David's Mighty Men: The 37 Men who stood with David at the Cave of Adullam

"Leonidas, King of Sparta, was preparing to make a stand with his Greek troops against the Persian army in 480 B.C. when a Persian envoy arrived. The man urged on Leonidas the futility of trying to resist the advance of the huge Persian army. "Our archers are so numerous," said the envoy, "that the flight of their arrows darkens the sun."

"So much the better," replied Leonidas, "for we shall fight them in the shade." Leonidas made his stand, and died with his 300 troops."
-Today in the Word, November 4, 1993.

Starting in verse 8 of second Samuel 23 it says this, “These are the names of David’s mighty warriors: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.”

One thing to notice here is that David had an inner circle of three, they were called “the three.” Jesus also had an inner circle. He had his 12 disciples, but he also had the three, Peter, James and John.

First point today, have people in your life you can confide in. Who is your inner circle? Who are your closest friends? We all need an inner circle, people we trust and can rely on.

Josheb was a great warrior, one of the three. Fought bravely in battle.

Next we hear of Eleazar, in verses 9-10, “Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.”

One man stayed behind as Irsael retreated from the battle, Eleazar, and he fought until his hand grew so tired that it “froze to the sword” we understand that to mean he fought so long that his muscles cramped up.

Here we find our second point for today, never give up. Be bold, turn and fight, and never give up. Fight and fight and fight, even when you can’t fight any longer. Fight until your muscles ache, be persistent. Don’t give up.

Next in verses 11-12, “Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.”

So we’ve now seen the heroes of the three, Jashib, Eleazar and Shammah. What was distinctive about the three? When no one else was around, it was just one guy, they fought and didn’t give up.

One against many.

What’s the distinguishing factor? Bravery.

Point three today, bravery is a hallmark of a Christian. A true follower of Jesus is brave and bold. They know God is with them.

Notice for Shammah, it’s stated clearly, the Lord brought about a great victory. It wasn’t Shammah. Shammah was brave and held true.

What is bravery? You feel the fear and do it anyway. You push through in faith. Faith overcomes any fear. You feel it, you do it anyway. God grants the victory.

Next in verses 13-17 we see a defining event of the three, Josheb, Eleazar and Shammah.

It says, “During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord. “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.” Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors."

This was long ago, when David was hiding in a cave from King Saul. This was long before David became king.

The three love David so much, when he says he wishes for a drink from his well in Bethlehem, where he grew up, they sneak out and risk danger and death, they gather water from the well and bring it back to David.

What does David do? He’s so concerned that his men risked their lives in this way, he poured out the water before the Lord.

By David doing this, he was saying, your lives are more important than a simple drink of water. So he poured it out as an offering of humility before God.

Imagine if David had drank the water they brought him. It could’ve easily meant to his men, that it was good what they did, that they should do it again. So he poured it out. It also protected David from pride, kept him humble.

Next we see a fourth member of the 3. But I thought there were only three of the three?

Well, that’s true. But, there was another great warrior, Abishai, and he was such a great warrior, that he kind of forced his way into the three, and even became leader of the three. You could say that Abishai was the one. Jesus had a one as well, Peter. But he also had three. Peter, james and John.

It says this about Abishai, “Abishai the brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. Was he not held in greater honor than the Three? He became their commander, even though he was not included among them.”

One thing that David knew he needed to do was surround himself with the right people. David was a leader. He was a soldier. And in his brigade of troops, he gathered some of the greatest warriors in all human history.

They were drawn to David you see. He didn’t necessarily seek them out, but they were drawn to him. They knew, this man is a leader and we’re going to follow him. Similarly each of us have been drawn to Jesus Christ our leader, and we as Christians are part of his brigade, his mighty men.

Then we hear of another great warrior, Benaiah. He was part of the thirty. So David had the three chief warriors, but then he also had another group of thirty men. A second group, larger than the others. Again this is similar to Jesus. Jesus had the three, the twelve, but he also had the seventy two. The seventy two were a larger group that followed him as well, and served in various ways. Jesus sent out the seventy two, two by two town to town to spread the good news.

So here we see probably the leader of the thirty, it says this about him: (verses 20-23)

"Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.”

Benaiah was an underdog, taking on warriors bigger than him. A lion, bigger than him. Two giant Egyptians. Benaiah would find himself at a disadvantage, and would turn it into a victory.

Point five, embrace the underdog role. In life we will often find ourselves at a disadvantage. Can we use God’s wisdom to turn it into an advantage? If we take what we’ve learned about God in the Bible, we can turn a bad situation good. We can go from losing to winning. We can find victory from the ashes of defeat. Do you believe that today? If so, say amen.

