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Sunday, April 06, 2025

“The Son of Man” [Matt's Messages]

4/06/2025 10:45:00 AM , , , 0 comments

“The Son of Man”
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
April 6, 2025 :: Matthew 20:17-28

What was Jesus’ favorite name for Himself?

In this passage, Jesus uses His favorite title for Himself to teach us about Himself.

What was Jesus’ favorite appellation for Himself?

“The Son of Man.”

You might have guessed “The Son of God” which He surely was. But that’s what others called Him. Like His Father. And like the Roman Centurion at his crucifixion.

Jesus likes to use this phrase for Himself, “The Son of Man.” And I think He liked it for various reasons. One was its ambiguity and the mystery.  It could just mean someone who was a human. A son of man is himself a man, and He was that! 

But there’s obviously more to it. Israelite believers who had read the Book of Daniel may have interpreted this title, “Son of Man,” as a name for the coming Messiah.

Remember how “Son of Man” shows up in the central vision in the Book of Daniel, chapter 7? The last chapter in Aramaic and the first vision of the wiseman Daniel himself. Listen again to Daniel chapter 7, verses 13 and 14. It’s in the vision of the Ancient of Days. Keep your eyes on the Ancient of Days. 

Daniel writes, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Wow! That’s the Son of Man! The Son of Man is the King of Kingdoms!

He is human, yes. But so much more! He is a human who rides on the clouds! He is a human who can approach the Ancient of Days without fear and trepidation. He is a son of man who is welcome in the presence of the Ancient of Days and given the kingdom of kingdoms! Which He then shares with His people!

And that’s how Jesus saw Himself! In Matthew chapter 19 (the chapter right before this one), Jesus said this. Look at chapter 19, verse 28 & 29. 

“Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

The Son of Man coming in glory and sitting on His glorious throne and giving away glorious gifts! That’s the Son of Man!

But that’s not all that the Son of Man is. That’s not all that the Son of Man is going to do. It turns out that the Son of Man is going to be very different than many people expected.

Jesus is often different than we expect, is He not? You could never predict Jesus. The more you get to know Him and become like Him, the more He makes sense to you, but He’s definitely counter-intuitive and counter-cultural.

We’ve seen that again and again, haven’t we? For example, when Jesus describes His kingdom. What is the kingdom of kingdoms actually like? Read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-8.

It’s upside-down and inside-out. The opposite of what we’d ever predict.


It’s upside-down and inside-out.

In fact, what does Jesus say in verse 30? Chapter 19, verse 30, right after that prediction of the glorious coming, the glorious throne, the glorious kingdom?

“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

It’s not just an upside-down kingdom. It’s a back-to-front kingdom. It’s a last-to-first kingdom. In Jesus’ kingdom, the last will be first and the first will be last.

And that goes for Him, as well! In today’s passage (Matthew 20:17-28), Jesus shows us how He Himself will live out this first and last theology.

The Son of Man will not just come in kingdom glory. 

He will first come in suffering service.

I only have two points this morning, and they are both things you would never expect the Son of Man to do if all you had was Daniel 7.

Here’s the first one:

#1. THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SUFFER.

I know that we’re used to that idea, but the disciples sure weren’t.

"The Son of Man comes in glory! He rides the clouds! He sits on a glorious throne! He doesn’t come to suffer?!"

But that’s exactly what Jesus predicts in Matthew chapter 20. Look at verse 17. 

“Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’” (Matt. 20:17-19).

Isn’t it amazing that Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen to Him? Jesus is on His way up to Jerusalem. He’s almost there!

We know what’s going to happen in Jerusalem. We just studied the Gospel of John last year.

And Jesus knows what is going to happen in Jerusalem. He pulls His followers aside on the road, and He tells them so that they are prepared!

“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man [“The Son of Man, that’s Me.”] will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified” (vv.17-18).

Listen to those verbs:

Be betrayed.
Condemned to death.
Turned over to Pilate and the Romans.
Mocked.
Flogged.
Crucified.

The Son of Man was going to be:

Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.
Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.
Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.

Jesus knew what was coming.

In fact, He chose it!

Praise the Lord for verse 19, and “On the third day he will be raised to life!” Jesus knew that, too. He knew that suffering was the true path to glory. He knew about His resurrection. That the last will be first. 

But He also knew about the Cross. Mocked. Flogged. Crucified. Jesus took the last place to get the first place. Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.

As we enter Passion Week next Sunday just think of those 3 words from Jesus’ lips. What He knew was coming. The Son of Man would be mocked, flogged, crucified.

What’s really sad about verse 20 is that they clearly were not listening. I know because of what James and John do. They bring their Mom to Jesus to try get to be first in the kingdom. They are clearly not paying attention. Verse 20.

“Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. [This ought to be good.] ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’”

What do you think of that request? Well, it’s great that she and they believe in the kingdom. Many people then did not believe that Jesus was the coming king. And many people today still do not believe that Jesus is the coming king. They got that right. They believed what He said in chapter 19, verse 28.

“By the way, you mentioned twelve thrones. I was just wondering if my two sons could be on the thrones immediately to your right and to your left. What do you say?”

[By the way, it’s possible that James and John were actually half-cousins of Jesus and this woman named “Salome” was Jesus’ aunt. It’s not at all for sure as the Bible never comes out and says it, but if you follow the names and relationships in the gospels, it’s definitely possible. So this could be Jesus’ Jewish aunt trying to get some special favors in.]

"So what do you say, Jesus? I mean everybody’s got to have a right hand man!" V.22. Truer words were never spoken.

“‘You don't know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?’” Stop there for a second.

These folks have no clue. Jesus just said that He was going to be mocked, flogged, crucified. And they’re like, “Yeah, whatever, sure. But can we be glorified? We want to be first in the kingdom!”

And Jesus says, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” 

What do you think is in that cup? I believe they think that cup is the cup of victory. “Can you drink from the cup of glory that I drink from?” “Sure! Hand it over.” v.22 “‘We can,’ they answered.” “I’ll drink to that!”

But it’s not the cup of glory. It’s not the cup of victory. It’s the cup of death. It’s the cup of God’s wrath. It’s the cup of suffering. When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked His Father if there is any way that this cup could be taken away from Him (cf. Matthew 26:39)! And they say that the could drink it with Him.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.” This cup is the cup of being mocked, flogged, and crucified. And even more, bearing the just wrath of God. That’s what the Son of Man is going to do. The Son of Man Came to Suffer.

So we shouldn’t be surprised if we have to follow in His footsteps. V.23

“Jesus said to them, ‘You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.’”

That’s another surprise. Jesus says that they will drink, to some small degree, from His cup. They too will suffer. Not exactly like He did. But kind of like He did.

The Sons of Zebedee? James will be killed by Herod in Acts chapter 12. Killed by a sword. John will be exiled to the island of Patmos. The Sons of Zebedee will suffer for Jesus’ sake.

And we, too, should not be surprised when are called to suffer for Him, as well. Because that’s the path that Jesus took. Suffering is the path to glory. Why would we think that we would get there without any pain?

