Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was about to remind His beloved disciples that He was going to be crucified, put to death by the hands of wicked men. A verse or two after this, we read, “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”

God’s ancient people were an agricultural people. They lived close to the land. That is why you have so many references, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, to farming, and one thing that continually comes in: the sowing and the reaping, and the harvest time, and often there is that emphasis that as we sow, so also we shall reap.

There are two ancient promises in God’s Word. One is this: "How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight?" It is an amazing word, but it was literally fulfilled in what I read to you this morning (1 Samuel 13. 16-23; 14. 1-23). The other ancient promise is this: "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." And that was literally fulfilled here. What an exploit it was! Beloved friends, it is a strange thing that Jonathan did here. It seems in a way more wonderful than what David did with Goliath. Everybody knows the story of David and Goliath, but very few know the story of Jonathan and how singlehandedly he overthrew the Philistines.