From Jesus' Head Series

Series: Jesus’ Blood for Me

“From Jesus’ Head”

Joshua 24:14-16

Pastor John Bright

Joshua 24 “14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;”

We have looked at the blood from the hands and feet of Jesus that was shed for the unintentional sins and the intentional transgressions. That blood needs to be applied to what our hands do and where our feet take us. Unless, of course, you say, “I don’t got no sins or transgressions.” Sure! (wink, wink)

We also talked about the blood from the back of Jesus that was shed for our weakness and frailty. That blood needs to be applied for our healing. Unless, of course, you say, “I don’t got no sickness.” Sure! (wink, wink)

This week, even if you have been making excuses for every other week of this Lenten sermon series, NOT THIS WEEK! NO EXCUSES THIS WEEK! How can I be so sure? This week, we are looking at idols and idolatry. Everyone – you and me and all the other folks in this world – has been dealing with idols since you opened your eyes this morning.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Idols in Exodus

The reading this morning is from the end of Joshua’s ministry with the Israelites. A few verses later in Joshua 24:19 we read, “Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.” They were renewing their covenant with God. So, let’s go back to Exodus 24. Moses and Joshua go up on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and nights. The people are told that if they need anything, they should go to Aaron.

In Exodus 32, the people are complaining that Moses has been gone for too long. They go to Aaron and say, “Make us a god.” To this, Aaron replies, “NO WAY!” Not really, that’s what he should have told them. What really happened: Exodus 32:2 “ And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Aaron proceeds to make them a fertility idol. That’s what a carved calf is in pagan worship. Next, we read this: Exodus 32: 5-6 “5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

What did they do? They ate, drank, and got merry. I’m not going to go into great detail here, but – what kind of play goes on in front of a fertility idol? A week before this, they never planned to have a drunken sex party before a golden calf and pretend what they were doing was right and holy. That’s the funny thing about idols, nobody ever plans on having them… and we all have them. That’s why Jesus had to bleed from His head.

A Crown of Thorns

We find the Crown of Thorns in Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, and John 19:2. Each of these scriptures describes Roman soldiers twisting branches of thorns into a circle and pushing it down onto Jesus’ head. We do not know what plant was used. I found this mentioned several places: “It was probably the thorny nabk, which grew abundantly round about Jerusalem, and whose flexible, pliant, and round branches could easily be platted into the form of a crown.” Easton’s Bible Dictionary.

This cruel and mocking action symbolized the Lordship of Christ. The Crown of Thorns connects us to the past and the future. In the past, God spoke to Adam after the Fall. We read in Genesis 3:17b-18:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;

In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

And you shall eat the herb of the field.”

After the Resurrection, Christ ascended into heaven, and there He was seated at the right hand of God the Father. This fulfills the prophecy in Psalm 110:1