Daily Lectionary: 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29; Philippians 2:12-30
Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day.Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel. (2 Kings 10:27-28)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You probably don't worship Baal, the “Lord of the Flies,” the Canaanite god of storms. But you do have idols. There are things you love more than God Himself, such as your money. Gotta have that! Or perhaps its your sport. You'd rather play and practice that more than anything in the whole world. Maybe it's your girlfriend or boyfriend. Life just isn't right unless you're together. There are lots of things you love more than God, but probably none more than yourself. No one is your boss. You should be able to say and do whatever you want.
What happens to such idols? Jehu cast them down and burned them and turned them into a landfill. What about your false gods and idols? What do they deserve? Same thing. And they do get torn down and destroyed—on the Cross—when the True God in the flesh takes your idols and idolatry into Himself and is crushed with God's judgment against them.
What happens to the idols of the Old Testament happens to Jesus: He's torn down and destroyed; beaten and mocked and crucified. But those don't happen to Him because HE is an idol, but because He is the Savior who saves us by taking on Himself the idols and idolatry we have. Our sins become His sins and He suffers for them on the cross.
Now the Cross becomes a landfill for us. Because Christ died and rose, the place to throw your sins is onto Jesus at the Cross. By Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Supper, you cast your sins upon Jesus who has taken care of them once and for all. Unload your sins on Him because He is the One man who takes them away for good. Where Christ is, there are our sins, and our sins are blotted out for good. The One True God saves you from your idols and makes you His own by His own blood. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, Be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thine equal be; Symbol of the world's redemption, For the weight that hung on thee! (LSB 454:4)