Monthly Archives: October 2020

Unmoved – Sermon on Psalm 46 for Reformation Sunday

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Psalm 46

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Winston Churchill is often cited as the one who coined the phrase, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” In a tasty bit of irony, the quote wasn’t original to Churchill. He was slightly altering a quote from a Spanish-born, American-raised, man named George Santayana, and the original statement was, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Since today is the last Sunday in October, we remember with gratitude how God used Martin Luther to preserve His Church and the preaching of the Gospel for the world. So, today’s sermon is going to be slightly different than most sermons you will hear me preach. First, we are going to consider a little bit of Reformation history especially surrounding the writing of the hymn we just sang “A Mighty Fortress.” Then, we are going to consider the lyrics of the hymn by looking at the Biblical text the hymn is based on, Psalm 46. So first, the history.

As popular as “A Mighty Fortress” is, we actually know very little about it. The earliest hymnal that contains it is from 1533. Historians mostly agree that Luther wrote the hymn sometime during the years of 1527-1528, about a decade after he posted the 95 Thesis on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg.

Now during the first eight years after Luther posted the 95 Theses, Luther was fighting mainly against abuses in the Roman church. It is important to note that Luther wanted to reform the church and not break away from it. However, as Luther repeatedly tried to get the leaders in the Roman Church to return to the pure teaching of the Gospel, they decided to throw him out by excommunicating him. In April 1521, Luther refused to recant of his writings at the Diet of Worms where he famously stated, “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.” Luther was supposed to be executed for his teaching, but a nobleman hid Luther in Wartburg Castle for ten months.

When Luther finally returned to Wittenberg in 1522, he found that some radical reformers were taking his teachings too far. Some were destroying statues and art in churches. Some were teaching that the Lord’s Supper was only symbolic. Some claimed to be directly inspired by the Holy Spirit and that they had the ability to reveal God’s will apart from Scripture. So, Luther found himself fighting against these abuses as well.

Beyond that, Luther got very sick around this time. There were national threats as the Muslims were warring their way toward Germany. Catholic armies were threatening Lutheran areas. In August of 1527, a man who followed Luther’s teaching was martyred. That same Fall, a plague broke out in Wittenberg. During that plague, Luther’s wife, Katie, got sick and was quarantined twice. Just a few months later in December, Luther’s daughter, Elizabeth, was born and was always very sick. Things were so bad for Luther that he wrote to a colleague, “[I am] physically well, but outwardly the whole world and inwardly the devil and all his angels are making [me] suffer.” Luther spent the next six months praying that God would save little Elizabeth, but in May of 1528, she died.

Somewhere in the midst of all this, Luther wrote “A Mighty Fortress” based on Psalm 46. He wrote this hymn for himself, his family, and his church. A lot of times, this hymn is called ‘the battle hymn of the Reformation,’ but in one of his publications, Luther called it, ‘a hymn of comfort.’

So, today may we find comfort in the truths of Psalm 46 as they are expressed in “A Mighty Fortress” because we, like Luther then, face pandemic, upheaval, sorrow, uncertainty, and tumult. Follow along with me as we walk through this Psalm.

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength, 

a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, 

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 

3 though its waters roar and foam, 

though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 

First, notice that this Psalm is mainly written in the plural. God is ‘our’ refuge,’ ‘we will not fear,’ etc. This will be very important when we get to v. 10. Also, did you catch the confidence we have? Because God is our refuge, because God is our strength, because God is a very present help in trouble – we will not fear. “We will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.” 

The devil loves to cause us to fear. Satan loves to whisper into our ears that we should be afraid of all sorts of things. Satan says, “Cases of COVID are rising. You should be afraid.” “The economy isn’t doing well, and your retirement account is shrinking. You should be afraid.” “Trump might get re-elected; Biden might win. You should be afraid.” “There is a lot of violence going on around the country. You should be afraid.” “We found an abnormal growth in your scans and need to do more testing. You should be afraid.” “God hates sinners and judges the unjust. You should be afraid.” 

