The True Friend of the King: Jonathan

All right, well, again, good morning and those who don't know me, my name is Brian, lead pastor here. And we have been in our summer series that we, we've been going through what we've been calling a cloud of witnesses. We've just been looking at different, different people in the Bible and kind of what's popular or what's well known as what's called the, the hall of faith, which is in Hebrews chapter 11. And, and there's this list of people that just say, hey, this, they had great faith and they point us to Jesus. But I'm actually not choosing anyone from Hebrews 11. I've been picking kind of, maybe some lesser known, probably today might even be the most well known character. As we look at Jonathan, as Sarah mentioned. And so this comes from this idea of Hebrews chapter 12, therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses and that there are people all around us, past, present, and hopefully there will be people in the future who will pull point us to Jesus. And so, but in verse three there, it says, consider him, that is Jesus. And so all these characters, whether they're good or bad or whatever it is that they do that we look at in the scriptures, they're pointing us to Jesus and how he is a greater fulfillment of that. As Sarah just said to the little ones that, right, this is, this character of Jonathan is very clearly gonna point us to Jesus. So today's sermon is just the true friend of the King. And we'll be looking at Jonathan. We'll be in 1st Samuel, chapter 18, 14 and 19, 1 through 7. Several other passages that I couldn't fit on your handout there, but feel free to look those up. I'll be reading from the niv, but I will be reading all that. It'll all be up on the screen. I asked you that question. Who would you say is your best friend? It's kind of a difficult question. I think the older I get, the harder that that becomes. I remember when you were, when I was a kid, maybe you didn't do this, but I think a lot of kids typically will do this. They will literally walk up to someone and say, will you be my best friend? Right? And it's like, yeah, I'll be your best friend. Or I remember that book, Alexander and the no good, Horrible, Very Bad Day. The terrible, Horrible, no good, Very Bad Day. And in that one he talks about, you know, Jimmy said I wasn't his best friend anymore. I'm not even his second best friend. He made Jim his second best friend, Bob, his third best friend. I'm his fourth best friend. Right. That's just kind of how kids talk. But when I think of my best friend, I think of my cousin Nathan. I know it's kind of hard to see, but he is one year older than me. And in both these pictures, one is when we were in high school, one is when we were very young. One we were getting ready to go to the Boundary Waters when I was in high school. You can see his dog Maddie made it to the Boundary Waters as well, which is wild. We, like flew in on a plane and landed. It was wild. And my uncle paid for all that. And then he is also the one with his arm around me when we were little, right? So things apparently didn't change much. We are best friends. He lives in Minnetonka, and we still spend a lot of time together. And we call ourselves Babasm, which I know I've shared before, but our moms are identical twin sisters. Babasm simply means brothers from another, but almost the same mother, right? And he wrote a song about it. Brothers from another, but almost the same mother, right? It's got a. Got a little ring to it. That's bebasm. That's Nathan and I. We are babasm. We are 50% the same DNA, right? We are half siblings, if you will. And we are very close. And we just. I can say things to him that I really can't say to anyone, maybe other than my wife, that when we're gonna hang out, and he says, hey, do you wanna hang out tonight? Or, you know, we play games sometimes online. And he'll say, hey, do you wanna. Do you wanna hang out tonight? And I will just say, no. And he'll say, why? And I'll say, cause I just don't feel like it. He's like, okay, cool. That's how we can do that, right? I don't have to make up an excuse. Well, my neighbor's cat died, and I just can't really quite make it online tonight. I don't have to do that. I can just be myself with Babasm. And I'm so thankful for him. And so let's now look at this friendship that we see in the scripture. And Sarah said this, and so don't need to necessarily reiterate too much here, but he. To give a little bit of context, Israel wants a king. They look at the nations around them, they say, hey, we don't have a king like all the other nations. We want a king. And God says, I don't think you should have a king. He's actually gonna be very bad. If you have a king and he's gonna enslave people and he's gonna send your sons to war, then it's just not gonna be a good situation. And they're like, I don't care. We want a king. And so what do they do? They go and they find the biggest, tallest, baddest dude, this warrior guy named Saul. And they say, hey, we want you to be our king because you are a really good warrior, and you will lead us in battles. And so they pick Saul not because of his character or because of any trait that he had that might say, hey, he might be a good king, other than he was a warrior. And so context