When you’re the underdog, turn your disadvantages into advantages by God’s wisdom

Lastly, we see the names of the thirty, the larger group of David’s warriors:

It says, “Among the Thirty were: Asahel the brother of Joab
Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, Helez the Paltite,
Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, Abiezer from Anathoth,
Sibbekai the Hushathite, Zalmon the Ahohite,
Maharai the Netophathite, Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,
Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin,
Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the ravines of Gaash,
Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen,
Jonathan son of Shammah the Hararite,
Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,
Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maakathite,
Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, Hezro the Carmelite,
Paarai the Arbite, Igal son of Nathan from Zobah,
the son of Hagri, Zelek the Ammonite,
Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,
Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite and Uriah the Hittite.
There were thirty-seven in all.”

It says there were thirty seven in all, not just thirty. But they were considered the 30.

Now, if you make sure you’re an on fire Christian, serving faithfully in this church, you may just be lucky enough one day to make the list of Justin’s mighty men and women.

But ultimately, we want to be found on God’s list of mighty men and women. We want to make sure our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. We want to the friends of Jesus. His followers. Those who do mighty deeds in his name.

I’ve often joked that this little church here in Owosso, is my band of mighty men and women. Robin Hood and his merry men and women. Out in the wilderness of Owosso, fighting the good fight of the faith. Hit and run attacks on the enemy. Prayer warriors in the wilderness. The battle rages on. We’re not a massive mega church that can launch massive battle fronts attacks on the enemy, but we’re a small band of warriors who can sneak attack on the enemy’s supply lines and disrupt the enemy’s forces.

That’s our battle. Let’s fight it faithfully.

Applications for Life: 
1. Have close confidantes you can confide in

2. Don’t Give up when it gets hard

3. Bravery is feeling the fear and doing it anyway

4. Pour out the water of pride and embrace humility before God

5. Turn your disadvantages into advantages with God’s wisdom

6. Be found on God’s list of mighty warriors: Embrace Jesus as Lord

7. Serve in the local band of believers: Serve in the local church

Three Dark Moments of Jesus' Life: The Falling Away, the Garden, and the Betrayal: Sunset, Early Night, and Deep Night

What was your darkest moment in life? When did you hit a sort of rock bottom? I can think a few of moments in my life. I remember when I was 17 years old, I was downstairs in my parents basement. My parents had just split up. I had been bullied a lot in school, until I started doing drugs and drinking, and pretty soon I became very cool and popular. But I couldn’t control the pills, they were like a wild bucking bronco that bucked me off. And I made some crazy statements to students, and they brought my statements to the school leadership and I was expelled from school.

The girl I had a big crush on at that time had decided that I was a weirdo and wouldn’t talk to me. And my old friends wouldn’t talk to me because they were afraid of me. It was at that moment in life that I knew everything had fallen apart. It was a moment of great darkness in my life.

I remember during that time I turned in my room one day and looked at a poster on my wall. It was a smashing pumpkins poster from one of their music videos, one of my favorite songs, and God seemed to say to me in that moment: You’re about to go through a long dark tunnel, but I will save you in the future, and everything will be OK. That tunnel lasted ten years.

The Smashing Pumpkins poster I looked at connects with the song titled “Tonight, Tonight” the music video tells the story of a couple on a doomed voyage who get lost and captured by monsters, but escape and find their way to safety in the end. Listening to the song last night was interesting. You hear words and phrases like “Believe in me” repeated over and over.

How about you? Maybe your darkest moment was losing a loved one. Or losing a job. Or a time when you became deeply empty. Perhaps it was a car accident or an angry argument.

In our darkest moments we will grieve and be lost and struggle, and we may even fall away, and scatter, or come to ruin. But if we return to God, he will help us, deliver us, and save us.

Today we’re looking at three dark moments. And they are what they are. They are dark and broken and sad. That is part of life.

It’s not always beautiful. It often is beautiful, even sublime, glorious. Other times, I’m exhausted, everyone is crabby, it smells funny in here, the rain is falling, and we get a phone call of a disaster far away. Someone dies.

For me, friends, it’s so incredibly relieving, it feels really good for me, to just admit that this is true about life. So often we pretend like everything is perfect. And people scold us or give us a pep talk, turn that frown upside down. But to simply affirm, it’s ok, to grieve the trouble of life, that’s freeing, if you ask me.

So let’s jump into a moment in time, late at night, Jesus has just given the disciples so much encouragement, it’s all recorded in John 14.

He said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” -John 14:1-2

So much encouragement! He prayed for them, prayed for believers everywhere, he gave instructions about loving one another. But now Jesus is going to speak some hard truths to the disciples and to the leader of the disciples, Peter.

He says in Mark 14:27, “You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”

Jesus quotes from Zechariah 13:7 in the Old Testament here. It’s a prophecy that comes true in this moment in time.

You will all fall away he says.

Something bad is going to happen, Jesus says. 

Jesus often told the disciples: This is what will happen in the future. The temple will be destroyed, he told them. He told them he would be crucified. He told them they would be his witnesses to the ends of the Earth. God tells us the future.