This is all the preaching of the devil. But God puts in our hearts and on our lips these verses. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” – any trouble. Even in the flood of the troubles of this life, even in the face of our ancient foe, the devil, who seeks to work us woe, God remains our mighty fortress who never fails us.

Why can we have this confidence and fearlessness? Pick up again at v. 4.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 

the holy habitation of the Most High.  

V. 4 tells us about a river whose streams make glad the city of God. Now, the earthly city of God is, of course, Jerusalem. But that is not and cannot be the city that this Psalm is speaking about because there is no river in Jerusalem. So, the Psalm has to be pointing us to something else. In fact, the Psalm is pointing us to what Jesus says in John 7. In John 7, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, and while He is there, He speaks about a river. Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37-38).

Jesus is the fount, fountain, and the source of this river, and those who have faith in Him have rivers of living water flowing from their hearts.

It is never our strength or good works that provide the rivers of water that we need. It only comes from Jesus. If we confided and trusted in our own strength, no amount of our striving would do us any god. But Jesus, the Man of God’s choosing is on our side. In fact, He has set up His habitation (lit. His ‘tabernalce’) in our hearts (1 Cor. 6:19). He is the never-changing Lord of hosts. He will always win the battle.

We’ll pick up the pace now as we move on to v. 5.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; 

God will help her when morning dawns. 

God is in the midst of His people as a very present help which means that His people are unmoved. Think about that. God’s church, His kingdom, His people are unmoved while everything we see and know is wavering, tottering, and melting. V. 6:

6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; 
he utters his voice, the earth melts.

While nations rage and kingdoms totter, while the world is filled with devils threatens to undo us, God will triumph. The prince of darkness and all his forces and all his minions will be felled by one little word.

I’ve always wondered what that one little word was that Luther had in mind. What is the one little word that will fell the devil? There is no verse in Scripture that says what word destroys the devil. Certainly, Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh who defeats every craft and assault of the devil. I think in the context of the hymn combined with v. 6 here, any word from God will do. Everything God says exposes the devil’s lies and shows his emptiness. 

On to v. 7.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us; 

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

This verse will be repeated again in v. 11, and it is an echo of v. 1. The God who is our refuge and strength, a present help in every trouble is the Lord of hosts is with us as our fortress. Whatever threat faces us, we are eternally safe in the kingdom of God. 

On to v. 8-9.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, 
how he has brought desolations on the earth. 

9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; 

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; 

he burns the chariots with fire. 

God has repeatedly shown that He can and will deliver His people from the mightiest kingdoms, powers, and forces on earth – from Egypt, Midian, Philistia, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and on and on we could go. Every threat in this world is nothing for you, Christian, because of God’s might. 

Now, we need to slow down again as we get to v. 10.

10 “Be still, and know that I am God. 

I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth!” 

I mentioned as we began to consider the Psalm that it is written in first person plural. The Psalm is rightly said and prayed by any of God’s people. But v. 10 stands out like a sore thumb because here God steps in and speaks. And what does He say when we are surrounded by threats? “Be still.”

Most art that I’ve seen that includes this verse is a relaxing, beautiful, calm, tranquil, idyllic scene. A quiet forest, a pristine beach, a beautiful plain, or a majestic mountain. None of those scenes are anywhere to be found in this Psalm.

Instead, this is what God speaks to us when chaos and evil, when destruction and death surrounds us. And what is it that He speaks to us as we watch everything falling around us, as we see the cosmos melting? What does God speak to us as He fights for us, as He wins every battle, as He defeats all our enemies, as He we find our refuge in Him? God says, “Be still. Cease.”

The only other time God says this is when He speaks to Moses at the Red Sea while God’s people are pinned between Pharaoh’s army and the sea. God says, “Fear not, stand firm. I will fight for you, you have only to be silent” (Ex. 14:13-14).

When everything surrounding you says that you should be afraid, God days, “Stay still. I’ve got everything under control. I will fight for you.” And again, the repeated refrain of v. 11 closes out the Psalm.

