As part of my sermon research this week, I had to watch the movie Rudy. As you may know, it’s about a young man who dreamed of playing football for Notre Dame. Most people had written him off- he was too small, he didn’t have the grades to go to college, and even if he did, he couldn’t afford the tuition. Yet he persevered.
He attended junior college until he could enroll at Notre Dame as a junior. An assistant coach kept him for the practice team and due to his hard work, the head coach agreed to let him suit up for one game the next season. However, that coach retired and the new coach knew nothing about the promise. Rudy played his heart out all season long, only to get to the final game and see that he hadn’t made the roster.
Frustrated, he quit before the final practice and stormed off. Another player who had stayed because of Rudy tried to stop him. The maintenance man at the stadium who had promised to attend should Rudy get to dress, finds and talks to Rudy about what he’s doing. He tells him that he had been on the team and quit after two years, a decision he regretted every week for the rest of his life. Rudy shouldn’t make the same mistake.
Rudy returns to practice and the entire team applauds him. After practice, the starters came in to the head coach’s office, one by one, and turned in their uniforms, telling him to play Rudy in their spot. The coach relents and allows Rudy to dress for the last home game. The team has Rudy lead them on to the field. Near the end of the game, players get the entire stadium to chant Rudy’s name in an effort to get him in the game. When the coach calls for the offense to run out the clock, they run a trick play and score. The coach sends Rudy in for the ensuing kickoff, then one last defensive play, when Rudy sacks the quarterback to end the game. The team hoists him up on their shoulders and carries him off the field.
I remember when this movie was first released. As a high school sophomore, I outplayed our senior starters in practice, yet sat the bench because the coach had to play his seniors. Not wanting to play for that coach, my junior year I pursued other opportunities, only to get back to school in the fall and learn that we had a new coach. I returned to football my senior year and played well enough to be named honorable mention all-conference offensive tackle. A few of the coaches told my coach that had I played all four years, I would have been first team for both offense and defense and in the running for player of the year.
Now I was a college junior at Lincoln. Had I pursued football, I may have been playing as a Wisconsin Badger. That year, they had played one of their games in Japan and went on to win the Rose Bowl. And then the movie Rudy was released. I went back to the dorm that night, the one time I regretted that I had chosen ministry over football.
I share this memory today because I believe it ties in with our topic today in a couple of ways. We’ve been looking at how God makes all things new. We’re wrapping this series up today by talking about a new king. We’re going to look at events in the life of David. This story actually begins with regret. Chapter 15 concludes by telling us that Samuel grieved over Saul while God regretted that He had made Saul king.
My first time watching Rudy, I had to deal with my own feelings of regret and seeing the scene in which he was told he’d regret quitting again really got me thinking about the struggle Samuel must have gone through. But God doesn’t leave him there, giving him instructions to pick the next king in chapter 16. Now, we know David wasn’t perfect, but listen to the description Peter credits God for giving (read Acts 13:22). God picked David to prepare the world for Jesus. The obvious part is the genealogy- Jesus was born in the line of David. Let’s look at some of the foreshadowing God uses when it comes to King David pointing to King Jesus.
It starts as God chooses the next king by character rather than physical appearance. God tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil and head to Bethlehem. God would send him Jesse with his sons and Samuel would anoint one of the sons to be the next king (read 1 Samuel 16:6). I wonder if Samuel didn’t remember how Saul stood out when he was chosen as king, so when he saw Eliab, he thought this is the guy! He’s the firstborn, he’s good-looking, he’s tall- just like Saul towering over the people. But God says no (read 1 Samuel 16:7).
All in all, seven sons pass by, all of them rejected by God. Samuel asks Jesse if there’s anyone else. Jesse tells him there’s one more, his youngest son, but he’s keeping the sheep. Like Rudy, he was being overlooked- there’s no way this could be the guy. Samuel has David summoned and, when he arrives, God tells Samuel to anoint David as king.
How does this point to Jesus? (read Isaiah 53:1-3) Jesus wasn’t the messiah because He had an appearance that would magnetically draw people to Him. Jesus was the messiah because, as God here on earth, He would fulfill what needed to be done to bring salvation to mankind.
