10.8.2025

Nobody likes to be reminded they’re old. In fact, as time goes on, I’ve discovered nobody has to remind you – you’re back and your knees tell you every morning! 

Last Sunday I quoted a passage that’s come to mean a lot to me in recent years. In Joshua 13, we read, “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land still remains to be possessed.” As I said Sunday, when the Ancient of Days tells you you’re old, you can mark it down: you are OLD!

Despite his age, much of the land still remained to be possessed. There was work to be done! 

I’m sure you remember the story (and hopefully you’ve been reading along in our daily Bible readings) about Joshua taking the reins after Moses’ death and leading the people through the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. Then, city by city, they began to conquer the Promised Land. 

Despite the power and size of the enemy, as long as they were faithful to God, they didn’t need to be afraid. “No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life,” God told Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, for you shall lead this people to possess the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them.” 

Now, jump ahead some 1,400 years to the time of Jesus. John the Baptist is in the wilderness, preaching repentance, baptism and the return of God. Mark writes that “the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan . . .”

There were lots of places John could have baptized in Jerusalem and in Judea. The pool of Siloam would have been a great place! It was a huge pool of water located at the foot of Mt. Zion. Hundreds of people could be purified there before making their trek up the pilgrim road to the temple. A ready-made crowd was always there – it would be perfect for John’s baptisms! 

But, no. They came to him. In the wilderness. Some 31 miles away from Jerusalem, about a 12 hour walk! 

Why the Jordan? 

Because John was calling them back to where it all began – back to the spot where the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land. He called them to “repent,” to turn from the sin that had separated them from God and to be baptized into the waters of the Jordan. 

As they stepped out of the Jordan River, they stepped out as the forgiven, renewed people of God.

And then Jesus shows up. 

Now, here’s something you might not know. While the names “Jesus” and “Joshua” don’t sound much alike in English, the original Hebrew name for both is Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ) or a shortened form, Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), and whether long or short, the meaning is the same: The Lord saves. 

 It’s the same name. And not only that, they share a similar calling. 

When Jesus steps out of the Jordan River, he steps out as the new Joshua who will lead the renewed people of God to re-take the Promised Land. Starting with his defeat of Satan in the wilderness, Jesus moves from town to town, from synagogue to synagogue, casting out demons and proclaiming that the “kingdom of God has come near!”  

Just as Joshua led the people in the conquest of Canaan, Jesus leads us in the conquest of the world. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

And as we share the love of God, both in word and deed, we create colonies of the kingdom wherever we live. 

But the difference between Old Testament Joshua and New Testament Jesus is that the conquest doesn’t happen through sword and destruction but through the superior weapon of love. The agape love of God swept people off their feet in the days of Jesus and continues to do so today. 

And this is what the Good News is all about. The good news is about the living God overcoming all the power of the word to establish his rule of justice and peace. It is the ultimate answer to the prayer we pray weekly (and hopefully daily), “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Not later. Not in heaven. But here and now.

There remains much land to conquer! One of the problems I have with the “secret rapture” (which, you might remember was supposed to happen two weeks ago and once it didn’t, the date was revised to TODAY. We’re still here.), is that it misses the point of Christianity. God isn’t going to abandon his creation. God sent Jesus to redeem his creation. 

And there remains much land to conquer. 

So, no, we’re not being whisked away to escape trouble.  Jesus has placed us here to take on the troubles of the world, and, like Joshua in the Old Testament, we need not be afraid. Jesus told us in John 16:33, “In the world you will face persecution, but take courage: I have overcome the world!”

Blessings,
Pastor Terry