Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - God's Holiness & The Most Important Thing About You | Isaiah 6 Explained

Episode Date: April 28, 2026

Why does worship feel shallow? Why does preaching feel flat? Why has passion for God gone cold? The answer might be simpler — and more uncomfortable — than you think: a low view of God.This episode is sponsored by The Master's University. To learn more about how you can invest in a college education devoted to Christ & Scripture, visit https://www.masters.edu In this episode, we open in Isaiah 6 — widely considered the greatest passage on the holiness of God in all of Scripture — and trace it through the story of King Uzziah, the seraphim, Palm Sunday in John 12, and the return of Christ in Revelation 19. What we find is a thread that ties the whole Bible together: God is a holy King, and understanding that changes everything.Topics we cover:What A.W. Tozer meant when he said your view of God is the most important thing about youKing Uzziah — what pride, prosperity, and a low view of God's holiness cost him- The seraphim in Isaiah 6 — who they are and why they cover their facesWhat "Holy, Holy, Holy" actually means (and why it's the only attribute tripled in Scripture)The connection between Isaiah 6 and Palm Sunday in John 12- Why God is not self-deprecating — and why that's actually good newsThe difference between a quantitative and qualitative view of GodRevelation 19 and the return of the KingReferenced: Isaiah 6, 2 Chronicles 26, John 12, Revelation 4 & 19, Tozer, Sinclair Ferguson, RC Sproul, Spurgeon, Michael Horton

Sometimes people ask, why is maybe worship so trivialized or trendy? Why is preaching weak and flat and why is passion for God lost at sea? Well, the answer to all those questions would be that we need to elevate and magnify our understanding of who God is. And a low view of God leads to low views of holiness, his holiness, which would consequently lead to low views of our sin, which would lead to low views of the cross of Jesus Christ, which would lead to low views of grace. And if your view of grace is low, then it isn't amazing to you, even if that's what you might sing. Hank, how are we doing? Doing great, Johnny. I have a question for you.

Go ahead. First, how are you doing? I'm doing well. What is the scariest airplane experience you've had in your life? Probably there was a point in I was flying from a little airport in Nepal to another tiny airport in Nepal at the Himalayan Plateau. and I remember that the plane was shaking so much and there was an elderly woman next to me. I have a photo of it.

I might even post it over this section. Look here. She is holding my hand and praying. And I'm like, she was scared. So anyways, it was one of those or there's been a couple like internationally that have been like, you know, the little puddle jumpers, the Cessnais.

Why do you ask? I'm a man who's prone to hyperbole. And so I'm going to right size and tell, the truth on this one with no hyperbole. I thought I was going to die last week on a flight back to Nashville from D.C. We were coming in and we were trying to beat some

thunderstorms that were rolling into Nashville. And pilot comes on as like, hey, it's going to be choppy as we're coming in for this landing. And also, turbulence doesn't really bother me. Like, I've flown enough that it's that doesn't get under my skin. It makes your tummy sick. I've got a sensitive to tell me that's a separate topic.

We're coming in. I'm not exaggerating. it's like, oh yeah, okay, turbulence is beginning. We start hitting pockets of air and wind that are making us, I'm not exaggerating, probably drop hundreds of feet in like movements. And I had a weird moment where I was looking at my window. I've never seen there is a black curtain of nonstop incessant lightning rolling in over our left wing. Our right wing is in beautiful sunshine.

I literally had a moment with my iPad open on my lap, watching House of David, just thinking, I didn't know this is how it was going to end. Did you think you're going to die? I sincerely just thought, like, what a wild way to go. Did you think it was the end? I kind of did. And you didn't give me a text? No.

I literally just thought, that's ladies and gentlemen, all you need to know. Oh, stop it. Johnny hasn't responded to a text in months. But anyway. You have to give a text me. I literally thought, I'm going to ask Johnny. And then I genuinely in the back of my mind, I thought it's probably going to be some flight in Nepal. I didn't nail that.

Well, yeah. I mean, we're popping a guinea. All right, what are we talking about time, Johnny? Well, I'm glad you're alive and mad that you feel like I was worth saying goodbye to. To live as Christ and dies game. I thought I was going to do your funeral. All right, never mind. You're probably familiar with the line.

