Resurrection | Between Two Mountains - Hebrews 12:18-29 | April 7
Intro
Hey Family!
Last Sunday was so good, wasn’t it?
We had a great Easter! It was such a special and sweet time together.
So as I’ve been reflecting on last week. As I have been praying and preparing for this day and reflecting on the events of Easter, of Jesus’ life, His death, and of course His resurrection. As I’ve been thinking of the hill of calvary and the garden tomb. You know what occurred to me?
There are a lot of significant Biblical events; important, world-changing events that have taken place on the tops of mountains. Most often by trees on the tops of mountains.
And there’s a number of significant events in my life that have taken place on the tops of mountains. Jenny and I were married on the top of–not a mountain, but a giant sand dune. Something the Biblical authors may have called a mountain. On our Honeymoon we took a day trip down to the Grand Canyon and stood on the edge of that great chasm looking down into what appeared too great, too clear, too colorful to be a true reflection of reality. I very nearly dropped my camera and fell in. In fact, about 12 people per year fall into the Grand Canyon, and I was very nearly one of them. Anyone been to the Grand Canyon? It’s unreal.
And as we stand here in the mountains, surrounded by mountains. It's in the name of the church, Mountainside Church. A lot of very important, life-altering, Biblical events have taken place on the tops of mountains.
God speaks to Moses through a “sneh” (sin-ah) on the top of a mountain. A little tree that is engulfed in flames but not consumed. That is why one of the names given to this mountain is Mount Sinai (Exodus 3).
Before that, we find Abraham dwelling in the wilderness in an Oasis at the top of a mountain. He’s set up his tents under the oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-3). This is where God makes His covenant with Abraham.
Going back further, Noah’s ark came to rest on the top of a mountain–mount Ararat, where he built an altar and worshiped the Lord there (Genesis 8:20).
Abraham was set to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on top of Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:1-19). The very same mountain where David would purchase a threshing floor to one day be the site of the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 24). And on and on.
These mountaintop experiences are not relegated to the world of the Old Testament. We find Jesus delivering some of His most memorable teaching on the summit of a mountain, more of a small hill in reality but we call these teachings the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
A detail we tend to overlook is that Jesus designated His twelve disciples and made them apostles on the top of a mountain. In Mark 3 it says, “13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons.” (Mark 3:13-15).
All this took place on the top of mountains. And lest we forget, Jesus was crucified on a cross made from a tree, outside of Jerusalem on the valleyed hill of Calvary–the mountain of Golgotha as it is called in Aramaic, the skull. Where Galatians 3 summarizes the words of Deuteronomy 21 so well, “10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10-14).
It is the details of this earth-shattering event that have caused many scholars to reflect back on the Garden and imagine a mountain in the middle where the tree of life grew from. A foreshadowing of the cross of Jesus which would bring life to all who look to Him, believe in Him, and call upon His name (Romans 10:13-15).
So with all this in mind, I want to tell you three quick stories that took place on the tops of mountains and how these stories might cause us to reflect back on the importance and impact of the resurrection.
MOUNT SINAI
After leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery, God gives them His law which is meant to help shape their lives to live set apart for Him so that the world might see and come near. There has always been a missional intent of God’s Kingdom, even throughout the Old Testament. He called out a people to draw the world to Himself. And He’s still calling us, to live questionable lives as some have said, so that the world might see and come near. God makes this covenant with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. Back to the place where it all started in a way.
The LORD descends in a thick cloud of smoke and fire on the mountain, in thunder and lightning and the sound of trumpets. It was all so loud that the people in the camp trembled. Moses called the people to gather around at the base of the mountain. Then he spoke and the LORD answered him by voice. This is more than just a volcano as some might write it off as. This is a special, supernatural event. The people heard God speaking, responding to Moses in a holy and terrifying conversation.
I would say that nowadays when people claim to hear the voice of the Lord it often seems to be a bit too casual. And perhaps that is just the effect of the new relationship we have with God as His Spirit dwells within us, leading and shaping our lives in a way that the law was never meant to. But too often, I have encountered people who are a bit too cavalier in claiming the voice of the LORD. The Bible Project has just recently produced an episode about Jesus’ teachings on oath making and how we can all easily fall into the trap of knowingly or unknowingly using God’s name or His Word as ways to manipulate people, especially other believers. We should approach the word of God in humility and communicate the word of God to those around us with fear and trembling.
