The Mighty Humbled

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Make the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, `Wash and be cleansed’?” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

2 Kings 5:1-14

God specializes in the business of humbling the mighty, as we learn when we study the history of the world. As we study the Bible and world history we see how God humbled Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and many other nations, including our own, recently. There is only one true, living, sovereign God, and he does not tolerate arrogance, whether in individuals or nations. I believe that God has a redemptive purpose in humbling the mighty. He wants all men to call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

On September 11, 2001, we saw evil when militant Islamic fundamentalists attacked and killed thousands of people in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building. The militant Islamic fundamentalists want to destroy the west, particularly the United States of America, which they call Satan. They want to do so for the transcendent purpose of bringing glory to Allah. Thus, when news of these acts of violence spread, militant Islamic fundamentalists around the world reacted by rejoicing.

The Lesson of the Towers

Why did our God-the God of Abraham and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ-permit such horrible wickedness to take place in this country? He did so for a noble purpose, to wake us up from our deep coma of complacency so that we as a nation would humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways so that God may forgive our sins and heal our land.

The twin towers of the World Trade Center fell to teach us a lesson. In Luke 13:1-5 the Lord Jesus speaks of a similar incident which was designed to teach God’s people a lesson. There we read,

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them-do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Our God is not Allah. Our God is the true and living God, the Creator of all things and the Redeemer of his people. Our God is the sovereign God, the triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is the God of gods, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He defeats all other gods and no Baal or Allah shall ever prevail against him.

God permitted the World Trade Center towers to fall so that we might wake up to the reality of the kingdom of God and repent. He allowed this catastrophe so that we will not perish but be saved. As we said, God has a history of humbling the mighty. Our nation must repent of its blasphemy, its hatred of Christianity and biblical morality, its worship of materialism, and its seeking of pleasure above all things. As Christians we must also renounce all formalism and our lukewarm way of living, and embrace a Christianity that is vital. We must begin to love God passionately, with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. I pray that we will do these things in the full assurance that the forces of evil shall not succeed against the plan of God for his people. As Martin Luther’s hymn declares, “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” Our sovereign, almighty God will bring us to humility with the purpose of saving us.

Naaman the Great

In the story of Naaman as found in 2 Kings 5 we see an illustration of this truth that God humbles the mighty for the purpose of saving them.

Naaman was the commander-in-chief of the Syrian army in the ninth century B.C. The number two man in all of Syria, he was highly respected by all, including the Syrian king, Ben-Hadad. Naaman was a mighty soldier. In fact, the Bible tells us God caused Syria to win great victories through him.

Yet all was not well with the mighty general Naaman. The Bible tells us he was a leper, which meant that Naaman was considered unclean because of his debilitating, malignant, infectious skin disease. In Israel the leprous Naaman would have been a social outcast, forced to live away from family and friends, but in Syria Naaman was still able to enjoy the great prestige of being the successful commander of the Syrian army.

This man of high position and great wealth, Naaman, was also a leper. In the Bible leprosy represents sin and death. Thus, the first point we must know is that despite all his power and all his prestige, Naaman was a representative of fallen man, a sinner under the wrath of God.

The Gospel Comes to Naaman

Second, we must understand that God loves sinners. In God’s providential dealing, he placed an Israelite teenager in the house of Naaman to be a maid for Naaman’s wife. Certainly, Naaman was a Syrian, a Gentile, an enemy of Israel and a worshiper of the god Rimmon, and this young Hebrew girl must have wondered why she would have to go live in the household of such a person. Yet God so loves the world that he has a desire to save all people who will repent and believe the gospel.

The gospel came to the mighty general Naaman through his wife’s young servant girl. This unnamed Israelite was a true believer at a time of great apostasy in the history of Israel. Possessing great faith, this girl believed that the God of Israel could do what no other god could do: heal a Gentile of his leprosy. She also had faith that God could use Elisha, the prophet of Israel, to heal Naaman, the enemy of Israel. Now, up to that point Elisha had never healed a leper, but that fact did not faze this girl. She believed in the God of Israel with whom all things are possible. She knew that her God loves Gentiles, even Syrians who were lepers, because her God loves sinners.

