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.
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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
“The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
So, now we can proclaim that “Jesus Christ is Lord!” Say that out loud. Try it louder! You did a good job, but those are just words. Let’s add one more word to that wonderful proclamation – “Jesus Christ is MY Lord!” Say that out loud. Try it louder!
We are called to be Servants & Stewards
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul is warning the Jesus followers of that day to never boast in being wise. Then, he begins chapter 4 with this: “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” ( 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 ) If we are servants and stewards, we do NOT belong to ourselves. We were in the same situation before we came to Christ: Romans 6:6 “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” That means we were part of the kingdom of darkness. Now, we have been set free (YEAH!) and we each have two choices:
• Living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Serving out of gratitude for His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary.
• Idolatry – putting anything before Christ.
The blood shed for our idolatry
The Crown of Thorns was not a part of the Roman crucifixion. It was done by the sadistic Roman soldiers as a way to mock Jesus. The thorns would have caused profuse bleeding. Ever have one of your kids “bust their head open?” You know that term? When there is a cut on the head, it bleeds and bleeds. It’s like there is blood everywhere.
God had to have those Roman soldiers there on that day because Jesus had to suffer the pain and injustice to fulfill every Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. All of this so that Jesus’ blood could be applied to the iniquity of idolatry.
Iniquities are on the inside. They are driving forces that manifest as sins and transgressions. In the Old Testament, idolatry was connected to the gods of those folks around Israel. Those gods had names like Baal and Asherah. These gods were worshiped by temple prostitutes and through the sacrifice of children.
What about today? J.I. Packer, a Canadian theologian who died in 2020, formulated a list of modern-day idols:
• Self: seen in the unholy trinity of the gods of sex, shekels ($), and stomach.
• Lust and Pride: seen as people are enslaved to pleasure, possessions, and position.
• Others: football, the firm, and even family
Still wondering about your idols on this day of NO EXCUSES? Here are three basic rules of Biblical Idolatry:
1 – Every person is serving gods in his or her life
2 – Every person is transformed into the image of his or her gods
3 – Humanity constructs society to conform to its gods
What about inside the church? Let me share a famous story with you: “Henry Ward Beecher was one of the great preachers of the 19th Century. He was ill one Sunday, so a substitute pastor walked up to the pulpit as the worship service began. Seeing that Dr. Beecher would not be speaking that day, a number of people got up and headed for the door. The substitute preacher said, "All those who came to worship Dr. Beecher this morning may leave. All those who came to worship the Lord, may stay in their seats." Everyone sat back down.”
https://sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/724/henry-ward-beecher-was-one-of-the-great-by-dan-erickson
Church folks will idolize the former pastor. Church folks will idolize the current pastor. Church folks will idolize a TV pastor. Church folks will even idolize the next pastor. We can make one type of music our idol in the church. We can idolize the church building. We can make the offering an idol. Any of those things can have a higher priority for someone in the church than the mission God has set before us. Maybe you are beginning to see why God would put the “have no other gods before me” as the first commandment. Today, all of us have put other things, other people, other priorities before God… at home…in the car... and even in worship. Yet we still try to tell ourselves, “Nope, no idols, not me.”
A clear warning
God had called the Old Testament people into a covenant. Joshua is asking the folks who had wandered in the wilderness for forty years because they would not trust the Lord their God to confirm the covenant. He asked them, “Who will you serve?” That is still the question for us today. In that day, the Israelites were surrounded by peoples and nations that did not serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What about us? What are we surrounded by in this culture? We are not confronted with carved images of stone, metal, or wood. We are surrounded by idols that occupy space in our hearts and our minds.
In Isaiah 44:20, we read:
“He feeds on ashes;
A deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
The deceived heart is a word picture of iniquity. It’s on the inside, but it steers what happens on the outside. It’s like the steering wheel of your car. Where is the steering wheel? On the inside. Where are the wheels? On the outside.
And who eats ashes? Have you heard of Pica? It’s a craving to eat things that are not edible, like dirt or chalk. A person with pica can be perfectly normal in every other way, yet be driven to eat pieces of foam rubber. Some folks even crave cigarette ashes.
That’s us. That’s all of us. Isaiah 44:20 is still true today. We feed on ashes, the spiritual ashes of idolatry. We walk in the garden of a beautiful deception, believing that God must have our help to save the world. We don’t want to be survivors. We want to be saviors.
Jesus suffered the pain of the Crown of Thorns so that He could be Lord of our lives. Until we realize that each of us is utterly dependent upon God for our next breath, idolaters we will be... but God made a way for us. Isaiah 44:22 “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” Thank God for the blood of Jesus! Amen.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Consider the words of Jesus on this matter: Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
• Look over the list of modern-day idols. What on that list needs to be removed from its place of priority in your life?
• Next week: Series: “Jesus’ Blood for Me” Luke 22:39-44 “From His Brow”
I’m thankful to Dr. Dale M. Sides for his book, “Perfect Redemption: The Purpose of His Passion,” 2004. You can find the book through his website: https://lmci.org/
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TEACHING SHEET
Series: Jesus’ Blood for Me
“From Jesus’ Head”
Joshua 24:14-16
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
Joshua 24:19
Exodus 32:2, 5-6
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. “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:
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
Proclamation – “JESUS CHRIST IS ____ LORD!”
We are called to be Servants & Stewards
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 If we are servants and stewards, we do NOT belong to ourselves. Romans 6:6 We were part of the kingdom of darkness. Now, we have been set free (YEAH!) and we each have two choices: 1 - Living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Serving out of gratitude for His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary OR 2 - Idolatry – putting anything before Christ.
The blood shed for our idolatry
J.I. Packer, a Canadian theologian who died in 2020, formulated a list of modern-day idols:
• Self: seen in the unholy trinity of the gods of sex, shekels ($), and stomach.
• Lust and Pride: seen as people are enslaved to pleasure, possessions, and position.
• Others: football, the firm, and even family
Three basic rules of Biblical Idolatry
1 – Every person is serving gods in his or her life
2 – Every person is transformed into the image of his or her gods
3 – Humanity constructs society to conform to its gods
A clear warning – Isaiah 44:20
Have you heard of Pica? It’s a craving to eat things that are not edible, like dirt or chalk. That’s us. That’s all of us. Isaiah 44:20 is still true today.
Isaiah 44:22 “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” Thank God for the blood of Jesus! Amen.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Consider the words of Jesus on this matter: Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
• Look over the list of modern-day idols. What on that list needs to be removed from its place of priority in your life?
• Next week: Series: “Jesus’ Blood for Me” Luke 22:39-44 “From His Brow”
I’m thankful to Dr. Dale M. Sides for his book, “Perfect Redemption: The Purpose of His Passion,” 2004. You can find the book through his website: https://lmci.org/