11 The Lord of hosts is with us; 

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Dear saints, because Christ has died and risen again for you, God is on your side. Everything in this life can be taken from you by the devil and his minions, but the truth of God’s Word remains. Because Jesus is on the throne, you dwell in a kingdom that will last forever and ever. Stand strong. Take refuge in Christ. Be still in the midst of all the troubles of this world. You are safe and secure in His eternal kingdom. He will sustain you unmoved. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Authorized to Forgive – Sermon on Matthew 9:1-8 for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

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Matthew 9:1-8

1 And getting into a boat [Jesus] crossed over and came to his own city.

2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he then said to the paralytic – a “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

What is the main thing in this text? Matthew tells us about this wonderful healing of a paralyzed man by a simple statement from Jesus. As amazing as that is, it isn’t what Matthew focuses on as he tells this story under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The healing actually takes second fiddle because it only takes up the last half of v. 6. Instead, the Holy Spirit would have us notice and focus on the absolution, the forgiveness of sins. God wants all sinners on earth to regularly hear the declaration that our sins are forgiven through Christ. So, as we consider this text, may our reaction be the same as the crowds. May we glorify God that He has given authority to all people to forgive sins.

This paralyzed man was brought to Jesus by his friends. Both Mark [2:3-12] and Luke [5:18-26] also tell this story, and they let us know that this man’s friends tore a hole in the roof where Jesus was teaching in order to lower the paralytic in front of Christ. After all this demolition and careful lowering of the man on his bed, there is the man before Jesus unable to move. Jesus sees the friends looking through the hole above him, He sees the shock of those who were listening to His teaching, and He sees the eyes of this man’s face. But most importantly, Christ sees the troubled conscience of this paralyzed man. So, Jesus says to him, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

This is an amazing thing for Jesus to say under the conditions. It was obvious to everyone in the room what this man needs. He can’t move. His limbs don’t work. Everyone in that house, and probably even us, expect Jesus to say, “Be healed.” But it doesn’t happen – at least not right away. Instead, Jesus speaks the absolution. Christ speaks first not to the man’s limbs but to his soul.

We know how the scribes responded. They concluded that Jesus was blaspheming. It would be interesting to hear what everyone else, especially this man’s friends, thought. They had to lug him up to the roof, tear open the ceiling, and carefully lower him down. I would love to know what they thought. They were probably wondering if all their efforts and all the risks they took to get their friend before Jesus had been worth it. But I wonder even more what the man thought.

Now, this is simply me speculating, but I think this man was more comforted hearing the absolution than being healed. I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to think that God is angry with me whenever something bad happens to me. I would guess you are similar. And I would also guess the same is true for this paralytic man, and he got to hear what he needed most. Jesus says to him, “Dear man, God isn’t mad at you. Your sins are no problem. They will be covered by My blood and by My death. You will have problems in this life, but your eternal life is absolutely, completely secure. And I will bring you to the resurrection where you will have a perfected body in eternal bliss.”

I have little doubt that these words that Jesus speaks are the sweetest, most life-giving words that the paralyzed man could have heard from Jesus.

Now, before we move on, let’s all agree on this – forgiving sins is an act of God. Right? Only God can declare what is sinful, only God can judge, and only God can forgive sins. In Psalm 51[:4] David confesses to God, “Against You, You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” Remember, David is speaking this after he sinned against Bathsheba and after he killed Uriah. But David rightly recognizes that, while his sin has and will affect many others, David recognizes that his sin is against God. So, if any and every sin is against God, only God can forgive sin.

So, while the scribes are grumbling about Jesus forgiving sins, Jesus says, “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, rise pick up your bed and go home.” And the man goes home – forgiven and healed. It is clearly demonstrated that Jesus can and, most importantly, does forgive sins. And there is enough there to cause us to rejoice all our days. Jesus can heal broken bodies, and even better, Jesus can heal broken souls. Jesus has the authority to and does forgive sins here on earth. But Matthew gives us something more that we need to consider today.