a little bit more here that Saul is on his way out to fight a battle for Israel, and he is waiting for the blessing of God. And so Samuel is the high priest. And God was very clear in the Old Testament that you have kings and you have prophets and you have priests and that you don't overlap these things. And so you have Saul, who is king, and then you have Samuel, who's the high priest. Saul gets impatient. He wants God to bless him in battle. And he says, I can't handle this anymore. I'm gonna perform his sacrifice, which is a no, no. And so he performs a sacrifice, and God, in that moment, removes his spirit from him. In the Old Testament, God's spirit didn't dwell continually, always with people the way that he does now because of the finished work of Christ, that his spirit leaves Saul. Because Saul goes and tries to do something that he knew he shouldn't be doing. And then in that moment, not that moment, but very shortly after that, Samuel then goes and anoints David. This young boy, not known for anything, doesn't know. Not known by anybody or his community. He's the youngest of his brothers and just a small shepherd. And Samuel goes and anoints him based on the direction of God choosing. And so I was trying to find an image that's one thing again, this is my first time doing this with little kids in the room. And so I know one thing. We try to have some pictures on there. And so I was like, all right, what's a picture of Jonathan and David? And this was, like, the only one that really popped up. And it's Jonathan and David and then mixed nuts. And I was like, what is that about? Right under King Saul? Like, mixed nuts. And I was like, oh, I get it. Because with Saul, you never know what you're gonna get. Right? That's why whoever made this image did this, because you just don't know who you're gonna get with King Saul yet. He's nice and he's kind sometimes. And then other times, he. He's ready to kill David, and he's just violent. And so you just. Who am I talking to right now? That's King Saul. He's a bag of mixed nuts. He does not. Doesn't like David, which we'll get into. So let's just look at this, okay? He's a true friend. And as Sarah mentioned, this is wild because you would have assumed, based on their. Their position in the kingdom, that they would be enemies if it's not for David. Being anointed by Samuel, Jonathan is the heir to the throne. So when his dad, Saul, dies, it is the house of Saul. And Jonathan then will assume the throne. But instead of that, Samuel anoints David, and Jonathan then says, I'm gonna follow what God says, and I'm gonna be your friend. And matter of fact, he'll even say, like, hey, when you become king, then I will be second in command. Right? I'm willing to submit underneath you and what God has for you. This is incredibly, incredibly contrary to what happens. So Sarah mentioned this idea of David and Goliath. And really, that story isn't so much highlighting David killing Goliath, which is obviously important, but it's highlighting David standing up and stepping up as king, fighting this other warrior from the Philistines when Saul should have. It should be really, that story should be David and Saul, because David, in that moment, dethrones King Saul when he should have stepped up to fight Goliath, and he doesn't. So that's the context. David just kills Goliath. And then we get into chapter 18, and it says this. After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. We're gonna hear that language a few times as we look at the relationship and friendship between David and Jonathan. It says that he loved him as himself. From that day, Saul kept David with him. So Saul King keeps David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David. And it was fascinating to me as I was re. Kind of studying this. This story and this character that four different times we read about this covenant that Jonathan enters into with David. This is not just like a gentleman's agreement. This isn't just a handshake or just, hey, can we become best Friends, right. It's not that. It is something more significant that they're saying, hey, listen, I'm your friend, you're my friend, and yet we should be sworn enemies. That if I, as Jonathan, if I killed you right now, no one would question my motives as to why I did that. So he enters into a covenant. It's a binding, solemn agreement. And what does he do to make this covenant? He says, with David because he loved him as himself. There's that phrase again. And Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic and even his sword, his bow and his belt. A lot of symbolism going on here. This is how people would enact a covenant, that they would give something, that sometimes they would sign something. That's not what took place here. Jonathan takes his, his, his, you know, princely robes, his royal robes, and gives it to David. It's very symbolic, right in that moment of I'm the prince, but in my mind, you will be king, you are the prince and I am your friend, and I'm binding myself to you in this covenant. It is as if Jonathan is saying, I recognize God's hand on you, not me. I recognize God's hand on you. And I'm laying down my rights to support God's chosen king, even if it costs me everything. And so then right after this, we have children