done.
2. He taught openly in the temple.
3. He confronted false teachers wherever they opposed God’s Word.
4. It was instead his enemies who sought the cover of darkness to hide
their evil deeds.
5. Out of fear of the crowds, the chief priests took Jesus into custody in
the dead of night.
6. By morning, the Son of God was stripped of his clothes and hung bare
under the sign, which read, “This is the King of the Jews.”

D. While the crowds called for blood, the faithful women wept and lamented,
as St. Luke recorded.
1. On Sunday morning, St. John tells of Mary Magdalene weeping at the empty
tomb for her deceased Lord and his body that was nowhere to be found.
2. Fear gripped this would-be king’s followers.
3. He was the one they had hoped would redeem Israel.
4. Now he was dead and gone, and the future was bleak indeed.
5. It would be forty years later, but their Lord had told them that
Jerusalem and the temple therein would be destroyed.
6. The nation they loved would once more be a relic of past glory.

E. So now Jesus is Israel’s last hope.
1. So it was that the last hope for Israel hung on a cross.
A. Not shot accidentally by archers but knowingly nailed to the tree.
B. The sign proclaimed what their hearts refused to believe: that Jesus is
the king of the Jews.
C. And the world rejoiced at the death of this innocent man.
D. Wicked men had opposed God’s Word and violent men took the kingdom by
force.
E. Meanwhile, his followers wept and lamented.

B. But this is not the end, for The Son of Josiah Has Turned Our Mourning
into Joy.

Conclusion

A. What Jesus knew, what the disciples and the women could not believe, was
that the path to an eternal kingdom went through the cross.
1. Only by suffering death could death be overcome.
2. With our sins forgiven, we can follow our Savior into life, where
weeping is no more and sorrow is turned to dancing.

B. The reign of this Son of David was incredibly short by earthly
standards.
1. He was marked for death, already sentenced to death when he was crowned
king.
2. But there would be no successor, because Jesus is the only king to
succeed himself at death.
3. So we no longer mourn King Josiah; we do not mourn the destruction of
the temple or Jerusalem, whether the first or second time.
4. Those things we do not need!
5. Our King lives eternally, and his kingdom is all around us.
6. In him, in our resurrected Lord, we have all the hope we will ever need.
7. Whether devils fill Armageddon or fear grips our hearts, we need only to
look to the cross.
8. There we see the power of God and his King, our Lord and Savior.

C. When we turn to the cross, our sorrow is turned to joy because the
eternal King says:
1. John 16:22–24 (NASB95)
22“Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your
heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
23“In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say
to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to
you.
24“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will
receive, so that your joy may be made full.
B. Amen.

D. Let us pray:
1. Holy God, I admit to You that all is not right – in my heart and in my
world, I look to the darkness and not to the light.
2. I look for what is broken, and not at what is being mended.
3. I look to criticize and not to praise.
4. I look at myself and not at You.
5. Turn me around so that I look at the possibility, at hope, at promise,
at grace, at healing, at Your love.
6. This I pray in the strong name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.

E. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

F. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Epistle lesson from Romans 8 serves as our sermon text for this
morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
Ø LSB 430:1 My Song Is Love Unknown
My song is love unknown,
My Savior’s love to me,
Love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be.
Oh, who am I
That for my sake
My Lord should take
Frail flesh and die?
Text: Public domain
Introduction

