Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice

Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice
Scripture taken from New International Version
Day Bible Readings
7
He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They
will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation
will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Verse reference
Comment
Isaiah 2:4-5
The end of all war
As our nation this month sombrely remembers
Gallipoli, we will search the Bible to discover
what God’s Word says about war. Human war is
a terrible thing but, as Isaiah tells us, the time
of God’s rule will come and then, and only then,
war will be no more.
Luke 3:10-14
The ethics of serving in the Defence Forces
John speaks clearly of the ethics of society
and the military are included. Those of us who
have material goods must share with those who
do not. Those who work with money must be
honest. Those who serve in the Defence Forces
must not abuse their position for their own
advantage.
Matthew 8:5-8, 10
The faith of a military man
We may feel negative about the Roman Army
but Jesus never said he did, not even when they
were crucifying him. Military men came to Jesus
and he accepted them. Jesus commended the
faith of this Roman officer, a faith that can still
inspire us 2,000 years later.
Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
8
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has
none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with
your pay.”
9
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.
“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralysed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But
just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell
you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice (continued)
Day Bible Readings
Verse reference
Comment
10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God,
so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13
The full armour of God
The muscular Christianity of hymns using battle
imagery to symbolise the Christian life has been
removed from many hymn books. But the Bible
is less politically correct! We fight a real battle,
our enemy is strong and we need God’s armour
to survive.
11
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the
eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:11-12
Fighting the good fight
In our spiritual battle we are on the side of what
is good, of what is right and godly. We are called
to conquer what is evil. With God’s help we can
overcome. Only then can we have the reward of
victory. Only then can we reach out and grasp
eternal life.
12
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons 2 Corinthians
we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine
10:3-5
power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that
sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ.
13
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I
trust.”
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not
come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the
wicked.
Psalm 91:1-2, 7-8
The battlefield within
Our most crucial battles are internal. Jesus
said clearly that evil lies inside us. As Paul
reminds us, we do not fight with the world’s
weapons. What we must ‘take captive’ are our
own thoughts. To bring our minds under Christ’s
control is the fight we daily engage in.
Do not fear the battle
We must not read this Psalm of confidence in
God’s protection too simplistically. We should
indeed fear war and the horrific death and injury
it brings. But our battle is spiritual. Whatever
happens around us we can still survive this
battle. As the final verse says, God gives us
salvation.
Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice (continued)
Day Bible Readings
14
The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the
stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Verse reference
Comment
Psalm 27:1-4
Life now and life for ever
Ultimately, we have nothing to fear. It is normal
to fear pain or hunger or bereavement. But we
do not need to fear the forces of evil if we allow
God always to be our strong place. Then we will
‘dwell in the house of the LORD for ever’, in the
eternity which awaits us beyond the present
pain.
When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his
temple.
15
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my
name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars
and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All
these are the beginning of birth pains.”
Matthew 24:4-8
The beginning of the end
Today we see the truth of Jesus’ words. There
will be war. People gave their lives in World War
1, believing it was the Great War, the war to end
all war. But it wasn’t. War is still inevitable. But
Jesus used this reality to remind us that there is
an end, that it will not always be this way.
16
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one
another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal,
but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice
hospitality.
Romans 12:9-14
Loving your enemies
Is this the hardest thing for Christian to do? We
still see Christians martyred today. How do we
do we ‘bless those who persecute us’. How do
we demonstrate that God is a God of love to
those who violently kill Christians? It may be the
hardest thing we ever do but we must find a way.
John 11:23-26
Confidence in the face of death
Death is always a reality but in terrible wars such
as Gallipoli it is an ever-present horror. Even
Jesus feared the agony of death. But beyond
death there is life for those who accept God’s
gift and knowing this, ‘though we are dead, yet
we will live’. We can be confident of this.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
17
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will
live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do
you believe this?”
Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice (continued)
Day Bible Readings
18
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted
up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Verse reference
Comment
John 3:14-17
God so loved the world
In this, arguably the best-known verse in the
Bible, William Tyndale’s beautiful choice of words
500 years ago cannot be bettered. The death of
Jesus for us is the measure of God’s love. We can
take this assurance into physical danger and we
can take it into our spiritual battle.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
19
We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you
will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day
dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand
that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of
things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though
human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:19-21
‘I will give you the morning star’ (Rev 2:28)
Peter and the other disciples saw the real Jesus
and heard and touched him. We believe their
testimony and we must hold onto it until that
great day when darkness is dispelled, when the
love and life and light of Jesus, the Morning Star,
rises in our hearts and heralds the eternal day.
