PENTECOST 5 – July 5, 2020 – Zech. 9:9-12
“PRISONERS OF HOPE”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Zechariah 9. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- One of the remarkable things about the U.S. Soldiers captured during WWII was their optimism and hope that our side would ultimately win the war, and that they would be free once again. Though thousands of these brave men perished in prison camps, many times more ultimately did regain their freedom. They were truly “PRISONERS OF HOPE.”
- However, their hope was in their nation, in their fellow soldiers and fellow citizens. Their hope was in right . I’m certain that many of them also hoped in God – although there was no clear and directly applicable Word of God for their circumstances. Still, they hoped.
- Our text was written to the children of Israel at a time when they were captive in Babylon. The prophet Zechariah ministered to God’s people shortly after the time of Daniel. The Medes and Persians had conquered the Babylonians 20 months earlier, and the children of Israel were about to be released back to Jerusalem.
- Our text, however, speaks of much more than just a “release of prisoners” back to their homeland. It speaks rather of a much greater deliverance, a much greater King and kingdom than the former nations of Israel and Judah.
- We see a shift in this text from the children of Abraham hoping in an earthly kingdom and an earthly inheritance, to an eternal inheritance and home – the one originally cherished by Abraham as the center of his faith. You remember what Moses commanded the children of Israel to say as they offered up their thank offerings to the Lord in the Promised Land:
“And you shall make response before the LORD your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.’” Deut. 26:5
- So also, we read of father Abraham:
“By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:9,10
- Of the great heroes of faith from the Old Testament we read:
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” Heb. 11:13
- So the apostles remind us and urge us:
“And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” 1 Peter 1:17
- Hopefully, you can begin to see the point. We too are exiles, as were the children of Israel in Babylon. We remain “strangers and exiles on the earth,” looking forward to the kingdom of God, which is eternal and the home of righteousness.
- And if this is the case, then we can also see ourselves as “PRISONERS OF HOPE,” as described in our text, looking forward to what is described, the coming of our glorious King and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the establishment of His kingdom. For:
I. Although We Have Been Imprisoned By Our Sinful Nature, Christ Sets Us Free
A. He Frees Us From Condemnation And Hell
Text: “As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.”
1 John 1:7 “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Epistle: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
B. He Delivers Us From Slavery To Sin
Romans 8:1,2 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Statement: This is why there is a call to “rejoice greatly”! Jesus, our King, has come to to us “righteous and having salvation.” He is the Lamb of God Who has taken away the sin of the world. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. We love, in newness of life, because He first loved us!
Application: All of these blessings are ours now – even though we are still “strangers and exiles here on the earth.” We take comfort in these realities, and this is our chief hope in life – as we “conduct ourselves with fear throughout this time of our exile.” In all of this, we too remain “PRISONERS OF HOPE,” looking forward to our true home, where our citizenship lies, in Christ’s eternal heavenly kingdom.
And for this time of “hope” in our exile:
II. Jesus Speaks Peace And Prosperity To All People, Especially His People Of Faith
A. Peace With God, For People Of Faith [though not for unbelievers]
Text: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and He shall speak peace to the nations.”
Rom. 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
B. He Reigns In Benevolence And Justice Over All Peoples
Text: “His rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
C. He Also Promises Prosperity To All Who Hope In God – Restored Double [think of Job]
Text: “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.”
Matt. 10:29,30 “Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”
D. He Returns Us To Our Stronghold – God Himself
Text: “Return to your stronghold, of prisoners of hope.”
Psalm 9:9 “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in Whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 37:39 “The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.”
Psalm 94:22 “But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”
Psalm 144:2 “He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in Whom I take refuge, Who subdues peoples under me.”
Statement: All of this is important for us – living through our time of exile. One of the things that the devil wants to rip away from us in our hope. He does this by focusing our attention on the details of this life. For the children of Israel it was the seeming hopelessness of their exile Babylon. For us, it is all of the things of this world – especially all that we think is within our own control.
- We focus upon the things we could lose, the things we might not attain, the evils that might befall us – and we forget that God is with us.
- We think that all depends on us – and yet we recognize our weaknesses, our failings, and our inabilities.
- We forget that God is our strength and our stronghold.
- We forget that our real aspiration, our real ambition and goal, is not this world, but the next. We forget we are strangers and pilgrims here!
Application: And this makes us vulnerable to hopelessness and giving up! It can overwhelm us and destroy our faith in God. It distorts reality so that we can be accused and abused by the evil one. So let us remember, especially in difficult and trying times, that we are in fact “PRISONERS OF HOPE,” destined for release, destined for freedom, destined for peace and prosperity – through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: This has always been the plight and the blessedness of children of God – from the fall of Adam and Eve to this very day! Always we have been “strangers and exiles” here on earth, wending our way to our heavenly home – by the strength and power of God!
Rejoice then, you “PRISONERS OF HOPE,” for Jesus is with you as your stronghold, to bring you to His blessed kingdom of peace and prosperity! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.