But they all did. All of the disciples thought this way. V.24

“When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 

[They weren’t more godly, they were jealous. “Hey, you’re trying to take our place! We want to be first.”]
 
Jesus called them together and said, [No way, guys.] ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

#2. THE SON OF MAN CAME TO SERVE.

They all want to be first. And Jesus says, “No, no, no. You want to be last. Don’t be like the world. The pagans want to be lords and authorities and little potentates. They want to be kings! But my kingdom is upside-down. If you want to be great, you must be a servant. If you want to be first, you must be last. You must be a slave.”

Jesus says, “Don’t be like them. Be like Me!” 

How counter-cultural. How counter-intuitive. Nothing has changed. The world still clamors to be first. Nobody runs to the back of the line. Nobody lives to die to self and deny themselves. Everybody loves to live for their selves.

Think about it. What is the number one thing the world tells you today:

“Be yourself.”
“Trust yourself.”
“Love yourself.”

Jesus says, “Die to self.”

And serve others.

Now, of course, this doesn’t mean that someone who is in authority no longer exercises authority. Jesus has all authority and exercises it. But He does so as a servant. He is the prime example of serving others, putting them before Himself. And His Crosswork is the prime example of His Servanthood. His suffering was His way of serving.

Verse 28 is so wonderful! One of my favorite lines of Scripture.

Serve others, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I’ll say it this way: The Son of Man from Daniel 7 is also the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.

He is worthy of the crown because He drank from the cup.

One of the reasons why Son of Man was welcome in the presence of the Ancient of Days was because He had suffered for His people! Because He  had given His life as a ransom FOR many.

That means “in place of” many.

A ransom is a price paid for someone’s freedom.

On the Cross, Jesus was paying the price of freedom from sin and guilt and shame.

Isaiah 53:12 says that the Suffering Servant will be rewarded “because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Jesus is “riffing on” that language. He’s alluding to Isaiah 53 and saying that He will fulfill it. The Son of Man came to serve.

And so, we who follow Him, should choose to serve, as well.

Are you a servant? Would that appellation be appropriate for you? Would it go on your business card? Would that fit on your social media bio? And nobody would laugh? “Matt Mitchell, servant.” I want it to.

When was the last time you put somebody ahead of yourself, and you didn’t do it to manipulate them? When was the last time you took the last place because you were following Jesus?

The Son of Man deserved to be served, but instead He served. How much more should we serve the people around us?

How could you quietly up your servant quotient today, this week?

At work?
At home?
In the neighborhood?
At church?

Today is our quarterly church family meeting. Does anybody remember what I said at our last quarterly church family meeting as my vision for 2025? I don’t expect anybody to remember!

But what I said was my vision for 2025 was “Serving the King.”

Serving. This year, we have a number of things planned that call us to serve others:

We are planning to serve the people of Hazard Kentucky who were severely affected by flooding a few years ago by sending an 11 member ministry teams in July.

We are planning to serve our neighbors with the first full year of the Lanse Free Fridge. It’s been used left and right.

We are serving our community through a Egg Hunt outreach–maybe the Pavilion will be done in time to use it to serve the community that day, too!

We have an exciting proposal to lay out today in our meeting in how to serve the people of Malawi in a new way.

Our church is full of servants who follow their King’s example! 

I am so proud to pastor this church because so many of you put other people ahead of yourselves.

The Deaconnesses, the Facilities Team, the Elders, the Missions Ministry Team. Jenni, Jordyn, Cindy! Ladies Fellowship Group. The Hospitality Team that prepped everything for the meal we’re about to enjoy.

All of those Kids Bible Class teachers! Because we have grown in here, the classes have grown back there. And it’s hard to keep up. There were 20 kids back there, and for those long Daniel sermons! Thank you, KBC servants, for serving our kids.

Thank you for applying this teaching to yourself? For being different from the world. 

“Not so with you...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave...” 

Just like the Son of Man did. 

The Son of Man? The One rides the clouds? He gave His life as a ransom for many. Even though we don’t didn’t deserve it! Even though he knew what we were like. We were “completely known.” He was eyes-wide-open about who we are and what we are.

But He still went to the Cross for us.

Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.
Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.
Mocked. Flogged. Crucified.

Completely known and yet completely loved! We are covered by our Savior’s blood. The Son of Man suffered for us.

Have you put your faith and trust in what He did for you? How He suffered for you? How He paid the ransom to set you free from sin and death and Hell?! He drank the cup of suffering so that we would not have to. His suffering was serving us. His suffering was saving us.

The Son of Man came to save. And (v.19), on the third day He was raised to life! He didn’t stay dead. (Spoiler alert for the next couple of weeks.) He came back to life and will never die.

And He’s coming again. “[A]t a time known only to God” the Son of Man will return (Matthew 24:44). 

During Passion Week, Jesus will use this name for Himself over and over again, “The Son of Man...the Son of Man...the Son of Man.”


But also that He will return.

In fact, at His trial, right before He went to the Cross, they were asking Him if He was the Messiah the Son of God, and He answered, “Yes, it is as you say...But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:63-64).

He came to suffer.
He came to serve.
He came to save.

And He’s coming again to receive and reign over the Kingdom of Kingdoms.

May He get all of the glory He deserves. 


***

Astute readers will recognize how much of this week’s message was adapted from “The Suffering Serving Son of Man” which I originally preached on July 7, 2019. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share it again.

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Sunday, March 30, 2025

“Before Your God” [Matt's Messages]

3/30/2025 02:27:00 PM , , 0 comments

“Before Your God”
The King of Kingdoms - The Book of Daniel
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
March 30, 2025 :: Daniel 10:1-11:1  

In Daniel chapter 10, old Daniel is still praying.

In Daniel chapter 10, old Daniel is not done praying for his people.

We’ve learned a lot about prayer by watching Daniel pray in this book. Daniel prayed in chapter 2, and God revealed the king’s dream and the true interpretation of the king’s dream to Daniel. Daniel faithfully prayed in chapter 6 and got thrown to the lions for it (and saved from the lions by that same Lord). Last week, in Daniel chapter 9, Daniel was desperately praying for the end of Israel’s exile as Jeremiah had prophesied in his book. 

And the Lord answered by sending the angel Gabriel to inform Daniel not just that God will perfectly keep His promises but that He has a perfect plan to fix (not just the exile after 70 years, but to fix everything) in His perfect timing (70 “sevens” whatever they are). And the Lord is perfectly on time.
Well, as we open Daniel chapter 10, Daniel is still praying.

A few years have gone by. Some things have changed. God’s plan is still being worked out in human history. And Daniel is still praying. And God is still answering. 

In fact, in answer to his prayer, Daniel has perhaps the wildest encounter with the Lord in this whole book! And that’s saying a lot. What a life Daniel lived! What things God showed him! And what things we can learn from him and his book!


We’ve reached the last bit of the Book of Daniel. These last 3 chapters are actually all about the same thing, the fourth and last vision that God gave to Daniel. There was one central vision in chapter 7, one focusing vision in chapter 8, one super-enigmatic vision in chapter 9, and then this last one is the longest one, chapters 10 through 12.