singing songs about King Saul and King David. And children always have a way of making something really serious, very trivial, right? Ring around the rosy, pockets full of posy, the black plague. Why are we dancing and singing about the most deadly virus that's ever been known? I don't know. We just do that, right? London bridge is falling down. All these songs about death and destruction. Let's just sing and dance about it. And that's what they're doing. And they say, Saul killed his thousands, but David kills his tens of thousands. And it makes Saul pouty and it makes him mad. And he says that I don't like that the children are saying that about David, that he is a better warrior than me, and so I'm going to kill him. And so he attempts to take his life two different times. It says that he tries to pin him to a wall with a spear. And so as before, and then he. And then he ends up marrying Saul's daughter. So now David is actually the son in law to King Saul. But Saul knows that David is the anointed king. And he says, I'm going to do everything I can to kill him so that my son can become king. So fast forward the rest of the chapter. He tries to kill him a few times. And this is what it says here. Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David and warned him. My father Saul, is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning or go into hiding and stay there. I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are, and I'll speak about you well and tell you what I find out. Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, let not the king do wrong to his servant David. He has not wronged you, and what he has done benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine Goliath. And the Lord won a great victory over all Israel. And you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason? And so Saul listens to Jonathan, right? There's a bag of mixed nuts. So Saul listens to Jonathan and took an oath and says, as surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death. So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was before Saul. And immediately Saul tries to kill him again, throws, hurls a spear at David again. So then David flees. He runs away. He goes into hiding, and he goes out into the wilderness, into the desert. And this whole thing happens again. Jonathan shows up again. And Jonathan said to David, I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound out my father this time, the day after tomorrow, if he is favorably disposed toward you. I will not send you word and let you know. Sup, Peter? But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan. He's speaking of himself in the third person here. Be it ever so severely if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. But show me unfailing kindness, like the Lord's kindness as long as I live so that I may not be killed. And do not ever cut off your kindness from my family. Not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth. We're actually going to look at that next week because I know we're kind of zipping through this idea of Jonathan, but next week we're going to look at Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, which you're like, who's that? Well, we'll come back next week and. And David's enemies from the face of the earth. So Jonathan hears that word again, makes this covenant, makes this solemn vow again with the house of David saying, may the Lord call David's enemies to account. And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love. Because here's this phrase again. He loved him as much as he loved himself. And so we see this friendship put to the test. And you can read through the text of 1st Samuel chapter 20 on your own time. But there's this kind of elaborate plan and scheme to try to figure out, is Saul going to try to kill David? And the answer is yes. So Jonathan said to David, go in peace. And this is a painting here from Rembrandt of this, of Jonathan there in the royal robes, embracing this kind of pitiful person of David who's been in the wilderness hiding and fleeing for his life, and Jonathan, this friend, embracing him and showing him kindness. And Jonathan says to David, go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, the Lord is witness between you and me and between your descendants and my descendants forever. Then David left and Jonathan went back to the town. And so now we're going to skip forward a couple. Couple chapters, and again, just kind of the same thing. Things keep happening. I'm just trying to reiterate this point that Jonathan's not messing around, that he makes this covenant with David of friendship and sticks to it, that he didn't have to do this. He could have said, man, if my dad actually does end up killing Saul, I will become king. He doesn't have to get his hands dirty. But he doesn't. He intervenes and he saves David's life on multiple occasions. We read this in 1st Samuel chapter 23. It says, while David was at Horesh in the desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. So Jonathan says to David, don't be afraid. He said, my father Saul, will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this. The two of them made again, here's that language again. A covenant before this solemn vow that we are going