I love this line by A.W. Tozer. He says, what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you, how you view God determines and dictates the rest of your life. The most revealing thing about a nation is their view of God. The most revealing thing about a church is their view of God. and the most revealing thing about an individual is their view of God. A low view of God leads to low views of holiness, his holiness, which would consequently lead to low views of our sin,

which would lead to low views of the cross of Jesus Christ, which would lead to low views of grace. And if your view of grace is low, then it isn't amazing to you, even if that's what you might sing. Low views of God make the Christian life seem stale and mechanical. Sometimes people ask why is maybe worship so trivialized or trendy? Why is preaching weak and flat and why is passion for God lost at sea? Well, the answer to all those questions would be that we need to elevate and magnify our understanding of who God is.

And in order to grow in our understanding of God's character, we have to turn to His Word and we pray as we do so, like before even this episode when we start recording, we pray. And one of our prayers is, you know, that I pray often before I preach is that this increased, knowledge of God as revealed in his word would not be the end, but the means to the end, which would be an increased relationship with this God. And today, what I want to focus on is who God is as a holy king, understanding his holiness. If you miss this, you miss, I believe, what is the hub of the wheel in the realm of the attributes of God, meaning if there's a hub and there's spokes off that wheel, it's been

said by theologians and commentators, that God's holiness is the hub of the wheel and all of his other attributes, his love, his justice, are connected to this central attribute of God, which is His holiness. And before we go, that was such an important point. I want to make sure we don't gloss over it too quickly. The intent in having these conversations is explicitly not that people would come away with like a greater intellectual understanding of kind of the right answer to theological questions or matters of the Bible or practical living.

Those are all really good things. But your point there, which is so critical we can't blow by it, is that we want it to breed an elevated view of God that it might lead to a life of worship. A life of worship, correct. You know what I want to, at least, we're going to end up in a couple different passages in this episode, but I want to begin in 2nd Chronicles 26

on a quest of growing in our understanding of God's character. This passage in Isaiah 6 is rooted against the backdrop of a story. And I love preaching narrative. You know, sometimes we forget that the Bible is not just propositional truth. It's not just do this, don't do this. It's a story. And a lot of God's commandments and the revelation of who he is and his character is against the backdrop of historical events in the life of Israel. And in Second Chronicles 26, we read this story of Uzziah, who became king at 16 years old.

It says in verse 2, he built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his father's. It says he was 16 years old when he became king and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. and his mother's name was Gekilia. There's one for you. In verse four, it said, he did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father and Isaiah had done.

He continued to seek God in the days of Zachariah, that's the prophet, who had understanding through the vision of God, and watch this. It says, as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him. So, bottom line, Uzziah, 16 years old,

he becomes king in Jerusalem. And it says here, there's a condition attached. As long as he sought the Lord, God would prosper him. And that's exactly what God did. If you look with me to verse 7, it says God helped him against the Philistines. He built towers. Verse 10 in the wilderness.

He hewed many cisterns for he had much livestock. And this guy's blowing up. This is like, oh, this king is awesome. Verse 11, he had an army ready for battle, a standing army of 307,000 men. It says who could wage war with great power. It says in verse 15, he made engines of war. He's an inventor. He's a skilled engineer.

And it says that he placed men on towers and on corners, for the purpose of shooting arrows and stones. Meaning he's coming up with new warfare techniques. He's coming up with new inventions. And all of this is a derivative of God's blessing on his life because it says that when he became king, as long as he sought the Lord, God would prosper him. He was famous.

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looking to pursue higher education. And just one thing to note here, if prosperity doesn't humble you, it will blind you with pride. And this is what we see in the life of Uzziah. Watch this. In verse 16, it says, but, and again, I love that,

you know, the contrasting conjunction, it's just talking about in the first 15 verses, this guy is the man. He's dominant. His army, his engineering, it's off the charts. Verse 16, but when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Now just contextually, this is a big deal. It says he entered the temple of the Lord to offer incense. This is something that Numbers 18 says that only can be done. by a priest. And anybody else that attempts to offer incense in the temple of the Lord that was not a priest was to be put immediately to death.

