Dan in the Den (Family Service)

ATTN: I want you to imagine getting love letters (FB, Instagram messages) from an admirer. However, although you like the attention you are getting, you are not into him/her. Later on though, you fall head-over-heels in love with someone else. He’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you. But he tells you that he’s been writing letters to you bc he’s been in love with you for a long time but was too afraid to reveal it for fear of rejection and so he’s been writing to you through his friend. So, all those letters you received from your admirer you didn’t care about? They were really from your love! Now, what would you do with those letters in the recycling bin or the messages that you were going to delete out of your phone?

You’d go back and reread them all knowing this time it’s from the one you love and you will savor every moment of.

That’s how we should see the OT if we’ve become a Christian. OT was bunch of laws and stories of the dead people before. But Jesus comes along and saves you out of the dungeon and he tells you that the OT is all about him. So you go back and as you reread them, you savor every minute because they are about Jesus – the one you love.

The book of Jonah is about Jesus, we said last month during the family service. Jonah is not a bad example we are not to follow. Rather, we are to see ourselves in Jonah, none of us can love our enemies like Jonah couldn’t, but Jesus did and won over our hearts and melted by that, we are able to love our enemies. As such, also, Daniel is not primarily a good example we are to follow. Rather, he’s a type of Jesus – he points us to Jesus. How so? Let’s observe the similarities.

1. They both lived exemplary lives.

Daniel 6:4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. This does not mean that Daniel was sinless. Later on in Daniel 9, Daniel confesses his own sin as he prays for his nation. However, Jesus was not only blameless, but sinless. John 8:46, “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?”

So, Daniel was a rare example of a person where no fault was found. Nothing bad is said about him. And this typifies Christ who was indeed sinless. A better Daniel if you will.

2. They were both persecuted for doing good.

A trap was set for Daniel by the jealous officials to get him in trouble. And the only way that could get him was by making a temporary law to worship a false god because they knew the Daniel would not do it. So, Daniel was put in the lion’s den because he would not stop praying to the one true God. A trap was set also for Jesus by the jealous pharisees and sadducees. And the only way they could get him was to make it seem like He was breaking the law when He was really fulfilling it. So, they were both persecuted for doing good.

3. Their judge did not agree with the accusers but gave in anyway.

The king Darius that Daniel served loved Daniel and didn’t want to see him die. But he was powerless to change the decree that he put into the law unwittingly, really tricked by the jealous officials, and so he had to give into their desires even against his own wish. The roman governer, Pontius Pilot, who was a judge over Jesus, also didn’t want to put Jesus to death. He declared him innocent after examining him. But he was powerless to go against the desire of the mob who wanted to see Him crucified. So, he went against his own wishes and handed him over to be crucified.

4. 4. Their accusers were punished to what they were punished to.

This is really scary. Once Daniel came out of the lion’s den unscathed, the king ordered that the officials who entrapped him to be thrown into the lion’s den and they were crushed by the lions even before they hit the floor. In a similar way but a worse way, Jesus said that those who opposed Him and took part in His death would be subject to hell fire, eternal separation from God, even though He experienced it temporarily.

 

But there is one crucial difference between Daniel and Jesus. And that is: Daniel was rescued but Jesus was not. Daniel never tasted death in that situation and was protected by God. But God’s son, Jesus, was not spared. Why? So that you and I would be protected from eternal death. His death was for us. If He had not died, you and I would die forever. He died in our place so that you and I would not be lost forever from the presence of God. In the same way, Abraham’s hand was stopped from striking his son. God spared Abraham’s only son, Isaac, from being killed. But He did not spare His own Son – the only Son –  from being crucified.

You see, Jesus died the death we should’ve died. That is why the life you and I are living are borrowed lives. If you are a believer, you are living a second life. You’ve been born again by the spirit of God. Therefore, you are living a brand new life since your old life was put to death with Jesus on the cross. But not only that. The good news is that Jesus also lived the life you always wanted to live and given you the credit for it. How many of us Christians do not suffer from this low-lying guilt that says we should be better. We can be more. Gosh, I really want to be better. Have you ever gone around and thought, “I wish I were a better parent? I wish I were a better son or daughter to my parents. I wish I were a better pastor. I wish I were a better teacher. Sometimes it’s my laziness. Sometimes, it’s my physical exhaustion. Sometimes it’s just my pure selfishness. I wish I were a different person! Listen, in Christ, when God sees me, He sees me wearing perfect, white, pure garment. All my sins, failures, flaws have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. Jesus was perfect. He lived the life that I truly want to live – Perfectly giving, sacrificial, faithful, compassionate, loving, etc. Just the thought of God delighting in me excites me and makes me want to do better!

And that is the Christian motivation. That is the gospel-driven motivation. The religion and the world alike tell us if you prove your worth, then we will give you the position. The religion – if you prove that you are a good person, then God will save you. The world – if you prove your competence and knoweldge, then we will give you the job. But the gospel – God gives you the position of being a son or a daughter of the king, and then gives you the strength to live up to it. So our mantra is this: Become who you are. Who you are is perfect, blameless, purified, delight in God’s eyes, sons and daughters of God. That is not going to change. Now, by relying on the strength of God, live up to it! The position is already yours. The outer garment is already clean. Now make the inside match up with it. Now make the character match up with the royal position you hold.

What will that look like? Let me give you a quote by a man named Kent Keith:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

Why? Because you are not ultimately doing it for them. You are doing it for the Lord. To earn His love? No. To please Him because you are pleased in Him.

The quote ends this way: In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.