In 2 Kings 5:3 we read her words to Naaman’s wife: “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” This is serious evangelism born out of the conviction and knowledge this girl had of the true God of Israel. She herself was saved, and even though she was in a foreign country as a slave, she could not keep her mouth shut when she saw the great needs of others. So she declared to his mistress, “There is no question, there is no doubt, that if my master would go to Israel and meet with Prophet Elisha, he would cure him of his disease.” Believing the testimony of the girl, Naaman asked for and received permission from the king of Syria and set off to go to Israel.

The Pride of Naaman

Naaman arrived in Samaria with all the pomp and glory due a great general. He had a great retinue of chariots, horses, and servants with him as well as a letter from his king, Ben-Hadad, to the wicked king, Jehoram, of Israel. Naaman also brought a large sum of money-ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold-with which to pay for his healing. Not too long before the father of Ahab had bought the entire hill of Samaria for two talents of silver, but here this great man came with five times more than that, as well as a hundred and fifty pounds of gold and ten sets of clothing.

Naaman delivered Ben-Hadad’s letter to King Jehoram of Israel, but unlike the Israelite girl, Jehoram was a Baal-worshiper and an unbeliever, so he did not know what to do with Naaman’s request to see Elisha. Jehoram hated Elisha and Elisha’s God and had no answer for Naaman because he had no gospel. Jehoram had nothing to give to this Gentile who was seeking healing and salvation. In fact, when he read the letter, he began to tear his clothes in great distress because he was convinced that the king of Syria was seeking an occasion to wage a war against Israel. But when Elisha heard of Jehoram’s distress, the prophet rebuked the king for his unbelief and told him, “Send him to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

When Naaman came to Elisha’s house, he expected to be treated with great honor in keeping with his position as the commander of the Syrian army and as a great, wealthy man. But Elisha was not impressed by Naaman’s pomp and stature. God is not impressed by the might or power or wealth or position or intellectualism of anyone; therefore, his preachers should also not be impressed. Because God’s ministers represent God, they should not bow down to a sinner because the God they serve is sovereign over all.

Refusing to come out and bow down to the Syrian commander, Elisha sent a servant to speak to Naaman. It is amazing to us that the prophet Elisha would treat Naaman in this manner, but God had a purpose for these surprising actions of Elisha. God wants to humble people before he saves them.

What was the message Elisha’s servant gave to Naaman? “Go down to the River Jordan, wash seven times in the muddy water, and you shall be saved.” Oh, this is such a simple answer, isn’t it? It is as simple as the answer we receive when we ask the way of salvation today. The preacher will say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” or “Look to the cross and you shall be saved.”

The story of Naaman teaches us that God must first humble the proud before he will save them. If you have heard the gospel yet remain unsaved, it is because of your own arrogance, pride, and pretension. You are wise in your own eyes and refuse to humble before Almighty God. But if you would like to be saved, you must humble yourself before God, repent of your sins, and say with the publican, “Have mercy upon me, a sinner!” Only when you do these things shall you be saved. In other words, proud and self-righteous Pharisees will never go home justified. God saves only those who cry out to him, “Lord, have mercy upon me, the greatest sinner on the face of the earth!”

The Foolishness of the Gospel

Naaman was surprised at the simple answer of the servant. Filled with a great sense of national and individual pride, he looked down upon Israel and its muddy River Jordan. Naaman came to Elisha with his own preconceived notions of salvation, and he almost left with them, unsaved.

In 2 Kings 5:11 we read, “But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought. . . .'” That is an interesting phrase. Man thinks up his own way of salvation. He hates revelation. Depending on humanism, he makes up his own way of salvation. Naaman did not like the simple gospel he heard from Elisha’s servant. It sounded like foolishness to him, that somebody could go and dip himself in the waters of the Jordan seven times and be healed of leprosy. Who had ever heard of such nonsense?