But what's at play here? And there's no verse that explicitly says this right away, but you're beginning to kind of catch something about Uzziah. He's becoming really comfortable with God. God has blessed him. God has prospered him. And now Uzziah, the king of Jerusalem,

he's cavalier, he's confident, he's nonchalant, he's numb. And he, Connor McGregors, kind of into the temple and says, give me that, takes it from the priest, and begins to offer incense. His strength, his popularity, his notoriety, his wisdom, his influence had gone to his head. And so what happens is he presumes and assumes that God is going to continue to bless him, even if he is walking in disobedience.

And the main thing that's happening here is Uzziah is becoming high in his mind without a tethered elevation of the character of God. And so he's starting to view himself as, me and God ain't so different. And then watch what happens. It says, then Azariah, the priest entered after him. And with 80 priests of the Lord, valiant men, they opposed Uzziah, the king and said to him, it is not for you, Uzziah to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the son of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense, get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the Lord God.

But Uzziah, with the censor in his hand for burning incense, was enraged. And while he was enraged with the priest, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priest and the house of the Lord besides the altar of incense. Azariah, the chief priest, and all the priests looked at him

and behold, he was lepros on his forehead and they hurried them out of there and he himself also hastened to get out of there because the Lord had smitten him. Watch this. Final verse here. Verse 21. King Uzziah, once prominent and powerful,

was a leper. to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the Lord. It says in Second Kings 15-5, same thing. The Lord struck the king so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house while his son ruled over the land. And this was the case until he died.

It's a sad point in Israel's history, and it marks the beginning of the decline of the vibrancy of the Jewish faith, because of the king's apathy towards the holiness of God, who God was as king, they became consequently as a nation, much like their king. They had a diminished view of God, and when you have a diminished view of God, you think you can approach him any way you want, there are disastrous consequences. There's two things there that stick out to me. One, I feel like we need to do a whole separate episode on what gave those 80 priests,

valiant men of God, the courage to stand up 100%. I mean, that is, I was one of those where it's just like, I want to be one of those dudes. Side note, the Old Testament's awesome. I mean, electric. Welcome to the Electric Factory. But that separate episode, we need to return to that at another time because it's this wild juxtaposition of all of his power. And for them to stand there, that story, they don't know how that's going to be written. And so you can imagine a totally different outcome for those 80.

As an aside, back on task here. If I'm listening to this, I'm thinking like, okay, great, but I'm not Uzziah. I'm not a great man of renowned. I'm not extravagantly wealthy in charge of an entire kingdom. I'm not an engineer. I'm the inverse of an engineer. So practically, though, how does that necessarily apply to me? Or what's the through line of the view of God?

Like, I'm not prone to make those same mistakes. Yeah, well, I think there's a couple different things at play. First of all, it's the backdrop against which I would say the greatest passage in all of Scripture talking about the holiness of God is given. And so contextually, when you look at the Old Testament, and you go, it's in this context, King Uzziah, that we turn to Isaiah 6 and we begin to grasp. And again, when we go to the scripture, my friend Eric Tonus always says, we're on a hunt for the character of God. So the Bible's not primarily, how does this apply to me? The Bible is primarily a story that reveals God's character.

And so that's our first and foremost question, and then we'll get to the practical, maybe about me afterwards. But Isaiah 6 begins this year, this way, in the year of King Uzziah's death. No coincidences in the Bible, by the way. I, Isaiah, Isaiah 6 says, verse 1, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. I want to just make some observations as we make our way through the text.

I want you to notice where the king is sitting. Now, in the year of King Uzziah's death, Isaiah is going to have a vision of the supreme king of the universe. And notice, again, where he is sitting. It says he's sitting on a throne. He's not in a lazy boy for him to relax. It's been noted that he's not at a conference table

where he co-rules with his buddy. He's not in a stadium watching the events of the world while he's eating popcorn. He's on a throne. Why? Because God rules and reigns. And the position of the throne is not at eye level. It's lofty and exalted. There's nothing normal about this God.