It’s going to take us a few weeks to work our way through it. Instead of preaching a two hour sermon, I think I will just break it up into chunks just like whoever put in the chapter numbers did! But keep that in mind as we work through it. Chapters 10 through 12 are all one thing. In fact, chapter 10 is really just preparation. It’s just getting Daniel (and us) ready to receive the content of the prophecy of the future in chapters 11 and 12.

The sermon title for today is “Before Your God.” I pulled those words from verse 12, where Daniel’s heavenly visitor  tells Daniel that he has come in response to Daniel’s prayers before His God. It’s actually the only verse in chapter 10 that includes a divine name. So I zeroed in on that because I’ve been trying to focus on the names of God as I’ve titled these sermons.

Because this chapter is not ultimately about Daniel or about his prayers or even about the mysterious spiritual beings that we will learn about as we read it. This chapter is ultimately about Daniel’s God Who is also ours. Let’s start in verse 1.

“In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over” (vv.1-3).

Old Daniel is still praying. And he’s praying desperately. When the chapter opens, Daniel informs us that he’s been mourning for three weeks. Literally, that says, “3 ‘sevens’ of days.” So it’s that word we learned we learned last week, a ‘seven’ “shavua” (a set of seven) but here it’s specifically a “‘seven’ of days” so this is literal 3 week period that Daniel has been mourning; 21 days. 

He’s gone on a partial fast. No choice food, no meat or wine. No skin cream for his cracked and dry Jewish skin under the harsh Babylonian sun. It’s kind of like a return to how he was in chapter 1 when Daniel refused the king’s rich food during the wisemen training period.  Three weeks, he’s back to water and vegetables once again.

And he’s praying.
And he’s praying.
And he’s praying.

Why is Daniel praying so desperately? It doesn’t say. But we can guess. For one thing, Daniel just is a man of prayer. He’s been praying for decades, he’s not going to stop.

But the timestamp of verse 1 might give us a good clue as to why in particular he’s praying like this now. When did this happen? Verse 1 says it was, “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia...”

Now, I think that means the third year that Cyrus (who was the high king of Persia) ruled over Babylon. Not the third year Cyrus was king of Persia but king over Babylon. He took over Babylon in 539 BC when the writing was on the wall for Belshazzar. And he put Darius the Mede in charge of Babylon in 539 BC. Darius is not mentioned here. Perhaps because he’s died already. He was already 62 when he took over.

Or maybe verse 1 emphasizes Cyrus because of what else he did in his first year over Babylon. He allowed the Jews to go home! We talked about this last week (and you can read about it in the book of Ezra). Cyrus decreed that the Jews could go home, and nearly 50,000 of them took him up on it.

I wonder how many of them passed through the Ishtar gate as they made the 600+ mile trek back to Judah to rebuilt their city and even their temple. 

But Daniel did not go home. He did not pass through the Ishtar gate and head west to Judah. In verse 4, we’ll find him north and east of Babylon standing at the Tigris river. Daniel stayed behind and prayed. And prayed. And prayed.

This is three years later, so that makes it about 536 BC. How old is Daniel in 536 BC? He’s around 83? 84? And old Daniel has decided that he’s going to fast and pray.

He’s probably gotten some bad news from back home. Yes, the people went back home and started to rebuild. But if you read the book of Ezra, you’ll find out that right about this time, they stopped rebuilding the temple (see especially chapters 4 through 6). They got sidetracked and stalled. They encountered opposition and they kind of gave up for a while.

It’s just a guess, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Daniel has heard about their lack of progress, and he’s been discouraged. Daniel has been receiving visions for a few years now that tell him that there are terrible things in store for his people. And it seems like it’s already coming true. So he mourns. He fasts. And he prays. He, in the words of verse 12, humbles himself before his God. 

I’ve got just two points of application this morning, and here’s the first one: 

#1. HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE YOUR GOD.

What an example for you and me, right?

Dare to be a Daniel and continue to care about the pain of the people of God. Dare to be a Daniel and continue to pour yourself out in prayer, humbling yourself before your God.

We sang it this morning, “Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord.” That’s easier to sing and to say that it is to do. But Daniel shows us the way.

Daniel could have just sat back at this point in his life, couldn’t he? He could have said, “I’ve done my time. I’ve served my people. I’ve been praying and prophesying and representing my people in the highest courts of the nations for decades and decades. I’ll let somebody else do it now. I’m retired from prayer ministry. God has told me that He’s got a perfect plan on a perfect timetable. So I’ll just let Him do it now.”

But, no, as much as Daniel trusts God’s perfect plan, Daniel also knows that his people are suffering, and they need someone to pray for them. And they need someone to try to understand what is going on. And they need someone to fight for them in prayer.

Verse 1 says that this vision is true and concerns “a great war.” A great struggle. A great conflict. And this is Daniel’s way of fighting in this war. He prays. He humbles himself before his God, and he prays.

How about you and me? Are we praying? Are we humbling ourselves before our God? Do we get on our knees?  There is a war going on! A spiritual war. Are we just sitting on the sidelines? 

Who are you praying for right now? Who is on your list? Are you praying for missionaries, those people on the back wall? Are you praying for the persecuted church, our brothers and sisters who are suffering for the name of Jesus around the world? Are you praying for your local church? Are you praying for the people in the pew? Do you receive the prayer emails that Denise sends out, and do you pray for them when you read them? Are you praying for your family, especially for their spiritual condition, for their discipleship, for their citizenship in the kingdom of kingdoms? Are you praying “Your kingdom come! Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven?” (Matthew 6:10).

To really pray like that requires humility.  Daniel could have been the proudest man around, but instead he humbled himself before his God. And God answered. Boy, did God answer! Look at verse 4.

“On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude” (vv.4-6).

I can’t imagine. Can you? What a glorious being this was! How radiant and marvelous!

Heather Joy pointed out to me how much light is here. Not only is he wearing linen (like a priest) but he’s wrapped around the middle in shining gold. And his upper body shines like a precious gemstone (whichever one it actually is–some other versions say topaz (KJV), some say beryl (NIV11, ESV), some say yellow jasper (NET). Nobody’s quite sure. Whatever exact gemstone it is like, it’s amazing! It’s like he’s made of a precious metal and probably glowing?!  

His face is like lightning! Lightning! Brightness itself! If you look at lightning, and close your eyes, it’s still there. His face is like that! And his eyes themselves are like flaming torches, fire coming out of his eyes! And his arms and legs are shiny bronze. This person is dazzling!

And his voice? It’s like the sound of a great crowd. Like Beaver Stadium full of 120,000 screaming fans. That’s his voice! Deep, loud, forceful, tremendous. And it echoes and echoes and echoes and echoes.

Here’s a reason to humble ourselves! Because our God is glorious.

Now, who is this person in verse 5 and 6? 

