Royston First United Methodist Church

“Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!'” – 2 Samuel 12:5-7

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING: 2 Samuel 11-12

The story of David and Bathsheba is one of the more popular stories in the Old Testament. In fact, if there are two stories that most people know about David in the Old Testament, they would be the stories of David fighting Goliath and David and Bathsheba. How many times do we hear this story and think to ourselves, “it’s disturbing that David — a well-respected king and military hero — would stoop to such sin.” Maybe in our criticism of David, we have also missed the rebuke of the prophet Nathan: “You are the man!”

David was blind to his sin and needed to be made aware of the sin in his life. But can’t the same thing be said about most of us? We go about our routines and live with sin in our life that we have not confessed, we have not acknowledged, and, possibly, that we are are not aware exists. We hear David’s story, and believe that he should be punished for his sin, but then there are those words, “You are the man!”

The rebuke of Nathan to David is one that all of us need to hear — especially on this Good Friday. “You are the man!” Or in another context, “You are the one who has sinned!” Today, we are reminded of our own sin — the sin that drove Jesus to the cross on Golgotha. We are reminded of our human nature and our vulnerability to sin. But we are also reminded that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect lamb that was sacrificed so that we may be cleansed of our sin.

What sin do you need to acknowledge? What sin do you need to confess? Reflect on those questions today, and remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for the forgiveness of YOUR sins. While we grieve our sin and remember the sacrifice that had to be made, we also prepare for the celebration that is coming. Because on three days after Jesus’ death on the cross, Jesus showed us that death would not have the final word. And all God’s people rejoiced!

Have an amazing weekend and I look forward to being with you in virtual worship beginning at 10:15 AM this Sunday as we celebrate Easter at Royston!

Grace and peace,
Matt

P.S. Don’t forget to invite someone to worship with you this Easter Sunday! Our virtual worship experience will be available on YouTube and Facebook beginning at 10:15 AM. Send the links to friends, neighbors, or family members, and invite them to watch with you.