REMEMBERING NO MORE!
On
the face of it, this prophecy recorded by Jeremiah concerning a new covenant is
simply too good to be true. What the prophet received from God in this prophecy
was a message radically different from anything that which had come before it.
After years of gloom and doom prophecy, announcing the judgment and destruction
of
Indeed,
it is the concluding phrase of verse 34 that is the most startling to hear; “for
I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” Let us
remember, within the Judaism of Jeremiah’s time, the notion that Yahweh would
simply forget about sin was almost inconceivable. Yahweh, as the supreme judge
and arbitrator of all human life, demanded obedience to the Law. Anything less
than obedience was sin and would be punished. Accordingly, as the exile to
So,
then, it was no doubt hard for Jeremiah’s first hearers to accept this amazing
message of God’s forgiveness. Moreover, even for us today, this message of God
no longer remembering our sin is perhaps the most difficult part of hearing and
living out the gospel of Jesus Christ. Accepting that God has forgiven us,
accepting that we are truly forgiven our sin, is a constant challenge for us.
In
a fundamental way, this is the basic challenge of Christian discipleship; to
live in such a way as to reflect the reality that God has not only forgiven us
our sin, but in truth “no longer remembers that we have sinned”. To not
“remember” in God’s eyes is the equivalent to never having happened in the
first place. A sin not remembered is a fresh start; a clean plate.
Understandably,
from the earliest days of the church these words from Jeremiah have been
interpreted as a specific reference to the coming reign of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, for us as Christians we cannot read this passage without interpreting
its message through the lens of our faith in the risen Christ.
From
our perspective, the new covenant Jeremiah spoke of is indeed now a reality in
Jesus Christ. In his earthly ministry, over and over again, Jesus pointed to a
conversion of the heart as God’s desire for us. In the Sermon on the Mount from
Matthew
Inescapably,
Jeremiah’s prophecy foreshadowed the teachings of Jesus. It is practically and
theologically impossible for us to read this prophecy without interpreting it
through our faith in the risen Christ. Yet, there are important things to learn
from this prophetic word by first understanding it in its OT context.
This
prophecy came to Jeremiah during the years of the Jewish exile in
Given
all that had happened at this point in history, from the Jews perspective it
was God’s judgment and wrath, not God’s love and grace, which dominated their
understanding and experience of Yahweh. Apparently a fatalistic attitude had
settled over them. Jeremiah’s use of the maxim concerning parents who had eaten
sour grapes and then their children had to suffer for the sins of their parents
reflects this fatalism among God’s people. Their forefathers and foremothers
had sinned, and now they would forever pay the price.
Yet
Jeremiah’s word from the Lord was just the opposite. “The days are surely
coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and Judah.” This new covenant will not be like the old. This time, Yahweh
says, the covenant will not depend on them simply obeying the rules, this time
Yahweh will make it possible for them to WANT TO obey the rules. The new
covenant will be about desire and intention, as well as, about concrete
tangible action. God will create a direct link between the internal life and
external life of God’s children.
Yahweh,
however, goes even one step further than this, in verse 33 it reads, “...says
the LORD, I WILL PUT MY LAW WITHIN THEM AND I WILL WRITE IT ON
THEIR HEARTS; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”
Can
you hear the good news in this prophecy? This new relationship, this new
covenant is not dependent upon us, it depends on God. It is not based on our
ability to obey. It is not grounded in our strengths. Rather, the new covenant
will be dependent upon Yahweh’s faithfulness. It will be based on Yahweh’s
ability to grant us power. It will be grounded in the power and character of
God, not in human weakness.
Hundreds
of years later, in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ, God indeed established just such a new covenant. At no point in the
gospel story is our human faithfulness critical to the success or failure of
Jesus Christ on earth. At every turn it is God’s power and might, it is God’s
will and vision, that led Jesus Christ forward in faithfulness; first to
calvary and ultimately to Easter morning. The success of this new covenant is
dependent upon God, not upon us.
Foreshadowing
the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, and the baptism of forgiveness and renewal
offered to each of us, the Lord said to Jeremiah, “...I will forgive their
iniquity, and remember their sin no more”. Obedience in the new covenant
comes from the heart, not from fulfilling perfunctory tasks and a rigid rule
structure.
This
is the very foundation of our baptismal identity as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Through our baptism, we have been redeemed. We have been washed clean. We have
been adopted into the family of God as a covenant member. As we are made a
member of Christ’s body our sin is no longer remembered by God. It is as though
we had never sinned.
As
we live in Jesus Christ, it is no longer our task to find ways to please God;
God is already pleased with us in so far as we are members of Christ body. In
the new covenant, it is our task to live as the forgiven and freed children of
God that we have become.
Scripture
teaches us that God no longer remembers our sin, but what about us? Are we
ready to give up our sin? Are we ready to live in the new life that God has
prepared for us? Or, are we more comfortable with holding on to our past?
The
truth is, we know how self-centered we are in life. We know how self-indulgent
we can be with ourselves. We know how easily we get our feelings hurt, or are
offended by some one else’s actions. However, it is one thing to be aware of
these failings, of these sins, and it is quite another to wallow in them. It is
important to know in our hearts that we are in need of Jesus Christ in our
lives, it is crucial that we acknowledge our need for God’s grace.
Yet,
Christ promises that as we live in him, as we trust in him, it will be his
grace that leads us to faithfulness, not our human obedience. This is the very
foundation of God’s new covenant. It is God’s grace, not our ability to be
obedient, which sustains us.
In
all cases, the task of Christian discipleship is essentially a risk; are we
willing to trust that we can live without our sin. Are we willing to live
without our indignation? Are we willing to trust that discipline and sacrifice
is ultimately more rewarding than indulgence? Are we willing to trust that God
will care for us individually, as we care for the needs of others? God no
longer remembers our sin, may we also forget it and let its weight drop from
our spiritual shoulders.
“No
longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for
they shall all know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord; for I
will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” In Jesus Christ God has accepted and
forgiven us. Now, are we willing to forgive ourselves and live in the new
covenant?
So,
may it be for us. Amen.
Reverend Marc V.
Mason
April 24, 2005
Trinity
Presbyterian Church
Travelers Rest, SC