That continued with the Holy Spirit often speaking to Paul in the book of Acts as well, you will go to Jerusalem. You will go to Rome (Acts 23:11).

Yet even immediately after giving the bad news, Jesus gives the good news as well. So which news comes first? Good or bad? According to Jesus, bad news first, then good news.

In verse 28, “But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Even though Jesus will be arrested and killed, and the disciples will fall away. In the end, Jesus will rise, and meet them again in the future.

Then in verses 29-31 we get the classic statement from Jesus to Peter...

But first Peter says, "Not me, I’ll never abandon you!"

It says, “Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

I sometimes wonder, what would I do if my life were on the line? What would I do if I knew it would cost me everything? I like to think I’d go bravely to the end. But only God knows what I would actually do.

How often do I choose my own way still today, instead of God’s way? How often do I waste time? How often do I do what I want to do?

We’re all a work in progress. But we lack such consistency. We come around for a year or two. But it’s a lifetime journey. Where is our commitment? Aren’t we more like the disciples then we realize?

When we get bored with the church, or we get thinking about other things, health, exercise, job, money, family, we keep God second, third, fourth, and sometimes, we just disregard God all together.

Most people I’ve had join the church here in Owosso don’t stay around for more than a few months before they head off to do something else. They can’t quite stick with it. They drift off again. They fall away.

What do we do? How can be consistent? How can we be sure we stay with God for the long haul?

Lord, help us please.


That’s the conclusion of section I, Lord help us to be consistent and to not fall away. But secondly, also realize, if you fall away, that isn’t necessarily the end either. God gave up on you? No. You can and hopefully will repent in the future and return to Him with all your heart.

But first we must go deeper into the darkness. It’s a journey into the night. We’ve gone into the first level of the night.

The sun has set, the clouds have faded, and the last hews of orange in the sky are now disappearing.

So we come into the Gethsemane. The sunset disappears and the sky turns dark, but there are stars in the sky.

It says in verses 32-34: “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

Jesus said to his disciples my soul is overwhelmed. I feel overwhelmed. Have you ever felt overwhelmed?

“I can’t stand it anymore!”

Jesus can relate completely to that feeling. His very soul was overwhelmed, deeply distressed, and troubled.

From time to time I feel that way as a Christian and as a pastor, overwhelmed, distressed, troubled, not the extent that Jesus does here.

I firmly believe no one has ever felt this distressed in all of human history, as Jesus does here.

He knows he is going to have to go to the cross and die for our sins. He knows that this will entail being brutally crucified, but also feeling in the Spirit that the Father has abandoned him. He will feel the wrath of God against sin and receive it for us, in our place. He will receive the full wrath that we were due for our sins. He would take it for us. Jesus is thinking about that, I’m sure, and completely overwhelmed.

What would it feel like to be tormented in hell for our sins? Even a single moment would be unbearable. But Jesus would take that torment that we deserved for our sins, and take it upon himself.

What does it feel like? To be overwhelmed with a yucky thought? Lots of anxiety. Weakness in the body. Physical affects. Racing thoughts. Depression. Negative thoughts. Wishing it wasn’t happening. Panic attack. I’ve been there. I battle depression and anxiety. It’s brutal. You just wish it would stop for a moment sometimes. You wake up and the depression hits and part of you wishes that you hadn’t woken up at all.

Jesus is there in a dark place, rightly so. God doesn’t spare us these difficulties. Sometimes I feel so terrible in my own head and heart I just look up and say, "How God can I feel this terrible in this moment how can this be allowed?" But it is allowed.

Jesus goes deeper into the garden. In verses 35-36: “Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

One of the most astonishing moments in the entire Bible, Jesus actually prays that this cup would be taken away from him. What cup is he talking about? Jesus is going to drink from a bitter cup, it’s called the cup of God’s wrath. It’s talked about quite a bit in the book of Revelation, the bitter cup of God’s wrath is received by Babylon.

He is going to hell for us! Some actually believe that Jesus was tormented in hell for three days for our sins, before he rose from the dead. I don’t see a lot of scriptural support for that, but it is possible. Other scriptures say he descended, and led captives free. So could it be that he was tormented for three days in hell, then gained victory over the devil, and set free the captives from ancient times, the old testament heroes who awaited a coming messiah? That’s speculative, but it’s at least possible.

Jesus asks for the story to be changed. He says to God, "Anything is possible with you. Yet not my will, but yours be done." Write that one down for your own prayer times, when you pray, add to the end: But Lord not my will but yours be done. That’s very honoring to God.

Next in verses 37-40: Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.”

The disciples keep falling asleep. They should be praying and asking for God’s help to not fall into temptation. What is the temptation Jesus is referencing here? The temptation is the temptation to be afraid and run away and not stay with Jesus during his arrest! Jesus knew they would be tempted to fear and run. So he tells them to pray. But they all fall asleep. Obviously it was quite late at this point.