It doesn’t say. We’re back to the problem of identification we’ve had throughout this study. There is no naming names, no “who is who.”

And so, we may need to pull out our helpful little phrase, “I don’t know, and that’s okay.” Or maybe better, “I’m not sure, and that’s okay.”

A lot of biblical scholars think that this is the angel Gabriel once again.

He showed up in chapter 8 and in chapter 9, maybe it’s Gabriel again in chapter 10. If he’s the same person talking at the end of the chapter, then he works in cooperation with the angel Michael. So Gabriel is not a bad guess.

But a lot of other biblical scholars think this is Someone Else. They think that this is not just an angelophany (like Greg taught us at Stay Sharp) but a Christophany. They think this is pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. They think this is the Son of Man before He became a man.

And that’s quite possible, too. The best argument for that is the parallels between these two verses and the way that Jesus is described by the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 1. Read Revelation 1 this afternoon and look at all of the similarities. They are striking.

And there, He’s even called, “One like a son of man” right out of the Book of Daniel.

I’m not 100% sure that this is Jesus here because of how later in the chapter, he seems to be a little hindered and to need help from Michael. So that gives me a little pause. It may be that He just allows Himself to need that help. Or maybe the end of the chapter is actually talking about a second heavenly being that is an angel, and this is Jesus in just verses 5&6, but I kind of (for those reasons) lean towards this being a some kind of angel (see, for example, the cherubim in Ezekiel 1). Perhaps a higher angel even than Gabriel and Michael. The angel of the LORD.

It doesn’t say, and I’m not quite sure. And that’s okay. Because it really doesn’t matter. Because whoever this is, he is from God and reflects God’s own glory. This being shows how resplendent God is. How beautiful. How dazzling. If this isn’t God the Son, then God the Son is this plus infinitely more!

And he’s come to reveal God’s own secrets to Daniel and eventually to us.

I can’t imagine what this was like. I almost wish I could have been there, but then I see how it affected everyone who was. Look at verse 7.

“I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. [They couldn’t hack it. They couldn’t see it, but they felt it. And it was the scariest thing they have ever felt. V.8] So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.

Then I heard him speaking [with that voice like the sound of a multitude!], and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground” (vv.7-9).

Is this how we think about God? I think that we often only think about God in terms of Psalm 23. The gentle Shepherd. (And He is that!) But we often can think about God only as this soft thing. Like a doddering old grandpa with a white beard who couldn’t hurt a fly. Santa Claus.

That’s not what He’s like. He is the Ancient of Days. He is the One like a Son of Man. He is the King of Kingdoms. He is like nothing else, and He is terrifying. He is awesome. He is overwhelming, and we should humble ourselves before Him.

Daniel has fallen down into a deep sleep, face to the ground. 83 year old Daniel is lying there facedown. It probably looks like he’s dead. He’s seen a vision of the glory of God, and he’s overawed and undone. 

And then somebody touches him. Somebody is going to touch Daniel 3 times in this chapter. Verse 10, verse 16, and verse 18. Maybe the same person as verses 5&6. Imagine being touched by him!!! Or maybe a new person, an angel. Either way, it wakes him up. Verse 10.

“A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling” (vv.10-11).

Do you see it? He’s been face down. Then he’s on his hands and knees. Then he’s standing but on trembling legs. This is no walk in the park. This is no sweet and easy moment for Daniel. In a lengthy life of amazing and scary moments, this may be the hardest moment of Daniel’s long life. And he needs strengthening. 

The whole rest of this chapter is all about Daniel being strengthened to receive the rest of the vision. And we can be strengthened from it, too. 

#2. BE STRENGTHENED BEFORE YOUR GOD.

It’s strengthening even while it was overwhelming, right? It is strengthening to know that your God is this glorious. 

Your God is glorious!

Daniel was knocked off his feet by the grandeur of this vision, but the vision also shows God’s power. And if God’s power is revealed like this, then He can fulfill all of His promises and answer all of Daniel’s prayers. He can help the people in Judah who have fallen behind in rebuilding the temple. And He can do everything He’s going to promise in chapters 11 and 12.

Your God is glorious.  Be strengthened by that.

And here’s something else to strengthen you: Your God treasures you.

Did you see how Daniel is addressed in verse 11? It’s the same word Gabriel used in chapter 9 (v.23). V.11 “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed.”

Some translations say, “beloved.” Some say “greatly loved.” Some say “precious.”

The Hebrew word there, “hemduth” refers to something that is craved or coveted, something that is desired. It’s something you treasure. It’s saying that Daniel was highly treasured by God! Now, this is the only place where that word is used to describe a person in the Bible, and so Daniel is the only person who is described this way. Perhaps he was esteemed for his great faith and faithfulness. He was special in that way.

But we know from the rest of the Bible how God feels about us, don’t we? The Bible says that we are “God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved...” (Col. 3:12). God so loved us that He gave us One and Only Son (His beloved Son! With Whom He was well-pleased! He gave Him up for us all! (Rom. 8:32)). Jesus died on the Cross because God so treasured us. Your God so treasured you! 
Be strengthened by that. Draw strength today from your God’s love for you.

And He shows that by answering prayer. Your God is answering your prayers.  Look at verse 12. Daniel is standing up, trembling. 

“Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”

When was that? How long has Daniel been on this partial fast? “Three ‘sevens’ of days,” right? 

God was listening the whole time.

“Your words were heard.”
“Your words were heard.”
“Your words were heard.”

“And I have come in response to them.”

Our God is a listening God. We talked about this last week. Our God is not impassive and implacable. He’s not deaf. He’s listening when we pray.

Three weeks, Daniel’s been praying. 

Week one, his words were heard.
Week two, his words were heard.
Week three, his words were heard.

And this heavenly being has been sent in response to them.

And the God who listened to Daniel is listening to us when we pray. Do you need to hear that? Have you been praying recently and wondering if Anybody is listening? Have you been demoralized because you aren’t seeing the answers you’re hoping for?

Hear this. Be strengthened by this: “Your words were heard.” Keep praying. Sometimes it seems like nobody’s listening, but we know the Lord is, the whole time!

And in verse 13, the heavenly being actually peels back a corner of the curtain to tell Daniel why it took song long for him to get this particular answer. 

In chapter 9, Gabriel got there before Daniel’s prayer was over! But here the answer was delayed. Look at verse 13.

“Since the first day...your words were heard, and I have come in response to them...But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come” (vv.13-14).

Now that is something entirely new. You think you’ve seen it all in the Book of Daniel, and then he’s got a new surprise to pop out at you! And this is something that doesn’t really show up anywhere else in the Bible outside of Daniel chapter 10.  

This heavenly being says that he was resisted for 21 days. He was withstood or hindered or blocked by “the prince of the Persian kingdom.” 

Who is that? “I’m not sure, and that’s okay.”

The word for “prince” is “sar” like we learned about in chapter 8. A chieftain or leader or king of some kind. This “sar” is the “sar” of the Persian kingdom.