A. If you are a condemned person, you are officially declared “guilty” of
your actions and your sentence awaits.
1. Throughout history, many criminals were not only condemned and declared
guilty but were also put to death for their misdeeds.
2. They were:
A. hung,
B. shot,
C. gassed,
D. electrocuted,
E. injected,
F. and more.
3. However, the death penalty has over time been increasingly debated.
4. One reason some have argued against the practice is that some people,
after being put to death, were found actually to be innocent, or at least
not worthy of such extreme punishment.
B. Well, more than talking about the government bearing the sword in Romans
13:4, Paul talks about the guilt of man according to his sin.
1. He says that no one is found innocent.
2. In fact, just before our Epistle lesson, in Romans 7, he makes it very
clear that even with our best intentions, we can’t be free from sin.
3. He writes:
A. Romans 7:15 (NASB95)
15For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I
would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
B. Romans 7:18 (NASB95)
18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the
willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
C. Romans 7:24 (NASB95)
24Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
4. Paul makes it clear.
A. We are not a lot different before God than those on death row are before
man.
B. We are guilty, every one of us!
C. All of us!
D. There are no exceptions!
E. There is no way for us to work our way out of sin.
C. But the beauty and joy of this letter is in what comes next.
1. Paul asks:
A. Romans 7:24 (NASB95)
24Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Romans 7:25 (NASB95)
25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand
I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my
flesh the law of sin.
2. The answer lies in a Savior from the outside, a Rescuer.
A. Jesus is that Savior; he was sent to bail us out.
B. At the very end of chapter 7, we read Paul rejoicing in this fact,
saying:
1. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7:25).
C. And not only that!
1. Because of this rescue, Paul begins chapter 8 with the following
statement:
A. Romans 8:1 (NASB95)
1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
D. That’s right.
1. In Jesus, you’re not guilty.
2. In Jesus, you’re taken off of death row.
3. In Jesus, you can be at peace.
4. In Jesus, There Is No Condemnation.
E. Why?
1. Jesus Christ came to be our substitute and because He came to be our
substitute, we now live by the Spirit.
I. In Jesus, There Is No Condemnation, because Jesus Christ came to be our
substitute.
A. The purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth was to live as our substitute
under the Law.
1. In a very real way, Jesus came to take our sentence onto himself.
2. He came to do our jail time, to receive the guilty verdict and pay for
our sins with his own life.
3. When Paul says there is no condemnation for those who are “in Christ,”
he is referring to Jesus’ role as our ransom for sin and our union with him
in Holy Baptism.
4. As our ransom, Jesus was the payment offered to God for our sin.
5. Peter says it this way:
A. 1 Peter 1:18–19 (NASB95)
18knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or
gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
19but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood
of Christ.
B. Here we might remember the Old Testament sacrificial system with all of
its ceremony and frequency.
1. Day after day, week after week, the priests of old were to offer
sacrifices to the Lord.
2. Why?
3. The writer to the Hebrews declares:
A. Hebrews 9:22 (NASB95)
22And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed
with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
4. The priests were to sacrifice the appropriate animal for the atonement
of the people’s sins.
5. They were to trust the Word of the Lord and to see in that sacrifice was
their forgiveness.
C. Probably more than any other, we recall the sacrifice of the lamb.
1. Let us reflect on the first what happened on that first Passover for the
Israelites while in Exodus.
2. On that night, the sacrifice of a lamb was central, and again each year
it was a substitutionary sacrifice and a foreshadowing of what was to come.
3. This is why when John the Baptist came on the scene he looked at Jesus
and cried out:
A. John 1:29 (NASB95)
29The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world!
4. When John spotted Jesus, he looked upon the real and greater substitute
for sin who would ultimately win forgiveness for the world by taking our
place under the Law and dying as a sacrificial offering, not by a noose or
a gun shot or electric shock but by death on a cross as was prophesied of
old.
5. With the shedding of his blood, however, there indeed is forgiveness,
and that forgiveness leads to life for mankind!
D. Not only did Jesus become our sin-bearer, but in Romans chapter 6, Paul
makes clear that Jesus’ substitutionary work on our behalf leads to
Baptism, which unites us to Christ.
1. In Romans 6:3–5, we read:
A. Romans 6:3–5 (NASB95)
3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
have been baptized into His death?
4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that
as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we
too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,
certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
E. This language helps us understand the “in Christ” language of verse 1 of
our text.
1. How is it that is there no condemnation for you?
2. By having union with Christ.
3. As our substitute, Jesus died in order to win for us forgiveness of
sins.
4. Additionally, as our substitute, through Baptism, he clothes us with
himself and grants us the gift and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
5. So, Jesus has not only taken our punishment upon himself, but he has
also remade us and joined us to himself as a fruit of his substitutionary
work applied through Baptism and faith.
6. Paul says in verse 2 of our text:
A. Romans 8:2 (NASB95)
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from
the law of sin and of death.
B. Because of Christ, you are not condemned; you are free.
C. Because of Christ, you are not alone, but the Holy Spirit dwells in you
richly.
F. Remember Barabbas?
1. The Bible says Barabbas was a “notorious prisoner” locked away because
of robbery and murder (Matthew 27:16).
