Warrior of Peace, Baptism of Fire

December 16, 2012

Zephaniah 3:14-17 Isaiah 12:1-2 Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:7-18

Have you ever met a warrior? For that matter, what is a warrior? The movies and television have one idea of what a warrior is In 1982, the sequel to Mad Max, starring Mel Gibson, was released. In this movie, The Road Warrior, set in post apocalyptic Australia, the hero fights to help save a struggling community survive the attacks of a powerful motorcycle gang. In the television show, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001), Lucy Lawless portrayed a princess who was better with a sword than most men who went about the world trying to help bring justice to the poor and the oppressed in a world filled with evil and magic. So, what is a warrior? Definition: warrior (n.)
1. One who is engaged in or experienced in battle. 2. One who is engaged aggressively or energetically in an activity, cause, or conflict.

Being a warrior, or naming someone as a warrior, tells the world that an individual is one who participates in battle or is engaged aggressively in an activity or conflict. In church we sometimes refer to individuals as prayer warriors. I have known a few of these and I try not to use the label lightly. The prayer warriors I have known were not always intimidating in their outward appearance, but they were experienced people of faith who regularly spent time in prayer, people who could pound on the gates of heaven and who could fight against any spiritual forces that would fight against them. One woman in particular that Patti and I have known was a tiny little woman but when she prayed, things happened. When we think of warriors (other than prayer warriors) the image that often arises in our minds is one of large muscular men (and sometimes women) with swords and armor or soldiers with camouflage uniforms and guns. That image is one that, although the weapons may have changed, has been consistent over several millennia. Whether we are talking about the times of Noah, or King David, Jesus or even today, a warrior is the person that you call when you are in trouble or the one you want by your side when a fight breaks out. This image of a warrior is why Jesus disciples (and many others) had trouble grappling with the mission and message of Jesus. The prophet Zephaniah lived about six hundred years before Jesus, about the same time as the better known prophet, Jeremiah. In Zephaniah 3:14-17 he declares that the God will turn back the enemy and take away our fear and he gives God the name, Mighty Warrior.
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Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. 16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 1

Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. As this passage began to be understood and applied to their expectation of the Messiah, the people saw the Messiah as they once saw King David, a man who was mighty and unstoppable in battle, a force for righteousness and justice and one who would destroy the enemies of Israel. Isaiah uses similar language, calling God his salvation which implies that God is the one who rescues. This image of strength is also present as Isaiah declares that when the Messiah comes, the people will trust God and not be afraid. At the same time, the prophet also says that God will comfort his people. (Isaiah 12:1-2)
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In that day you will say:

I will praise you, LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. The words of Isaiah echo the image of strength that we heard from Zephaniah but also introduce the tender image of the Messiah as comforter. When John the Baptist begins preaching in the wilderness of Judea he uses this same sort of imagery, describing the one who is to come as coming with an axe to cut down the trees that do not produce good fruit (Luke 3:7-18)
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John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
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What should we do then? the crowd asked.

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John answered, Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.
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Even tax collectors came to be baptized. Teacher, they asked, what should we do? Dont collect any more than you are required to, he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, And what should we do?

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He replied, Dont extort money and dont accuse people falselybe content with your pay.
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The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them. 2

John warns of the Messiahs coming saying that The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. This is strong language and is meant to instill enough fear in his listeners to motivate them to repent of their sins and get right with God before the Day of Judgment. John fields questions and explains that repentance looks like people sharing their food and their clothing with people who have none, business people and political leaders who dont defraud their customers but who are content with the income that they have received honestly. Literally translated, the word repentance means to change direction. For John, this is exactly what it is, to stop doing the things that hurt others and to begin using what you have to help them instead. The image of the Messiah that John presents is similar to Zephaniahs warrior image. John declares that while he baptizes with water, the one who is coming will baptize with fire. John says that he is unworthy even to untie the straps of the sandals of the one who is coming and that the Messiah is coming to separate the good from the bad and will burn away the chaff (the useless part of the wheat) with an unquenchable fire. John warns the people to repent before the arrival of the Messiah because of his great strength and because of his judgment. Zephaniah called him Gods Mighty Warrior. Isaiah says that the Messiah will be the strength, the defender and the rescuer of Gods people. All strong and powerful images but remember that Isaiah also called him the comforter of his people. The disciples and many who lived at the time of Jesus expected that the Messiah would be like David and rescue them from the Roman occupation. If we listen to the prophets and even to John the Baptist, this is exactly the kind of warrior that most people would have expected. But Jesus did not come to fulfill that part of scripture yet. Dont get me wrong, Jesus was no pushover. No one could have done the things that Jesus did without being the warrior that the prophets had written about, but he wasnt entirely what everyone thought that he would be. In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul gives us a little help in understanding how the Messiah that the prophets proclaimed could be so different than the Jesus that came
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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableif anything is excellent or praiseworthythink about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in meput it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Even though Paul had called upon the church in Corinth to stand firm, and be strong and courageous (1 Corinthians 16:13), here he tells the church in Philippi that the thing that people should remember about the people of God is their gentleness. Because we know that the Lord is near we should not worry but instead go to him in prayer always. We should let God care for our worries while we give him thanks for the things that go well in our lives. Paul encourages us further by saying that the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. (pause) Think about that. Who is it that you want to guard you, a wimp or a warrior? It is Jesus, the Warrior of God that guards our hearts and our minds and it is Jesus who is the Prince of Peace. In fact, Paul concludes by saying that the God of peace will be with you. I think that naming God, Jehovah Shalom, 3

the God of Peace, is significant. In the world that Paul lived in, there were many who worshipped Mars the Roman god of war as well as Ares the Greek god of war, but while both the Roman and the Greek cultures had gods of peace, they were fairly minor, weak gods who merely advocated for and watched over peace but who were not strong enough to fight for it. Here we see that God, the ruler of the universe, is indeed the God of peace and his son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is not only an agent of peace, but a great warrior who is able to overcome any enemy so that he may guard our hearts from worry and so that we might live in peace. The coming of Jesus at Christmas is filled with elements that, on the surface, dont seem to go together. Jesus Christ is the Warrior of Peace, and he has come to baptize his people with fire. On the surface these things seem to be opposites but when we look deeper, they are, in fact, the very things that we needed most. Particularly in light of the events in Sandy Hook, Connecticut this week, we should trust Jesus, the warrior of peace, with our worry and fear, and commit ourselves to living lives that are filled with gentleness. May we be so filled with the fire of our baptism that we will have the courage to heed Pauls words whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirableif anything is excellent or praiseworthythink about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in meput it into practice. (pause) And the God of peace will be with you.

You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.