to be bezem. We are going to be through this together, through thick and through thin. And Jonathan went home, but David remained in the desert there at Horesh. What's Interesting about this relationship, or at least Jonathan, is that Jonathan unfortunately never gets to see David as king. Could you imagine being that friend and just really rooting somebody on it, making this solemn vow, making this covenant with somebody, and then never actually see it come to fruition. And it seems like his sacrifice is all for nothing because we read in 1st Samuel 31, the Philistines fought against Israel and the Israelites fled before them and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons and they killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab and Michalish. The fighting grew fierce around Saul and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically and he ends up taking his own life. It's very sad, right? You have this over and over, this covenant, this relationship, these friendships, and then Jonathan never even gets to see David become king, which happens obviously immediately after this. But what we do see, and Sarah alluded to this, and I just want to read the passages and make this explicitly clear that Jonathan and his friendship and his covenant relationship with his friend can teach us a few things. And it points us to the best friend of all friends. And obviously that is Jesus. We read in Philippians chapter 2, 1 8. Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather in humility. Value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest, but to each of your, each of you in the interest of others. What a different world, what a different church we would have if we said, hey, I don't actually want to take my own interest. What I want and my desire is, is not what I should be pursuing. What if we pursued one another's interests and have the same mindset as Christ Jesus? And Paul tells us, continuing in Philippians, in verse 6, who Jesus, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Listen, you can read Jonathan, this friend to David, kind of into this passage that Jonathan could have been king, but he doesn't. He sets that aside. Why? Not to his own advantage, but so that he can serve someone else, that he can serve David the same way that Jesus does for us. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in the appearance of man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even to death on the cross. And while Jonathan didn't die on a cross, he definitely sacrifices or he ends up dying in order that David might be saved. So I want to. All the kids here, and everyone can join me in this. But we've talked about this idea before of metalepsis. And so, children, I want you to join me in a song because we've been talking about how children can take something very serious and very deep and heady and make it light. And so I wrote a little limerick for to the tune of. And I had to Google this Frere Jacques. Do you remember this? Right? This, like, French Frere Jacques, mez vous. And I've been learning French, and I was like, I don't know what. What does Frere Jacques even mean? And I'm, like, trying to Google Frere Jacques, and Google was like, I don't know what. I don't know what you're trying to say. It just. It's Friar Jacques, right? They just say it funny because they're French. No offense. If you're French. It's just how the language is. Komai vu, you know, who are you? And so let's just do this together. So I'm gonna sing it and you repeat it. Okay? You do this with me. Don't leave me hanging here. Okay. Metalepsis. What's that mean? There is more to see here. There is more to see. Yes, there is. Yes, there is. Good job. Thank you. Okay. That's all metalipsis means, right? It means. It's this idea that when somebody says a word or a phrase, and specifically in the Bible, when you're reading your New Testament, when you see something that is a quote or kind of like in a poetry type form, the font kind of changes a little bit. The layout in your Bible, then it's quoting something from the Old Testament. And what happens a lot of times is that the New Testament author says, I don't want you just to look at this one phrase or this verse. I want you to take in all account of what's happening in this context or in this chapter or what's going on. And so specifically, that Paul in Philippians, there is. Is quoting a little bit in Isaiah, specifically chapter 45. And so let's just read a little bit more context. It's. He's talking here about how God is going to save the world. And so he's saying, I'm going to quote Isaiah, but I want to read all of this because it's not just that every knee will bow. I want to look at how Jesus is the fulfillment of being the Savior. And Isaiah, chapter 45:21 says, There is no other gods beside God besides me. A righteous God and a Savior, There is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. By myself I have sworn from my mouth has gone out. And righteousness a word shall not return to me. