John 19:6-15 (They Became A Curse)

Covenant Betrayal and the Marriage Imagery of Israel

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon. We pray that as we declare the Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who Christ is.

May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you. Imagine a marriage where one spouse is perfectly faithful to the other loving committed All the things that you would ever want while the other person is Repeatedly unfaithful.

The exact opposite betraying the covenant with a multitude of adulteries affairs and all kinds of sins. You can imagine the pain and the anguish that would come from such a covenant breaking behavior.

You would imagine the depth of pain that the person would feel who has experienced those covenant betrayals one after another after another. And this is exactly The place that we find the relationship between God and Israel in the Old Testament.

God's laid out the terms in covenant clarity and as the Jewish scholars have taught us Mount Sinai is a picture of a wedding scene. God drew his bride out of Egypt. He entered into covenant marriage with her and over and over and over.

She played the Bible's words the harlot and sinned against God. He laid out the covenant terms explicitly and as we talked about last week covenants Have stipulations and if those stipulations are obeyed there's blessings and if those stipulations are disobeyed and broken and there are covenant curses and God throughout the Old Testament is pouring out a portion of those curses on his people.

He's letting them be destroyed over and over and over again through the book of Judges and enslaved and subjugated he's letting them be exiled their city burned to the ground in the exile when the Babylonians came in and Ransacked the city and the prophets were sent by God as covenant lawyers.

To remind them of their failure to call them to repentance and to forecast The coming day of the Lord judgment if they do not repent. Because the story that we see in the Old Testament is partial application of the curses of the Covenant today.

We're going to see the very moment where the people of Judah evoke the totality of the curses of God. This is the fullest application of God's curses. For the covenant betrayal behavior that has ever been poured out on man and This is an example to all of us.

To be humble and to seek the Lord and to follow his covenant lest we end up in a similar position today, we're gonna see how the Judeans Evoked the covenant curses of God by standing before Pilate and signing their own divorce Certificate by saying we have no king but Caesar.

That was the treachery that brought upon the Jewish people the curses of Almighty God and we will see that profoundly today. Today we're going to look at the second half of the covenant curse motif last week.

We looked at the fact that Christ is the one who took the curses of the law for us. So that we no longer have to endure the fury and the wrath of Almighty God. But we stand in the shadow of Jesus who took that fury and that wrath for us.

And if you remember last week, we talked about how the violence of the cross was necessary. Because Christ was not only dying for our sins, but he was taking upon himself the wrath that was stored up for us.

So today We're going to look at. What does it mean to face God without Christ? To face God without a mediator. To face God as a covenant breaking participant. Where God is going to pull out the full fury of his wrath on you.

This is what we see happens to Judah. Now there's a few reasons why we're gonna do this number one. I want us to understand Curses because as I've noticed this week as I've looked at the passages that detail the curses of the covenant it actually Magnifies our understanding of Jesus's grace because if you understand Deeper and deeper and deeper what he did for you.

It actually magnifies your gratitude because now you're not thinking that all I can get to heaven by just being a good person. You can't do that. You're getting to heaven because he'd absorbed the violence of the fury of God on your behalf.

That's the first reason that I want to do this second is because I want us to see how they evoked the curses of God. I want us to see what covenant betrayal looks like why so that we don't end up falling into the same sort of sin.

Now I do want to say that we will attempt brevity With what we're going to be going through today. We will attempt brevity. But there are passages that we must understand if we are going to understand this topic and I can't shortchange The journey if we want to understand it rightly.

I Want us to feel the awful weight and the ugliness of the sin again. Not so that we can gloat not so that we can look at the Jews and say we're better than them by no means. But so that we look at Christ and Christ alone and see that he is our only hope.

Now to do this we're gonna look at four things today. We're gonna look at what are the curses of the covenant? There's two passages. You must understand if you're gonna understand covenant curses. It's Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy chapter 28.

So we'll understand what those are. Number two, we're gonna understand when those curses came. We're gonna look at the prophets in the Old Testament. Then a third part we're gonna look at John the Baptist and what Jesus have to say about these covenant curses.

And then we're going to bring all of this together in John 19 and show how it was this very moment Where the Jews welcomed the curses of God upon them and their children. So that we turn with me to John 19 verses 6 through 13 as we read our passage and as we set our passage Aside for a moment while we dig into the depth and the background of all of this will come back to our passage at the end.