2. On that infamous day, Barabbas and Jesus stood before the people.
3. Pilate asked:
A. “What do you want me to do with them?”
B. Of Barabbas, they said, “Let him go!”
C. Of Jesus, they said, “Let him be crucified!”
D. Mark says it this way:
1. Mark 15:15 (NASB95)
15Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and
after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
E. Have you ever cringed at Barabbas, at his guilt and his newfound
freedom?
F. Well, even as Jesus took Barabbas’s place, he has taken yours and mine
as well.
II. In Jesus, There Is No Condemnation and we now live by the Spirit.
A. During Lent, we recall that Jesus took our place on death row.
1. He:
A. opened our jail cell,
B. let us out,
C. and, most amazingly, entered himself.
2. While we rejoice in Jesus for taking our place, we also rejoice in
something else.
3. Not only did he serve us as substitute, he gave us the Holy Spirit as
gift and blessing.
4. The Holy Spirit helps us to suppress the flesh and to live beyond the
moment as children of God and heirs of heaven.
5. That’s the second reason there is no condemnation for us in Christ
Jesus—because we now live by the Spirit.
B. Unique to the Book of Romans and the entire Scriptures is chapter 8 and
its distinction between “life by the Spirit” and “life by the flesh.”
1. Apart from Christ, we are darkness.
2. Our lives are motivated by fleshly desires, and as such we have no hope
of heaven.
3. However, with forgiveness won by Christ and his life offered in our
place as substitute, the Holy Spirit is now given to make us holy and to
give new direction to our lives.
4. Paul writes of this in verses 3–4:
A. Romans 8:3–4 (NASB95)
3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for
sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not
walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5. As those who have escaped condemnation, we find that:
A. our state of being,
B. our perspective in life,
C. and our manner of life have all been changed.
6. Paul speaks of this change throughout the rest of Romans chapter 8, the
final verses of our text and the verses following, as “living by the
Spirit.” He makes four points to explain what this “living by the Spirit”
means.
A. First, when we live by the Spirit, we live with confidence in our
resurrection. Paul says in verses 10–11:
Romans 8:10–11 (NASB95)
10If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the
spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
1. In union with the Holy Spirit, you cannot be condemned.
2. When the Father sees you in union with the Holy Spirit, he sees Christ
in you, a child of God.
3. This reminds us of the Beatitudes of Matthew 5.
4. Line after line, we read:
A. “Blessed are you, blessed are you, blessed are you.”
B. In this discourse, no one is blessed because of being perfect, nor
blessed by being engaged in some extraordinary activity.
C. The blessed are blessed due to their present condition of faith in the
Lord and presence of the Holy Spirit.
D. Those who are blessed by this union look forward to the day of the
resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
B. Second, when we live by the Spirit, we live with the confidence that we
have been made:
1. “sons of God” (8:14).
2. Jesus teaches us to pray “Our Father” for a reason.
3. He wants us to know and believe that he came to earth not just to be our
Savior, but also our Brother.
4. So we sing with joy the hymn, “God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It” (LSB
594).
5. Paul teaches in verse 15 that the Holy Spirit leads us to cry out to God
in a childlike way, saying:
A. “Abba! Father!”
B. We can call out to our heavenly Father in confidence.
C. Having this relationship, though our flesh continues to assault us with
temptation, we ought to remind ourselves over and over again that we indeed
are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.
D. This is why Luther encourages Christians to wake up in the morning, make
the sign of the holy cross, and say, “In the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
E. He says this so that we might remember who we are, or better yet, whose
we are.
F. That we might recall our Baptism into Christ and that the Holy Spirit
has brought us into the family of God.
C. Third when we live by the Spirit, we look forward to the future glory of
heaven.
1. In verse 18, Paul shares a familiar and comforting message:
A. Romans 8:18 (NASB95)
18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
B. Life by the Spirit looks forward to heaven.
C. The earth with its lusts, pleasures, temptations, sickness, vanity, and
general brokenness due to sin is not our final destination.
D. Paul makes clear that the earth is groaning and laboring like a woman
experiencing birth pangs—and that things here are just plain wrong.
E. By the Spirit, we can understand the present circumstance and patiently
await our final goal and future hope.
F. How important this is to know!
G. Because heaven has been made secure by Christ our Redeemer, we can truly
say these words:
H. Romans 8:28 (NASB95)
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
D. Finally, when we live by the Spirit, we realize that nothing can
separate us from the love of God.
1. Quite possibly the most comforting portion of chapter 8 is Paul’s
listing of all the things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ
when we live by the Holy Spirit. Paul writes:
2. Romans 8:35 (NASB95)
35Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Romans 8:37–39 (NASB95)
37But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved
us.
38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
C. Truly “life by the Spirit” is a different life from living “life by the
flesh.”
1. It is:
A. A life lived free from fear,
B. a life with rich identity,
C. a life of confidence in the future,
D. and a life certain of God’s love.
E. These are not themes that typically exist for people living on death row!
D. When Paul said:
1. Romans 8:1 (NASB95)
1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2. he meant it . . . and much, much more!
3. As we meditate on the words of Scripture this Fifth Sunday in Lent and
soon come to Holy Week, we should consider what it means that Jesus was
willingly condemned in order to set us free.
4. Not only did he gladly take our punishment upon himself, he graciously
gave us the Holy Spirit and made us victors forever in his name.
Conclusion