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear allegiance. So Paul here is quoting just that last little phrase. But he said, look at the context here. This is about Jesus being the Savior of the world. And ultimately. And Finally, John, chapter 15 says this. My command is this. Love each other as I have loved you. That's what God calls us to do. That's what Jesus calls us. And he says, greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for their friends. I don't know who your friends are. I don't know what your relationships are like. I don't know if you're lonely. I don't know. I mean, some of you, I do know you, and I know what your relationships are and your friendships are. And I understand and I see your loneliness. And when you look at our friends, this is what it is. That when I think of my friends, it is not, oh, they're my best friends because I constantly have to sacrifice my life for them. That's usually not what it is. That might happen at some point, but my closest friends are the ones who give up their things to help me, and I love them for that. And it's not just about being selfish, but it is about being a good friend. And we are called to be that kind of friend towards one another and towards others. That we would sacrifice our own desires. And so to maintain true friendships requires sacrifice, that relationships aren't always easy. It takes commitment, it takes time. Maybe it takes that idea of covenant. Maybe it means actually saying, hey, let's talk about our relationship. I view you as one of my closest friends. Can we solidify this? Can we actually say, hey, I want to be with you to the end, no matter what that looks like? Is that how we think of friendships? And maybe we should do that. And I think John, chapter 15, in the light of what Jesus teaches, that we ought to do this to love one another as Christians, Christ has loved us. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for their friends. So in Gospel application, do you prioritize your friendships? I would love to have just spent more time looking at this and really analyzing friendships. And especially for those of us who are adults and friendships can be difficult. There is no greater love. Praise Jesus. And so we get to remember there is no greater love. We get to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the truest of all true friends for us. And as we're taking these elements, think of your friends, think of who. Who would I be willing to sacrifice my time, my, my efforts, my relationships for them? Do I have anyone like that? So I'd ask that you would. You don't need to be a member of this church or any church, but if you're a follower of King Jesus and you say, yes, I want to remember his finished work. I want to, I wanna remember that he is my friend who gave his life for me. I would love for you to take these elements. There is a gluten free option on my left, your right, if that is a need. And so kids, if you're in here and you're like, what is this whole thing? My parents are getting up and they're taking this cracker and they're taking this juice. The bread is this. It's simply to remember the broken body of Jesus on the cross for us, that the juice represents his blood that was shed to make a covenant with us. And so he does that through his blood. And at the same time as the worship team is singing, grab those elements. And at the same time, there is an offering box in the back. We don't ever normally do that. And so I think one of these kids has $50,000 they were planning on putting in that buy. I've been saving that piggy bank for a long time. No, everything counts and everything's great. So we want to be able to demonstrate to them because we do everything online, but we want to be able to have the children be able to say, hey, this is what it means to give. And I worked really hard, I mowed that lawn and I earned some money. But I would love to be able to give it back to the church. That was something I was just mentioning. Angela and I were talking about our finances and Henry immediately went and grabs his wallet, right, and says, hey, I wanna give this to the church. And it's like, ah, it breaks my heart. And yet at the same time, I'm really encouraged by that. And so I wanna allow children to be able to do that, not to take their money because I'm greedy, but wanna be able to demonstrate what it really means to give back to Jesus who has given so much for us. Let me pray. Worship team's gonna come back up and sing a song. Take these elements as you see fit and worship and praise and repent and confess and remember the finished work of Christ on the cross for us. Let's pray. Father, thank you again just for our time to gather together this morning. Thank you. For friendships, be with those who maybe when I ask that question, who's your best friend? They have a hard time discerning who that might even be, that they just. They can't even fill in the blank. That, yeah, they have friends, they have acquaintances, sure, but who is my best friend? Who would they be willing to give up their lives for? And there might not be anybody like that. I pray that we would be that for one another and to one another, that we would set our preferences aside to serve one another and in doing so demonstrate the love that Christ has for us continually. Thank you for that. And I pray now that as we take these elements that you would just receive him as a sweet smelling savor to you as worship for your honor and your glory. And it's the name of Jesus that I pray. Amen.