He is transcendent. He is greatly elevated. And the positioning of his throne details and denotes the superiority of the king that sits upon it. Now, notice what the king is. wearing. It says the train of his robe fills the temple. Robs in the ancient world were symbols of majesty. It displayed the extent of the sovereignty of the individual that wore them. And Isaiah's vision

here says that the train of his robe fills the temple, meaning there is no room for anyone or anything else to stand. This is massive glory. I'm, you know, speaking of Papua, getting, I remember one time in the tribes, you have kind of these priests and they wear these big headdresses and the taller the headdress is kind of representative of their power and their influence. And that's what we have here with the train of his robe. One thing, and we'll do an episode and you've heard me preach on this, there is nothing self-deprecating about God. He is jealous for his glory. And when we look to the revelation of who God is, he's not shy or modest. That's why when Isaiah sees God, he's on a throne, lofty and exalted, and the train of his robe fills the temple.

Now, I want you to notice the king's audience. It says in verse two, seraphim stood above him, each having six wings, with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. So there's seraphim warriors. These are not fat little chunky boss babies, you know, and I think sometimes we have this idea of a cherub. You know, Tom and Jerry strumming a harp or whatever. Always curly hair. It's always, yeah. And they're always right on the edge of.

Gerber babies. Yeah, they're not fit. I'll say that. Yeah, they're not fit. A seraphim, though, literally means a burning one. They are spirits that dwell on the presence of God. And because our God is a consuming fire, they become like the one that they represent and the one in whose presence they dwell.

They are holy angels. And their purity is dependent upon the one they reflect. Michael Horton says this. God's holiness is inherent. He is not like the moon that reflects the light of another great source. So they are burning creatures. Now, I want to look at their anatomy here.

God structures, you know, creatures anatomy to fit their environment, meaning that pandas have like an extra appendage to be able to grab leaves. We could have gone with fish in the ocean. Oh, with pandas. Fish with gills. You know, whatever you want to talk about,

birds in the air. these seraphim warriors have six wings. It says with two they cover their face. Let's talk about that for a moment. Why? Why does God have, why do the seraphim warriors have two wings, or six wings, and two of which they cover their face? Well, to shield their eyes from beholding the unvarnished glory of God.

I want you to think about it for a moment, because I've looked at this with you in Second Kings before, that one angel wipes out 185,000 to Syrians in the blink of an eye. and yet these seraphim are so in tune with the dissonance and distinction between them and God that with two of the six wings that they possess they are shielding their eyes from God's glory

Spurgeon says they also might be saying don't look at us look at him why would you look at the lesser reflected glory meaning they are also cognizant that don't waste your time with us it says with two wings they cover their feet meaning that these are symbols of creatureliness

they were symbols that they're not God, they're not the creator, and so they covered their feet, and it says with two wings they fly, meaning that they are ready to do the bidding of God. And they have an anthem, and I want you to notice the anthem that they sing in verse three. And one called out to another, Seraphim to seraphim.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory, and the foundations of the threshold trembled at the voice of him who called out while the temple was filling with smoke, meaning that they are crying out back and forth to one another. You know, I remember hearing R.C. Sprult, on this passage after college and I was listening to him on these Ligonier series.

And he said it's the strongest form of superlative in the Bible, meaning that God is love. First John 4 says, you know, God is love. He is merciful and so forth. But there's only one attribute of God elevated to this superlative degree where there is this threefold emphasis. There's only one attribute where it says it three times in a row, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Now, I think sometimes we say this word holy,

but I don't actually think we understand what it means. And I want to talk about that for a moment. I like what Sinclair Ferguson says. He says, God's holiness means he is separate, separate from sin. But holiness also means wholeness, W.H. Holness. God's holiness is his godness. It is his being God and all that it means for him to be God. To meet God and His holiness, therefore, is watch this,

to be altogether overwhelmed by the discovery that he is God and not a man, meaning he's nothing like us. And I've heard it said before that God's holiness is not quantitative, meaning he's not more than, he's not bigger and better, but qualitative, meaning he's totally other than us. But I think growing up in the church, or even growing up reading the Bible, you have this idea that God is almost like a powerful genie, and he's stronger than us.

And so he's, yeah, he's much bigger. My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. We sing it, but it's not just that God is quantitatively more. He's qualitatively other. He's nothing like us. Yeah. And I want to go back for a brief second and maybe underscore the point because you touched on, it's not, God isn't in the Bible ever self-deprecating.

