Sermon Snippet –The Paradox of Power – Part IV
INTRODUCTION – We return to the paradoxical principle of II Corinthians 12:10b: “When I am weak, then am I strong.” Through the lives of Paul, John, and Peter, we have seen that God rejects raw physical power (whether through personal violence or governmental malice) and emotional manipulation. Rather, our Lord directs our attention to spiritual and eternal strength. Let us consider four other Biblical examples today.
1. MARY WAS SPIRITUALLY STRONG
For more than thirty years, she carried with her the prophecy of Simeon: “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35a). The key word is “also,” for it told Mary that her baby boy would one day suffer death by execution. God is not cruel; He did not give this predictive information to Mary in order to torment her. Rather, it was a preparation for her, for others at that time, and for us in the sense that fulfilled prophecy is a compelling reason to believe the Gospel message. Still, day after day, Mary had to be wondering, “Is today that day?” That day came – no doubt too soon for her – yet she was one of the few who stood strong at the Cross of Jesus (John 19:25). She would not abandon her son, the Son of God. Such is sincere spiritual strength.
2. SALOME WAS SPIRITUALLY STRONG
We read Matthew 20:20-24 in relation to the Apostle John two weeks ago. “The mother of Zebedee’s children” is Salome (comparing Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40, and John 19:25), Jesus’ aunt. Like the other followers of Jesus, she anticipated that Jesus would inaugurate a kingdom immediately; imminent death was not part of her belief system. She received this prophecy in faith, though, and did not abandon Jesus (or her sister Mary – John 19:25). She likely lived long enough to receive the news of the grisly beheading of her son James (Acts 12:1-2). Such a faith stands strong against the sneers of snide cynics.
3. THOMAS WAS SPIRITUALLY STRONG
“Doubting” is so commonly applied to Thomas that it seems to be part of his name. However, in John 11:16, we find the following: “Then said Thomas, [who] is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him.’” Thomas was not being morose or defeatist. Jesus had taught the disciples repeatedly about His coming death in Jerusalem. “Doubting” Thomas listened and believed His words. He is reasonable in anticipating his own death, for it is logical that if the Savior God is killed that His disciples also would be slain. Thomas was wrong in this inference, but he still willingly walked with Jesus, undaunted by his erroneous expectation of execution. I wish that I could doubt that well. Thomas stood alongside Jesus, fully expecting to be killed.
4. STEPHEN WAS SPIRITUALLY STRONG
Stephen preached a precise and powerful sermon about the Savior (Acts 7:1-53). His spiritual insight is penetrating: he was speaking to a Jewish audience and thus argued specifically from the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled the Messianic requirements. Because his listeners could not refute his presentation, they resorted to man’s mode of power and stoned him to death (verses 54-60). This dichotomy of destructive physical power and constructive spiritual power is profound. We should note that Stephen did not presumptuously demand a miracle of God; rather, he simply asked to be with Him – a far greater miracle anyway. In the face of actual death, Stephen stood in faith – until he “kneeled down” before his Savior.
CONCLUSION -These four people – real people like us – had real faith. They shared a belief in Jesus Christ, Who fulfilled all prophecy, kept the Old Testament Law perfectly, died on the Cross to pay the full price for our sins, rose from the dead the third day as He predicted in order to grant us eternal life, ascended back to His home in heaven to prepare a place for all believers, and has promised to return for each one who simply trusts in Him. Each one of us can have this same faith by asking Jesus for His certain and everlasting salvation. The faith of these four may seem too spectacular to also be ours, but truly their faith and ours is the same, providing the strength that we need to keep moving steadily in the right direction, despite intense opposition.