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So we should pray. Just like it says in the “Our Father” prayer, deliver us from temptation. That’s a good prayer to pray as well. Perhaps the Lord will tell you that a trial is coming forward and you need to pray intentionally right now, over and over, praying, "Lord deliver me from temptation." So you don’t fall to it when it comes.

Then Jesus says these fateful words: verses 41-42, “Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Here we come to our third and final section, we’ve gone from sunset, to early darkness, now to deep darkness.

In Mark 14:43, “Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.”

The ordeal begins now, we’ve gone from talking about it, Jesus predicting it, to Jesus mourning and praying as the moment gets closer, but now the moment arrives. And it’s tough. It’s dark. It’s scary. It’s intense. I’m sure there is much anxiety going on in that moment, with the disciples, with the guards, though I can’t say I know exactly what Jesus is feeling or thinking at the moment.

Then it says in verses 44-47: “Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.”

Judas signals to the guards who to arrest by kissing Jesus on the cheek. Think about that! Judas was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. I’m sure Jesus loved him, and he loved Jesus. But now it’s all a mockery, a lie, a trick, the ultimate betrayal, betrayed with a kiss.

Have you ever been betrayed? It feels terrible. It feels like having a knife in your back. It’s brutal. It’s not something you soon forget.

Does Jesus say anything to Judas? Only two statements, “Do you betray the son of man with a kiss?” That’s recorded in Luke. Also in Matthew, Jesus says to him, “Do what you came here to do.”

He doesn’t condemn Judas. Similarly we shouldn’t condemn those who betray us. Jesus knows its up to God the Father to judge Judas. Similarly we shouldn’t judge our enemies or hate them. We must forgive them, even if they betray us.

If you're struggling to forgive someone who has hurt you terribly deeply, try this, pray to God and say, "Lord, I forgive them from the heart." And then repeat that statement to God. Keep repeating it, until you sense God bringing the miracle of forgiveness. You'll know its a miracle too, you couldn't have forgiven them on your own. But God brings this overcoming in your heart, and he sets you free from the resentment, the anger, and the hatred. And you become free, and you forgive them from the heart. 

We also see Peter striking with a sword to try to prevent the arrest of Jesus. We know from the other gospels that Jesus told Peter to put his sword back. And Jesus even healed the man who was injured in the attack.

Lastly, we see in verses 48-52 it says, “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

Jesus lastly declares that all this is happening to fulfill what is written in the Bible about him. All of this must happen. All of it must take place so Jesus can die to be a blood sacrifice for our sins, and set us free. At that moment, the disciples fled the area. Jesus is abandoned by his friends. 

Then we get this odd mention in verses 51-52, of a man who was wearing only a blanket. He was naked, wearing a blanket, a linen garment. The NIV is being generous here saying it was a linen garment. The word is more often referring to a linen cloth. Though it could be referencing something like a night gown, according to the Outline of Biblical Usage by Larry Pierce.

Many have wondered who this person is. The most common idea is that this is Mark himself. But we know from early church leaders in the 2nd century, that wrote that Mark never met Jesus or was with him, he recorded everything later. So it’s hard to say. We don’t really know.

In conclusion today, we see three dark moments taking place, Jesus telling the disciples they will fall away. Jesus in sorrow in the garden. And Jesus betrayed and arrested.

All of this Jesus was willing to go through to purchase us back with his own blood. Always keep that in mind and be so grateful.

Let’s take a look at our applications. How can we apply these truths to our lives and live differently in accordance with the word of God?

1. Accept in your heart that life will include dark moments (then you won’t be surprised)

2. Give yourself permission at times to be Hurting (Say its ok that I’m not ok right now)

3. Give yourself permission to be tough, stay positive and don’t give up (Buck up buttercup)

4. Stay Consistent in your walk with God over the years (But if you do fall away, believe there is still hope to come back again in the future)

5. Jesus can relate to feeling completely overwhelmed (So take courage and stand firm when you feel overwhelmed)

6. Pray a lot when you’re in a hard time, pray God would deliver you from temptation (And His will be done, not yours)

7. Even if someone betrays you, forgive them in your heart (Release them to God, he will judge)

King David's Last Words

Have you had a loved die? Did you have the chance to have a final conversation with them?  And do you remember the last words they spoke to you?  Or the last words they gave, period? 

It's a way of communicating something very important, as your last statement to the Earth. One of the most famous last words given were those of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. They both died on July 4th, the anniversary of the American revolution. John Adams last words were, "Thomas Jefferson lives!" And Thomas Jefferson's last words were, "Is it the fourth?"

Famous atheist and founder of the church of Satan Anton Lavey's last words were, "Oh my, oh my, what have I done? Something is wrong..." 

I recall my Grandpa Steckbauer's last words to me, in 2009 were a challenge to me, I was in my twenties, and he said to me, something a judge had said to me in a court room. He said, "Justin, remember what the judge said: You're walking on thin ice." 