And actually, I'll maybe confess for me, as I remember as a kid distinctly, that was actually almost hard for me of thinking like, is God arrogant? And for anyone who's listening and wrestling with those same principles, the reality is, no, God isn't self-deprecating because there's not. We are drawn to other people are self-deprecating because it shows a level of insight and self-awareness that they're aware they aren't as good as they may appear. Whereas with God, that doesn't exist. He is as good as he appears. No, he's actually better.

And there's nothing that compares to him. So for him to be self-deprecating would be misleading. And it's God's being idolatry. A hundred percent. For him to allow you to worship anything or anyone else. And it's the opposite of arrogance. It's loving kindness that he is. self-deprecating and missing the point.

And it relates back to your holiness point of that he is completely other. And we almost get the idea of like my son who turns five next month. You know, I'm a bigger version of like what he'll be. And it's easy for, he looks at me and I can almost see the way I looked at my dad. And it's almost we can do the same to God. But your point is, no, no, no. It's not like he's our dad 10 foot tall version. Yeah.

He's. Totally other. Not 100%. And that's what holiness means is other. Otherness. Exodus 1511 asked the question, who is like the Lord? And the answer is what? No one.

No one. You're not almost God. God never defines himself by comparing himself to anything else, meaning he doesn't say, like, I'm like this, but more, you know, in the sense of, and obviously God says, I'm the bread of life and so forth. But there's nothing in no one that is anything like him. More than any other attribute, God is identified by his own holiness. He has a holy word in his presence, Moses,

on holy ground, the priests were holy garments as they approached God in this holy temple. The fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy because it is a holy day. In 1 Peter, we are a holy people and his name is holy. Isaiah 5715 says, for thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, watch this, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place and also with him who is contrite and lowly spirit to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. God is marked over and over again in Scripture by His Holiness. And no one yawns at this.

No one fist bumps God. And I talked about it before, and I don't mean it derogatorily. But sometimes you see people wearing those shirts or bumper stickers. God is my homeboy. But understanding in the scripture, God is the king of the universe. And there's nothing cavalier about the way that we approach him. He is our friend, and we don't want to lose sight of that. But he is a holy king.

And that's worth clarifying is I think it's easy. In these episodes, we're exploring like a central point from Isaiah 6 here. You're not saying, I could hear someone responding like, oh my goodness, they're berating this holiness point, but God is love. And maybe your response would be he is love. He is all of his attributes at all times in full measure. It's a great line. Two years and we're cooking, baby.

No, but I would say practically in your response, like when you say no one yawns at God, there's actually, I would have to confess, there are times where I can find myself getting dangerously close to losing sight or casting my eyes too low on his holiness. And this is actually a good reminder for me. You know, I think to just going along with what you're saying, sometimes people would say, you know what, God is love. But you'll always have a small view of God's love if you have a diminished view of God's holiness.

God's holiness is essential to understanding its love because in understanding his holiness, we recognize our unworthiness. And in recognizing our unworthiness, then we receive that, understand that we're the recipients of love we don't deserve. Now, in Isaiah 6'4, we continue. It says the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of the king who's calling out while the temple is filling with smoke. And I want to move through this because I want to, you just see what we're doing in John 12. But when God speaks, the thresholds of the heavens shake. I mean, have you ever been in an earthquake? Isaiah is immediately on his knees. Sometimes you know, you see these stories of people that

met God, you know, they died and went to heaven and then they came back and they write a book about it. Listen, there's a uniform response in God's word to people that stood before God. Habakkuk 3 says his knees begin to knock. John falls on his face like a dead man. And Isaiah, the most righteous man in Israel, pronounces a curse on himself and says, woe is me. A woe is what prophets would use to pronounce a curse on a sinful nation. And here is the most righteous man in Israel, the prophet of God, pronouncing a curse on his own life.

Because when he stands before God and recognizes who he is, he says, I'm done, I'm disintegrated, I'd rather die. He's absolutely petrified. Such is the effect for every individual in Scripture of standing in the presence of God. And this is a massive problem for Isaiah. And long before James writes chapter 3 of his epistle, Isaiah understands, something about the human condition. He says, I am a man of unclean lips. Why does he say that?

