The Scarlet Cord From The Window of Heaven - Jonathan Pickens

0:24 And I was studying Spanish and went down to spend my summer in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Seemed like an amazing idea. I'd written several papers in Spanish and talked to people and studied vocab. And then you're sitting in a living room with a family that you're living with, and they don't speak any English. And in that moment, you're like, hola. I don't think I knew this as well as I thought I did. And thankfully, not far from there, there was one of the seven wonders of the world called Iguazu Falls. And so my buddies and I who were there, hey, let's get away, let's go check this out. But simultaneous to this experience, I was also saving up for a wedding ring to hopefully propose to my now wife. And so I was balling on a budget of traveling and saving at the same time, which you know does not work well. So I can remember having a box of saltine crackers for my weekend lunch, breakfast, and dinner. And that was an amazing experience of sustenance.

1:24 But we finally got there, and we're stepping into Iguazu Falls, and we entered into the park. And I remember seeing a crowd of people go this way, but we saw this one lady who worked for the park just over here and talked to each other. Hey, this would be an awesome opportunity to work on our Spanish together. So walk up to this lady and, hola, donde están los waterfollos?

1:51 And she just looks back and in perfect English, she's like, they're that way. But she then proceeded to tell us, hey, listen, everybody tries to go over here to the big ones first. La Garganta del Diablo. They all go this way. They're huge falls, but you can't even hardly see the bottom. They're incredibly crowded in the morning. What you need to do is go this way. They're almost as big and you're a bit more approachable. Some of them are smaller that you can get right up next to them. They'll be empty this morning. So my buddies are like, yes, and amen, thank you. And we begin walking and we take a right. We go down this little path and I'll never forget kind of turning the corner and you get your first glimpse of the falls. And this is what we saw. So we see this and we're like, what did we just come to? And I remember turning another corner and having this other fall little path that you can walk up to and just get right up in the midst of the falls.

2:48 And so I couldn't help but take a picture of my friend who just went up and was having a little moment. And I think you see this picture, just him and God, man, just enjoying this. but when we saw these falls, we lost our minds. Like we were running around. Somebody took their shirt off. Like we're screaming. We are going absolutely berserk. In fact, I think I got one more picture of the last falls that we got to see while we were on the boat. I mean, there were rainbows everywhere. There were butterflies. It's an awesome opportunity. If you ever have a little girl, take her. Butterflies, rainbows, and waterfalls. Amazing experience. And I tell you that because what we experienced was stunning. And it led to a stunning response from each of us. And yet, when I tell you about this and even showed you pictures of the very thing that we all got to see and experience, nobody here got up and started running.

3:47 Nobody here took their shirt off, thankfully. Why? Because there is a significant difference in being in the presence of something and seeing a picture of something. There is a difference between feeling the mist on your face, being consumed with rainbows and seeing from a distance something pretty. And my fear is that if we're not careful, we can be people who think we've truly gotten the gospel and know and understand Jesus. And yet we've only gotten a picture with them. And we'll stand back and we'll say, just like we did. Seeing a picture, give you the warm fuzzies every now and then. But what if God has something more in mind for us?

4:41 What if God wants to move us from picture of gospel to presence of gospel? What if God wants to move us from something that's kind of distantly warming to all-consuming and leads to a stunning response from our lives and moves us to the very presence of not just Jesus died on the cross, but Jesus died on the cross for me. Not just Jesus did something significant and I don't wanna go to hell, but Jesus saved me. He changed me. I know him and my life is consumed with him. Jesus wants to move us from a picture of him to the presence of him. And that will happen as we gaze on him by the power of his spirit through his word. And that's what I've been praying for us leading into today, that as we gaze on him through his word, it wouldn't be another Sunday where the words pass us by and the next thing we're thinking about is, where do we wanna go to lunch today?

5:35 But that Jesus would mark us in such a way that we would leave in awe as a result of seeing something in someone awe-inspiring. So as we gaze on him through his word, let's ask the spirit to stir us to that end. I'll start by reading in Joshua chapter two, and you can follow along with me in your Bible or on the screen. It says this, Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, go and scout the land, especially Jericho. So they left and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and they stayed there. The king of Jericho was told, look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land. And then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, bring out the men who came to you and entered your house. For they came to investigate the entire land.

6:31 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, yes, the men did come to me. But I didn't know where they were from. At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out and I don't know where they were going. Chase after them quickly and you can catch up with them. But she'd really taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. Just as a side note, that was a character quality of the Proverbs 31 woman having the stalks of flax on the roof. The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan. And as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut. Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof and said to them, I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to Sihon and Og and two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan.