Now, that could be Cyrus...or his son? But verse 1 named Cyrus. I don’t know why he would be not named here if it’s him. And how could Cyrus or his human son withstand this heavenly being?  I don’t think he could.

So that leads most biblical scholars to think that this “Prince of the Persian Kingdom” refers to a demonic being. A powerful demonic spirit that is at work in the kingdom of Persia.

Sometimes those are called “territorial spirits.” Because they seem to be tied to a particular kingdom. I think it might be better to call them “empiric spirits” because it’s less about geography than it is about the socio-political aspect of a kingdom. Not so much “place” as “people.”

We don’t know that much about this reality, and I think that’s on purpose, and it’s good that we don’t. We couldn’t handle it if we did.

But it strengthens us to know that it’s going on where we can’t see.

Your God is working where you cannot see. Verse 1 said that there is a “great war!” And now we know that there is a great war in the unseen realms. Unbeknownst to us, these powerful beings are “duking it out” behind the scenes.

The prince of the Persian kingdom actually hinders the one speaking from arriving to Daniel for 21 days. But then Michael (also called a “prince” here, a “chief sar”), and we know he’s an angel (Jude 1, Revelation 12, Michael) shows up and helps the speaker to break free and come to Daniel.

What was that like?! We don’t know. And it’s more than okay! We couldn’t handle it if we tried.

Notice what this says we should do about these empiric spirits:

Absolutely nothing at all.

Daniel doesn’t tell us that we should try to learn their names or ranks or dominions or go to battle with them ourselves. Daniel doesn’t tell us to do anything about them at all!

This is one of the few places in the Bible where we get a peek behind the curtain. And I think the main point is just to tell us that there’s a lot going on behind the curtain. 

There is a cosmic conflict. We do live in a spiritual warzone. We need to know that. As Paul says in Ephesians, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

But Paul doesn’t say, “Let’s figure out their names. Let’s figure out their kingdoms. Let’s name them and talk to them and go to battle against them.”

No, he says basically that we clothe ourselves with gospel truth and then we live out the Christian life and we keep on praying (see Eph. 6:10-18). And we trust that God will handle all the stuff behind the scenes. All the stuff we cannot see.

Does that strengthen you? It does me. It’s a great relief. 

Of course it’s scary. It’s scary to think that we have these powerful unseen enemies. Is there a Prince of the Kingdom of America that is dedicated to oppressing us hedre in this country? I don’t know. But I do know there is a war going on. And I know Who is winning it.

I know that Jesus has actually already won it (see 1 Peter 3:22). Jesus has “disarmed the powers and authorities, [and] he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15).

Our Celebration Choir is preparing a song right now for you where the phrase we sing over and over is, “And the devil went down.” The war is won even if there are still some "mop up" battles to fight.

I think it’s important, again, to point out that none of this means that God is not sovereign. Even in Daniel chapter 10, just because there’s a war raging behind the scenes does not mean that God is not in control. Or that Satan and God are somehow equal in power and wrestling with one another, sometimes one winning and sometimes the other. That may be somewhat true on the angelic level, but not on the divine level.

The Lord is the Ancient of Days unbothered by these great evils and ultimate judge over them (see Daniel 7!). As we learned in chapter 4, God is “the Most High...who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation....He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one [not the Prince of Persia or the Prince of Greece or Satan himself] can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’” (see Daniel 4:34-35).

God allows this unseen war to rage for His own wise purposes. And when He says that it’s time for it to be all over, that’s when it will end.

At this point in the story, Michael has helped the heavenly messenger to get free and to come to Daniel to explain the future. Verse 14 again.

“Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

That’s what’s in chapters 11 and 12. There is more conflict, more war on the way. Both behind the scenes and on the stage of human history. He’s going to predict things from right then and there all the way to eternity.

And it was more than Daniel could stand. He just about falls over again. Verse 15.

“While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe’ (vv.15-17).

This is so hard on Daniel. He’s overwhelmed. He’s almost like a rag-doll. Old Daniel just about can’t take what he’s hearing, but this one like a man touches his mouth. Every time he gets touched, he can do a little bit more.

He talks. He says, “How can I talk? I can hardly breath. My strength is gone.” Verse 18.

“Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ‘Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,’ he said. [There is it is again. Treasured.] ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.’”

I love that. “Be strong now; be strong.” I almost titled this message, “Be Strong Now; Be Strong.” It’s the same root word over and over again the Hebrew. “Hazak”

He “touched me and gave me [hazak]. ‘Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,' ‘Peace! Be [hazak] now; be [hazak].' When he spoke to me, I was [hazak] and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me [hazak].”

“Be strong now; be strong.”

What are you facing right where you need strength? I’m sure that everybody here has something big, something daunting that is staring you in the face.

Daniel had to receive one last long and scary vision. And he needed strength. He needed “hazak.” Where did he get it? Not from himself. He got it from his God Because he knew that his God was working out His perfect plan.

Your God is working out His perfect plan.

And He’s perfectly on time. In verse 20, the messenger speaks again to Daniel and tells him what is happening next. Verse 20.

“So he said, ‘Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince. And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)” (10:20-11:1).

Apparently, this heavenly messenger is going back into battle, and at some point the prince of Persia will go down and the prince of Greece will come on the scene.


And before he goes, the heavenly messenger will tell Daniel what is in the Book of Truth, or “the truthful writings.” It’s not so much an actual book as a record of what is definitely going to come. What God’s reliable plan looks like.

And he mysteriously tells Daniel that there is no one else fighting on his level except for Michael, the prince of (Israel?, Daniel’s people). And they’ve been fighting together side by side since the first year of Darius the Mede when Persia took over Babylon.

Daniel is now strengthened to hear what God has planned for his people. It will be hard to receive. But he’s ready.

Because his God has touched him.
Because his God is glorious.
Because his God treasures him.
Because his God is answering his prayers.
Because his God is working where he cannot see.
Because his God is working out his perfect plan with perfect timing.

“Be strong now; be strong.”

Before your God.


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Sunday, March 23, 2025

“O Lord, Listen! O Lord, Forgive! O Lord, Hear and Act!” [Matt's Messages]

3/23/2025 05:50:00 PM , , 0 comments

“O Lord, Listen! O Lord, Forgive! O Lord, Hear and Act!”
The King of Kingdoms - The Book of Daniel
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
March 23, 2025 :: Daniel 9:1-27  

Daniel chapter 9 is a little different.

It’s definitely the same book, but it has a different feel to it than what has come before.

For one, it doesn’t start with a problem or a vision. It doesn’t have one of those classic Bible story problems like we saw so many times in the first half of the book. A king, a dream, a threat (chapters 1-6). And it doesn’t start with one of those wild and crazy apocalyptic visions like we’ve seen so far in the second half of the book (chapters 7 and 8).

It’s still very prophetic, as we’ll see at the enigmatic end of the chapter, but Daniel 9 is different. 

It’s mainly a long prayer. The wiseman Daniel records for us what he prayed one day in 539 BC. And the wild and wonderful way that God answered that prayer.