In 1 Corinthians 1 we read what Paul said about the foolishness and pretensions and intellectualism of man. In verses 18-25 we read:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” All of it! All the wisdom of the world put together is nothing – impotent to save you, a sinner. “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

In Romans 1:16 Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then for the Gentile.” But Naaman wanted a salvation that kept his pride intact. He wanted a salvation without repentance, a salvation without confessing his sins, a salvation without humility, a salvation without faith in the word of the prophet, a salvation without faith in the God of Israel.

We must humble ourselves to receive God’s salvation. In Matthew 11:25-27 we read, “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.'”

Naaman began to pout before God and began to make plans to go home. Certainly, he had not received the treatment in Israel that he had expected. What about us? When we come to God for salvation, should we expect God to come down and bow before us? If so, the answer is no. God demands a sinner to humble himself totally. Kiss the Son and you shall be saved.

No Other Way of Salvation

In 2 Kings 5:11-12 we read that Naaman became angry and went off in a rage. Oh, I have seen many proud people come to the church and go out in a rage. Even though he had not been healed, Naaman was ready to go back to Syria. Yes, he would still be a leper, but his pride would be intact.

But imagine that we could speak to Naaman. We would ask, “General Naaman, why are you leaving now? Syria cannot heal you. You came all the way here from there because there was no healing in Syria. What about your god Rimmon? He is a lie. What about Baal, the god of King Jehoram? He is a lie too. Rimmon, Baal, Asherah-none of these gods ever saved anybody. Additionally, your money hasn’t brought you healing, has it? Your philosophy hasn’t healed you. Your science hasn’t healed you. Your religion hasn’t healed you. Why do you want to go back to Syria? Nothing there has worked, has it?” Naaman was like the woman with an issue of blood whom we read about in Mark 5. In verse 26 we read, “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” Why? No one could heal her but Jesus Christ.

There is no Savior in the whole world but Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for us. Naaman’s salvation was to be found no where else but in Israel, in Israel’s prophet, and in Israel’s prophet’s God. He alone was able to save him. And this salvation was free. What can we do to be saved? Nothing! We cannot buy salvation with money. “May your money perish with you!” (Acts 8:20)

Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. In Mark 8:36-38 Jesus asked, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” It is not Allah who is coming. It is not Baal and Asherah who is coming. PGM It is the Lord Jesus Christ who will come back to deal with you and your arrogance and your repudiation of the power and the potency of the cross of Jesus Christ. When he comes, he will deal with the Allahs of the world.

The Bible tells us that God opposes the proud. If our nation is proud and arrogant, it shall be humbled. If anyone wants to be saved, he must do nothing but repent of his sins and trust in the God of Israel. Everything is done for him. The feast is ready. It is all done through Jesus Christ.

So we would say to Naaman, “Do what Elisha told you and you shall be healed.” In the same way, we must say to ourselves, “Do what the messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ told you, and you shall be saved.” If you are thinking Elisha will come and stand and bow and recognize you and call on the name of his God and wave his hand over your filthy disease and cure you, it is not going to happen. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

God’s Way of Salvation

Naaman had to go to the muddy waters of the River Jordan to be saved. Of course, he knew that the waters of Syria were more clean and clear. But the problem is, salvation for Naaman was to be found in Israel alone, and only the Jordan could heal him.

Oh, we glory in our own great rivers and culture and wealth, don’t we? But none of these things can save us. We must all die, just as we recently saw thousands of people die at one time. Don’t you think these people had plans and purposes besides dying? I am sure they wanted to go to this place and that place and to do many things. They didn’t plan to die that day, and those who hated Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world, entered into their eternal hell. How many times did they, like Naaman, pout and turn away when they heard the gospel? I am sure so many of them heard it, for it is constantly proclaimed in this country. It is utterly impossible for someone not to have heard about Jesus Christ here.

The muddy Jordan stands for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we would say to Naaman, “Naaman, no matter what you want, you must go to the Jordan. Strip down and let everybody see your stinking leprosy. Confess before all people that you are a sinner. Dip yourself into the muddy Jordan seven times and you shall be healed. Aren’t you sick? Aren’t you a sinner? How can you dictate terms for your salvation and healing? Beggars cannot be choosers.” If you want to be saved, you must repent and trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation because he alone died for the sins of the world.