But we need to see it. So if you will join me in John chapter 19 verse 6 through 15 passage says this. So when the chief priest and the officers saw him they cried out saying crucify crucify and Pilate said to them take him for yourselves and crucify him for I find no guilt in him.

The Jews answered him. We have a law and by that law He ought to die because he made himself out to be the Son of God. Therefore when Pilate heard this statement He was even more afraid and he entered into the praetorium again and said to Jesus.

Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him you do not speak to me. Do you know that I have the authority to release you and have I have the authority to crucify you? Jesus said you would have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above for this reason he who delivered me to you has the greater sin as A result of this Pilate made efforts to release him.

But the Jews cried out saying if you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar. Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at the place called the pavement but in Hebrew Gabbatha.

Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover. It was about the sixth hour and he said to the Jews behold your king. So they cried out away with him away with him crucify him. And Pilate said to them shall I crucify your king.

And the chief priests answered we have no king but Caesar. Let us pray Lord the sheer blindness and the madness To stand before the presence of God in the flesh and to trade him in for the wicked Caesar.

Lord, it's so hard to conceive because you've given us so much grace Lord help us today to rest in that grace to be thankful and grateful for that grace. And Lord, let us not fall into the same temptation sin and failure That the Jews fell into of the first century Lord.

Let us not protect us father from the blindness That caused them to kill your son. Lord, let there be no false sons here in our midst or let there be none here who think That they have something that they don't Lord.

Let us as your scripture says to make our salvation sure To work it out with fear and trembling or let us realize How serious covenant breaking behavior is to you by seeing it as you poured it out on the Jewish people.

Lord, let us not walk away from today seeing an Easy believism in this text. Let us not walk away from here seeing that That if I just pray a simple prayer and live like hell for the rest of my life, then I'll go to heaven Lord.

If you cut off the natural branches and threw them into the flames how much more so would you throw us out? With an attitude like that Lord let our hearts be set upon you. Let our thoughts and our emotions and our actions be set upon you and Lord.

Let us Take all the gifts that you've given us and use them for your glory. It's in Christ's name. We pray. Amen. In the passage the Jews say we have a law it's very fascinating that they would say we have a law.

They're appealing to the law. They're appealing to the Conduct of behavior and yet that same law Details the covenant curses that go upon anyone who breaks covenant with God. Yes, you have a law and yes, it is that law that will not condemn Christ, but will condemn them.

Now in order to understand the covenant curses, we've got to go back to the law. We're gonna go back to the law that the Jews appealed to in this passage and we need to see what the Mosaic Hall actually Has to say about it and I will tell you that these are some of the most difficult passages in the Bible and I'm gonna do.

Maybe less speaking less commentary when we're on this section because I want the Word of God to speak for itself but this is no mere hand slapping or Trifle warnings. These are passages that God intended to pour out upon Covenant breakers and after 1 ,400 years of covenant rebellion.

He did let's start with Leviticus 26 15 through 17. This is what God says if Instead instead of obedience if you reject my statutes and if your soul abhors my ordinances So as not to carry out all of my commandments and Break my covenant.

I In turn will do this to you. I will appoint over you a sudden terror Consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away. Also, you will sow your seed uselessly for your enemy will eat it up.

I will set my face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies and those who hate you Will rule over you and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. Can you feel the fury there of Almighty God.

God is going to punish? Covenant breaking behavior and he says I will punish you if you don't do all of my commands. From the smallest to the largest Devastation will be poured out upon that people. Invasion by enemies will be poured out upon that people.

Subjugation and starvation will be poured out upon that people. These are just a taste of what God says in his Word. These are the entry-level curses. Because it goes on the passage intensifies it says I Will also break down your pride and power.

I Will make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. Your strength will be spent Uselessly for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit. They will have humiliation.

They will cry out like the prophets of Baal and cut themselves and twist and turn in all sorts of different ways to get the Sky to produce rain and God said no, I will shut it down. It gets worse. Verse 21 through 22.

If then after that if you continue if you act with hostility against me and you and you're unwilling to obey me I will increase the plague on you seven times. According to your sins I will let loose among you the beasts of the field which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and Reduce your numbers so that your roads lie deserted.

Seven times of intensification in this passage so that beasts of the field would be unleashed upon the people so they'll be bereaved of their Children so their animals will die. It's not done. It's going more.

It says and if by these things you are not turned to me but act with hostility against me Then I will act with hostility against you. He's already been acting with hostility against them. It's now more.

