Behind the Veil- A Journey From Hidden to Risen – part 6

by Pastor Gina Johnson

What follows is a transcript of Pastor Gina’s message from our Sunday morning gathering. We share these messages on our blog for those who appreciate the opportunity to read the sermon again—whether for deeper reflection, personal study, or a quieter moment of prayer and introspection. As you read, we invite you to linger with the words, notice what resonates, and remain open to how God may be speaking to you through them.

So here we are in week six of our Lent journey. And you know, there are moments in life where you get to and everything feels clear. It's moments for, you know, everything's lining up.

Things are just exactly in place. You got your ducks in a row, your poop in a group, whatever little saying you want, it's fantastic. And you might even think, you know what? I know exactly what this means.

This is all coming together. This is going to be great. And then if you fast forward later in life, you have that moment where you're like, well, that wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be.

And it always turns out that it is what exactly it should be, but there's that moment of going from, I know what's happening here, I got this all figured out, it's lining up, it's great, to like, well, that's not what I thought was going to happen. And that's where we are in the Esther story as we've been going week after week, walking with Esther and with Jesus. And so Esther stepped forward, as you all can remember, and the tension had been growing because there was a decree set out that the Jews were all going to be annihilated on this particular day.

And Haman, Big Head Haman is what we can call him, he was feeling on top of the world, but he had a pebble in his boot called Mordecai and decided to build a gallows that would take care of Mordecai, then he could be the king in his mind that he's always tried to be. But if you guys remember, I asked you to put a pin in something, because before we can continue in the story, something very interesting happens, and we'll begin in Esther chapter six. That night, the king could not sleep, so he ordered the book of the Chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.

It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigtana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway who had conspired to assassinate the king. "'What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?' the king asked. "'Nothing has been done for him,' his attendants answered.

The king said, "'Who is in the court?' Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had erected for him. His attendants answered, "'Haman is standing in the court. Bring him in,' the king ordered.

When Haman entered, the king asked him, "'What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?' Now Haman thought to himself, "'Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?' So he answered the king, "'For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe that the king has worn and a horse that the king has ridden. One with royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to the one of the king's most noble princes.

Let them robe the man the king delights to honor and lead him on the horse through the city streets proclaiming before him, this is what is done for the man the king delights to honor.'" So it's just like that. Haman walks in as the king is trying to determine what should be done for Mordecai. How can we honor this man who has saved my life? But Haman, he's just a couple seconds behind because he doesn't even know who the king is talking about.

He thinks the king and I are buddies. He is going to finally show everyone who I am to him. He's like, so I want to wear his robe.

I want to ride his horse. I want someone escorting me down the road and saying, this is the one the king loves to honor. This is the noblest of all the king's men.

And so he's excited, but there is a shift there because when that's taking place, he says, okay, then go and have all of this done for Mordecai. Surprise, and Haman is not happy at all. Everything shifts so quickly.

The man who thought he was rising was now humbled and Mordecai is dressed in the robe with all the adornments as he is the one being led through the city announced in greatness. But you know, the story doesn't end there. The story goes to the second banquet and things continue to unfold because if you remember at the first banquet, the king says, what would you like up to half my kingdom? And Esther says, well, if you found favor, come back, let's do lunch again tomorrow.

And then I will ask you what it is that I am wanting. And so this time she doesn't even hesitate. They're at the table and he says, Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you.

What is your request? Even up to half my kingdom. And she doesn't hold back. She says, if I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life.

This is my petition and spare my people. This is my request for I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, but no such distress would justify disturbing the king.

And the king asks Esther, who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing? And Esther says, the adversary and enemy is the vile Haman. And it's in that moment where Haman is terrified. He's sitting there at that dinner, thinking all is going well.

And in that moment, Esther doesn't beat around the bush. She says, I have been set forth for annihilation. And the one who did it is your right hand man sitting right beside you.

He is the vile and evil one. He is the enemy of me and my people. And the king is furious.

And he says to Haman, will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house? And as soon as the word of the king went out there, one of his attendants pointed out to him, a gallows 75 feet high stands by Haman's house. He had made it for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king. And that's when the king says, hang him on it.

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai and the king's fury had subsided. So in that moment, it's Esther who then declares the truth, who reveals something that has been hidden away. And now she is taking what has been used to destroy her and her people and revealing the truth.

In that moment, as everything hidden is brought into the light, things change quickly. And once that truth is spoken, it cannot be undone. Once the truth is revealed, it cannot go back the other way.

So it's interesting, Haman built this in pride. He built this in reaction. He thought this gallows and getting rid of Mordecai would secure his future, but in return, it sealed his fate.

And this is something that's very important to us because there's a lot of moments in our lives where things we think are staying the same, where we think nothing is happening, but we still feel the tension around us. And we have to be careful because if we react out of pride, if we react from a place of not sitting in the truth and we just say, no, this is how it should be, this is how I'm going to make it happen, eventually what has been being built is going to come into the light. Sometimes things are working under the surface that we cannot see, and it's really important that we allow ourselves that moment of pause because until things are fully revealed, we don't always know which way the story is going to go.

Haman didn't fall in a single moment. It was throughout this entire, it's about 10 years that the book of Esther takes place, that he is constantly moving for his own ambition. He's going for what he thinks needs to happen and what should be done.

And every time something goes against that, he is reacting from pride and he is reacting from tension. And that's something that we do sometimes in our own life. We build things out of thoughts and reactions and we build stories in our mind of something that we think is going to happen, but what we eventually realize is if we sort of stayed present to the moment, if we would have put our trust in God, if we would have recognized that we do not have to make the way, that the way will be revealed to us as we continue to follow our God, as we continue to do what is right, to love our neighbor, to help one another, things will be revealed.