Matthew tells us that when the crowds see all of this, “they glorified God who had given such authority to men.” Notice, Matthew doesn’t way that they glorified God who had given such authority to ‘a man.’ That authority is given to men – plural. Forgiveness belongs to Jesus, but Jesus also passes that authority on to others, in fact to all, as well. Jesus gives the authority to forgive sins to His entire church.

Dear saints, you have Jesus’ authority to announce the absolution. In John 20:22-23, Jesus breathes on the disciples giving them the Holy Spirit and says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” So, please notice, Jesus, the One who proves that He has authority to forgive sins, passes that authority on to you, Christian.

The best analogy for this is one I have used before. Imagine someone in prison. He is guilty and locked up for his crime and is in jail. Across town, the governor decrees that he is pardoned. His guilt and punishment is gone. But that act alone doesn’t do him any good. As far as the law is concerned, he is free. But he is still in his cell. So, the governor’s pardon has to be communicated to the prison warden. And even that doesn’t do the prisoner any good unless the warden sends a guard to the man’s cell who opens the door and lets the man out. Each of those steps must happen for the man to be truly free.

If the governor doesn’t pardon and the guard simply opens the cell, that guard is breaking the law. The guy may be out of prison, but he is still guilty, and he will always be looking behind him waiting for the authorities to arrest him again. And if the man is pardoned, but the guard never comes to open the cell, that pardon doesn’t do the prisoner any good either. Dear saints, that is the picture of the absolution.

God has heard the case against you. And the evidence of Jesus’ death and resurrection means that God declares you to be holy, righteous, pure, free, and pardoned. Then, God sends others with the keys to open your cell and let you out of prison.

This has already been done here today. After we confessed our sins, God sent your pastor with the keys to your cell to open it by saying, “By Christ’s command and authority you have the entire forgiveness of all your sins.” I love my job! Thank you for calling me here to do that.

But know, dear saints, that this isn’t just for pastors to do. It is good and right for there to be someone appointed to do that in a congregation where things should be done in an orderly way (1 Cor. 14:40), but that does not mean that the absolution should only be spoken by a pastor in a church service. You can also forgive sins because Jesus died for sinners. Christians are the fellowship of those who have been set free and absolved of all our sins. And we are the fellowship of those who are deputized to declare to others that their sins are forgiven as well.

So, when you talk to others, do that! It’s one thing to rejoice in the forgiveness you have, and we should, we absolutely should, do that. But do you declare this forgiveness to others? Hopefully, you forgive others when they have harmed and sinned against you. Christians should be the quickest to do that. But have you declared forgiveness to someone whose conscience is troubled by sins that don’t involve you? You can!

According to Scripture, every Christian has this authority. Again, Jesus says to you, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven” (Jn. 20:23). You have been absolved and set free from your sins. You have also been authorized by Jesus to set others free from their sins. God has put the same declaration of the Gospel into your mouth. Look for sins to forgive. Look for people who feel the guilt and bondage of their sin. Say to them something like this, “Dear friend, Jesus died for you. In Jesus’ name, your sins are forgiven.” Speak these words with authority.

These words are life, freedom, and joy. These words of Jesus, “Your sins are forgiven,” are words for your ears, and they are words for your tongue. May those words be in your ears, engrained on your hearts, and freely spoken from your lips. Dear saints, you are forgiven, and you are authorized to forgive others as well. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sustained – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

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1 Corinthians 1:1-9

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, 

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

This opening to 1 Corinthians is full of stunning praise. Paul mentions that the believers in Corinth were being sanctified and made holy in Christ Jesus which is why Paul calls them saints. They, like you, are calling on the name of their Lord Jesus Christ and confessing that Jesus is their Savior. After mentioning that, Paul begins to give thanks for these Christians. Listen to all the things Paul thanks God for. He thanks God that the Corinthian Christians have God’s grace given through Christ. He says that they are not lacking in any spiritual gift. Paul is thankful that God will sustain them in their fellowship with all believers until the day Christ returns. Again, it’s an amazing greeting.