It says and I even I will strike you seven times for your sins. I will also bring you upon a sword which will execute vengeance for you for the covenant and When you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence among you So that you shall be delivered into the enemy's hands.

When I break your staff of bread Ten women will bake your bread in one oven and they will bring back your bread in Rationed amounts so that you will eat and not be satisfied yet. If in spite of this you do not obey me but act with hostility against me Then I will act with wrathful hostility against you and I even I will punish you seven times.

This is the third set of seven. Further you will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters you will eat. I then will destroy your high places and Cut down your incense altars and heap your remains on the remains of your idols for my soul shall hate you.

I Will lay waste your cities as well and I will make your sanctuaries desolate and I will not smell your soothing Aromas. I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it.

You however I will scatter among the nations and Will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities become a waste. Have you read that passage before. Definitely not one you receive on a Hallmark card and yet here in John 19 This passage has not been fulfilled and it's full in the entire Old Testament not a single moment the Old Testament you can see that this has been fulfilled and here in John 19 The Judeans who are standing before the very presence of God face to face with their Creator.

They say we have no king but Caesar. Their King came to them their God the one who wrote the Covenant and signed it came to them and they said We want Caesar rather than you and they killed him. This is the greatest act of Covenant betrayal that's ever happened in History and because of that these things were poured out on them within a single generation.

Jesus says in Matthew 24 34 all these things will come on this generation. Matthew 23 At the end of the chapter He says that all of God's wrath that he's been storing up since Abel was murdered be poured out on that generation.

That means Rome would come in and occupy them that there would be pestilence. And if you have the stomach for it This book if it were rated according to movies, it would be rated NC 17. It's Josephus is Jewish Wars if you have the stomach to read it.

Read about the Roman armies bringing absolute hunger and starvation upon the people as they sat outside the gates and Prevented them from eating food. Read as the men ate human fecal matter because they were starving to death.

Read as there were women who roasted their infants in the fire and ate their children. These are historical events that coincide with the destruction God promised in Leviticus 26. He was not joking when he said I will pour out my wrath on that people.

They killed his son and Because of that they inherited the curse. Now Juno Leviticus 26 is not the only passage where this is laid out. It actually is laid out in more visceral detail in Deuteronomy 28.

Deuteronomy 28 is a picture of hell on earth. Deuteronomy 28 is a picture of what every single person in this room deserves apart from the grace of Jesus Christ. It's a long passage. I will admit that but I feel like I have to read it in full.

So if you will bear with me as we read this passage together, I'll start in verse 15 of Deuteronomy 28. But it shall come about if you do not obey the Lord your God. To observe to do all his commandments and his statutes.

With which I charge you today that all of these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city and Cursed shall you be in the country? Cursed shall be your basket in your kneading bowl.

Cursed shall be the offspring of your body in the produce of your ground the increase of the herd and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in and cursed shall you be when you go out?

The Lord will send upon you curses confusion and rebuke and all that you undertake to do until you are destroyed and Until you perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds because you have forsaken me.

The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until he has consumed you from the land where you are entering to possess it. The Lord will smite you with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with the fiery heat and with the sword and with the blight and with the mildew and they will Pursue you until you perish.

The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze. The earth which is under you shall be iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust. From heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will go out one way against them and you will flee seven ways before them and You will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of earth.

Your carcasses will be the food for the birds of the sky and the beast of the earth and There will be no one to frighten them away. The Lord will smite you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and with the itch From which you cannot be healed.

The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart and you will grope at noon as the blind man gropes in darkness and You will not prosper in your ways. But you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually with no one to save you.

You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her. You shall build a house, but you will not live in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit. Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes But you will not eat of it.

Your donkey shall be torn away from you and will not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies and You will have none to save you. Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people While your eyes look on and yearn for them continually but there will be nothing that you can do a People whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all of your labors and you will never be Anything but oppressed and crushed continually.

You shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see. The Lord will strike you on the knees and the legs with sore boils From which you cannot be healed from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

The Lord will bring you and your King whom you have set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known and There you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. You shall become a horror a proverb and a taunt Among all the peoples where the Lord drives you.

You shall bring out much seed to the field, but you will gather in little for the locust will consume it. You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine or gather the grapes for the worm will devour them.

You shall have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil for the olives will drop off. You shall have sons and daughters, but they will not be yours for they will go into captivity.