A. He’d squandered everything.
1. His father had been so good to him, so generous, advancing him his
inheritance in cold, hard cash, and he’d blown it all on wild living.
2. As he trudged back from the far country toward his father’s house, he
knew what was coming.
3. He knew what he deserved:
A. “I told you so!
B. You had your chance.
C. Now you’re on your own.”
4. But no, that is not what happened!
5. Dad comes running out to meet him!
6. Not a harsh word.
7. Not a well-deserved judgment.
8. Instead he hosts a party and showers good graces on this, his lost son!
B. The parable of the prodigal son is a wonderful reminder of grace and
undeserved mercy, as Paul describes in Romans 8.
1. By Christ’s sacrifice for us:
A. Romans 8:1 (NASB95)
1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2. With humble thanks and a great sense of peace, we reenter the Father’s
household as dearly loved and redeemed children. Amen.
C. Let us pray:

Ø LSB 430:7 My Song Is Love Unknown
Here might I stay and sing,
No story so divine!
Never was love, dear King,
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my friend,
In whose sweet praise
I all my days
Could gladly spend!” (LSB 430:7) Amen.
D. The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

E. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The reading from 2 Chronicles 26 serves as our sermon text for this
evening.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
Ø Holy God, hear my prayer.
There is pain and there is sorrow, there are broken relationships and
broken hearts.
Sometimes I am the cause of those things.
I have caused pain. I have broken the relationship.
Sometimes I am simply a part of them – I am the one who suffers, I am the
one who is broken.
So I ask for Your forgiveness, and I ask for Your healing.
Beyond that, I ask that You turn me from my former self to a person who
reflects Your mercy and grace and love.
Through Christ, who is my example, I pray. Amen.

