You Are That Man
Pastor Janet Saddel -August 11, 2024
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13
CEB
11 26When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her back to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But what David had done was evil in the Lord’s eyes.
12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When Nathan arrived he said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich, one poor. 2 The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn’t willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor.”
5 David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the one who did this is demonic![a] 6 He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over[b] because he did this and because he had no compassion.”
7 “You are that man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and delivered you from Saul’s power. 8 I gave your master’s house[c] to you, and gave his wives into your embrace. I gave you the house[d] of Israel and Judah. If that was too little, I would have given even more. 9 Why have you despised the Lord’s word by doing what is evil in his eyes? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife as your own. You used the Ammonites to kill him. 10 Because of that, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own, the sword will never leave your own house.
13 “I’ve sinned against the Lord!” David said to Nathan. “The Lord has removed your sin,” Nathan replied to David. “You won’t die.
King David should have been with his army – instead he’s being idle on his roof, sees something he shouldn’t see and rather than look away, he indulges himself.
Instead of coming clean and admitting that he has sinned, he decides to cover up his sin.
Nathan tells a story. David pronounces the man in the story guilty. Nathan drops the bomb as he declares to David, “You are the man.”
This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is about. You are the man; you are the woman. It’s not about someone else, it’s about you, and it’s about me. The Gospel of Jesus is about specific truth, truth that applies to you and to me.
David answered personally, “I have sinned against the Lord.” He realized that he was a human being who had fallen and was in desperate need of God.
David recorded his confession before God in Psalm 51.
The only way to have joy is to restore our relationship with God, and to do that, we must repent – which means to turn around – turn away from the sin and turn to face God. We cannot face God and sin at the same time. We must turn our back on sin.
When we surrender fully to Christ, then we are set free. Freedom from sin. That’s when we find grace, mercy and forgiveness. Sin takes away from who we are – it diminishes who we were created to be. But thanks be to God, grace makes us more of a person, a whole person.
God can redeem any situation where he is invited in.
It’s only when we are truly open before God, willing to admit, “I am the man, or I am the woman,” that we can know Jesus.
Jesus is the one who brings us before God! Jesus is the one who brings love and salvation. Jesus is the invitation to have a personal relationship with God! Yes, “You are the man, you are the woman and I am the one” – each and every one of us has committed sin before God and each other.
But praise be to God, Jesus is the One who was raised from the dead and brings us forgiveness, so that we might have life, both eternal life and life today with him, abundant life in Christ Jesus! Forgiven, cleansed and whole!
