SERMON NOTES — HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
— Matthew 10:29-31
Beryl Ratzer is an archaeologist, a certified tour guide and a Jewish Zionist who lives in Israel. She’s also the author of a beautiful book, A Historical Tour Of The Holy Land, which she describes as, “A concise history of the Land of Israel with photographs and illustrations.” It is just that. She had sent us a copy of the book to read before we made a trip to Israel. I’m glad she did.
My wife and I met Beryl for the first time face-to-face at Ben Gurion airport when we arrived in Israel. She was there to welcome us and to be our guide for the six days we were to be in the Holy Land. Her name comes from one of the precious stones in the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28:17). She had moved from South Africa because she strongly believed that the Jewish people should have their own homeland, their own country, one that is recognized by the world as having a legitimate right to exist among the nations. She also believes that every Jew who is “really a Jew” should reside there. We found out that she was prepared to defend that right with everything that was within her.
It’s impossible to just check into your hotel and go to bed the first day in Israel. Even though it had taken us eighteen straight hours to complete the trip, with very little sleep, we were charged up and ready to go. “Beryl, please just give us time to take a hot shower.” She understood and was ready to go when we were, then it was off in our rented car to the Old City of Jerusalem.
You know how it is when you meet somebody for the first time, you’re usually careful what you say but Beryl was an easy read because she didn’t mince words. She was thoroughly Jewish, proud of her heritage, used to dealing with Christians and satisfied in her sometimes faulty (as we would soon find out) theology. She was a good listener and only rolled her eyes a few times at some of our questions. She also, along with her husband and family had lived a life that we could never relate to. The fight for the land of Israel is not an overseas war. It’s always just a few miles away, sometimes closer. She had two boys in the Israeli Army and she worried about them every day.
One of the absolute highlights of our trip was an overnight stay in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. It was a colorful town of about 43,000 Jews and Arabs. Tiberias has an unruly history and was a Roman stronghold during the time of Jesus. It was named after the reigning Roman emperor, Tiberius (AD 14-37). Today it is the largest urban settlement in the Jordan Valley and serves as the administrative, cultural and trade center of the surrounding region.
Our dinner that night was at a delightful restaurant on the water. Tourism was so far down that year that we were almost the only ones in the place but the food and service was outstanding. My wife is the daring one when it comes to food and had the courage to try the famous St. Peter’s fish specialty, which supposedly came out of the Sea of Galilee that very day. They serve it whole including the bones. I had lamb chops!
As we discussed the events of the day and the places we had seen—and the ministry of Jesus, I asked Beryl a question: “When a Jew commits a sin by breaking a commandment from the Torah, how do you receive forgiveness and overcome the corresponding guilt? ” It didn’t take her long for her honest reply. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess it will take place after the fact. Since we don’t have the Temple, we cannot offer sacrifices for our sins. Even when we celebrate Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), we have no scapegoat to take away the sins of the people. I guess we’ll have to wait until we die and go to heaven.”
I couldn’t resist the opening. “Beryl, we believe that Jesus has done all of that for us.” She had heard that line before and just couldn’t see it. I believe that dilemma is faced by every Jew and well described by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
– 2 Cor. 3:7-8
In the wilderness wanderings, after the Jews came out of Egypt, God gave Moses specific instructions (recorded in the last chapters of Exodus) about building a Tabernacle, also referred to as the “Tent of Meeting.” It was here that God spoke with Moses, “face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Exodus 33:11). The afterglow of Moses’ presence with the Lord was so glorious, that his face actually shone so brightly that he had to put a veil over it so people could look at him.
“The ministry that brought death,” is a reference to the Law because no one could keep it totally and it required constant sacrifices to remove the sin and guilt of disobedience even among the priests. I could understand Beryl’s fear and doubt about her future. She understood the Law but she did not understand God’s grace because she could not see it through the veil of Moses.
If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! – 2 Cor. 3:9-11
Unfortunately, the glow of Moses’ face did not last but it had a purpose. The apostle Paul reminded the Jews in Galatia that the purpose of the Law was to be “our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:24-25). In other words, the ministry of Jesus Christ brings a glory “which lasts” far beyond the Law. It should never fade away in the life of a believer for the sacrifice for sin and guilt has been accomplished “once for all” (1 Peter 3:18).
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. — 2 Cor. 3:12
I must tell you that we had no fear of sharing our faith while in Israel. Maybe it was because the Jews do have a belief in the word of God, even though it is veiled. But we are not.
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. — 2 Corinthians 3:13
Christians should never be like the followers of Moses because we have the truth that they cannot see and it has set us free (John 8:32). We have experienced the glory of the Lord in its fullness, we have been forgiven and the guilt is gone. We have a future in heaven and we can live in victory in this life. The radiance of the gospel should never fade in our lives.
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. — 2 Corinthians 3:14-16
Our guide’s appeal in Scripture was always to the Torah (the Law). In it she believed she found her hope for salvation but not her assurance of salvation. She could not tell me if she was forgiven. Her faithfulness was guesswork. Why? She told us that she believed in a historical Jesus who even performed miracles. She even agreed with some of his teachings and recognized him as a rabbi who had a considerable following. Then what prevented her from believing and experiencing the unfading glory of the gospel through Jesus Christ?
The apostle Paul, speaking of the Jews (but he could be speaking of any unbeliever), said that their minds had been “made dull” because a self-made “veil covers their hearts.” So how will the veil be taken away? God tells us, “Only in Christ” when “one turns to the Lord.”
The late Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, once said that in order to win people to Jesus we must first love them, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and preach the gospel to every one of them. We did that with Beryl in the short time we had. Will she believe someday? We’ll let God sort that out, but as my wife pointed out, that not only was “beryl” a precious stone in the Old Testament but it is also one of the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city (Revelation 21.20). — Maranatha
“God is good all the time. All the time God is good”!