Well, our lips are the expressions of our heart. Jesus says out of the heart, the mouth speaks. And he says, I live among a people of unclean lips. And he says, from my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of host. Now, he's just petrified. And then it says, then one of the seraphine flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

And again, at this point, Isaiah is just aware of his finitude, the sinfulness of his own soul. He wants to die. verse 7 says he touched my mouth with it and said behold this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven i mean this is a gift right Isaiah in the moment that he understands his sin so distinctively against the backdrop of the holiness of god the angel comes to him touches his lips and says behold your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven this is a tremendous gift and then it's against this backdrop we come to kind of like the verse people reference for like missions night at church totally verse 8 then i heard the voice of the lord

saying, whom shall I send? Who will go for us? And then I said, here I am, send me. And he said, go and tell this people, keep on. Okay, so verse 8, here I am, send me. A lot of times we forget what comes after that. He says, go and tell this people, keep on listening, but do not perceive, keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand what their hearts, and return and be healed. Now, turn with me to John 12. it's against this passage that John is going to draw a connection for us. And I want to set the scene.

In John 12, Jesus enters into the city on what we know as Palm Sunday. And it says that they remained unbelieving, the Pharisees. And it says this in John 1237, and you need to see the connection here, 1237. But though He, that's Jesus, had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah, the prophet, which he had spoke. Lord, who has believed our report? We just read this in Isaiah 6. And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For this reason, they could not believe. For Isaiah said, again, or here, he has blinded their eyes and has hardened their heart so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted and I heal them. Now watch this. It says these things Isaiah said because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Now the question is, who's him? John is saying that Isaiah spoke of him. Who's him?

Jesus. Bottom line, to cut to the chase here. The most exalted vision in the Old Testament of the king of the universe sitting on a throne surrounded by fiercely loyal, angelic, seraphim warriors is that of a carpenter in John chapter 12

who is about to be slaughtered and in this passage it says they keep on persisting in unbelief. And the whole chapter 12, this is right after the resurrection of Lazarus, it's a week before Jesus is slaughtered, Palm Sunday. Here comes the king of the universe with a plot against his life and a price on his head.

He's regarded as a common criminal, and here comes the author of life and with a plan to put him to death. And now, going back to your word, we're going to juxtapose the two texts, Isaiah 6 and John 12. In Isaiah 6, his audience, is seraphim warriors. And in John 12, when John says, Isaiah spoke of him, here's Jesus,

here's his audience here. It's people lining the street, right? You got 2.5 million Jews that take that from Josephus saying that there are 256,000 lambs. When you're at the Passover, you multiply that by 10. You get the rough estimates that there are two and a half million Jews. And this is where Jesus is speaking at the time of John 12 contextually. Yeah. And here comes the one who heals the sick, feeds the multitudes, walks on water, raises the dead, and using your word, the atmosphere is electric. There are kids on their daddy's shoulders. They want to see the guide that they're about to make king. So that's the audience, not warriors, just the nation of Israel. Now, the anthem in John chapter 12, verse 13, it says they're all shouting out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name

of the Lord. They're waving palm branches. Palm branches were signs. It's the equivalent of our American flag. It's a symbol of liberation. And here comes the guy who has the keys to life and death. He just raised the dead. They're shouting out Hosanna, which means save us now. Everything Jesus did touch the very nerve of Jewish expectations regarding the Messiah. They believed it was their time for dominance. And so they want to make him their military king. Now, notice where the king is sitting here. He is not coming through the city on a golden-crusted chariot. He's not an almighty white horse. It says, and I think often we get this wrong, he's coming through Jesus. Jesus. He's coming through It says finding a young donkey.

It's not even a donkey. This is a baby donkey. And you find this polarity of the king who speaks in the thresholds of the heaven's shake in Isaiah 6. And here he comes through the city amongst the people he came to save. And it's just, eh, eh, eh, yeah. And it's a moment that you go, it's the same guy. No streets of gold, no banners or trumpets, no armed forces, no white horse, just a don't monkey symbolizing peace.