We have a very long title for today’s message. I tried to keep up the pattern of the last seven sermons and pick a name for God that this chapter was all about, but I just couldn’t settle on one. Because this chapter is so full of names for God! So many! Including God’s covenant name, Yahweh, which hasn’t shown up yet in this book. It shows up 8 times in this chapter! And so do another names, “Adonai” and “Elohim” especially, in various combinations. 

Daniel knows Whom he is talking to. And he has some big things to ask God to do. Our title comes from the last verse that Keagan read to us. Verse 19. The word “Lord” in Hebrew there is “Adonai.”

“O Lord, Listen! O Lord, Forgive! O Lord, Hear and Act!”


You can tell that this is prayer of desperation and dependance, and I think it is a model for us today. Let’s start in verse 1.

“In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom–in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD [Yahweh] given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years” (vv.1-2).

Daniel gives us a date for this prayer. It was about 539BC. King Darius the Mede (son of Xerxes), [or the Hebrew there is “Ahasuerus” but not the one from the book of Esther.] was in his first year.


Darius the Mede was the king put in charge of Babylon in the days of the high king Cyrus of the Persians. And he’s the king that reluctantly threw Daniel to the lions in chapter 6.

Remember what Daniel was doing that got him into that trouble? Daniel was praying. Three times a day, Daniel was praying at his open window, facing Jerusalem. He was about how old? Anybody remember? Eighty years old. Getting down on his knees. 
 
Well, about that time, Daniel was studying his Bible and he came to understand that according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah that the desolation of his beloved Jerusalem was nearly over!

Isn’t that amazing? First off, that he had a copy of Jeremiah! Daniel might have heard Jeremiah preaching back when he was a child in Jerusalem. Jeremiah preached for 40 years. He had prophesied for about 22 years before Daniel was drug off to Babylon. But Jeremiah didn’t finish his book of prophecies until at least 20 years after Daniel had been taken in captivity! 

However, a copy of Jeremiah has made it to old Daniel’s hands, and he’s reading it. And he’s studying it. And he’s praying it. 

“Hey, this scroll says, that our exile in Babylon is going to last 70 years.”


“Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: ‘Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ‘But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will make it desolate forever. I will bring upon that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands’ (Jer. 25:8-14).

Daniel says, “I think the 70 years are about up.” Daniel has been in Babylon for 66 years. That’s pretty close to 70!

And few chapters later, Daniel read this in the beloved Jeremiah chapter 29:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile’” (Jer. 29:10-15).

So Daniel says, “I guess we better start praying!”

Do you ever wonder, “Why bother praying if God has already decided and even already said what He was going to do?” Daniel doesn’t feel that way at all. He prays because God has said what He is going to do. And because God has said that prayer is one of things He’s going to use to do it!

The LORD said, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity.”

And Daniel says, “Okay. Let’s pray! Let’s go!” 

Dare to be a Daniel and pray the Bible back to God! Verse 3.

“So I turned to the Lord God (“Adonai-Elohim”) and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. [He’s serious about this. Eighty-year-old man wearing scratchy sackcloth and pouring ashes on his head.] I prayed to the LORD my God (“Yahweh-Elohim”) and confessed: ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong” (vv.3-5a).

Notice that Daniel starts with adoration. He starts his prayer with how great and awesome God is. That’s always a good place to start. It’s okay to start with our problems and our needs, especially if we’re in a jam. But Daniel recognizes that his people are in desperate trouble, and he starts with how awesome their God is. “Hallowed be your name! You’re a covenant keeper. You are great and righteous!”
And then he turns to lament and confession. V.5.

“We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame–the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you” (vv.5-7).

Do we pray like this? Not very often.

Notice that Daniel identifies closely with his people. He doesn’t say, “Those people over there have sinned. They are really bad.” He could! That’s true. In many ways, Daniel didn’t even personally participate in some of the sins that he’s confessing right here. But he does it anyway. He knows he’s connected. And he knows that he’s not innocent.

Isn’t this different from the rest of the book so far?

I mean in the first 8 chapters, the Jews have been the good guys, and the pagan Gentiles king and all have been the bad guys.

You know how in the old cowboy movies you could tell who the good guys were because they wore white hats and the bad guys wore the black hats? Well, so far in the book of Daniel, the Gentile pagan empires that ruled over the Jews clearly were the ones with the black hats, and the Jews were clearly the ones with the white hats.

But in chapter 9, Daniel prays revealing that he knows that the Jews are in this predicament because they are black hat people, too.

The whole reason they were in Babylon was not because Babylon was so great and powerful, but because Yahweh kept His promise, kept His threat to send them into exile if they wouldn’t stop their sinning. Verse 8.

“O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. ‘Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you” (vv.8-11).

He doesn’t blame the pagans for their predicament. He doesn’t blame some people far away. He says, “We.”

I think that’s powerful. I’m very tempted to blame all of my problems on somebody else. We love to do that in America, too. We blame the “other” political party than “ours” for everything. They are the problem! But Daniel says, “We.”

“[W]e have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.”

They were “a broken record about a broken covenant.” “Jeremiah told us. Isaiah told us. Elijah told us. Elisha told us. But we did not listen. And God told us what would happen if we did not listen! He told us back in Leviticus (26) and Deuteronomy (28) what would happen if we did not listen. Exile! And that’s exactly what He did.” Verse 12.

“You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. [Read Lamentations!]  Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. [We still haven’t learned our lesson. So we might not get excused when the 70 years are up?!] The LORD [Yahweh] did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him” (vv.12-14).

Daniel knows why they are in Babylon. He has not forgotten why they are in Babylon. It’s because of Who God is. He is righteous. He is holy. He keeps His promises, and that means that He keeps His threats.

And so Daniel prays. And he prays. And he prays. Three times a day with the windows open, facing towards Jerusalem. Daniel is not worried about whether he’ll get eaten by lions. He’s worried his people will not repent and be restored to the land!

So he’s repenting and praying that they will be restored to the land. Daniel asks God to forgive Israel.

And notice how he does it. Look at verse 15.

“‘Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

‘Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. [Daniel is 600 some miles away, and he’s pleading for Jerusalem.] We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name’” (vv.15-19).

Do you hear it? What does Daniel use for an argument when he asks God to forgive and restore his people? Why should He?! Is it because Israel is so wonderful? Is it because Israel is so righteous? “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous!” As if!

But why? For God’s own sake! For God’s own name. For God’s own reputation. Daniel says, “You are so merciful. You brought us up out of Egypt. You love to save! You love to forgive. You’re famous for it! This city and these people bear your Name.”

Daniel prays based on the name and character and reputation of God Himself. Daniel knows how God loves His own glory and will always in act in accordance with it. So he prays based on God’s glory.

Dare to be a Daniel and ask God to do great things based on God’s great glory!

He says, “For your sake!” “Do these things for us for your own sake.”

Do we pray that way? We definitely should. Because God does care deeply about His own glory. We’re not tricking Him when we do this. We aren’t demanding anything based on His glory. We aren’t in a position to demand anything. But we plead His character. We plead His name. We plead His heart back to Him, and...He answers.