20
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient
courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or
by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the
body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I
am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by
far.
Philippians 1:20-23
Death is gain
With shaking hand, imprisoned Paul records his
emotional dilemma with ink on paper. He longs
for eternity, for life for ever with God. But he
knows that before that lies his earthly struggle,
both the work God calls him to do and his
earthly suffering. To live is Christ, he writes, and
to die is gain.
21
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground
in worship and said:
Job 1:20-22
The LORD gives and the LORD takes away
Few of us reach Job’s faithful acceptance of
what life brings. Job went on to ask the big ‘why’
questions we all ask. But behind it all he never
gave up on God and God never gave up on him.
Job’s was rewarded in this life but we know, as
Job finally did, that our ultimate reward lies in
God’s future.
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and
the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice (continued)
Day Bible Readings
Verse reference
Comment
22
“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you
and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath
are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy
them!’
Deuteronomy
33:26-27
The eternal God is your refuge
This was one of the favourite texts which grieving
families inscribed on the memorials to their lost
loved ones after World War 1. Ultimately, there is
only God. The enemy God has defeated is death
itself and in all our circumstances, in both war
and peace, underneath are the everlasting arms.
23
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will
not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:1-3
The world in turmoil
Like earthquake or cyclone, the human world
is also prone to destructive forces, to war and
death. And we can face awful personal crises.
Even though all we know is threatened or
destroyed, we have a spiritual refuge. God is
always there for us and in him we are safe from
evil.
24
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4-6
The valley of the shadow of death
Many Australians who served at Gallipoli or
later in France wrote in their diaries that they
were entering the valley of the shadow of death.
Those of us for whom the LORD is our shepherd
need not fear this valley, whether this life
continues beyond the valley or whether it ends
in the next.
John 15:11-13
Greater love hath no man than this
This text, inscribed on countless War Memorials,
applies supremely to Jesus. But he was quoting
an existing proverb. The greatest gift anyone can
give is the supreme sacrifice, to give your life
for the life of another. Today we honour 8,709
Australians who laid down their lives at Gallipoli.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head
with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days
of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
25
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one
than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice (continued)
Day Bible Readings
Verse reference
Comment
26
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone
who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does
not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life
will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 10:37-39
Whoever loses their life for my sake will find
it
This was another text families often chose for
the memorials to their slain loved ones after
World War 1. We may want to debate the notion
of war, but the truth stands that many who
went to war did so believing it was for God, King
and Country. To defend the right was to them a
Christian duty.
27
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will
is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2
A living sacrifice
We may glibly use this phrase to describe our
intent to live good lives for God but during World
War 1 it reverberated with deeper meaning.
From many a pulpit this verse was chosen to
encourage people not to shrink from the ultimate
sacrifice, the offering of their lives for the good of
the world.
28
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing
from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the
city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,
yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations.
Revelation 22:1-2
The healing of the nations
The people of the world, individual or nation,
desperately need healing. Word War 1 was
born of great evil, of a godless, all-consuming
ambition. So have all hostilities since. But no evil
is so great that God cannot heal it. Here we read
the clear promise of the absolute healing that is
yet to come.
Gallipoli – Their Sacrifice (continued)
Day Bible Readings
Verse reference
Comment
29
Revelation 21:1-5
The end of death and pain
In the new eternal order of God’s new heaven
and earth, there will be no more war, no more
death, and no more pain. Such horrors are part
of the old order, the order which will pass away.
Creation will be redeemed. God will NOT make
all new things. God will make all things new.
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look!
God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They
will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe
every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or
pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said,
“Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
30
He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations
Micah 4:3-5
far and wide. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for
war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. All the nations
may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
for ever and ever.
The end of all war
The day will come. God will rule. Technology will
focus only on what is good. Fear will be gone
forever. Peace will prevail. Our children will no
longer be trained for war. With so wonderful a
future awaiting us, what more can we do but
choose the way of our God and to walk in it for
ever.