From Prison To The Palace
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. All who believe in Him will be made new.
“The city was under siege…By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat…the whole army fled at night…they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon…Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon…set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down…carried into exile the people…the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields…the imperial guard took away the…pure gold or silver…Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor…Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table.” 2 Kings 25:3-30
When you read books that record the history of the world, you see that nothing really changes. One nation will fight against another nation. People jockey for positions of power and control over resources. Time and again, we see the same thing. Wars and the ravages of war. Election cycles and news of what we should fear next. Nothing is new under the sun.
Yet within the story, there are moments of beauty that are unexpected. The poor people are blessed, freed, and allowed to work the fields. Jehoiachin, who had been in captivity, is freed and finds his place at the king’s table. He trades prison clothes for a place of honor.
The truth of these stories is true for us today. If you go looking for fear, you will find it. If you study the ways of the world, you will see endless corruption and evil. The people of God had turned from God and gotten caught up in the endless cycle of violence that exists on earth.
There is a better way. The Way. Jesus. He is the resurrection. He makes all things new. He said if you try to hold on to your life, you will lose it, but if you pick up your cross, you will find eternal life. You will find something you never thought possible. Something new. Resurrection. King Zedekiah could not let go, and it cost him his life. God even told him that he would be spared if he surrendered. But he couldn’t do it. Can we?
“Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak; I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.” Psalms 38:1-22
David finds himself in a place of incredible pain because of the sin he had committed. In that moment, he does not pretend like everything is great. He does not mask the pain or try to manage his sin. He comes naked before the Lord and fully confesses how he feels.
David died to himself. All of his senses were gone, and the light had left his eyes. He might as well have been buried in a tomb. In that moment, David did not try to rely on his own strength or strategize how to get out of his difficulty. He declared truth. Are you being honest about where you are and how you feel? Or are you continuing to fight and claw and try to find a way to do life on your own?
He said, I wait on the Lord, and I want to draw near to you. These prayers will always be answered because they align with God’s heart and God’s will. As we embrace humility and come to the end of ourselves, we find life. We find resurrection.
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.“ Ecclesiastes 1:2-13
Have you ever gotten in the car and arrived at your destination without even thinking about the drive? Have you ever had times when the ruts of your routines ran so deep that your life felt like it was on autopilot? Solomon studied life on earth and said he did not see anything new. He said it is all meaningless, or what is better translated as vapor or temporary.
Can you relate? What meaning do we derive from hours on social media or all the time we spend pursuing what the world says we need? Do you ever find yourself wanting more? Feeling an emptiness or a void within your soul? We all have a God-sized hole in our hearts that only He can fill and satisfy our deepest need. We were made to live meaningful lives empowered by a Maker who knows how He made us.
It may be subtle, but he makes an important transition in this passage. The text says that he goes from studying what is under the sun to pursuing wisdom and studying what is under the heavens. He changed his focus from the world around him to seeking God. Everything about our experience in life can change when we change our perspective.
Jesus said seek, and you will find. While we do not see the resolution to either David’s or Solomon’s prayers in these passages, we know that God is faithful. He always answers the prayer of those who want to die to the earthly that they might find the eternal life that is found in Jesus. How do you need to change your perspective today? How could stepping back and seeking God help you find what you need? Have you been caught up in chaos, conflict, or carrying on endless tasks? Are you ready for a change? Are you ready for resurrection?
“Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us…tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.”
Jeremiah 21:2-9
We get a window into the hearts of the people who were under siege in the first passage. They prayed that God would do once again what He had done before. They said in their hearts, if He did it before, He can do it again. This is true. God is not limited in how He works. He is the God of miracles and of making all things new. The people sought God, but they failed to receive the blessing because they wanted the answer to their prayers to come on their terms.
People sought God, and He answered. He said there is victory in surrender. I will save you if you will lay down your life. In doing so, they were going to have to sacrifice everything that they were holding onto and serve another king. They were not willing to give up control, so instead they continued on the path to death. You see, God gives us a decision. We have the free will to make it. He does not force us to be faithful or to follow. We have to decide in our hearts if, like David, we will declare that He is Lord and Savior. Are you willing to surrender if it means you will find salvation?
“Now a man named Lazarus was sick …Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe…Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die…When Jesus saw her weeping…he was deeply moved…Jesus wept…Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha…Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen…Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation…Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” John 11:1-50
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He surrendered His life that we might find ours. Every passage points us to the same truth: we find life when we surrender to God. Zedekiah tried to hold on to control and lost everything. Jehoiachin, once captive in prison clothes, was released and given a place at the king’s table. David died to himself and declared he would wait on His Lord and trust in His Savior. Solomon lost his love for the mundane, man-made life, so he lifted his eyes and sought the heavenly life. Jeremiah said the way to life is found in surrender. Death becomes the doorway to life.
Jesus meets us where we are. He stepped into our brokenness and wept with us. Even though He knew the miracle was coming, He did not look past our emotions. He made them, and He is a God who knows us. This frees us to be honest at all times and find the healing He can bring.
When Lazarus died, everyone had questions. But Rabbi, why go back there? But Lord, if you had been here. But Lord, there will be a smell. But Lord, I am afraid. But Lord, I do not understand. But Lord, what if I surrender and lose what I have? We all have our own questions and doubts. Notice Jesus does not condemn questions or questioners.
Jesus came near. He wept with those who wept. Then He went to the tomb and called a dead man back to life. We may think there is nothing new under the sun until we encounter the risen King and experience the resurrection for ourselves. The life of faith is a life of experiencing the power of God at work in your life and hearing Him call you out of the grave.
Like Zedekiah, the Pharisees desperately tried to hold on to what they had. They feared they would lose their temple, so they let fear guide their response to Jesus. We can fall into the same trap. We can worry about losing our comfort and become people unwilling to change. So they plotted and schemed to kill Jesus, but they could not stop the purposes of God. Jesus chose to surrender His life so that captives could be freed, sinners could be forgiven, the dead could live, and those wrapped in grave clothes could take them off and come to the King’s table.
Jesus is calling each of us out of captivity and into eternal life. Ask yourself, what is holding you back? What keeps you from giving Him full authority? What fear, sin, disappointment, possession, position, plan, or desire keeps you from surrendering completely to Him? Stop trying to save what cannot last. Jesus is inviting us to take off the grave clothes and dine at the King’s table. This is not just a slightly better version of your old life. This is caterpillar to butterfly. Completely different, a life connected to the divine, that lives for God. Jesus is making all things new, and He will do the same for you if you will lay down your life for Him.