By: Dale Weckbacher
Text: Jeremiah
22:1-10
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and
said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
(ESV)
The mission of the Church has not
changed but how the Church shares the Gospel message of the death burial and
resurrection of Christ has. During the time of Jesus giving the Church the
Great Commission (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20), people had to spread messages through word of
mouth and written letters. Modern technology has made it possible to spread the
Gospel message through television, radio, email, the internet, and social media.
However, the message has not, and must not change.
In Jeremiah
22:1-10, the Lord is stating for a second time His message to the king of Judah
in Jeremiah
21:11-14, to protect the innocent who has been robbed by the invading army
invading Jerusalem. These innocents
consist of those robbed of their possessions, resident aliens or those living
peacefully in the land, the fatherless, and widows (Jeremiah
22:3). While scripture does not mention the name of the king of Judah in
this passage, it is most likely Shallum, one of Josiah’s sons. This is because
he is the king who went away into captivity with the remnant in Judah and who
died in captivity, never to return to Judah (Jeremiah
22:11-12). While he was among those
that disobeyed God, he also went with the exiles and may have been used by God
to protect them in captivity, evidenced by the house of Judah and the throne of
David not becoming a desolation.
This is a second message from the
Lord to the king of Judah to deliver from the hand of the oppressor those who
have been robbed, and to do no wrong or violence to the resident aliens,
fatherless, widows, or to shed innocent blood (Jeremiah
21:11-14; 22:1-10). God restates this message to reinforce the need for the
king of Judah to protect the remnant of Jews who will go into exile and from
whom a generation will emerge who will return to the land and rebuild the
Temple (Ezra
1). Just as a generation emerged
from those wandering in the wilderness that entered the Promised Land, a
generation will emerge from those in exile from whom Messiah will come. The
Lord is calling the king of Judah to protect this remnant.
The Church has a calling from God
to share the Gospel message and make disciples (Acts
1:8; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). God does not want anyone to die in sin
(2
Peter 3:9), so this calling is the Church acting as the hands and feet of
God to point people to Christ. Unfortunately, the Church can become sidetracked
by management responsibilities like managing programs or facilities and lose
sight of why these programs and facilities are needed, to facilitate spreading
the Gospel message. The Church can also become sidetracked by political and
cultural issues and attempt to correct them secularly through elections and
government. While the Church should speak out on cultural and political issues,
to attempt to fix them through changing the culture secularly is to attempt to
fix things through the supply side, making these activities illegal. Instead,
the great commission calls for the Church to reduce the demand for anti-God
political and cultural activities. The Church must focus on reducing the demand
for sin by pointing people to Jesus instead of condemning or judging them (John
3:16-18).
If you are reading this and never
made a profession of faith in Jesus as your Savior, I invite you to do so now
by praying with me.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
I encourage those that just
prayed to share their decision with others, especially those praying for them. I
also encourage you to share this post with friends so they too can make a
profession of faith in Jesus as their Savior. You are also encouraged to find a
Church teaching from the Bible where you can learn more about God. May God
challenge and bless everyone reading this post,
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