Mephibosheth Part 1

Mephibosheth

What is Grace?  Undeserved love, receiving what you don't deserve.

The stories surrounding King David are some of the most vivid in the entire Bible. We find fascinating people, epic sin, amazing grace, and a very human and flawed king whom the Bible explains is a man after God's own heart.

This was our retreat lesson this fall, so I didn't write as much, but we do cover some awesome ground in the Bible. We are going to look at a story about Mephibosheth, which is a soap opera of heartbreak, redemption, keeping promises, betrayal, and in the end, loyalty.  Then we'll jump to the New Testament to see a few stories about Jesus offering grace.

If you remember, Saul was king but sinned against God, and David, the little shepherd boy was anointed to be king. He slated Goliath, went to work playing harp for Saul, and ended up being a rival of his boss due to his popularity and Saul's bipolar disorder. Saul loved David on some days and on others he threw spears at him. Through this time David became BFF's with Saul's son Jonathan. It was a kind of strange friendship, because Jonathan should have been heir to the throne and David should have been a threat. But Jonathan swore to save David's life and made David promise to do the same for him and his family. I suppose Jonathan saw the greatness in David and the foolishness in his own father, or maybe he recognized that God was with David. Sure enough, Saul wanted David dead some time later, and Jonathan helped him escape, and the two made the following covenant.

"If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies." And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul."(1 Samuel 20:14-17 ESV)

Sure enough, Jonathan is killed alongside his father in battle at which point we find out he had a young son Mephibosheth - "Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth." (2 Samuel 4:4 ESV)

When a new king came to power, he would typically kill the old heirs to the throne. It seems mean, but if the old King's sons or grandsons grew up to be popular and tried to claim the throne, the new King would have a mess on his hands. David was the second king of Israel and protocol for succession hadn't been established, but Mephibosheth's nurse was scared for her life and that of the baby. She ran out from the palace and dropped Mephibosheth, paralyzing his legs.

They got out of town, went to a place called Lo-debar, and lived there in secret for the next twenty or so years. One day, after David had fought wars and married Bathsheba, and pretty much accomplished whatever he could have wanted, that day David woke up thinking about his old friend Jonathan.

And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" (2 Samuel 9:1 ESV)

Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet." The king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar." Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. (2 Samuel 9:2-5 ESV)

Showing the kindness of God. . .what an amazing thing for a king to do. All these years Mephibosheth had been in hiding, for fear that if he was discovered he would be killed. All of a sudden, he is yanked out of hiding, and he comes before king David still scared to death. I don't know how Mephibosheth got around, whether he limped in or crawled or someone set him down. But he found himself before the throne of the King and fell flat on his face.

And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, "Mephibosheth!" And he answered, "Behold, I am your servant." And David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always."

This might be the most vivid picture of grace in the entire Old Testament. Mephibosheth in no way earned a place at the King's table. He had done nothing to earn such kind treatment. In fact, he was pretty much unable to do anything at all. There was no special Olympics or handicapped accessible ramps, no Stephen hawking magic computer that he could use to reach out to the world. He was at the mercy of Machir, then at the mercy of David.

What is grace? Receiving something which you have not earned and do not deserve.  Imagine I get a phone call from the President.  He says, "David, I've been thinking, I'm going to give you Kentucky and Arkansas."  What?  What could I ever do to deserve such a gift.  NOTHING!  "BTW, Michelle and the girls want you to come over for dinner. . .every night. . .forever".  Crazy right?  But that's pretty much what is happening to Mephibosheth.  

And he paid homage and said, "What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?" (2 Samuel 9:6-8 ESV). What is your servant? Exactly right, he is a dead dog, a nobody.

Do you know anyone else who is a dead dog? Us. Ephesians says that we are dead in our sins. Remember stick dead guy, what can he do to bring himself back to life? Nothing. What about us, we're dead in our sins. . .what can we do to bring ourselves back to life? Nothing. What could Mephibosheth do to deserve a spot at the king's table? Nothing. Check out the following verses:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:4-9 ESV)

 Jesus makes it very clear that his table will be a place where sinners and outcasts are welcome. Check out this passage:

"He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."" (Mark 2:13-17 ESV)

Why are tax collectors bad? What kind of sinners did Jesus know? Prostitutes, adulterers, people who drank, paralytics, blind people. Jesus came for the people like Mephibosheth, the outcasts, the nobodys, those in need of a physician. 

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.  And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.  And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.  And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,  “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”  Mark 2:1-12

How is this story similar/different to Mephibosheth?  How are King David and Jesus alike and different.  

Check out one of my favorite songs of all time. . .about how we are like Mephibosheth, and our great blessing to have a spot at the King's table.  

"I'm a dead man now with a ghost who lives

within the confines of these carbon ribs.

And one day when I'm free I will sit

A cripple at your table. . .a cripple by your side.