I was angry at the time when he said that. But later, I realized he was right.

My grandma Check, near the end she kept falling asleep, and waking up, and she would look over at my aunt Kelly, and ask her, "Am I heaven now?" She even asked my aunt Kelly why she was in the room. She asked if she had died too! But grandma knew where she was going. She was going to heaven. She saw a little girl in the room as well. She thought it might've been an angel. No one else could see it. But it may have been a daughter she'd had, her first child, who was a miscarriage. 

I wonder what my last words will be! What will your last words be? What would you want to communicate to your family and friends?

Right now we're going to look at what King David felt was most important in all his life and history to communicate to his people and family about who God is. 

I think it goes all the way back to the beginning. David's beginnings were very humble. 

There was a young man named David who cared for a few sheep of his father. He was the youngest of all his brothers. When the whole family was called for an important meeting with a religious leader David was the only one they didn’t invite.

All these years later, we see David an old man, hair turned white, beard gone gray, wrinkled and tired, laying in bed, unable to keep warm.

King David has setup his son Solomon to become king after him. He has given him a charge in his last words to Solomon about how he should reign.

Now King David is dying. He’s surrounded by his family. And he’s going to give his last words to his family, to the nation, and to us today.

But first we get this summary of David’s life from the writer of 2nd Samuel.

It says this in 2nd Samuel 23:1, “These are the last words of David: “The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs…”

We find here the inspired utterance of David. What that means is the author agrees that the words of David given here were inspired by God himself.

First point today, God can use you as well to bring forth inspired utterance. In other words, God will speak through you if you let Him.

When you’re talking with someone whose struggling, pause a moment and ask God for the right words. Then trust in your heart that he’ll provide them. Then, as you talk with this person, God will bring just the right words out of your mouth, to touch their heart.

And you’ll sense in that moment that it was from God. And so will they. All of us do this from time to time without realizing it. The closer we are spiritually with God, the more it will happen I think.

The most extreme and amazing version of this, as an inspired utterance, is the prophetic person, who gives you a word from God for your future.

David was also, it says, "exalted" by the Most High God. This is the idea of being promoted to a higher position. He was given authority. He was shown before all to be trusted by God.

Second point today, God will at times exalt you, and at times he will humble you. If you show your faithfulness to God, he will exalt you, if you resist God and act pridefully, then he’ll humble you.

David was exalted by God, yet he was also anointed by God. He was prepared by him for all he had for him to do. God spoke truth over him through Samuel the prophet. And the author also says, David was the hero of the songs of Israel. That’s certainly true, most of the psalms are written by David in the book of Psalms!

Next we actually get to what David said, as he lay dying, an old man in his bed.

His last words were: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’”

King David actually quotes something God whispered to him in the past here. God apparently made it clear to David, if you do two things, you will be successful as a leader of Israel.

One, rule over people in righteousness. What that means is you’ll be careful to make the right decisions that are morally correct. You will do righteousness, which is pure. Do the right thing even when it’s hard.

Two, rule in the fear of the Lord. This means David really did fear God. That is by the way, the ultimate secret to living a successful Christian life. You tremble before God and know God is for real. You fear God, you are actually afraid of God, and then when you’re tempted to sin, you tremble at God, and say no, I better not do that.

If you want to learn the fear of the Lord, I recommend this: Go on YouTube and look up some hell testimonies from Christians who have seen hell. Watching those testimonies will bring a fear of the Lord into your life.

God says, rule in those two ways ,righteously and in the fear of God, and your leadership will be like a beautiful morning at sun rise. On a cloudless morning. Like a the brightness after rain, that brings grass.

So your leadership will be like the sun in the sky, bright shining warmth, and it will be like the brightness of the sun after a long rain, and now everything is growing because of the rain.

Point number three, make your decisions in righteousness, and fear God, and you’ll be like a bright warm sun to those around you. You’ll be a blessing wherever you go. If you’d you’ll be a curse to those around you.

Then it verse 5 David continues, “If my house were not right with God, surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part; surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire.”

David here reflects on how God has been faithful to his covenant agreement with David. A secure covenant, an everlasting covenant that God would be with David and protect David and help David in his times of need. And God fully practiced his side of the covenant and was with David through everything. We've seen that time and again in David's life, God was always with Him! And if you love Jesus, and follow Jesus, God will always be with you. 

David knows he is saved. He says God has brought to fruition his salvation. He knows where he is going.

And he also says God has granted his every desire. God satisfied David’s desires. And we can trust God will do the same for us.

Point number four, like David, if you’ve followed God faithfully, you can know your salvation is secure. I hope and pray that when each of you are old and gray in your bed getting close to death, that you would know that Jesus has paid your sins, and that you’re on your way to paradise.

So verse five was David celebrating and rejoicing in all God has done and that he is on his way to heaven. But then in verses 6-7 we see David leave all those around him with one final warning:

It says, “But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie.”