7:35 When we heard this, we lost heart. and everyone's courage failed because of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. Now, please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father's family because I show kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them and save us from death. The men answered her, we will give our lives for yours. If you don't report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land. Then she led them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won't find you. She said to them, hide there for three days until they return. Afterward, go on your way.

8:29 The men said to her, we will be free from this oath you made us swear unless when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father's family into your house. And if anyone goes out the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault. And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath that you made us swear. Let it be as you say, she replied. And she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window. Jumping over to Joshua 6 really quick to see the culmination. Joshua 6 verse 22. Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land just after the walls of Jericho fell, go to the prostitute's house and bring the women out of there and all who are with her, just as you swore to her.

9:27 So the young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel. They burned the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord's house. However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father's family and all who belonged to her because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho and she still lives in Israel today.

10:00 There's several things that we can note or point out in this story and we're gonna do our best to look to seven of them. And the first thing that I really want us to see is Rahab's faith. Really, number one is this, faith is costly. Faith is costly. All throughout scripture, Rahab is attested to as someone of having great faith. And it's seen because as you look to this story, notice that these men from a foreign land come into Rahab's house. And as they come into Rahab's house, she hides them because she believes already that if she hides them, she might be able to get in on what this God's doing. Because from the very start, she believes that God is the true God, as her words make clear. And yet, soon after, the king of Jericho, her king comes to her house and says, give us the men.

10:58 Imagine how easy it would have been for her to simply say, they're upstairs. And yet she doesn't. Because she knows that what God and her newfound faith would lead her to do was different than what the cultural king was asking her to do. Notice that many times culture will ask of you something different than your faith requires from you. Here in this story, a king, an important figure was asking her to do something that was against her face. Have you ever had that position? You ever been in that place? You could go this way. It would be so much easier to give in. So much easier to go with the flow. So much easier to go what the people are asking you to do. You just give in. And yet you know that what your faith that you've committed to is going this opposite direction.

11:55 But Rahab knew what she could lose was nothing compared to what she would gain in Christ. And I would just encourage you, what you lose is nothing compared to what you gain in him. Be faithful. Go against the current. Stay with what your faith is leading you to do. And yet it doesn't just stop there, but even in this moment, you could see that Rahab was now considering an enemy who was formerly her king. One scholar notes that in the same way, we've got a former king who's now our enemy. The devil used to be our king, and now he's our chief enemy. And he's gonna attempt to lead you and do things different than what God would have you do. And yet the call for us is to be faithful to God despite what's happening all around us. Rahab was completely alone.

12:48 She was a Canaanite prostitute. No one else worshiped Yahweh. And yet here, when she was by herself in her faith, she was consistently devoting herself to the Lord. Do you feel like you're alone? Have you ever felt like you're the only one that everybody else has given up on following the Lord except for you? One, that's not true. Look at this room. but two, even if it was, he's still worth it. Even if he was, he's still the best option. And that's what Rahab believed in. That faith in God is ultimately what spared her life. And that faith is testified to in several places. Look at James 2, verse 25. Just after James talks about Abraham as the father of our faith, he points out of everybody else in scripture to Rahab, verse 25. In the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works in receiving the messengers and sending them out by a different route? James is showing that when you have the invisible quality of faith, it will express itself visibly. Then moving on, look at the book of Hebrews chapter 11, verse 31. The author is moving in chronological order through the story of God. And he gets to Moses and he talks about how Moses lived by faith. And then he moves to the Jericho walls falling and you're expecting him to say Joshua, but he doesn't name Joshua. Who's he named? Rahab. Look, verse 31, by faith, Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn't perish with those who disobeyed. Rahab risked it all.

14:19 She went all in. She surrendered and she was spared as a result. Faith is costly. But second, I want you to see this. Knowing God's character is what gives our faith confidence. Did you notice that in verse eight, her speech is one of the longest speeches recorded by a woman in the Old Testament. And what we have here, looking in verse eight and verse nine, she starts by saying, I know. Wow. Woe that our faith would start with those words. I know. I know that God has given you this land. Rahab is confident. Why is she confident? She thinks about the Red Sea. She said, we heard what he did to those seas. He split them in half. She heard what he did to the kings. He crushed Sihon and Og. And now the sea-splitting, king-crushing God is just on the other side of the walls. You see, for Rahab, those weren't Bible stories. Those were historical events. And the same God that did those things was the same God she believed was standing on the other side of the wall. And I don't know what wall you're facing today, but can I tell you that same God's on the other side of it? And here she is believing in the power of this God saying, I'm confident.