But when we think that we have to come up with a plan to make things our way, to make us in the limelight, to glorify us in what we're doing, to buy our safety and security, that's when we're losing sight and losing recognition of who our God is. Haman didn't even have an understanding of anything like this because he didn't even believe what the Israelite people believed, but he definitely had the common sense to know that if this is the king and you are acting in adversity towards the king, eventually that's going to come out and that was something that he wasn't counting on. It's interesting because we have one parade taking place over here in which we thought was going to be, well, Haman thought was going to be for him, but this was a parade that declared justice and truth.

This was a parade that brought Haman to an end and set the Jewish people free. And this is where Palm Sunday comes in because there's another parade taking place. Jesus enters Jerusalem and the crowds have gathered.

They lay down their palm branches and they're shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And it looks like victory. It looks like what they've been waiting for.

They've been expecting someone to come as the prophesied Messiah, someone who is going to free them, someone who is going to restore everything to as it should be with God's chosen people being taken care of. They were waiting for a king that came with power. They were waiting for a king that would take control out of the wrong hands and place it back in their hands.

And as Jesus came in that moment, I'm sure there were some who were confused, some who were a little bit frustrated, some who didn't know what to think, but the majority that's always painted in the picture is they were celebrating. Hosanna, Hosanna. They were so excited.

Could you just imagine little kids running, filled with excitement, throwing palm branches down, people taking off their cloaks. What else were they laying at his feet because they all had that same thought. This is finally happening.

I know exactly what this means. See, they didn't understand yet the victory that they were seeing as Jesus came riding in on the donkey. You know, in Mordecai's story, we can see that justice has shown up.

Freedom is there. The outcome makes sense. But when we look at Jesus's story, it's unfolding in a different way, a deeper way.

There is still gonna be justice. There is still going to be freedom, but this is the moment that begins to change everything. People are celebrating in that moment of that day, but they're actually celebrating something they can't even see yet.

And at this moment, they're celebrating something that they're not even aware of. It's interesting because we're standing here in between two parades. In one story, everything is finished.

Haman's story is over. What was built has fallen. The threat has been taken care of and the people are free.

But as Jesus is entering Jerusalem, this story is not yet finished. You know, sometimes in our own lives, we stand in the middle of a moment that looks clear and still we don't fully understand what God is doing. And if we're truthful about it, none of us are standing in the same place today.

It doesn't matter how long we've known each other, if we've grown up together, if we're in the same age or hang in the same circles. The truth is, some of you are looking at parts of your life and thinking, you know, this feels finished. Things here are ending.

This here is coming to a close. Something's been resolved in my life and now, you know, I can look forward to the next chapter. Some of you are probably in the middle of something and have that feeling of, I don't quite know how this is gonna turn out, but you can feel it building.

You can feel the tension as much as you can feel the excitement. Like, okay, I'm right in the middle of it. It's right there on the horizon.

And then maybe some of you woke up this morning and felt that, you know, this is just the beginning. Here we are at a fresh start. There's something new taking place.

I know it and I can feel it. And again, you don't necessarily fully understand. And Holy Week comes in and invites us to sit where we are, in all three places.

Are you at the end? Are you in the middle? Are you at the beginning? Because Holy Week invites you to pay attention to these moments. Remember the story of Holy Week, but walk in it. Because all of you know, okay, it's Palm Sunday, so next Sunday is Easter Sunday.

We've got family, we've got dinners. This is when we celebrate the resurrection. There should be more people in church.

Oh, should I wear white because it's Easter Sunday? See, it's so quick to go from this Sunday to check and now what about next Sunday? But we have a whole week here. We have a week to walk side by side with Jesus. We have a week to go from celebration to confusion, from clarity to silence, to thinking we know it all, to recognizing you know what? There might be some things here that we don't quite know yet, but let's just be still.

Let's move through Holy Week along with Jesus and ask those questions. Pay attention to the moments that aren't making sense right now. Pay attention to those places that seem unclear and recognize that the Holy Spirit will walk with you and give you discernment and always bring you to that place of peace and clarity.

If we would always look at what we think is obvious and recognize that what is obvious might actually be missing what God is doing in it. So just pausing for a minute, instead of thinking, I know how this goes, I know how this is gonna unfold, saying, you know, what could God be doing in this situation that I'm not seeing? What could God be calling me into that I'm not answering because I'm not even stopping to hear the call? What could God have already laid out the answers, the plans, the provision, but I'm not slowing down long enough to receive them into my hands? Ask yourself, am I holding onto something that needs to get released so I can step into the fullness of my resurrection? Am I expecting something to look a certain way as I go into this next chapter, this beautiful season of spring? Am I able to just fully trust and understand that it all comes together even if I can't see it all? So as we go into this week, don't rush the story because you think you already know it. Our God is an awesome God.

Our God is full of surprises and love and provision, and he's inviting you to walk this week beside him. And whatever feels clear, whatever feels unclear, may this be a place where we recognize, through God, great things are happening and something is going to change. Please pray with me.

Our gracious and loving God, as we recognize and we remember who you are, how your grace and your glory, your love for us surpasses anything that may be on the path before us, God, we thank you for the clarity that you give us, the guidance, the discernment, and we trust that as we move through this week, that you will continue to reveal to us where can we be the greatest expression of your love? Where can we be the greatest outreach of your hands? Where can we be the stillness that people are needing around them so they know that you are there, present, faithful? God, use us as your instruments. May we be the song of your heart, the song of love and healing, the song of hope and compassion, the song of strength and peace. We're so grateful for your word.

May we hear what is meant for us, and may the rest fall away. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.