I’ve got three points this morning, and they are will be very obvious, and they are very wonderful. 

#1. THE LORD DOES LISTEN.

Daniel prays like this because he knows God hears and responds. God is not impassive or uncaring or unfeeling. od is a Rock because He’s dependable, but He’s a Rock Who listens. And answers!

Do you know how God answered this prayer of Daniel’s? Within a year of Daniel’s prayer, the High King of Persia, King Cyrus issued a decree that the Jews could go home. They were allowed to leave Babylon and head back to Israel if they wanted to. About 50,000 of them did. Read about it in the Book of Ezra, especially chapters 1 and 2. Ezra makes it clear that it was because God moved in Cyrus’ heart that they were allowed to go home. In order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.

And you know what else they were allowed to take home with them? The gold and silver articles that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple and Belshazzar had partied with! The Lord does listen.

And that’s not all. That’s not the half of it. Look at verse 20 to see how the Lord responded to Daniel’s prayer! V.20 

“While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill–while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice” (vv.20-21).

“Well, hello, Gabriel! Welcome back.”

It’s been over a decade since the vision of chapter 8. And all of a sudden, the angel Gabriel has shown up again looking like a man. It’s not even clear if this is a vision or a visitation–like he will do a few hundred years to a virgin named Mary.

I love this picture of Gabriel in motion while Daniel is praying! Zooming in. “Swift flight.” [Some versions have “in my extreme weakness” in verse 21, and that’s quite a possible translation of the Hebrew based upon a different understanding of the underlying root word. That would indicate how wiped out Daniel was with his serious prayers. But regardless, Gabriel swoops in and shows up, while Daniel was praying.] Listen to what he says. Verse 22.

“[Gabriel] instructed me and said to me, ‘Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:”

The Lord does listen!

I’m not saying that this is how all prayers work. Like as soon as we begin to pray, God is sending someone to do something about it. And even if it is, it doesn’t seem that way. We will often have to wait. But it shows how responsive God can be, and that He’s listening.

And look at what Gabriel says about how God sees Daniel. “You are highly esteemed.” “You are treasured. You are beloved. You are precious to God.”

I don’t know about you, but that gives me great incentive to pray.

PRAY.

This gives me great incentive to get serious about praying. To get on my knees. I’ve been kneeling more when I pray since reading chapter 6. I want to do it more.

This gives me great incentive to pray the scriptures back to God. Daniel read Jeremiah and started to pray Jeremiah back to God. We can do that, too! Whatever you are reading in your daily time in the Bible, you can just turn that back around and aim it back at God. So if you are reading 1 John, for example. And it says, “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). And you get on your knees and say, “Lord, I have sinned in this way and this way today. But you are faithful and just. Please forgive me of these sins and purify me from all unrighteousness.”

Dare to be a Daniel and pray the Scriptures back at God.

He would love it!

And dare to be a Daniel and pray for God’s sake.

We can present our requests to God and argue for them based on how they would bring God glory.

What’s something that you are praying for right now? When you pray for it, tie your request to how answering that request might bring God glory. How it might show His character and reveal His heart. If you can’t think of any way that it would bring Him glory, then you probably shouldn’t be praying for it in the first place.

If you can’t say, “Please do this for your name’s sake,” then don’t ask for it. But if you can, then do! Because the Lord does listen.

Maybe you’re praying for a new job.
Maybe you’re praying for a relationship to be restored.
Maybe you’re praying for healing.
Maybe you’re praying for the breaking of a sinful habit.

I can see how any of those could bring God glory. Let’s pray for them. Because the Lord does listen.

#2. THE LORD DOES FORGIVE.

Daniel knew that! Daniel knew that the Lord delights in showing mercy. He said it in verse 9. That’s like part of His name that He revealed to Moses. “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exod. 34:6-7).

Daniel knew that he wasn’t praying to some implacable god Who would not respond in grace when His people turned away from their sin and turn to Him.

No, Daniel knew that God was rich in mercy (Ephesians 2) and delights to forgive His people when they repent.

REPENT. 

Dare to be a Daniel and pray prayers of repentance and confession.

Dare to be a Daniel and ask God for mercy and grace.

Daniel has not lost sight of why his people are in this predicament, but we often do. It’s so hard sometimes to see our own sin. Our own complicity. Our own duplicity. This chapter encourages you and me to own up to our own black hats. 

We don’t have to wear sackcloth and ashes. Though it might be a good idea from time to time to fast to intensify our prayers of repentance. But we should take stock of our actions and attitudes and confess them to the Lord.

And we should, at some level, confess our connection to the sins of the wider church. Daniel (v.20) confessed his own sin and the sin of his people. And that’s probably a model for us, as well. Confessing the sins of “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” that have at times crept into the church and been unchecked (see Galatians 5:19-21). Maybe we didn’t do those things ourselves. But we are connected to those who have.

And we confess them and ask for God’s forgiveness. And we are assured of His pardon! Because we know we are loved. We know that we are, like Daniel, “highly esteemed.” We are beloved. We are, because of Jesus, God’s “chosen people, holy and dearly loved” (Colossians 3:12).

It’s because were are loved that we can repent! And know that we will be forgiven.

What do you need to confess to the Lord today?

Hear the word of LORD: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).

Seek Him with all your heart. Give him the darkest, ugliest parts of your heart. And you will find grace!

Because He wants to give us grace more than we want to ask for it! He wants to deal with our sin much more than we do!

That is, in fact, part of the big point of the last four verses in this chapter, the prophecy that Gabriel brought with him to Daniel.

God sent Gabriel (v.22) to bring Daniel “insight and understanding.” He’s got another message and vision for Daniel.

And, like the rest of this chapter, it’s a little different. It’s all words. It’s not nightmarish images that fill Daniel’s mind. No IMAX this time. Which is less scary, but it’s even more difficult to interpret!

In fact, a lot of the commentaries I read this week said that these may be the four hardest verses in the whole Old Testament to interpret. Whole books have been written on just these four verses! One book I read had 8 different views on the interpretation of this section with a chart of all the details that stretched to 6 pages long!

But, thankfully, I have it all figured out, and I have the definitive 9th view to share with you today. (Just kidding!)

I did think that I could kind of master the different views and give you a run down on all of them, but it was too much for me to process and to keep straight in my head, and I’m sure I would get you lost.

Some things are very clear to me, but others are not at all.

So, this is where we need to again pull out the helpful phrase: “I don’t know, and that’s okay.” Actually, it might be better to say, “I’m not sure, and that’s okay.”

Now, some of you may be sure, and that’s okay, too. Some of you have studied this and have settled conclusions on what all is going on here. And that’s great. 

But you shouldn’t be surprised if we’re not all there yet. Because Bible-believing Christians have disagreed about the details in this section for a very long time. And what seems obvious to you doesn’t always seem obvious to everyone else.

I want to encourage everyone to study this passage in depth. It’s God’s Word and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that we are fully equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16). Don’t be afraid to study this!

