Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 1 May 2022
Christ and Crown
Scripture References: Psalms 2:1-12, Matthew 22:15-22, Romans 13:1-7
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CloseThe whole thrust of Romans 12:1-2 is that, because of God’s mercy (the good news of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection, for our sins), we are to be completely transformed as God’s people, in every area of life—we are his people, and so we give him what he deserves (our whole existence). This will affect how we view every facet of life—and in this series we will look at three: politics (Christ and crown), money (Christ and cash) and ethics (Christ and conscience). Today—politics!
Scripture References: Psalms 2:1-12, Matthew 22:15-22, Romans 13:1-7
Related Topics: Authority, Kingdom | More Messages from Bernard Gabbott | Download Audio
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We love a turning point. Whether it is a story or a football game. Hope dawning at the darkest time. Where is the great turning point in Esther? It could be our memory verse, when Esther is persuaded by Mordecai to act to save her people. It could be when the king looks with favour upon Esther and holds out the golden scepter to her. It could be when Haman is forced to lead Mordecai through the city mounted on the king’s horse and proclaims that he is the man the king delights to honour. They are major events in the story of Esther. They are turning points of a sort. But the writer of Esther points us to another event. That looks so trivial.
Esther is such an exciting story! There are evil plots. There are interesting yet flawed characters. There is risk and sacrifice. There is heroism and villainy. Today, we are introduced to the villain of the plot, and what an evil scheming villain he is! He spins lies and concocts murderous plans to do away with the Jews, God’s covenant people. How will the people respond? Will he get away with his evil plan? Will God, who is not mentioned at all, intervene to protect His people, to live up to the promises He made to Abraham, the people at Mt Sinai, and to David?
There is so much that sounds familiar in these first two chapters of Esther: the world is dominated by loud and brash and imposing and degraded power, the people of God are small and struggling and faced with ambiguous decisions and actions and God seems so far away he is almost absent (at least to our minds and hearts). As we read this book, we will need God’s revelation to help us navigate its strangeness, its ambiguity, and its confrontational narrative. In this, we have the key to the book—the lack of God’s name in letters does not mean the lack of God’s presence.
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