So David affirms that he is headed to heaven. But he also hints at the fate of those who are evil. They will go down to the pit of hell.

Evil men will be dealt with by a holy God. They will not be gathered up. But will be thrown down. He compares it to thorns, they are not gathered, but they burned where they lay.

So David confirms for us, that heaven is real and hell is real. Both are very real.

Point number five today, there will be rewards for the righteous in Christ, and damnation for those who continue on in evil. Sin leads to hell. And the hell will be tortured for all time, in a place of fire. The righteous in Christ will live eternally in heaven. Those are the two destinations, there is not a third option. Heaven in Christ, or hell without Christ. End of story.

So to review today...

Our Five Points were:

1. God will speak through you if you let Him.

2. God will at times exalt you, and at times he will humble you.

3. Make your decisions in righteousness, and fear God, and you’ll be like a bright warm sun to those around you.

4. If you’ve followed God faithfully, you can know your salvation is secure

5. There will be rewards for the righteous in Christ, and damnation for those who continue on in evil.

Only by Remembering our Past can we Face the Future: The Woman who Anointed Jesus

It’s so incredibly important that we remember our history, our heritage, and who we are. If we don’t know who we are, the history of our people, our nation, our faith, our religion, our family, our state, our city, all of these things, then we’re liable to believe anything that we’re fed, and to be manipulated by the forces in the world around us that are trying to promote their various ideological agendas.

I want to talk to you about the history of Israel, in particular this morning, which as Christians is part of our story:

Long, long ago the nation of Israel was only one man and his family, it was Abraham, and his wife Sarah. And their children and extended family. Abraham would have two children, Isaac, from Sarah, and Ishmael from Hagar, his wife’s servant girl. Ishmael according to tradition would go on to found the modern Arab nations, including many who are part of modern day Islam.

Isaac and his wife Rebecca would have children, and one their children’s children Joseph, would save his family from a terrible famine that had come across the land. That is what led Israel to live in Egypt. Joseph became a leader in Egypt and helped shelter his family in a place called Goshen in Egypt.

God blessed the Israelites and they became numerous. But the Egyptians began to fear them because of their great numbers, so they enslaved them.

They had been slaves for 400 years, building the wealth of Egypt. But God was at work. He began working through a man named Moses, to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and into the promised land, the land that would be called Israel. And it’s capital, the city of Jerusalem, which means, “city of peace.” A place of peace between God and man.

Moses died, and Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of Israel, and led them into the promised land. The nation was founded, amongst their enemies.

But once God brought them into the land, he gave them detailed instructions in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, on how to celebrate festivals each year to remember everything God did for them.

That is our first point today, a single word: Remember.

If we don’t remember, we’re liable to forget, as they say.

It was very important that Israel remember what it was like to live as slaves in Egypt, and what it was like to travel through the wilderness.

Why would that be important? None of the generations born after the journey through the wilderness and out of Egypt were even there? Why does it matter if they remember it?

Because it’s part of their history. It’s part of their identity under God.

It was the most important festival of the year, Israel was celebrating, the Passover festival, and the festival of unleavened bread. These two festivals celebrated first, the Passover lamb, that the blood of the Passover lamb was slaughtered and the blood was wiped on their door posts, and this protected them from the wrath of God against the nation of Egypt.

Secondly, they would celebrate for seven days after, the festival of unleaven bread, to celebrate their deliverance from Egypt and into the wilderness.

Jews to this day celebrate these festivals each year. The purpose is to remind them what God has done for them.

What happens when we stop reminding ourselves what God has done for us? We forget what God has done for us. We start to drift away. We start to think we don’t need God. We stop coming to church. We go back into the world of sin. And we end up shipwrecked once again.

I’ve seen many people come in the church and learn and grow, and then leave. They slowly seem to forget all that God had done for them, and they go back to the world of sin. This is a very sad and tragic thing so, don’t let that be you. Always remember.

Set a pattern in your life. Remember the day you received salvation through Jesus Christ. Celebrate that day. Rejoice. Remember the day of your birth, the day God gave you life. Celebrate Christmas, that Jesus was born. Celebrate Resurrection Sunday, that Jesus is alive.

The reason we so carefully come ot church each Sunday, and attend bible study, and celebrate holidays, and to consistently remind and re-remind ourselves of all God has done for us, so we never forget, and so that we always remain grateful, and joyous, and focused on God.

We as sheep are prone to wander, the Shepherd Jesus helps us to stay on course, but we ought to try not to wander, but to stay close to the shepherd.

All of that to explain, that in Mark chapter 14 today, in verses 1-26, Jesus and the twelve disciples were all preparing for the festival of Passover and unleavened bread.

It says in Mark 14:1-2: “Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

The leaders in Jerusalem are plotting to kill Jesus, but they want to avoid a riot because of the festival.

Meanwhile Jesus is about 2 miles away at Bethany, and we see a very beautiful event take place.