No Other Way of Salvation

Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus? He is Jesus Christ the Jew, Jesus Christ, God incarnate, Jesus Christ, son of Abraham, son of David; Jesus Christ, the one alone who was without sin; Jesus Christ, who always obeyed the Father completely; Jesus Christ, who died and was buried; Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; Jesus Christ, who is the sovereign Ruler of the universe; Jesus Christ, the only Savior of sinners; Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”; Jesus Christ, the coming Judge of all. Every person who ever lived will stand before this Jesus Christ and be judged by him. Whether Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, highborn or lowborn-it makes no difference-there is only one Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Baal, the god of King Jehoram, cannot save anyone. Rimmon, the Syrian god of stone, who was also called the Thunderer, can do nothing. Such gods are impotent. They never delivered any individuals or nations. When we are in trouble, the only one who is able to help is Jesus Christ. That is why the Bible speaks of the Israelites, saying, “In their distress they called upon the name of the Lord.” Why didn’t the Israelites call upon Baal? Because Elijah had put an end to Baal’s claims. On Mount Carmel he threw out the challenge to Baal and his prophets, “He who answers by fire alone is God.” Although the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal cut themselves, cried out, and danced until they were exhausted, no fire came down. But at the proper time, God answered Elijah by fire and consumed the sacrifice, the stone, and the water, leaving a large crater as a stark witness that the God of Israel was the only true and living God.

What if you say, “Well, I am trusting in my money; why should I trust in Jesus Christ?” How do you know what the stock market will do, especially in times like this? What if you say, “I am trusting in science”? Science cannot save anyone.

We want to lull ourselves into peace, don’t we? We don’t think anything terrible will ever happen to us, do we? Oh, your pastor and elders may have pleaded with you to repent, or your mother and father may have spoken to you about trusting in Christ. You don’t want to listen. But in 2 Thessalonians 5:3 we find this warning: “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

What Must We Do to Be Saved?

Through the message of Naaman God is speaking to to our nation also. He is telling us, “Forsake all idols and believe the gospel. Go to Jordan and wash and be clean.” God’s usage of the word “wash” teaches us we are defiled and filthy, not only outwardly but even in our innermost soul. As we read in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” We are miserable wretches of human beings. Our holy God is thoroughly revulsed at the sight of arrogant sinners, yet in his mercy he tells us to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he will save us.

What, then, must we do to be saved? In Isaiah 55:7 we read, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” In Isaiah 45:22 God tells us, “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.” Every other god is a lie; thus, we must repent of our religion and false gods and trust in the one true living God.

Such a view of salvation is not politically correct, especially in our time, but that is not right. Jesus Christ is God-the Creator of the ends of the earth, the Redeemer of all his people, the alone almighty, sovereign, coming King.

How many evangelical preachers today pretend that everyone worships the same God? By their lies, they are causing many people to go to hell. Why do you think they say such things? First, such preachers have no backbone to stand up against political correctness, and, second, they enjoy the adulation and glory they get when they make such statements on television. What happens if a preacher really preaches the gospel of salvation through Christ alone? They are told it is not appropriate to say these things. I recently saw a preacher who spoke the truth. This man publicly demanded that people repent. That is the right way to preach. We must declare that people must either believe in Jesus Christ and be saved, or continue to be proud and be lost forever and ever.

Naaman Is Healed

What happened to the proud general Naaman? When he humbled himself, he was healed. All of a sudden the Lord opened Naaman’s heart, just as he opened the heart of a later Gentile, Lydia, and Naaman decided to obey the words of Elisha. Though it was several miles away, he went down to the muddy Jordan River, stripped off all the regal garments which had covered up his spots, and plunged himself into the water-not one time, not two times, not three times, not six times. Just as Elisha said, Naaman dipped himself seven times, and as he came out of the water the last time, he was healed.

