Mephibosheth Part 2

Mephibosheth, Jesus, and Betrayal

If you need a recap, check out the beginning of Mephibosheth's story http://stuffyoumissedinsundayschool.blogspot.com/2012/11/mephibosheth-part-1.html

Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet. (2 Samuel 9:9-13 ESV)

King David had essentially made Mephibosheth into a prince, and Ziba and all his sons are turned into housekeepers. As you might imagine, Ziba is not too thrilled with this arrangement, but he is wise enough to know that one does not argue with the king, so he does his job and waits for an opportune time to change his fortune.

Years later the time comes. David marches out of Jerusalem, barefoot and weeping while his son Absolom tries to take over the throne. David is about as low as he has ever been. He is walking into exile, leading the few faithful who remain with him to probable doom. David hikes up the mount of Olives on the outskirts of Jerusalem when he receives an unexpected visitor.

When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba, "Why have you brought these?" Ziba answered, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink." And the king said, "And where is your master's son?" Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.'" Then the king said to Ziba, "Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours." And Ziba said, "I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king. (2 Samuel 16:1-4 ESV)

David had just been betrayed by his son Absalom. He had betrayed Uriah to steal his wife. He has seen wars and treachery, he had plotted it himself, an he does not seem shocked by this new betrayal by the crippled man to whom he had shown extravagant kindness.

Think how Mephibosheth feels. . .he is having a rotten, terrible, no good, very bad day. His servant just stole all of his donkeys, took everyone in the house, and left Mephibosheth laying in the dust.  The king who he loves is going into exile.  Mephibosheth had become a prince and now he was an absolute nobody. He's back to being a cripple in hiding, dependent on the kindness of strangers for food and basic needs. Ziba tells lies and the king thinks that Mephibosheth is the unfaithful one. Betrayal.

Let's look at another, even worse betrayal - Jesus.

Jesus came to earth as a fulfillment of scripture. He was God's promised Messiah, the savior. The only problem is that the savior didn't look and act like what the Pharisees thought he should. He hung out with sinners. He had no political aspirations to free Israel from Roman control. He was humble, mot mighty. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey rather than a war horse. The Pharisees did not realize that the Messiah might not meet their expectations of what a king should be. . .and even John the Baptist had doubts.

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And when the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'" In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me." (Luke 7:18-23 ESV)

Jesus answers John's question: do you see what is happening? Do you get it, I'm here with all of God's power an authority. Of course I'm the Messiah! But Jesus was here with a bigger mission than to heal - to be betrayed and then to die.

John didn't get it and neither did the religious leaders. The Pharisees' logic was simple. Jesus says he is God, but we don't think this is how God would act. God wouldn't call us hypocrites and whitewashed tombs and a brood of vipers. God wouldn't walk into our temple and flip over tables. We don't think he's God, which means he is blaspheming, which means he should die. In the greatest betrayal ever, the people who claimed to be seeking God killed God because God didn't look and act like they thought he should. "God loved the world so much that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God showed the world love, and the world betrayed Him, killing Jesus on the cross.

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." Luke 23:35

The mockers were trying to get Jesus to do something crazy. If he really was God, maybe he would get ticked like the Incredible Hulk, jump off of the cross and smash stuff! 

But Jesus didn't go Hulk on them, he let himself be killed. God died.

We talk about the betrayal and death of Jesus every time we take communion, "on the night he was betrayed, The Lord took the bread and broke it, saying 'this is my body broken for you for the forgiveness of sins'".  Betrayal is what brings us salvation.

Betrayal was not just important in bringing about our salvation, it is the very reason we need salvation. Remember Adam and Eve in the garden. They can do anything they want, climb trees, ride tigers, swing from vines, play in waterfalls. But there is one no-no. Don't eat the apple. Repeat after me, Don't eat the apple! Only one rule and you can live happily with God forever. Of course they betrayed God and ate the apple, sin came to humanity, and we have been betraying God ever since.

(Think of ways in the Bible that people have betrayed God. . .how have you betrayed God or friends)

The irony of sin, which at the core is betraying God, is that the betrayer is the one who suffers. When we sin, in the moment we might think we are gaining a great amount of land and power like Ziba. But what is really happening is we are being abandoned like Mephibosheth. We are left in the dirt, helpless and crippled. We are dead in our sins and transgressions.

Look at the end of the story in Luke: 

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:35-43 ESV)

The thief understood when no one else did. The betrayers receive salvation from the betrayed. Cripples are made into princes. John the Baptist didn't get it, the Pharisees and Romans didn't understand, but this is what a Messiah looks like. Not a powerful king or incredible hulk, but a God who becomes human, accepts betrayal and death, and saves us through his suffering.

Thief by Third Day - from the perspective of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDw_9vvLcWg

Back to Mephibosheth. . .you know things can't end so badly for him.  Here's what happens when David finally comes back to Jerusalem after winning the war.

Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”

 He said, “My lord the king, since I your servant am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled and will ride on it, so I can go with the king.’ But Ziba my servant betrayed me.  And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is like an angel of God; so do whatever you wish.  All my grandfather’s descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?”

 The king said to him, “Why say more? I order you and Ziba to divide the land.”

 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has returned home safely."  2 Samuel 19:24-30