It says in verse 3: While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.”

This woman takes some very expensive perfume and anoints Jesus head with it. The woman was really saying, “this is how important Jesus is to me.” The nard was worth a great deal of money, we’re talking worth about $30,000 dollars, or as the Bible says, a year’s wages. And she uses it as an act of worship to Jesus her Lord. It’s beautiful. It’s a statement of understanding, just how important Jesus is. And I think sometimes we miss that. We’re focused on work, paychecks, retirements, cars, family, friendships, coffee, vacations, and we forget that Jesus Christ is worth more than every cent we’ve ever had or will have.

I know deep down I don’t fully realize just how valuable Jesus Christ is, and how much I need Him every moment. I don’t feel see it right at this moment. I may not ever until I see him face to face. But I want to know the truth.

That’s our second point today, hunger for the truth. Maybe you realize right now, I don’t see Jesus the way the woman does, who poured out the nard on Jesus’ head. But you can want to know. You can say to yourself, and to God, “Lord, I want to know you like that.

Be hungry for the truth. Want to know. Then ask God to show you.

It continues in verses 4-5: Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.”

This is Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples who rebukes the woman. And I just have to smile when I see this. Because we see the same thing today in the news quite a bit.

When a big corporation buys something, or when we talk about money in politics, or when Elon Musk bought twitter, you had all these keyboard warriors, on social media, crying out that for the price Musk paid you could solve world hunger. And you see that a lot.

But this isn’t just something that happens to big corporations or social media. Your mom or dad probably told you growing up when you didn’t want to finish your peas or beans, “there are children starving in third world countries.” And you probably thought to yourself, well, if I don’t eat it, it’s not like it’s going to appear suddenly in another country.

Let’s see what Jesus says to this statement by Judas. In verses 6-7: “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.”

Don’t worry about the poor right now, says Jesus, how insensitive right? Wrong. Jesus is absolutely right. It was beautiful what this woman did. Don’t worry about the approximate value of the nard.

The Lord continues in verses 8-9: “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Jesus here foreshadows his own death which he knows is rapidly approaching. It’s only a few days away. He says this perfume is preparing for his burial. Then he gives this beautiful picture for us today, wherever the gospel is preached around the whole world, people will talk about what this woman did.

Now I’ll tell you this, I looked it up, the distance from Bethany, Israel to Owosso, Michigan is 6,003 miles. So we do qualify I think when Jesus talks about being “throughout the world.”

Jesus doesn’t say this about many other people around him who did great things. But he says that this woman’s act of anointing him, will be remembered, in memory of her.

And that brings back to our first point today, “Remember.” Are you beginning to see how important it is to remember? We must have memorials in our lives. We do that with loved ones we lost. We visit their grave. We keep their memory alive. How much more so should we keep our entire calendar year centered around our relationship with the God who made us?

And if you’re truly hungry for the truth, our second point today, you’ll “remember” and by “remembering” you’ll stay hungry for the truth. Do you see how it all fits together? As we remove pieces and parts from Christianity, like a car engine, eventually the car will start running badly as we remove parts, and eventually it will break down all together.

Jesus has just rebuked Judas. Now let’s see what happens next.

In verses 10-11, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

With some people in the body of Christ, you can just tell, as you watch them, that they are watching and looking for something to get mad about, they are on guard for something they don’t entirely agree with. And they are like pregnant with controversy and they are on the edge of their seat waiting for a disagreement. And then at last you say something that offends them and off they go to another church.

That’s one variety of what you might call “church hoppers” they bounce from church to church to church. Which is very unhealthy. And every time they have a conflict of any kind, they bounce to the next one. But instead, we should look to work out the disagreement, sit down and figure it out. It’s awkward, it’s sometimes uncomfortable, but it’s worth it, to work it out, instead of running. I remember I told someone a few years back who was upset, if you keep storming off and leaving every time you have a disagreement, you’re going to be running your whole life. It will never end. You have to put an end to that pattern, with whatever it may take, conflict management books, anger management with a counselor, something to break that toxic pattern.

But as you can see here Judas gets upset, he’s pregnant with evil, and he heads off to the chief authorities to betray Jesus to them for money.

We know from other gospels that the chief priests offer Judas 30 pieces of silver, which is not very much, it’s the cost of purchasing a slave, one slave. But he takes them up on the offer.

It’s a crazy moment because as we go through the entire gospel of Mark, there’s no thought to the possibility that Jesus’ closest disciples would ever totally betray him. Sure they struggle to understand what he’s saying, they make mistakes, they struggle with unbelief, they argue amongst themselves but you get the sense that they all have true hearts of devotion despite their failings.

But suddenly we see Judas, and off he goes, to betray the son of God.

