2 Corinthians 2:12-17 - Our Triumphal Procession in Christ (Rev. Erik Veerman)

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Triumphal Procession in Christ

Please remain standing for the reading of our sermon text. This morning, 2 Corinthians 2:12-14. That can be found on page 1146 in the pew Bibles.

Thank you to Coleman for preaching last week.

In the verses that he worked through, Paul further explained his change of plans. He didn’t want to make another painful visit. That would have been hard on them. Instead, because of his love for them, he thought it best to write a letter and send Titus.

Also from last week, Paul exhorted them to forgive a brother of his sin. What an encouragement to hear. One of the men stirring up controversy had repented. Paul encouraged the church to receive this man back into full fellowship. As Coleman put it, repentance and forgiveness are the Most Precious Remedy Against Satan’s Devices.

OK, that brings us to chapter 2 verse 12 through the end of the chapter. In our verses today, we learn (1) where Paul went next and why, and also (2) from where he draws his strength.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Prayer

One of my seminary professors said to our class once. “If you can do anything else, do not be a pastor.” At the time, I thought, “that is ridiculous.” In fact, I was doing something else. I was working full time in a career and taking classes in the evenings and weekends. And furthermore, I thought, any one of these guys in seminary should be able to do something else.

I didn’t realize what my professor meant until becoming a pastor. It’s not the work-load. Being a pastor is like any career – it often requires long days and unplanned things that come up. Furthermore, he was not talking about work politics. Any job requires navigating difficult dynamics.

Rather, my professor was telling us that being a pastor comes with burdens unlike most careers. Loving and caring for sheep often requires carrying their burdens. It means weeping with them in grief. It means yearning to see change and pleading with the Lord to see reconciliation in families and marriages and in the church. It means suffering with and alongside others.

Now, to be sure, we all carry those burdens for our friends and family. But being a pastor is like multiplying that by 100. My professor was saying “being a pastor is a special calling because of those things.” To be sure, I am not saying “do not come to me or Coleman with your burdens. No, it is a privilege and honor to minister God’s grace and carry them with you.

The reason I’m bring this up is because the apostle Paul carried many many burdens. For him and the apostles, take the burdens of a pastor and multiple that by 100.

Paul not only carries the weight of the people he’s ministering to where he is. But he carries the weight of all of the churches that he helped establish. And that’s a lot

Look back up at chapter 2 verse 4 and you’ll hear what I mean. “I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.” Anguish of heart. Many tears. Abundant love. What a pastoral heart. He was in Ephesus when he wrote the painful letter he’s talking about. His heart was in Ephesus, for sure. But his heart was also in Corinth. He sent that letter with all those emotions – tears and anguish and love.

And as I mentioned, he sent that letter with Titus. Titus’s objective was to deliver the painful letter to the Corinthians and help them see their need to repent. Then following that visit, Titus was to travel to Troas where he was to meet Paul and give an update.

That was the plan.

Now look at verse 12 “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest (why?) because I did not find my brother Titus there.”

You see, Paul had left Ephesus and travelled north to Troas, which was also in Asia Minor. And when he got to Troas, as he put it, there was a “door opened for me in the Lord.” That’s a phrase Paul has used before. The city was ripe for Gospel ministry. There were believers there and many people were open to hear about Christ Jesus. By the way, in Acts chapter 20, it is in Troas on this same trip that Paul preached late one night. He went on and on. There was a young man Eutychus who was sitting in the window. He fell asleep and then he fell out of the window 3 stories down to his death. But God used Paul to revive Eutychus back to life.

So, Paul is there in Troas, and he is ministering… but his heart is not settled. Titus didn’t show up. You see, Paul was still carrying a great pastoral burden for the Corinthians. The anguish and tears for them were still there.

Maybe Paul thought that Titus was detained in Corinth because they weren’t listening… so maybe Titus needed to stay longer. Paul didn’t know for sure… but the burden was too much. He couldn’t stay in Troas. No, Paul needed to find Titus. So, as it says, he continued on to Macedonia.

Full stop.

Paul pauses the narrative about his travels. In fact, Paul doesn’t pick it back up until chapter 7!

In other words, Paul interrupts himself. He had been sharing about his intense burden and love for them which caused him anguish in his heart. But then he says in verse 14 -  “but thanks be to God!” And he gives us an amazing word of Christ’s ministry in him and through him.

Speaking of interrupting, let me take a brief tangent.

Every single one of us here carries different heart burdens. What burdens are weighing you down? Some of your burdens are very very hard. I know some of them. Sometimes we need an interruption. Sometimes we need to say, like Paul, “but thanks be to God.” You may be suffering a difficult illness, but thanks be to God. A relationship dear to you is struggling, but thanks be to God. A child is suffering or is wayward… or a parent is in his or her last days of life. But thanks be to God. Like Paul, you may feel a similar anguish of heart for someone you love, but THANKS be to God.