15:36 I know the walls are still up. I know everybody's got faith in these walls, but I've got faith in this God. I know he's going to deliver this city, but she's not just confident in God's power. She's confident in God's mercy. Did you notice she lied to the king and sent him away before she'd even ever made a deal with the Israelites who were standing in her house. They could have rejected her. And yet she was so confident in both God's power and God's willingness to be merciful that she made the deal before she even talked to them. And look at what she says next. She doesn't just ask for power. She asks for mercy. Verse 13, save us from death. Save us from death. she was confident that God was able and she was confident that God was merciful. She was confident that God was powerful and she was confident that God was willing. And if you're anything like me, it's possible that we can believe that God is powerful enough to do anything.

16:36 I just don't know if he's willing. Yeah, I believe God could change my situation. I just don't know if he loves me enough to want to. And yet for Rahab here in this story, she believed God was both strong enough to do it and willing and loving enough to do so. It's kind of like when you're a little kid or maybe you were this dad or mom, but growing up, we would go to a Mexican restaurant and there's games in the back and I'm already thinking, who's the weak parent I'm gonna go to to ask for money to play these games? I've got a target. I know that they're able. They've got money in their pocket. And yet I also believe my dad's probably willing. I don't know who the weak parent is in your situation, but this is the way that she viewed it. Not obviously that God's weak, but that he's merciful. He's got a soft spot for his kids. I want to give to you.

17:31 He's both powerful and he's willing, and he's powerful and willing for you too. Because knowing God's character gives our faith confidence, confidence to ask. But notice it wasn't just Rahab's faith that saved her. It was primarily the object of her faith. It is not the size of your faith, but the object of your faith that saves. Rahab could have had all the faith in the world that she would be saved and spared from this coming judgment. And yet if she was not in the house with the scarlet cord, she would not have been spared. It was not the size of Rahab's faith. It was the object, no scarlet cord, no salvation. Did you see what these guys said to her? They said, if they are not in the house with a scarlet cord, their blood is not on us. You've gotta be in the house with the scarlet cord. Here's what I mean. It'd be kind of like if you've ever flown with somebody who's real scared of flying on a plane, and you've got the confidence, you're trying to talk them into it, and maybe with shaky knees and a tear in their eye, they finally get on the plane, and you show up and you get to the other side.

18:31 And I just wanna ask the question of both the person who was confident and the person who was doubting, who made it to the other side? Both of them. Why? Because it wasn't about the size of their faith, but the object of what their faith was in that delivered them across to their destination. It was not how big their faith was, but the strength of what their faith was in. Oh, don't get me wrong. The size of your faith will change that plane ride. But the object of your faith is what will get you there. And here's the reality is I don't know how much faith Rahab's family had to be in the house, but I guarantee when they got in that house and it was spared, they were grateful for the scarlet cord. Because the object of their faith is what saved them. And I wanna ask this question today, what is this scarlet cord? Because in one sense, yes, it is a scarlet cord. What do you mean, what is it?

19:22 It's a scarlet cord. That was the marker that saved them. But I believe that it's much more than that. I believe that the scarlet cord is meant to point us to the blood of Jesus. And in the same way that the earliest church fathers held to this same conclusion, You can find this in Justin Martyr, Clement of Rome, Irenaeus, some of the church fathers that are less than 200 years removed from Jesus. In fact, Clement of Rome was one of the early church fathers, and he is thought to have been walking with the apostles. And in one of his letters, he writes this, Rahab should hang forth from her house a scarlet thread. And thus, they, Joshua, made it manifest that redemption should flow through the blood of the Lord to all that believe and hope in God. The scarlet cord is meant to point us to Jesus. And I just want us to picture this moment for a second.

20:20 Imagine that you're Rahab and you're given this scarlet cord and you're told that anybody who gets inside the house with the scarlet cord is going to live. The spies get up, they go on their way and you don't hear from them. but the next day you hear a blaring of a trumpet and you've got this scarlet cord and you're in your house by yourself. There'd be this burden. I've got to go talk to my mom. I've got to go tell my dad. I've got to go get my brothers and sisters. I need to go get my friends and bring them in here. Could you imagine what those conversations would have been like? I'm sure they were going over, mom, dad, please just come to my house. Ray, I'm going to miss work. you don't understand. You need to come. I wonder if she went to her brothers and sisters, tried to get them in. You've got to come to this house.