Consequently that’s our third point today, “break the toxic pattern.” We all have toxic patterns in our lives, things that repeat. I’ve known people who were cleptos, they couldn’t stop stealing. Others like we talked about have anger issues. Others always seem to be in the middle of drama. Others it’s drinking, drugs, cigarettes, gambling or pornography. Those are the obvious ones. But what about manipulating people for your own benefit? For your own pleasure? What about refusing to forgive someone that hurt us in the past? What about stealing from your employer, or cheating on your taxes, or bad mouthing people behind their back? What about excluding people you know you should try to include in your “in group”? All those things are just as toxic as obvious things like drugs or stealing.

Judas was caught in a mindset of wealth, money, influence, power, and he lost sight of who Jesus really was to him. And off he went, pregnant with evil.

Now if we “remember” point one, we will know our history, our past and all God has done for us. And if we remember, then we’ll hunger for truth, because we’ll know the truth from our past enough to want it badly, And if we remember the past, and then we hunger for the truth, then we’ll have the courage, and devotion, and grit, to point three, break toxic patterns.

But if we don’t remember, then we won’t hunger for truth because we won’t know it, and if we don’t hunger for truth we won’t have the grit and courage and devotion to break toxic patterns in our lives. It all fits together.



Next we see in verses 12-16, “On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.”

It’s now earlier in the day on the festival of Passover, on the first day of the unleavened bread festivals 7 days. The disciples go make all their preparations and Jesus makes sure everything is ready for them. It’s a good reminder that someone has to set the table, but don’t worry, Jesus will provide a good venue. And he certainly does.

So then they all gather there in the room Jesus has provided for them.

Then it says in verses 17-21: “When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.”

19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”

20 “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Here we have each of the disciples asking Jesus, is it me, am I the one who is going to betray you? They are all worried and concerned. They rightly understand that the chief issue with a follower of Jesus is within ourselves. They don’t trust their own actions. They are afraid that they will fall away in the future. Which all of them will aside from John, but Peter would rally them afterwards, and they would be restored.

Point number four, Check Yourself. Each of the disciples ask the question, “Is it I Lord?” They are checking their own heart. They are judging and evaluating themselves, and then bringing it to Jesus. That is wisdom. Check yourself, in other words, guard your heart.

It’s shocking though, the statement Jesus makes, that it would be better for Judas Iscariot after betraying the son of God, that it would be better if he’d never been born at all. I think this implies the punishment he will receive in hell for all eternity, it must be particularly terrible. And in the court of God’s justice, it should be. As sad as it is, justice requires it.

I’ve heard some well meaning Christians try to make the case that Judas is in heaven. Honestly I don’t know how backwards you have to be in your theology, and think basically everyone just goes to heaven no matter what, to think that. It’s ludicrous. Would Jesus make this statement about Judas if he was in heaven? Of course not.

Lastly, we see verses 22-26: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Jesus says, this is my body, this is my blood. Jesus would of course soon be giving his own body over to death, to cover our sins. Jesus would become our Passover lamb. As the doorpost was painted with the blood of the Passover lamb in Egypt, and the angel of death did not harm those who were in that home, so we are painted in the blood of Jesus, our sins are covered over by his sacrifice, and then we are given a clean slate before God, all our sins are forgiven.

Yet Jesus also affirms that he would not drink again the fruit of the vine until he was alive again in the kingdom of God. So Jesus knew, though he would die, he would be raised from the dead, and would be in the kingdom of God forever, in heaven.

Point five today, rest in the love of Christ. As you remember the past and keep in touch with your mindset, you hunger for truth and pursue it, then by the leading of the Holy Spirit you are active in finding healing for toxic patterns, and you’re also checking yourself, evaluating your actions and your heart, so lastly, you’re walking the Christian lifestyle faithfully, now the goal is to find the mindset of rejoicing in the restful love of Christ.

But pastor you told me all this stuff I need to do, remember, hunger, heal, evaluate, and yes that’s all true, but at the same time, that’s not how you get saved. That’s how you build your walk with Christ and guard the danger of falling away. But since you’re there. You can rest in the love of Christ. Remember you are working from acceptance, not for acceptance. You’re guarding against falling away, you haven’t already fallen away. You’re safe and secure in the love of Christ.

Lastly, I do want to point your attention to verse 26 which mentions that they sang a hymn before leaving for the mount of olives.

I can only imagine what this night was like, but it was a time of celebration, yet also a time of angst for the disciples, they knew Jesus was saying he was about to be betrayed and killed. And yet after all this, they sang a hymn together.

And we’re pretty sure we know what song they sang, it was traditional for Jews as part of the Passover ceremony to sing Psalms 116 through Psalm 118. This was called the Hallel, part of it would be sung before the meal, then part of it after, generally it was Psalms 113 through 118. With the last 2-3 being sang after. But it’s astonishing that in psalm 118:20-24 it says, “

20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[d]
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Main Points:
1. Remember

2. Hunger for Truth

3. Break Toxic Patterns

4. Check Yourself

5. Rest in Christ’s Love