But thanks be to God… why? Well, there are many reasons to thank God.

But here, Paul hones in on something that directly relates to his ministry.

He writes, “but thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.”

On the surface, I think we can understand this. Jesus Christ is the victorious king. He has triumphed over his and our enemies – sin, death, and the devil. And now he is leading us. Look at the verb and modifier there. “always leads us!”

Paul is reminding himself this truth. While he is enduring affliction and anguish, God in Christ is always leading him because God is the triumphal king. That is the surface level understanding.

Now, when the Corinthians read this, they knew exactly what Paul was referring to. Remember, Corinth was a Roman city in Greece. It had been destroyed a couple hundred years prior, but Julius Ceasar re-built Corinth. It then became the Roman capital of the region.  

So, the Corinthians knew the Roman system. They knew the history of the empire. They knew all the conquests of the emperors and princes and generals of the land. And they knew that when a commander conquered a foreign land, there would be a great triumphal procession in Rome.

It was the highest honor any general could receive. He would be dressed in a purple robe. He would ride in a gold chariot – the triumphal chariot, it was called. His soldiers would march behind him, celebrating the victory. Some of the spoils of war would be carted along. Incense would be burned and the fragrance would waft through the streets masking the usual rancid smell with a sweet aroma. And furthermore, prisoners of war would be dragged behind in chains. And when the envoy reached the Temple of Jupiter, the prisoners would be publicly sacrificed to their false god – Jupiter, by the way their chief deity of justice and authority.

It was quite the display of victory and triumph. Celebrations throughout Rome would break out and many in the city would join in the great celebration.

So, when Paul says … “God… in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere,” …that imagery would come to mind.

Now, there has been two main interpretations of this metaphor. The first is that Paul considered himself one of the soldiers or lieutenants following Christ in the triumphal procession. John Calvin held this view. He’s been on my mind since we were studying him today in Sunday school. Calvin wrote, “Paul shared in the triumph that God was celebrating… just as the chief lieutenants shared in the general’s triumph by riding on horseback behind his chariot.”

That’s a very reasonable interpretation, I think. As Paul is continuing on from Ephesus to Troas to Macedonia, he is like a soldier of Christ, being led by him. Thanks be to God for that.

However, even Calvin agrees that the word “triumph” in the Greek includes triumphing over us.

I’ve been wrestling through this all week. You see, the other main interpretation is that God, in Christ, triumphed over Paul.

In other words, the imagery Paul gives may not be as a soldier, but as one of the captives being led to his death. Now, mind you, he’s a joyful captive. But isn’t it true, God conquered Paul’s heart. He had been an enemy of God, persecuting and killing God’s people, but God took him captive. Paul bowed the knee in submission to Christ. He forsook all his sin and evil ways. The cross of Christ became his life. In fact, multiple times in his letters, Paul refers to himself as a “prisoner of the Lord” or a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

And that interpretation aligns with the rest of 2 Corinthians. Paul and the apostles had been enduring affliction and trials and persecution as a testimony of their apostleship. Paul is a prisoner in that sense - bound to God’s call in his life. And Paul is on the triumphal procession to his death, suffering as an apostle. And as I mentioned, it’s a joyful imprisonment because in his death, he will be given new life.

I think this second interpretation is likely what Paul is implying.

But either way, it is Christ who is leading the triumphal procession. Jesus is the one who through the cross and in his resurrection accomplished the overwhelming victory. The burden of our sin fell on him. Satan and his demonic forces thought that they had the author of life destroyed forever. They thought they had won, but what they didn’t know is that through their very act, God accomplished salvation and defeated them. And when he rose from the grave, he defeated death and sealed Satan’s fate forever.

You see, it is finished! Salvation has been accomplished. And now, Christ is leading us, always, whether as a prisoner or a soldier, in that triumphal procession with him.

Thanks be to God. Because even with the burdens we carry, we can rejoice in his victory.

Now, I think… Paul could have ended it there. It’s a wonderful image of being led in Christ’s triumphal procession. But that is not the end of Paul’s illustration.

No, he also uses the imagery of fragrance.  As the triumphal procession continued through the streets of Rome, as I mentioned earlier, incense filled the air. Spices were soaked and slowly burned which gave off a pleasing aroma – it was the smell of victory.

When I was growing up, my grandmother had a few little ceramic potpourri bowls. They were filled with flower petals and dried fruit and spices like sticks of cinnamon. All of it was mixed with water.  And underneath the ceramic bowls, were little candles. The little flame would heat up the mixture and the smell would permeate the house.

Of course, I was mesmerized by it. Not the smell, but the candles. Anything with fire is mesmerizing for boys… that doesn’t really change when boys grow up!

But anyway, when you entered my grandmother’s house, it had a sweet aroma. And when I smell a similar smell today, it kind of transports me back in time to her home.