Introduction

A. Inscribed at the Delphic Oracle, a temple of pagan prophecy in ancient
Greece, were the words “Know Thyself.”
1. Traditional Greek wisdom considered that every man should know who he
was.
2. If you’re a commoner, know that you are a commoner.
3. If you’re an aristocrat, know that you are an aristocrat.
4. Know your privileges and obligations.
5. Know your strengths and weaknesses.
6. Perhaps most important to the Greeks was the idea that you are mortal.
7. You are not a god, and you should not try to imitate the gods.
8. Therefore know yourself.
I. We all need to know our place in life—including what we’re not.
A. Perhaps it is better to say:
1. “Know your place.”
2. Although this goes against the grain of our culture, which takes pride
in being free of any restrictions and being who you want to be, there is
still great wisdom in this phrase.
3. Especially with respect to God, you do well to know that he is God and
you are not.
II. Uzziah’s pride led him to usurp the priest’s role.
A. King Uzziah held the highest office in the land of Judah.
1. He was a descendant of David and a good king.
2. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that
his father Amaziah had done” (26:4).
3. Uzziah was the grandson of King Joash, about whom we spoke last week.
4. Uzziah ascended the throne at sixteen and reigned fifty-two years, one
of the longest-serving kings.
5. He won victories over the Philistines on the coast and the Arabians in
the desert.
6. His fame reached the border of Egypt.
7. As with the other kings, this was not because of his greatness.
8. “As long as [Uzziah] sought the Lord, God made him prosper” (26:5).
B. The reign of King Uzziah as described in 2 Chron­icles is defined by his
strength.
1. He broke down the wall of Gath, the city from which Goliath had come.
2. Ancient enemies like the Ammonites paid tribute to him.
3. He fortified Jerusalem with high-tech weapons that could shoot arrows
and stones from towers.
4. He expanded the kingdom and enriched Judah.
5. Again, Scripture says:
A. 2 Chronicles 26:15 (NASB95)
15In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the
towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great
stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he
was strong.
C. Yes, Uzziah was a strong king—but he was a terrible priest.
1. That ought to go without saying, for he was not a priest.
2. He was a king.
3. Unfortunately, King Uzziah did not heed the maxim for him to “know
thyself.”
4. He let pride—the Greeks would call it hubris—grow inside of him.
5. He grew proud to his destruction and decided in turn to play priest.
6. Uzziah entered the Holy Place in the temple to burn incense.
7. Only the priests were to go there; only the sons of Aaron were to offer
incense.
8. Perhaps you remember that even Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, had burned
unauthorized incense and paid with their lives.
D. But Uzziah was proud, apparently believing in his strength above all
else, and boldly entered the temple to burn incense.
1. Azariah the high priest and eighty other priests tried to stop him.
A. 2 Chronicles 26:18 (NASB95)
18They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah,
to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are
consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been
unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God.”
B. King Uzziah reacted in anger.
C. No one would tell him what he couldn’t do!
D. Filled with pride, he believed he was the supreme ruler.
E. He was famous around the world, and he was strong.
F. That, however, didn’t make Uzziah a priest.
G. Offering incense in the Holy Place was not his place.
E. The punishment for this impudence was that the Lord struck him with
leprosy.
1. Right on his face, the result of his sin could be seen.
2. This wasn’t simply a matter of sickness.
3. As a leper, he was ritually unclean and therefore:
A. 2 Chronicles 26:21 (NASB95)
21King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a
separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the
LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king’s house judging the people of
the land.
B. Indeed, he was also effectively removed from office as king, because the
law for lepers was that they must be separated from the population.
C. Even as king, he lived in a separate house, and his son, Jotham,
governed the people of the land. Thus isolated, King Uzziah’s strength and
fame were of no account.
D. Even at death, when he was buried in the kings’ burial field, Uzziah was
separated from his fathers according to Levitical law concerning those
afflicted with leprosy:
1. Leviticus 13:46 (NASB95)
46“He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection;
he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
E. His whole identity was changed:
1. 2 Chronicles 26:23 (NASB95)