Listening to the opening of this letter, you might think that Corinth was the perfect congregation who had it all together. This introduction makes it sound like they figured Christianity out and had no problems. Maybe we should model what we do here at Christ the King by what was going on in Corinth. But then, in the verses that follow, we see that not everything in the church at Corinth was so great.

There were divisions in the church (1 Cor. 1:10-11). Some of the Christians in the congregation were saying, “I follow Paul,” some said, “I follow Apollos,” some, “I follow Peter,” and some piously bragged, “I follow Christ,” figuring no one could beat that.

As you keep reading this letter, you find out about all sorts of problems in the church of Corinth. You learn that a man was boasting about fornicating with his father’s wife (1 Cor. 5:1). The members of the church were suing each other in court (1 Cor. 6:1-8). Paul has to address the fact that marriages and families breaking apart because of immorality among these believers (1 Cor. 7). And it didn’t stop there. The congregation was having trouble at Communion. People were trying to get to the front of the line so that others weren’t able to receive the Sacrament, and some were even getting drunk in the church at the altar (1 Cor. 11:21).

Even their abundant spiritual gifts were becoming a problem because these gifts were making their worship services chaotic each week (1 Cor. 14:26-33). Whenever anyone had a thought enter their head during the service, they would stand up and interrupt the liturgy or the sermon to say it, and a lot of the time what was being said was in a foreign language that most didn’t understand. And maybe most troubling, some of the members there didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, and some didn’t even believe that Jesus rose on Easter (1 Cor. 15)!

Considering all these things, we might judge that this wasn’t even a Christian congregation. With everything that was wrong in the Corinthian church, you’d think Paul would simply start his letter by laying into them, but he doesn’t. Instead, Paul says, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.” And the fact that Paul starts this way should make us consider how we look at things within the church.

There are two ways we can look at things. With our physical eyes, we can look around, see how things are outwardly, gauge, and evaluate. And we should do this with our eyes. With our eyes, we can see a lot of good things. We can see the beauty of the fall colors and acknowledge the creativity of God. We can see all the beets on the road and know that the harvest is coming in much better than last year. With our eyes, we can see and know there are a lot of bad and evil things. We can see the riots and looting and division that is going on in our nation. We can see how politicians can’t agree on how to rule and recognize that all of this is bad for our country. 

But our physical eyes have limitations. Our physical eyes cannot see how things are spiritually. You cannot look an individual or a congregation and see how they are doing spiritually. A church could have hundreds or even thousands of people attending each week with seven pastors and dozens of staff while running all sorts of programs and have seemingly unlimited funding, but none of that means the church is doing well spiritually. And maybe most importantly, you cannot even look at yourself and see how things are spiritually. You could have the entire Bible memorized, be reading the Scriptures every day, going to church every week, and giving 30% of your income to the church and still be on the road straight to hell if you don’t have faith in Christ. Because we cannot gauge how things are spiritually with our physical eyes, God has given us spiritual eyes.

Spiritual eyes understand the world, not through what we see, but through what we hear. Spiritual eyes see things as Jesus sees them. And it is when we stop looking at everything in a merely physical way and learn to look at everything through the cross of Christ, then we will be upheld and sustained. That is why later in this chapter Paul says, “Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:22). In fact, when we consider everything in light of Jesus’ cross instead of what we can see with our physical eyes, we are comforted. Because of Christ’s cross, we have the comfort that God will sustain us guiltless, completely guiltless, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of the cross, when God looks at us, He sees us differently. It is easy to look at ourselves and see that we do not keep the two great commandments that Jesus talks about in our Gospel lesson (Mt. 22:34-46). We do not love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength nor our neighbor as ourselves. Because we can see that, it makes us wonder what God, who is everywhere and knows and everything, sees.  But when you have faith that Christ has died and risen again for you, God looks at you through the lens of the cross. When Jesus died on the cross for you, He took all of your guilt, all of your sin, all of your shame, all of your sorrow. Because of the cross, God does not see you, believer, in your sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). Christian, you are clothed with Christ, as Galatians 3:27 says, “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” This is foundational to our faith and can sustain us in our weakest moments.