In Exodus 20 we get to the climax of this great and terrible scene, “18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
What we see, appears in our eyes, at least, to be a great failure for the people of Israel. They withdraw when they should press in as God beckons them near. However, there is a very real sense that maybe they weren’t supposed to come close. Moses did instruct them in preparing for this day, “on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” (Exodus 19:11-13).
It’s such an important instruction that they are required to stone any animal that touches the mountain, they can’t even touch something that has touched the mountain. So, It is a bit confusing isn’t it. Should they go should they not. Is the test that Moses is speaking about to see if they would obey this word and not touch the mountain. So did they pass the test then? The time it would take to answer these questions is much too long for us today, but here are some observations.
Even if they are not supposed to touch the mountain, even if they have a fear of the LORD, it seems to be an improper fear that drives them away, that causes them to stay far off. Moses tells them simultaneously “Do not fear” while also saying that all of this was so that the fear of the Lord may be continually before them. So it seems like fear is a proper response, but a fear that causes people to not stand off at a distance, but draw near in awe and wonder. Like being at the edge of the Grand Canyon, you don’t want to stand far off, but you want to see a bit more fully, a bit more clearly.
The people of Israel ultimately do not only wish to stay far off, but they reject the voice of the LORD. They reject the intimacy of a deeper relationship. Yes, they recognize Moses as God’s chosen vessel to communicate His word, which is definitely one of God’s objectives, but they had all heard the voice of the LORD speak. And even still they say, “do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” They hadn’t died when they heard His voice. Moses wasn’t dead. Why should they expect that they would die?
It seems like there’s kind of two ways this could have gone wrong for them. They could have rushed in, touched the mountain in rash carelessness, and been killed. Or, they could have been overcome by fear and ran away.
They’re fear drove them further away from God. When all that God wants is for us to draw near to Him (James 4:8), to be close to Him, to live with Him, with He as our God, and we as His people. That is a lesson we learn from the cross and the resurrection.
Lesson #1: God is a Covenant-keeping God who goes to such great lengths to enter into a relationship with those who fall short of His glory.
He redeems them to Himself from their captivity to sin. He reveals Himself to them so that they may know and enjoy Him. He transforms their life entirely and writes His law upon their hearts so that they may walk in His ways.
“5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6).
God is a Covenant-keeping God who goes to such great lengths to enter into a relationship with those who fall short of His glory.
MOUNT CARMEL
There’s another famous Biblical story which takes place on the top of a mountain. The story of the epic spiritual showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah on the top of Mount Carmel. After more than three years without rain, God sends Elijah back to Israel to win back His people’s hearts away from idolatry.
“20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word…” (1 Kings 18:20-21)
But Elijah did not simply intend on talking, God was ready to work, so Elijah and the prophets of Baal each built an altar and prepared a sacrifice, only they weren’t allowed to light the fire to consume the sacrifice. It must be the one God who is real and true that sends the fire for the offering. The God who answered with fire from the sky would be considered the true God (1 Kings 18:22–25).
Baal’s prophets went first, and try as they might, Baal would not answer them. They danced and cried aloud, they cut themselves and shouted louder. Still no answer. Despite hours of effort, nothing happened. They’re worship was empty. “There was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:29).
Elijah then called the people to him as he repaired the altar of the Lord. He used twelve stones and dug a trench around the altar. He then placed wood on the altar and laid the cut pieces of the bull on it. Elijah then had the people douse the altar with twelve large jars of water. The water soaked the sacrifice and the wood and filled the trench (1 Kings 18:30–35).
Once the sacrifice was ready, Elijah prayed, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36–37). Then God did what Baal could never do: “38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” (1 Kings 18:38-39).
There are many lessons, as you might imagine, to be learned from these events. If we look just at the prophets of Baal we may realize that everyone serves something in this life, worships something. We demonstrate it with our devotion by the time and money we dedicate to it.
In a couple weeks, we’re going to be back in Corinthians, and in a way we’re going to be talking about idolatry. I’ll more than likely read this quote again then. But in the Reflections on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis writes, “The most obvious fact about praise — whether of God or anything — strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or giving honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. . . . The world rings with praise — lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game — praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses. . . . I had not noticed that just as men spontaneously praise what they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?’”
And I will urge you, in your praise, to not confuse people with how you live. Don’t have one foot in and one foot out. Don’t intentionally or unintentionally add things to Jesus or to Christianity that don’t belong. But learn to ask better questions and to self examine.
