Daniel 3:13–28
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
“Be Faithful unto Death, and I Will Give You the Crown of Life”
In Christ Jesus, who entered into the pit for our sakes, so that we might be delivered from the fire, dear follow redeemed!
You’re a farmer and in the Spring, you go to the seed salesman to pick up your seed for planting. To your surprise, as you enter the lot, there is a line leading to the new government officials overseeing distribution of the seed that are requiring all the farmers to pledge fealty and bow down to the official pagan god of the nation. Bow down and receive your seed for planting or refuse and be killed. What do you do?
You are a student who enters the school doors and are immediately rushed to the school auditorium with all the other students. In the front is a man from the government demanding everyone to deny Christ and honor the President. If you do, you go back to class. If you don’t, you are sent to the gallows. The crowds are cheering. Arm guards are gathered. You’re now next in line. What do you do?
These might seem like extreme examples of situations where we are called to confess Christ, but this type of life-or-death situation was no hypothetical for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were exiles in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. They were suddenly summoned before the King. It was a situation of life or death. Despite the threat, they did not waver under pressure. They confessed their faith before kings. They were faithful and Christ has given them the crown of life. By God’s grace, we will see these three men in the resurrection.
This morning, on the Festival of All Saints, I would like for us to consider as our theme the words of our Lord Jesus, recorded in St. John’s Revelation, where he said, “Be Faithful unto Death, and I Will Give You the Crown of Life” (Revelation 2:10).
Now before we get into what it means to carry the cross, to be a Christian, to be a saint, we should remember how these three men got to Babylon in the first place. As we have heard the last few weeks, the people of Israel struggled with the temptation of following the gods of other nations. Due to their unbelief and failure to turn away from these idols and return to the one true God of Israel, the Lord brought it about that Jerusalem would be destroyed because of their unbelief. This destruction was dealt out by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar was a ruthless leader of the most powerful empire in the world. These rulers would often take the people from the lands they had conquered and bring them to another land which would help prevent any future rebellions. And we are told that the best and brightest, were taken into the king’s court to be trained in the ways of the Chaldeans. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were at most teenagers were among those Israelites who were taken to serve in the king’s palace. Yet, God did not forget about them. The Lord raised these men to prominent positions in Babylon because Daniel was the only one who could interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
Some years later, Nebuchadnezzar decided to pay tribute to one of his gods by building a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, which would be about ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He called all his officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. He commanded everyone at the sound of the music to fall down and worship the gold image. He said, “whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” Some Chaldeans had become aware that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had not attended the dedication. Due to their jealousy that these three had such prominent positions in Babylon, they accused them of purposefully ignoring the king’s command because “they do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” These accusers purposely tried to make these three men seem as though they had no regard for the king. This explains Nebuchadnezzar’s rage that we hear about in the very first verse of our lesson.
Nebuchadnezzar immediately called these men before him. “Is it true… that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?” Here’s your chance—worship my god and his image I made. All will be fine. “But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Nebuchadnezzar last line was meant to show that only his god had the power to save. That was the Babylonian god he wanted them to worship. He was trying to intimidate and manipulate them into worshipping his god.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not cower in fear from his threat. They confessed their faith. If their God existed, he would be able to deliver them from the fiery pit. These three men were not told that God would deliver them, God does not always save us from earthly hardship, which is why they added: “But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” What a statement. What a confession of faith! What confidence in God who would deliver them—whether that be from the fire or at the time of their death. They believed in the resurrection.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew the words of Moses, “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him” (Deut. 6:13). They did not fear the king, they feared and served God alone. They knew that to bow down to the golden image would compromise their faith. Despite being in a foreign land with a foreign people with foreign gods, they had learned not to turn away from the one true God. They knew he was the only God who could and would save them. They knew that following the true God comes at a cost. There is a cost of being a disciple of Jesus. For them, it was the threat of losing their lives. As Christians, this should be no surprise. Our Savior said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” Christians face various challenges to our faith in this world. But our crosses come in all different shapes and sizes—but they will come.
What are the challenges you and I face today? The objections to our faith might not come in the same forms as they did for these three men—but they do come. I think of the student who is confronted by their teacher over the teachings of evolution or gender identity. It’s not easy to say what goes against popular opinion. Your teacher might look down on you, your peers might make fun of you. It’s easy to fear man more than God. Do we worship God or the man-made theologies of our day? I think of parents who are pressured to take the advice of society that they must do this and that for their kids— rather than making God’s Word a priority, even if that means missing the hockey tournament. I think of people who are put in situations where immoral and ungodly opinions and actions are promoted at work or in social circles, and they are afraid of what might happen if they speak up or refrain. But it’s not just opposition from the world we face, we wrestle against our own sinful flesh. We are tempted to sin every day. Do we bow down to the false gods of money, power, and sexual satisfaction, or do we say no to sin, and yes to God?
To say no to this world is not easy. You might lose social status for being out of vogue and standing up for biblical morality. You might be labeled a fool for believing in a six-day creation or any other Scriptural teaching. You might lose a boyfriend for saying “no” to things which are reserved for marriage. You might have to humble yourself when you say “no” to your sinful pride and ask for forgiveness from God, your spouse, neighbor, or child who you sinned against.
Today is All Saints’ Day where we remember the lives of those faithful people who have gone before us. When we hear about the lives of saints like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego or the description that Jesus’ gives of God’s people in the Beatitudes, we are rightly impressed by their boldness and faithfulness. Yet, it can also be quite convicting. Have we lived up to Jesus’ description of a Christian or have we not always been meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, borne evil with patience, and pursued righteousness with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind? Have we always confessed our faith in God like these Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego or denied him when it mattered most?
How can we expect to be called saints when we are not only by nature sinful, but daily fail to live up to Christ’s description? The truth is that none of use deserve to be called saints. None of us deserve to be saved. “All have fallen short of the glory of God.” Only God can make a sinner a saint. Only God can save us. This is just as true for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as it is for you and me. And what a comfort, that God doesn’t leave us in the pit!
It took God’s angel, or as some have suggested, the pre-incarnate Christ, to come and save these three men from the fiery furnace. Either way, the one like the Son of God, should remind us and point us to Jesus, who became man, entering the pit of despair, to save us from the fiery pits of hell which we deserved because of our sins. Our Lord Jesus, true God and true man, lived a perfect life in our place and carried all our sins to the cross, so that we might be saved from the punishment we deserved. Jesus fulfilled every one of the Beatitudes—he was merciful, meek, righteous, and bore rebuke with patience, so that his perfect life could be given to you and me through faith in him. His resurrection on the third day is proof that he has won our salvation! Just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego confessed that they knew that God would deliver—whether that be from the fire or at their death by bringing them to heaven—so do we. We have a God who has defeated our enemies of sin, death, and the devil.
How do you know this? How do you know that you are a saint? Because you have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and robed in his righteousness in the waters of holy Baptism, declared forgiven in absolution, and given the food of immortality in Christ’s body and blood. We should never despair—not only do we have a God who helps us in our need, but we have a merciful Lord who forgave Peter who denied him, Paul who persecuted him, and you and me.
It is this gracious, merciful, and loving God who we trust in and confess before men. He gives us examples of the saints before us, sinners who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, for our examples and encouragement. He cares about us just as he did the three men in the fiery furnace. He lifts up those who have fallen short like David and Peter. God calls us to be faithful, to confess our sins and believe in Jesus, because he has prepared a place for you and me where there is no sin or sadness, but joy and gladness. We will have our own crosses to bear in this life, but God will be with us through them all and we know what awaits us. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.