Also, when we believe and trust that God sees us through the cross of Jesus, we see God differently. In this world full of evil and trouble, we are tempted to think that God is angry and frustrated and distant from us. If your impression of God is based on what you see in the news, you will probably think that God is just waiting for the right time to smite you. But that is not where we should look to see what God thinks of us. Remember at the Last Supper, Phillip asks Jesus to show him and all the disciples the Father. And Jesus says, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14:8-9). If you want to know what God thinks of you look to Jesus and to His chief work of the cross. Because of the cross, we see that God has come to rescue and save us. We see that God has died and shed His blood for us. We see that God loves us. We see that nothing can separate us from His love. The crucifixion stands as the irrefutable proof of God’s love for you.

And Scripture also opens our spiritual eyes to see that this Good News, this Gospel, the cross of Jesus, isn’t just for us, but it is for all the other sinners in the world as well. The Gospel changes how we see our neighbor because Jesus was on the cross for them too. Jesus died for the sins of the world. God desires that all sinners repent and believe and be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Everyone you meet is loved and precious because everyone you meet is someone for whom Christ has died and shed His blood. 

Dear saints, when it comes to your spiritual life, it is dangerous to trust what you see with your eyes. Satan loves to throw all sorts of things in front of you that will make you doubt God’s love for you. The devil will try to point you to every flaw and failure so that you do not trust what God promises.

Dear saints don’t fall for the trap. Trust what you hear in God’s Word and view everything through God’s promises. If God promises it, believe it without fail. Faith always relies on God’s promise, and without His promise there can be no faith. No matter what happens, this fact remains. God loves you, and He has sent Jesus to die and rise again for you. what Jesus has done, God will sustain you blameless until the coming of your Lord. This is not a presumption, dream, or speculation. It is God’s sure and certain promise to you. So be confident, be upheld, be sustained in what Christ has done for you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

A Seat at the Table – Sermon on Luke 14:1-11 for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

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Luke 14:1-11

1 One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.

2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.

7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

All of the Ten Commandments should do two things. First, the Commandments should expose how sinful we are and cause us to repent. Second, the Commandments should make us realize that God is good and that He is concerned for us and cares about all aspects of our lives. For example, the 5th Commandment about murder should expose our anger and hatred toward others, but it should also show you that God values your life and wants to protect it. The 7th Commandment about stealing should expose our greed and idolatry of money and stuff, but it should also show you that God wants you to have and enjoy the things He has given you. The 8th Commandment about bearing false witness should convict us of how we use our tongues to lie, gossip, and speak negatively of others, but it should also show you that God loves truth and wants to protect you from false accusations, gossip, etc. This is true of all Ten Commandments, but because this Gospel lesson focuses our attention on what Jesus does at this Sabbath feast, we are going to focus on the 3rdCommandment.

Hopefully, you have the 3rd Commandment (and all the Commandments) memorized: “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” While that one sentence captures the essence of the Command, there is more to it when it is given by God on Mt. Sinai. Here’s the full thing (Ex. 20:8-11):

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” 

The 3rd Commandment shows God’s concern and care for us. In this Command, God guarantees a day of rest every week. And we didn’t even have to unionize to get it! As far as I know, there is no other religion where people are commanded to rest and receive. Foreigners, servants, and even animals get a day off. This rest not only makes people more productive, but it also honors and protects them. God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. And because we are created in God’s image, we should follow His example and have the same privilege of rest.

God’s intent with this day of rest was that we should not only rest our bodies and minds, but more importantly God wants us to use the Sabbath to find rest for our souls. The day of rest is kept holy when we concern ourselves with holy things – especially hearing God’s Word preached and explained to us (Mt. 11:28-30; Act. 13:27, 44; 15:21). God knows that we need to work to provide food for our bodies, so He gives us six days to do that. And God knows that we need to be fed spiritually, so He set aside the Sabbath for that as well. According to Jesus, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27).