23So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in
the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a
leper.” And Jotham his son became king in his place.
III. For salvation, we need a stronger king than Uzziah.
A. King Uzziah was a strong king.
1. But not only could his strength not save his people; it couldn’t even
save him.
2. Such is the strength of kings.
3. If we are to follow a king who brings salvation, he will have to be a
much stronger king than Uzziah.
IV. Jesus’ strong humility led him to take the priest’s role.
A. The Son of Uzziah is our Strong King and Priest.
B. So it is that Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of Uzziah, is our strong king.
1. His strength was not in military superiority:
2. Like breaking down walls or collecting tribute.
3. Nor was it in developing new weapons.
4. Jesus’ strength was in freeing people from demonic possession and
healing the sick, including lepers.
5. His power forgave the sins of men and taught with authority and power,
the likes of which had never been seen before.
6. The Son of God was not filled with hubris.
7. Although the eternal Word was in the form of God, he emptied himself to
be born of a virgin in the likeness of men.
8. He was found humble and riding on a donkey as the crowds chanted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
9. This Son of David humbled himself in obedience to his Father, even to
death on a cross.
10. Far from pride, Jesus suffered shame and spitting and mocking from
sinners.
11. Yet he lay down his life of his own accord.
C. In this death, the Son of Uzziah humbly took the role of priest.
1. This was not to gratify pride or show authority.
2. The King of the Judeans became a priest to offer the one sacrifice his
people needed.
3. He was not weak like the sons of Aaron who had to wash for their own
uncleanness and offer sacrifice for their sins before offering sacrifices
for the people.
4. Nor was his sacrifice feeble like their bulls and goats which, offered
daily and yearly, could never take away sins.
5. Only the perfect Lamb of God, offered by the Messiah, was the single
sacrifice for sins offered for all time.
6. And Jesus, the great High Priest, did not follow the order of Aaron,
whose sons died one after the other.
7. His priesthood is forever after the order of Melchizedek, for it is
testified that he lives.
D. As the Son of Uzziah hung on the cross, he endured the isolation of a
leper.
1. Jesus became sin and bore our sin in his body:
A. all the uncleanness of our flesh.
2. Separation from his Father, our God Almighty, resulted in the death of
the Son as the Spirit departed his body.
3. What weakness the chief priests and rulers of the Judeans saw!
4. Yet this was not the weakness of hubris, but the strength of Jesus’
humble purpose.
5. There never was strength like our Lord bearing the weight of the world’s
sin on his striped back.
6. There was all evil and the devil’s power defeated.
7. On the cross, Jesus was truly revealed: The Son of Uzziah Is the Strong
King and Priest we all need.
V. Our place is in the presence of God through King Jesus.
A. As the King of the Judeans hung on the cross, the curtain of the temple
tore.
1. The Holy Place lay open to all who would follow the Son and Lord of
David.
2. Indeed when our High Priest offered his perfect sacrifice, God highly
exalted him above the heavens, where he sat down at the right hand of the
Lord.
3. There the Son of David is David’s Lord and our Lord interceding for us,
offering perfect prayers sweeter than any incense on earth.
4. By his blood, we therefore have confidence to enter the holy places.

Conclusion

A. After all, what is your place?
1. Are you a king, or are you a priest?
2. Well, certainly not in the sense of the old covenant.
3. You may not be proud of your strength or be famous around the world.
4. But in Christ, you are a chosen race and a royal priesthood.
5. He has freed you by his blood and made you a kingdom, priests to his God
and Father.
6. The Ruler of kings on earth has made you a place with him in the kingdom
of heaven.
7. Your place is in the presence of God.
B. Let us therefore boldly draw near to the throne of grace and receive
mercy in every need. Amen.
C. Let us pray:
Ø O God, when I look at You and then look at myself, I realize how tiny I
am.
But I am not so small that my actions are inconsequential.
Sometimes a word of thanks brings warmth to a cold heart.
Sometimes a choice to forgive opens up a new future for two people.
Sometimes a thoughtless gesture slashes the heart.
Sometimes my inaction leaves the world in its sorry state.
I ask for your help.
I ask that Your greatness infuse my smallness.
I ask that I will not be captive to the wrong I do but changed by the mercy
You grant. Amen.
D. The peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
E. In the Name of the Father…Amen.