21:12 Rahab, we've got walls. Rahab's faith compelled her. No, you don't understand. There is something coming. Only the house with the scarlet cord is going to save you. I bet she was compelled. I bet she was convicted. You've got to come inside of this house with the scarlet cord. Why? Because when you have been saved by grace, you are sent with a burden.

21:36 And in the same way as people of God who have been saved by grace, we must be sent with a burden to tell people of what can save them. And I wonder what it would have been like that moment that Rahab has her family and her friends, that you got them all in the house and it's the seventh day and she can hear the Israelites marching around the city seven times. And then just imagine her in this moment, you hear this giant trumpet blast.

22:12 There's a giant shout. And in that moment, walls break, city crumbles, screaming, shouting, worry, fear, except for those who are in the house with the scarlet cord. How precious would that scarlet cord have appeared as you hear breaking everywhere around you except for the house with the scarlet cord. It's meant to point us to the Passover that just a few chapters earlier, the same scenario happens where an angel of death was going to be passing over and anybody who did not have the blood of the lamb painted on their door, their firstborn would die.

23:06 But if you had the blood of the lamb painted over your door, you would be spared. And in the same way, Rahab now, her family, some of them probably begrudgingly entering into the house, her friends now piled into this house and as chaos is ensuing, they're thinking to themselves, how precious is that scarlet cord? And as those who are looking at this story, we may say to ourselves, what about Rahab? How did she make it? She's a prostitute. It wasn't about who was in the house. It was about the scarlet cord. What about her family? Did they know enough theology to get there? I don't know. But I know they knew enough to enter into the house with the scarlet cord. And let me tell you, friend, it will not be that our good outweighs our bad on the last day that saves us.

23:59 It will not be our morality. It will not be our religiosity. It will not be our compatibility or our makeup. It will not be that we did enough good things. What it will be is, are you underneath the house with the scarlet cord? Are you under the blood of Jesus? Have you positioned your life underneath what Jesus has done? Not what I could do for God, but what he's done for me. Am I saying I'm underneath the refuge of the cross? And when the wrath of God comes as justice against all wrongdoing. You and I can be spared, not because of what you've done, but because there's a scarlet cord in our story. God has sent a scarlet cord down from the window of heaven for you in the person of Jesus.

24:51 And what we see is that Rahab's story doesn't end there. But as chapter six shows, she exited that house. And when she exited that house, she ultimately got married. but she didn't get married to just anybody. She got married to a direct descendant from the line of Judah. His name was Salmon. If anybody's looking for baby names. And here's what we can see from that. God is in the business of turning broken pasts into bright futures. I like the way one scholar said it. He said, God took this prostitute and turned her into a princess. There was a prince there. It was the prince was considered the leader of the line of Judah. One descended from Perez.

25:43 And in Matthew chapter one, what we see is that Rahab got married. Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab. Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth. Obed fathered Jesse. And Jesse fathered King David. David led to Jesus. God took an outsider and made her an insider. And by faith, she took part in delivering Jesus to the world. God's plan since day one has always been to make outsiders insiders. So if you're here today thinking there's no possible way I could be in this story, you're exactly who Jesus died for. You're exactly the kind of person Jesus came for. Jesus will only receive those who know they don't deserve it and will take refuge in his blood and his blood alone. And maybe you're here thinking, I've got my ducks in a row.

26:35 Let me tell you, friend, you are also in need of the blood. It is only by his blood that you and I can be spared. His heart has always been for the unfaithful to be brought into his family. That's why when you look to this genealogy account, there are four women in this genealogy and all of them have something to do with marital unfaithfulness. Why is that? Because Jesus is making it clear he's coming back for an unfaithful bride and he's going to wed her to himself in the marriage of the lamb. And Martin Luther was meditating on this reality that you and I as unfaithful Canaanites get to be saved by the blood of Jesus in the marriage of this lamb? And here's how he describes it. Who can even begin to appreciate what this royal marriage means? Who can comprehend the riches of this glorious grace? Christ, the rich and divine groom, marries this poor, wicked prostitute.

27:32 He redeems her from all of her evil and adorns her with all of his goodness. It now is impossible for her sins to destroy her. for they are laid on Christ and swallowed up by him. She has her righteousness in Christ, her husband, which she now can boast is her very own. She can set this righteousness over against all her sins and in the face of death and hell, say with confidence, if I have sinned, nevertheless, the one in whom I trust, my Christ, he has not sinned. And through our marriage, all that is his is mine and all that is mine is his. what a gift that we get to partake in the blood of the lamb. And yet this scarlet cord is not specific to this story, but this scarlet cord of the blood of Jesus runs throughout the whole of scripture. In fact, if you go to Deuteronomy 28, when the law was given, the lawgiver is clear that anybody who breaks any single command is going to be destroyed in death.