The cricket shall possess all your trees and the produce of your ground. The alien who is among you shall rise up Above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him.

He shall be the head and you will be the tail. So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed. Because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and his statutes, which he commanded you.

They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart for the abundance of all things. Therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you and hunger and thirst and nakedness and in lack of all things.

He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar from the ends of the earth as the Eagle swoops down a Nation whose language you shall not understand a nation of fierce countenance.

Who will have no respect for the old show no favor to the young? Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed. Who also leaves you no grain?

New wine or oil nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted.

Come down throughout your land and shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land Which the Lord your God has given you. Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the Lord has given you During the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you.

The man who is refined and very delicate a court among you shall be hostile towards his brother and towards the wife He cherishes and towards the rest of his children who remain. So that he will not give even one of them any of the flesh of his children to eat Since he has nothing else left During the siege and the distress by which your enemies will oppress you in all your towns.

The refined and delicate woman among you who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground. For her delicateness and refinement shall be hostile towards the husband she cherishes and towards her sons and daughters and towards her afterbirth which issues forth from between her legs and Toward her children whom she bears for she will eat them secretly.

For lack of anything else during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you in your towns. If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law Which are written in this book to fear this honored and awesome name the Lord your God.

Then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants Even severe and lasting plagues and miserable and chronic sicknesses and he will bring back upon you all of the diseases of Egypt Of which you were afraid and they will cling to you.

Also every sickness and every plague which not written in the book of the law The Lord will bring on you until you were destroyed in case he missed something. There's more. Then you shall be left few in number Whereas you were numerous as the stars of heaven because you did not obey the Lord your God.

It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you and multiply you so the Lord will Delight over you to make you perish and destroy you and you will be torn from the land where you were entering to possess it.

Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other and There you shall serve other gods Wood and stone which your fathers have not known. Among those nations you shall find no rest.

There will be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart Failing of eyes and disparity of soul so your life shall hang in doubt before you and you will be in dread night and day and You will have no assurance of your life.

In the morning you shall say would that it would be evening and in the evening you will say would that it were morning because of the dread of your heart which you dread and For the sight of your eyes, which you will see and the Lord will bring you back to Egypt and ships By the way about which I spoke to you that you will never see it again and there you will offer yourself for sale To your enemies male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer horrific image of God's judgment and this happened.

For centuries they were told that these curses would come if they disobeyed the Living God and for centuries they disobeyed him. For centuries they broke covenant with him for centuries. They tested him.

They like a child who is testing the patience of their father on and on and on said no. He will not do this to us and here in John 19 They have enacted the curse of the covenant once and for all they looked right in the face of God.

And they spit in his face and said we have no King but Caesar. Everything that was just read in Deuteronomy 28 was poured out on them even specific details like the fact that they were shipped to Egypt and Put into slavery.

Josephus tells us that of the ones that were left there was about a million people in the city when the siege of Rome started and There were tens of thousands at most when it was over of those that were left.

Half of them were shipped in ships down to Egypt and they were put in the salt mines and they worked out the rest of their days in futility and Brokenness. The other half were brought to Rome and they were paraded before the city.

The Ark of Titus Celebrates this fact. You can look it up even today of the Jews Jewish people Enduring the curse of a people like Eagles. Did you know the Roman? Symbol was the eagle. Deuteronomy 28 says it will swoop in like an eagle and pull them out.

It's exactly what happened in terrifying clarity. Everything in Deuteronomy 28 happened when the Romans came to town in 80 70. The extreme hunger we've talked about the walls falling the defenses crumbling the temple being Torn apart stone by stone the fire of God breaking out against them.

Josephus tells us even that he saw this as an act of God's judgment upon his people. Josephus was not a Christian, but he said this must be the covenant curses from the Old Testament. Titus the Roman Joined Pilate and saying You know Pilate said I find no guilt in Jesus.

Titus says I Find nothing but guilt in this people the Jews. Titus said this must be an omen from God. Imagine the polytheistic pagans saying they must have infuriated their God, which is an understatement to say the least.

Madness and confusion descended upon them disease and pestilence overtook them and all of their pride was Totally poured out now. We don't hear about this in the modern church. We hear about that. They say no King but Caesar, but we don't hear about the consequences of the covenant which happened where they were crushed beaten broken and cursed.