In Rome, the incense bowls were big, and the smell would fill the streets. As the triumphal processional passed by street after street the aroma of burning incense would fill the whole city.

Paul likens the fragrance to the aroma of Christ spreading throughout the world.

And what is that aroma?

The aroma is the aroma of Jesus’ sacrifice. The reason I say that because the language parallels how the burnt offerings were described in the Old Testament. In Leviticus,  the offerings were called “a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” That very phrase “pleasing aroma” is used 16 times in the book of Leviticus and 18 times in the book of Numbers. What I am saying is that use of the word “aroma” intentionally connects to the idea of a sacrifice.

And all those sacrifices and offerings of old come together and are fulfilled in Christ.

Now to be sure, this text in 2 Corinthians does not make the explicit connection to the sacrifice of Christ for our sin. But listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 5 verse 2: “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

When we follow Christ and walk in his love and testify to his sacrifice… then the pleasing aroma of Christ will emanate from us. His fragrance will permeate to those around us. When the church does this as a whole, many will be drawn to the love and grace and hope and forgiveness and community that God has given us in him.

And by the way, look how the fragrance is described in verse 14. “The fragrance of the knowledge of him.” You see, the aroma of Christ in us and coming from us is more than just the testimony of our lives. Yes, it absolutely includes that. But the aroma is also the testimony of our words …as we declare Christ’s sacrifice and his love… which includes the call to repentance and faith.

So, when we love God and reflect that love, and speak of God’s love and the salvation accomplished and offered in Christ, we we do those things, then we will exude the aroma of Christ.

And look at what will happen. Again, up in verse 14. The fragrance will spread “everywhere!” You see that word? The aroma of Christ will permeate to every corner of the earth. Every nation. It is and it will expand to every people, every language, every tribe.

It’s been almost 2000 years since Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice. Yet, his fragrance is still spreading today – more so than ever. The Gospel of Christ which Paul preached has been expanding ever since and will continue to expand until Jesus returns.

And how does that expansion work? Through us. As the aroma of Christ works in us, it then emanates from us. Others then received it. And they, in turn, pass that fragrance on. We “are the aroma of Christ,” as Paul puts it.

Alright, let’s look now at verses 15 and 16.

We learn an important thing here. The aroma of Christ will have one of two effects.

Number 1: The fragrance of Christ will be a sweet aroma to those who are “being saved.” That is the phrase right there in verse 15. In other words, those whom God has called, whom the Holy Spirit turns to him will smell the aroma of Christ. It will be pleasant, and it will draw them to him. Verse 16 reinforces that. The aroma of Christ will be a fragrance from life to life. The aroma will be the sweet smell of life which will yield new life to them.

Burt there’s a second effect: Not everyone who smells the fragrance of Jesus sacrifice will smell that sweet aroma. No, for those who reject Christ, who, as it says “are perishing” the aroma will not be sweet. Rather, it  will be the stench of death. The aroma will permeate to them, but it will sadly be, as verse 16 says, “from death to death.” The smell of death will lead to death.

I want to say this... if you are smelling the aroma of Christ for the first time. Meaning if you are hearing about Jesus sacrifice on the cross. It is the most beautiful aroma. It is the most beautiful testimony of God’s love.

Here’s what I mean. Every single one of us. Every single person who ever lived has offended God. We’ve rejected him. We’ve rejected his law and promises. And God in his perfectly just nature is justified to treat us as enemies. Because of the unholiness of our sin we cannot be in God’s holy presence. We deserve to suffer the captive’s fate.

But God, because of his great love, sent his son, the eternal son of God, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die and receive God’s wrath in your place. And the only requirement for you is to believe that by faith – to forsake your sin and turn to him. In other words, in his sacrifice is life.

That is the pleasing aroma that Christ offers you – life in him. As you smell this aroma, so to speak, receive it with joy and with faith. Join the triumphal procession as a captive of Christ… and celebrate his triumph!

May the aroma be a pleasing aroma because God is saving you.

As we draw to a close, let’s go back to the apostle Paul. He is saying that he is spreading the aroma of Christ in his life and his ministry. And he makes an important point in verse 17. Being the aroma of Christ is not like selling goods. It’s not something to be “peddled”, as verse 17 puts it. That’s what was happening in Corinth. The false teachers and so-called “super apostles” were treating the Gospel like a business. They were using it for their glory and using the people in the process.  But no, Paul calls us to “sincerity” (that’s the word he uses)… and calls us to “to speak in Christ.” In other words, we’re to let the aroma of Christ overwhelm us. Out of a heart that has the love and grace of Christ, we can then let the aroma of Christ flow to others. And that sweet fragrance will then draw people to him.

Even in our trials, and suffering, and the anxiousness of our souls, may we know that Christ is leading us on that triumphal procession. May we give thanks to God for that. And may God use us to spread the pleasing aroma of Christ everywhere. Amen