28:39 It says that seven times. And going all the way back to the beginning, God told Adam and Eve, if you were to take the fruit from the forbidden tree and eat it, you would surely die. And when they did so, the last thing that's recorded as God speaks this curse over Adam is he says in Genesis 3, 19, what he tells them is, from dust you came and to dust you'll return. But listen, the very next verse in Genesis 3.20, God takes an animal and he kills it. And he uses the animal skin to cover the nakedness and shame of Adam and Eve. In the very beginning, what you see and what I see is that where there is sin, there needed to be death. And because of the blood of another, there could be cleansing. This story of blood runs throughout.

29:32 Just the next chapter, there are two offerings given, one from Cain and one from Abel. God rejects that from Cain, and yet he accepts that from Abel. What was the one given by faith from Abel? It was that of his firstborn of his flock. Blood was spilled. He offered it and he accepted it. Moving forward, Genesis 22, Abraham is asked to give his son Isaac up. So Abraham's carrying his son Isaac up Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son. And yet when they get to the top of the mountain, what happens? There is a ram in the thicket and the ram is sacrificed in the place of his son so that his son could go free. His blood was spilled that led to salvation. Going forward in the story, Exodus chapter 12, you have the Israelites being redeemed and freed from the Egyptians.

30:26 and what was the last thing that did it? It was the Passover. When the blood of the lamb was spilled, painted over the door and the angel of death passed over them so that they could go free. Blood was spilled and it led to their freedom. Moving forward, you look to the priests that were purified in both Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8. Blood was spilled and placed on their ear, on their toe and on their finger. Why? The blood purified them and consecrated them for the work. If you look to the whole Levitical law, blood was spilled again and again and again for several different reasons, decontamination, purification, but especially to show them that where there is sin, they're demanded to be death. And one day our sins would be paid for by the blood of another. As the story continues, you see David trying to bring the Ark of the Covenant, God's presence made manifest back into the city. And every six steps, an animal was killed. Blood was spilled so that God's presence could be accessed.

31:25 Moving on in the story, David has a huge sin, takes a census of the land, it's fueled by pride, and there's this plague that's wiping across the people of God. David is found on Mount Moriah in the threshing floor. And what's he do? He sacrifices an animal. Blood was spilled, the people were spared, the plague stopped. On that same spot, Mount Moriah, the temple was built. And as the temple was built up, the first thing they did is they offered thousands of sacrifices. Blood was spilled. God's presence was accessed. And then you see Jesus come onto the scene. And what does Jesus do? What are some of the last words Jesus says? In Matthew chapter 26, he comes to a final Passover meal with his followers. And at this Passover meal, he takes wine and he says, this is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins.

32:25 And then you turn the pages and you get further into the New Testament. Paul says in Romans 5, 9, we have now been justified by his blood. You get to Ephesians 1, 7, it says, in him we have redemption through his blood. In Hebrews 10, 19, it says, we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus. In the end, Jesus is called the one who loves us and set us free from our sins by his blood. Then you get to this final song, sung in Revelation chapter five by people who are dressed in white, made white by the blood of the lamb. And they're holding palm branches, welcoming the savior. And the song that they're singing is you are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals because you were slaughtered and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.

33:24 Jesus' blood is the scarlet cord that runs throughout the whole scripture narrative. If there is no blood, there is no gospel. And you and I, just like Rahab was saved by the Israelites, from the Israelites, you and I are saved from God's justice on our sin, by God's mercy given to us through the justice he brought about on his son as his blood was spilled. No blood, no gospel. Jesus is the scarlet cord Jesus is the one who offered himself So that you and I can stand in confidence Underneath the cross of Christ And we can say together As we're safe in the refuge of redemption Oh, how precious is the flow that makes me white as snow.

34:29 And agree with the prophet Isaiah who says, though your sins were like scarlet, I have made you whiter than snow. We have a redeeming God who loves taking broken people and turning them into bright futures. And you and I have a responsibility underneath the refuge of redemption found through the blood of Jesus to say, what brothers and sisters, family and friends can I get into this refuge? As those who have received grace, we must be sent with a burden. And let us be a people who stand in awe of the scarlet cord, thankful by face for the strength of the audience.