Deuteronomy and Leviticus tell us of a Incredible furious tidal wave of wrath. They came upon that generation and it's the same wrath that would fall on any of us except eternally. So If we turn from our covenant Lord.

The Prophets, John the Baptist, and Jesus Announce the Coming Judgment

Now it's not just the Mosaic Hall that talks about these things. The prophets also talk about these things as well. The prophets God sent them To warn them they had warning after warning. After warning the prophets saw all these things were coming and the people rebelled and rebelled and rebelled.

Ezekiel 16 and 23 tells them that they're the adulterous wife and they need to repent and love their husband from their youth. That they violated the marriage covenant between them and God. Ezekiel 16 25 and 31 says you built yourself a high place on top of every street.

You made your beauty Abominable. You spread your legs to every passerby and multiplied your harlotry. When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street, you made your high place in every square in Disdaining money you were not like the harlot.

What he gives goes on to say is that he admires The harlot because she at least received payment for her labor. He's saying that she voluntarily Fled from her God and adulterated herself before every idol on every hilltop.

The prophets foresaw the blinding that was coming upon the Jews for their covenant rebellion. Isaiah 6 10 render the hearts of this people insensitive. Their ears dull and their eyes dim. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and return and be healed.

Do you see what's happening? Because of Centuries of covenant rebellion. God says enough. I'm going to make it so they can't even repent anymore. I'm gonna make it so they can't see anymore here anymore perceive anymore.

The judgment is going to be so palpable upon them. They can't turn from it. It's inevitable. Isaiah in the terror of this passage asked God how long Oh Lord. How long with this judgment be poured out upon your people.

And God answers and in verse 11 and 12 Until their cities lie in waste without habitation houses without people. Until the land is a desolate waste. Zechariah it tells us Jesus is the shepherd who's going to come to this people.

But he's not coming to the people who are destined for green pastures and flowing waters. It says that he's coming to a people who are doomed. Zechariah 11 14 thus the Lord thus says the Lord my God pasture the flock.

This is a passage about Jesus. We know that as you read through chapter 11 everything that that is Referring to Jesus as they sell him they betray him for 30 pieces of silver. Just like Judas did and then that money is thrown to the potter's field.

Just like the Pharisees did this passage is about Jesus. God tells him pasture the flock that is doomed for slaughter. So Jesus came and Part of the reason that he came was to save his people. Amen. The other part of the reason that he came was to shepherd those under the judgment of God to make sure that they went towards their doom and He would not die until he had accomplished both.

He died accomplishing the salvation for his people and he died accomplishing the rejection of the reprobate both. Isaiah 5 5 talks about how Israel that was considered a vineyard in the Old Testament how their hedge is going to be removed and they're going to be utterly desolated.

Joel 2 Fascinating passage says that the armies are going to come and Joel 2 says that this is gonna happen when the Spirit of God is poured Out at Pentecost. So after Pentecost the Roman armies come in like locusts and devour everything.

That's what this passage is talking about. Jeremiah 7 4 through 8 says the temple is not going to save them. Zechariah 11 1 through 3 says that the end of the Old Testament era is going to come when the temple is burned to the ground.

That fire is going to consume the old temple and that men and women are going to wail. Because of it Micah 3 12 says that Jerusalem is going to be a heap of ruins. Zechariah 1 14 1 through 2 says behold the day is coming.

For the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you for I will gather all of the nations against Jerusalem To battle and the city will be captured. The house is plundered and the women ravished.

Daniel 9 24 says that it's gonna be a total end to the people of Judah that he's going to put an end of sinning. Daniel 9 24 says that that that the coming of this righteous one. He's going to die to put an end to the sin.

Yes, he does that for the Christian he puts an end to our sin by dying on the cross, but he also puts an end to the Covenant rebellion of Judah the cyclical pattern of covenant hatred towards God. He puts an end to it by destroying them.

Malachi 4 1 says that there will be not stubble even left. There will not even be root or branch that is left because God is going to snap Their line so that not even a shoot or a root will grow up from it.

Malachi 4 5 he says that they will be set ablaze. There's the refining fire that happens in Malachi. Refining fire refines some destroys others. You think about metal precious metal you put it in the fire.

Why do you put it in the fire to purify it to get rid of the dross? The dross is utterly consumed and yet the metal is purified and perfected under the fire. This is what Jesus came to do. He came for a two-part purpose to save his people and To utterly destroy those who rejected him.