There’s an awful lot of groaning going on in Romans 8! In our text we hear about all of creation groaning. We are told we ourselves are groaning. Immediately after our text Paul writes about the Spirit of God groaning. So much groaning going on! Why all this groaning?
There’s a difference between playing along with Jeopardy at home and taking the semester test in history class with 50% of your grade riding on how you perform. When you sit at home and watch Jeopardy you can throw out wrong answers and criticize the contestants when they incorrectly answer. It is just inconsequential diversion. But when you are taking a semester test that counts for 50% of your final grade, now you’ve got “some skin in the game.” Now your answers matter a great deal!
Our text for today has something for everyone. If you have ever felt like an outsider in God’s Kingdom, if you have ever felt unworthy of God’s love, if you have ever felt like you are not the “right stuff” for God. If you are a parent who has prayed for a sick or troubled child, if you have ever felt like God does not hear your prayers, like God is being dismissive with you, like God doesn’t hear you or doesn’t see you, this text is for you!
The story before us this morning is well-known. When I read the text a few moments ago, that very likely was not the first time you had ever heard this story. This event is recorded by three of the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and John all record it. But when we read all three of these stories, we will notice something quite interesting. Matthew is the only one who includes the information about Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the water.
Do you trust the Lord for your daily bread? Before you reflexively answer, “Of course I do,” really think about that for a moment. Most of you are gainfully employed, or are being raised by parents who are gainfully employed. There is a predictable, steady “cash flow” in your household. You know when pay-day is or when the pension check arrives and you know how much is supposed to be coming. In addition to the regular cash flow, you likely have a “reserve.” You’ve got a bank account or two. You’ve got investments. You likely have a “net worth” that is really rather impressive. It can be easy to speak about “trusting” God when we already enjoy a super-abundance of provision. Sometimes we mistake “financial security” with “trust.”
Have you ever made a bad trade? Generally when making a trade you want to come out feeling like you got the better end of the deal. You trade something of lesser value for something you feel has greater value. The Milwaukee Bucks just traded away the franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo (and Bobby Portis) to the Miami Heat for four players and five future draft picks. Both the Bucks and the Heat feel like they got the better end of the trade. Time will tell if this was a good trade or a bad trade for the Bucks.
“How could he do that? He’s supposed to be a Christian!” Have you ever felt that way about someone? Someone you know, someone you respect as a brother or sister in Christ does something sinful, shockingly sinful. We are left wondering, “How can this be?”
There is something quite significant about Jesus’ instructions in our text this morning. His command to disciple all nations is entirely a new thing! If we look at the prophets of old, we notice something they all have in common. They were sent to just one nation, Israel. Not to “all nations.”
On the last and most important day of the festival. (v. 37) Thus begins our text. The “festival” referred to was the Feast of Ingathering, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. On the Jewish calendar, this was the final of the three great festivals that required every male to be in Jerusalem. This festival celebrated the fruit harvest and was also a remembrance of the way the Lord took care of the Israelites when they wandered in the desert those 40 years before entering the Promised Land. It was the most joyous of all the festivals. It lasted a full week. It was a “biggie”!