But don’t be surprised if it takes a long time and a lot of study to reach satisfying conclusions. 

Because we’re back to the problem of identification. There is no “this is that” here and “who is who.” I think that Gabriel may be actually somewhat enigmatic on purpose so Daniel gets the major outline, but the details get filled in over time so that some day we all look back and say, “Oh, that’s what God was saying in Daniel 9.” 

Let’s read it. Verses 24 through 27. Gabriel says, “Consider the message and understand the vision...”

“‘Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. ‘Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him’” (vv.24-27).

Here’s point number three and last. (I’m sure you’ve guessed it already.)

#3. THE LORD DOES ACT.

Daniel pleaded with the LORD in verse 19, “O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.'”

And the Lord sends the message back:

“I’ve got this. I’ve got a plan. And I’m going to do much more than just restore Israel to the land. I’m going to blow your mind with what I’m going to do!”

I think the big message of this vision is that the Lord has a perfect plan for fixing everything on His perfect timetable. And He’s doing it!

The Lord has a perfect plan for fixing everything on His own perfect schedule. And He’s working His plan.

Now, I think that Gabriel, in this vision, has good news and bad news for Daniel.

The good news is that God has a perfect plan and a perfect schedule, and it’s on schedule.

But the bad news that Daniel had to absorb was that it was going to take a lot longer than he feared.

Daniel had asked if the exile would be over in 70 years.

And what did God say? “More like 70 times 7.”

The exile began to end at the 70 year mark, but there was much more discipline and development to come.

Gabriel says (v.24), “Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city...”
Now, that’s confusing, for one thing, because we don’t know what a “seven” is. Some of your versions have the word “week” there.”

The Hebrews had a word like our word a “dozen” that means twelve somethings, but their word means “seven somethings.” It’s the word “shavua.”  “A seven.”  So a “seven” of days is a week. Right?

So what is this "a seven" of? It doesn’t say!

Now, most interpreters have thought that it must be a “seven” of years. And I think that’s very likely. It was 70 years that Jeremiah was predicting and Daniel was praying about. So this 70 “sevens” might well be 70 “sevens” of years. Like 490 years. But it’s weird. And I think that might point to it being a symbolic. It’s a symbol not a statistic.

So I’m not sure that we should expect this all to happen in exactly 490 literal years from some specific point. It might! It might also be round numbers. Or something else, a figure of completeness.

One reason for “seven” may be sabbatical years. In the Old Testament Law, the land was supposed get rest every seven years, and after every seven of those, they were supposed to have a year of Jubilee. And this would then be a seventy of “sevens” so that would be like a Jubilee of Jubilees! Ten times the Jubilee!

I’m not sure. But I am sure that I shouldn’t be too dogmatic about it. And I’m also sure that I’m supposed to be glad that even though it’s a lot more than 70, it’s still a fixed number!

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed...” There is a plan, and it’s for a fixed and limited time. It’s not going to go on forever.  The Lord has a perfect plan for fixing everything on His own perfect schedule. And He’s on schedule!

Look what He’s going to do in, in verse 24.

“Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to [1.] finish transgression, [2] to put an end to sin, [3] to atone for wickedness, [4] to bring in everlasting righteousness, [5] to seal up vision and prophecy and [6] to anoint the most holy.”

Doesn’t that sound wonderful?! Isn’t that everything?! The Lord has a perfect plan to fix everything. 

Daniel was asking God to forgive them. God says, “I’m going to forgive them, but I’m going to do something even better! I’m going to finish transgression! I’m going to put an end to sin, I’m going to atone for wickedness!” Sin will be dealt with once and for all! It will not only be paid for but covered over and gone.

I’m going “to bring in everlasting righteousness!” Where everything is righteous all the time and everywhere! Righteousness as far as the eye can see and beyond! Righteousness that never ends!!!

“I’m going to seal up vision and prophecy.” I don’t think that means hide it away. I think that means enact it. Secure it. Make it all come true.

“And I’m going to anoint the most holy.” Which could be the most holy place (like the temple) or most holy person (like the Messiah). [Some of your versions may have already made an interpretive decision on that.]

This is everything! This is all of the promises of the New Covenant that Jeremiah predicted. This is all of what the kingdom of God will be!

This is the kingdom of kingdoms, isn’t it? And Gabriel told Daniel that it’s on the way.

He just has to wait.

WAIT.

The Lord does act, but on His own timetable. So we have to wait.

Now, in verse 25, 26, and 27, Gabriel gives more details of what to expect along the way, but nearly all of them are difficult to identify with precision.

There are time markers. Different sets of “sevens.”

Seven “sevens” = 49. 
Sixty two “sevens” = 434
And one “seven” = 7

So that would add up to 490 years [if the "sevens" are years), but with different things happening at different times. And there may be gaps between (or even during) some of the sets of “sevens.” I had my calculator out all week trying to figure out all the numbers! 

And there are several different persons listed. And there is so much disagreement about who the particular persons are, in some of the instances, some Christians think a person is Jesus and some other Christians think that same person is the anti-Christ to come! (And many other suggestions.)

And it’s late, so we won’t get into all of that today. Maybe I’ll come back to it next week or teach about in a pop-up class some day.

But it is obvious that the Lord has a plan, isn’t it? 

We may not be able to understand all of the details.

When does the seventy “sevens” begin?
Who is the “ruler who will come?”
How does this all relate to the end times?

We may not be able to understand all of the details, but it’s obvious that God does. The Lord has a perfect plan to fix everything on His perfect timetable.

And every Christian believes that this plan centers on one figure in history that we can probably identify in verse 26:

“After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.”

Who do you think that is? The word for Anointed One is “Mashiach.” Or “Messiah.”

It sounds to me a lot like the Person described in Isaiah 53. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken” (vv.7-9).

The Lord has a perfect plan to fix everything on His perfect timetable. And He’s sent His perfect Son to enact it. The King of Kingdoms.

The Lord does act. So we just need to trust in and wait on Him. 

That doesn’t mean that we just sit on our hands. Our waiting is active. We stay busy and occupy until He comes. 

But we are expectant. Because we know that this chapter is not that different from the rest of the book. Daniel chapter 9 is not primarily about prophetic math but about our prayer-answering Lord.

We know that our Lord does listen to our prayers. He wants to answer them more than we want to pray them.

We know that our Lord does forgive our sins. He wants to forgive them more than we want to confess them! And He sent His own Son to be cut off to atone for them.

We know that our Lord does hear and act. Because He sent us Jesus once, and He will send Him back again soon. Just wait.


***

Messages in This Series:

01. The King's Service - Daniel 1:1-21
02. The God of Heaven - Daniel 2:1-49
[Bonus Message: "No Matter What" - Daniel 3:1-30 from Family Bible Week 2012]
03. The God We Serve - Daniel 3:1-30
04. The King of Heaven - Daniel 4:1-37
05. The Lord of Heaven - Daniel 5:1-31
06. The Living God - Daniel 6:1-28
07. The Ancient of Days - Daniel 7:1-28

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