There are none who are not religious. We all worship something. The problem is that when we worship things that are not God, which are false gods they don’t have a great track record of showing up, of answering us when we need them most. But God is a God who answers. God is a God who shows up.
Even when it seems like God isn’t answering, as though He isn’t listening we can hold fast to the promise that “we don't pray to a reluctant, half-interested, can't-be-bothered judge, but to an unfathomably loving Father who collects every prayer we ever utter and every tear we ever shed." Even when we can’t see it, even though we may not be able to recognize it, God is working, God is listening, God is loving you fiercely.
And that’s the main point of this mountain-top experience and what is directly stated in the text, “that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” (1 Kings 18)
Lesson #2: God is after your heart.
That’s the picture God has painted for us through the Easter season. That’s the point of the cross and the resurrection. A desire to be near motivated by God’s love. It is God’s relentless pursuit of us.
There is nothing you can do to keep God from pursuing you. No place for you to run. No sin too great. God loves and nothing can stop that. From the moment you were born God has been pursuing your heart.
So, don’t let anything get in the way of that. Don’t let a misunderstanding of who God is get in the way, like the prophets of Baal. Don’t let your own past get in the way. Any sin or shame you may be carrying today. God doesn’t stand at a distance and say come find me. He is standing next to you saying be with me. Run into the open arms of your Father!
God is after your heart right now.
MOUNT ZION
There are of course many more mountain-top stories to be told with many more lessons to be learned. The transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor comes to mind. This story particularly teaches us that it’s all about Jesus. The three lucky disciples witness Jesus elevated to a place above the law and the prophets. Above all that they were taught to know and revere. Jesus is better and His covenant speaks a better word than the old covenant. It teaches us that there is more to life beyond the physical, beyond what we can see, taste, touch, and hear.
Which also reminds me of a mountain story we find in Hebrews chapter 12. It says, “18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. (Sound familiar?)
20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrew 12:18-24).
We have come to Mount Zion. The city of the living God. To the Heavenly Jerusalem.
It’s not a mountain of fear that can be touched, although as we read earlier probably shouldn’t be. It doesn't exist on a map that you could travel to visit it. It’s not an old covenant that could picture forgiveness but never truly achieve it, for that was not its design. As the author of Hebrews rights just a few chapters earlier, “the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.” (Hebrews 10:1).
No, we have not come to the physical but the spiritual. We have come to the equally terrifying, awe-inspiring God who dwells in unapproachable light and is described in the verses to come as an all consuming fire. These words do not soften the picture of God. It does not seek to tame the Lion of Judah, but to demonstrate that what could not be achieved through the Law is achieved once for all. For we have come to Zion. We have come to Jesus.
“It is the crucified, resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ who sets these two mountains apart. John Calvin writes, "The author of Hebrews adds this reference to Jesus in the last place because it is He alone through whom the Father is reconciled to us and who renders His face serene and lovely to us so that we may come to him without fear."
Lesson #3: Jesus provides a better way.
We have come to Jesus, to a new, much better covenant, to His blood poured out to forgive your sins (Matthew 26:28). Not the blood of Abel which cries out for vengeance and for justice. “We have come to the blood of Jesus which takes away wrath and brings mercy.”
“19 Therefore, brothers (and sisters), since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:19-23)
Jesus provides a better way.
A BETTER WAY
And in much the same way as with Elijah we are invited to choose today which mountain we are going to draw near to.
There are so many ways in which we can bring other things into our praise of God. So many ways in which we need to be careful that we are not falling into syncretism. Syncretism is the word for when we combine different beliefs, different schools of thoughts, when we are affected by our culture and not mastered by the Word of God itself.
But we can’t have one foot in and dip our other foot into pools of differing beliefs. We can’t mess around with that stuff. We have to ask better questions about what we do, why we do it, and how it spiritually affects us and those around us.
We are invited to choose, all or nothing.
The author of Hebrews concludes chapter 12 with the same call, “25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrew 12:25-29).
Jesus has come to show us a better way of living. A better way that is way better than we could ever hope or imagine. A better way that is way better than everything else we could possibly pour our life into.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, offering to us a better way of life.
Resources (*the views expressed within the following content are solely the author's and may not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Mountainside Church):
https://sermons.logos.com/sermons/771890-exodus-20:18-21-or-fear-not
https://www.klove.com/resources/faith/god-is-after-your-heart-357
https://harvestpca.org/sermons/two-mountains-hebrews-1218-29/
https://westpalmbeachchurchofchrist.com/new-testament/hebrews/hebrews_12_18-29.html