The second way that David points to Jesus is in how he points to God when he could have taken all the credit for himself. In 1 Samuel 17, we’re told about his battle against Goliath- a giant nearly 9’ tall, covered in bronze and carrying a javelin, a spear, and a sword while another soldier served as his shieldbearer. David hears the taunts and asks what’s the reward for defeating this Philistine.
They take him to Saul who expresses his concern about David taking on this trained warrior. David assures the king that God had protected him from lions and bears while he was watching the sheep, God would protect him from this giant. Saul gives David his armor, but he’s not used to it, so he goes with what he knows- a shepherd’s staff, slingshot, and five smooth stones. It’s almost like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Why five stones? Some try to say that this showed David doubted God as he went into the battle. But there’s a few possibilities that say otherwise. First, nowhere are we told that God promised David he’d defeat Goliath with the first stone. Second, David may have been preparing for the consequences of victory- should the Philistines attack he wouldn’t be weaponless as they charge. Another possibility that I like to entertain is that we learn later that Goliath has four brothers, all of whom are of giant size. It’s possible that he had one stone ready for each brother.
As David approaches Goliath in the valley, Goliath begins to mock him- am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? Come, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. Let’s read David’s response (read 1 Samuel 17:45-47). When David defeated Goliath, it was for the glory of God, not his own.
As we look to Jesus, I’m reminded of the time Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was in another town when he learns that Lazarus is ill. His sisters are hoping He’ll come to heal Lazarus, but Jesus has other plans and delays His journey. When they do arrive, He learns that Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. He asks to see the tomb and has the people roll the stone away despite their concerns. And then He says these words (read John 11:41-42). He called out to God before raising Lazarus from the dead so the people would understand the source of His power.
Previously, He had told the people that He was here to do God’s will (read John 6:38). In Philippians 2, we’re told that Jesus had humbled Himself by taking on human form and, because of His obedience, God exalted Him so that at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
Another example we see in David’s life is that he waited on God’s timing. After David defeated Goliath, Saul recognized that the people favored David more than him. Saul decided he needed to remove the threat and tried to hunt David down. On two occasions, Saul drew near to David but didn’t realize it and left himself exposed to attack. David’s men encouraged him to kill Saul before he could kill him, but David refused. Listen to his reasoning (read 1 Samuel 24:6). God had revealed to David that he would be king, he would wait on God’s timing.
In a similar fashion, Jesus had to tell people that it wasn’t his hour or his time. When His mother wanted Him to fix the shortage of wine at the wedding in Cana in John 2, He told her it wasn’t His hour. After feeding the 5,000 in John 6, He withdrew because the people were going to try to make Him king and it wasn’t time yet. In John 7, He told His brothers He wouldn’t be going to the festival because His time had not yet come, but then when He got to the festival and again in John 8, Jesus was not arrested because His hour had not yet come. It wasn’t until John 12 as He prepared the disciples for His arrest that He finally declares that the hour has come. Jesus waited on God’s timing.
The last aspect of David’s life pointing to Jesus that I want to look at today is the establishment of a home in which God would dwell. In 2 Samuel 7, David is determined to build a temple, a more permanent home for God. Initially, Nathan tells him to go for it, but then God responds, asking him if He had ever asked for something more than the tent He currently occupies. God tells David not to build the temple, let me take care of you for now, and later your son will build the temple. All this comes with the promise of 2 Samuel 7:16 (read). David collects supplies then leaves Solomon with directions for building the temple in 1 Chronicles 22.
Jesus also established a temple for God- the church (read Matthew 28:19-20). Notice that, just like when Jesus wasn’t talking about the physical temple building when He prophesied that He would rebuild the temple in three days, Jesus wasn’t replacing the temple with a building. The church is composed of the people (read 1 Peter 2:4-5). We come to Jesus- the living stone that was rejected by men. We are now made into living stones, built up to be a spiritual (not physical) house. We are His holy priesthood, made to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus (read Romans 12:1). Paul explains that we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Everything we do should be for Him. Life is no longer about what I want, but what God wants.
Understanding the life of King David prepares us to understand the life of King Jesus. It helps us to see that His kingdom will last forever and we are faced with a choice. We can join His kingdom or we can reject it. It’s a limited time offer, when Jesus returns to gather those who belong to Him, time will have run out. Why not make this decision today?
Invitation