This can happen to us as well. When we trust in Jesus Christ alone, we will be saved and healed. We will become new people in our interior now and will be made new in our exterior later because God is going to give us a new body when he raises us up from the dead.

After he was healed, Naaman went back to Elisha before returning to Syria. Read his testimony in 2 Kings 5:15: “Now I know that there is no other God in all the world except in Israel.” In other words, Naaman was saying that Jehovah is the only God. He is not the more powerful God among all gods; he is the only God of all the earth. Naaman was not afraid to make a politically incorrect statement. Politically correct speech will never save anyone. This great Syrian general boldly made the correct confession: “The God of Israel is the God of all the earth.”

Naaman instantly abandoned his worship of Rimmon and told Elisha that even though he was returning to Syria, from that day forth he was going to worship the God of Israel alone. “Your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.”

Before he left, Naaman urged Elisha to accept a gift. What was Elisha’s response? In essence, he said, “Naaman, keep your money with you. Salvation is by grace through faith. It is free. Christ has purchased it for you. You receive it without price.”

May God Have Mercy on Us!

The United States of America is like Naaman. A proud, wealthy nation, we are resting on our past accomplishments. Yet there is a problem: America is also leprous and rotten to the very core. Haven’t you seen people putting the crucifix in urine and attacking biblical Christianity at every turn? Everything is allowed in our free-speech society except Jesus Christ and him crucified. That is why I say America is sick and rotting at the roots.

Yet, like Naaman, America is loved by God, and he is humbling our mighty nation for his good purpose. It is time, then, that America repented and turned to the true God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must stop all our blasphemy and mocking of the Bible. The church must stop trusting in things and pleasure instead of God. Through the events of recent days, God is helping us to humble ourselves, turn to Christ, and be saved. Look to him and you will be saved.

I hope as individuals and as a nation we will trust in Jesus Christ alone. Put all your weight on him, for he is the only sure foundation upon which we can stand. Know also that he will shake everything in order to prove the reality of that which is unshakable, which is the kingdom of God. Our God will help us and save us at this time of national humiliation.

Do not trust in technology. Our technology did not help us. Do not trust in money. It will not save us. Let us trust in the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of the covenant.

I counsel all of us today to let all pride and self-sufficiency go, and put our trust in God alone. Do not dictate the terms of salvation to God, but embrace his terms with all of your heart. Let us believe the gospel just as Naaman did. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” That is what it means to trust in God.

In Luke 13 Jesus spoke about the tower of Siloam falling. Yes, the tower fell, and the tower is telling us something. What is it? “Unless you repent, you too all will perish.” Let us be like the blind man of John 9. Jesus put mud on his eyes and told him, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” He went to the Pool of Siloam and washed and came back saved. That is the gospel.

God is humbling us to show us his grace and save us. Therefore, let us humble ourselves, turn to God, and be saved. Then our God will fight for us and deliver us from all our enemies, including the militant Islamic fundamentalists who are interested in destroying us completely. God humbled them before and he will humble them again, provided we as a nation repent, get rid of the rot, and trust in Jesus Christ.

I pray that all of us will take this opportunity to repent, to humble ourselves before God so we can be saved. Consider what Jeremiah says about the nature of our guilt: “Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap”-that is speaks of self-salvation-“the stain of your guilt is still before me” (Jeremiah 2:22). We cannot save ourselves. But in Jeremiah 3:22 God declares, “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding,” and in Isaiah 53:5 the cure is given: “By his wounds we are healed.”

May God have mercy upon us this day! May he forgive our arrogance, our self-sufficiency, our trust in money, our greed, our seeking of pleasure in this world, our manufacturing our own way of salvation, and our dictating to him what he should do so that we be saved. May we humble ourselves before him, and may he heal us, cure us, save us, and remove the stain of guilt from our spirit as we trust in Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross. May God apply the blood of Jesus Christ upon all of us, blot out our transgressions, cast them behind his back, bury them in the depths of the sea, and remember them no more. And then may we worship and serve our living God with gratitude all the remaining days of our lives. Amen.