Had he said the word, they would have rushed to make him king. He could have said, I am the alpha and the omega. Everybody bow, and they would have all yielded to his supremacy, but no. And here, the one whose robe fills the temple with glory in Isaiah 6 comes through the city, wearing garments that four days later would be divided amongst those who would slaughter him. And the anthem of this crowd yelling out Hosanna, and say us now in a matter of days four or five days they're going to be shouting out we want barabbas we want barabbas we want barabbas you know one of the things about the scripture the

bible that i love is it does make you think man why would he do this right you know in john 12 you we all know the story of palm sunday you know if you've been to church on palm sunday we call them like christians you know easter christmas So everybody knows this story. But when you put it up against the backdrop that John says, quoting Isaiah 6, Isaiah saw him, that's Jesus. And sometimes I think we probably, you know, I don't know if we personalize it and say the king of the universe

sitting on the throne and Isaiah 6 is Jesus of Nazareth. Why would he do this? Well, I think to fulfill the scripture, right, but I think more than anything to goad the Pharisees into killing him. And now going back, just because that's what he came to do, he came to die for sin. And going back to your question, you know, when people rebuttal and say, well, I thought God was a God of love.

Oh, I just like to frame it this way. Like, has it ever dawned on you that the God who extends his love to you and the person and work of Jesus Christ is the supreme, lofty, exalted, elevated king of Isaiah's vision? He is a holy king. And in his holiness, what makes him so different. And again, holiness means otherness. What makes this God so other is that in humble condescending, is that in humble condescending, ascension, he stooped to love those who rejected him. And, you know, one thing, and I want you to

read this passage, when Jesus came in his first Advent, he did come in loneliness, humility, and meekness. But there's a full story in the scripture. And I want to hop in for just one second, two things. One, where we started with, I'm going to butcher his name, Uzziah. Uzziah, okay. I pose the question kind of like, okay, but I'm not a great kingly warrior who's kind of high and lifted up among his people. And to me, it's actually the exact opposite of, I'm not that way. And yet I still lose sight of this reality far too frequently.

Like, I need to be personally reminded that the God of Isaiah 6, that, you know, I had those verses like on my Instagram in high school. Here I am, send me. And John 12, that God needs to be reminded and pointed back to the forefront of my mind, regularly. Yeah, it's true. And the scripture basically concludes Revelation 19 with this different picture of Jesus, you know, in Revelation 1911, it says, and I saw heaven open. This is John speaking. And behold, the white horse, and he who sat on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire and on his head

are many diadems. And he has a name written on him, which no one knows except himself. I love that line. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies, I mean, he was largely abandoned in his first advent, but here it says, in the armies which are in heaven clothed and fine linen, white and clean, were following him on a white horse. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron, and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And then just read verse 16 for me. It says, and he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, king of kings and lord of lords. That's really the central theme of scripture is that there is a king, the king of the universe.

And when the fall happens, and you heard me say this before, there's the anticipation of the king that will come and undo this. He's going to restore everything that's been broken. Where is the king? Kings will come from you. Kings will come from you. You see that over and over again in Genesis. And that's why we sing at Christmas in Matthew 1, that genealogy, so that we sing this, this is Christ the what king?

That king who is lofty and exalted, he came to die. And that king who came to die, he also rose from the grave. And one day when he comes back, he says it's happening soon. On his thigh, it says it's written king of kings and lord of lords. It's amazing. And where we started this, His Holiness, it's a great reminder of this amazing image of Isaiah 6, surrounded by flaming warriors. It's the same guy who came on a baby donkey. But then we don't leave him there.

He's coming back as a mighty warrior wearing a robe drenched in blood with a sword coming back. And if that doesn't change, yeah, if that doesn't change your day-to-day view of how you approach life, You have a misguided view of the Savior. Yeah, and this is Heaven's song as we close. It says that they do not cease to sing the living creatures in heaven or Revelation for, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty who was and is and who is to come. This is the central attribute of God. And going back to Tozer's line, what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.

And if you can think about God without grasping, albeit so smallly, His holiness, we have a deficient view of God. And regardless of where you may be at in your spiritual journey, everybody listening and watching to have it as a main prayer in their life, give me a greater understanding, O God, of your holiness. And that's my prayer. And so that we might worship him.

Exactly. It's a helpful challenge. Thank you, Johnny. Thanks, Hank.