Truly keeping the Sabbath by resting from our regular work to hear God’s Word is a witness to God’s grace. The gift of rest that God gives in the Command reminds us that salvation is never earned or achieved by our efforts. Eternal life is always freely given and received as a gift from God. If salvation is not received as pure gift, it will always be beyond our reach and we will never have it. Now, with all of that in mind, we turn to the text.

The good and merciful Command about the Sabbath was being abused by the Pharisees. Instead of rejoicing in the rest God was giving them in the Command, these legalists took the Commandment and used it as a club to beat others over the head. A legalist is not someone who takes the Law extra seriously in order to keep it, nor is a legalist someone who avoids temptation and sin because they love God’s Law. Instead, a legalist is someone who uses the Law of God to serve himself and make others feel inferior (Rev. David Petersen).

These Pharisees were feasting on the Sabbath but ignoring the man sick with dropsy. Basically, dropsy means this man had some condition that made fluid build up making him bloated and swollen. The man would have looked gross, and his condition might have led people to believe that he was a glutton who was getting what he deserved. It is even possible that the Pharisees had invited this man to the feast in order to test Jesus and see what He would do because they were “watching [Jesus] carefully” (Lk. 14:1).

So, notice that they aren’t resting on the Sabbath at all. They are working, and their task is to catch and trap Jesus. They are taking the Sabbath feast, which was meant to be a time for everyone to bask in God’s forgiveness and mercy, and turning it into a private party where they would ridicule our Lord and pat themselves on the back for keeping God’s Law all while not lifting a finger to help this poor man. Some rest that is!

But while they are working to test Jesus, He turns the tables and puts them under the microscope by asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Of course, it is obviously in accordance with the Law to heal and do good to others on the Sabbath. God had even addressed this in the books of Moses (Dt. 22:1-4). In Ex. 23:4-5, God says, “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” And God never says, “Go ahead and forget about it if it’s the Sabbath.” 

They knew the answer, but the Pharisees refuse to respond to Jesus’ question. So, Jesus does what He always does and heals the guy. After sending him away, Jesus asks the Pharisees, “Would you leave your son or even an ox that fell into a well on the Sabbath and not pull him out?” And still they refuse to answer. Their pride and hypocrisy is exposed, but Jesus isn’t done going after them yet. Jesus continues to run after them to give them rest. Christ wants these hard-working Pharisees to put down their labors and burdens and enter His rest. So, Jesus tells them this parable, which isn’t like most of Jesus’ parables. Instead, this particular parable is more akin to the wisdom we heard in our Old Testament Lesson (Prov. 25:6-14).

Now, we could take this parable as an etiquette lesson: Sit low and get honor by being paraded through the party to a higher seat. But that flies in the face of what Jesus is actually doing. Jesus wants to show them true humility. Pretending to be humble in order to get the praise of others is not true humility.

Notice what Jesus says is the lesson of the parable, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” In the parable, Jesus doesn’t give you something to do by saying, “Be humble.” Yes, pride is your problem, but you can’t overcome your pride by being humble. Even thinking that you can fix your pride is, by definition, prideful. The anecdote for your pride is not you being humble – it is grace. Grace is humbling because it is never merited or earned. Grace is pure mercy, pure love, pure gift.

The parable is really all about Jesus. It tells of Christ’s path from glory down to earth and the grave and back again (Php. 2:5-11). Jesus removed Himself from the place of honor at His Father’s right hand in order to make room for you. Jesus was humiliated. He took the form of a servant. God was found in human form. Then, when we sinners saw God in the flesh, we pinned Him to the cross. But after all this, God does the strangest thing.

He sees that Jesus’ seat is open and that you are sitting down low in the muck and mire of your sin. He invites you to move up. You are invited to sit at the table He prepares for you. He anoints your head with oil and makes sure your cup overflows (Ps. 23:5) and is never set down empty. Then, on the third day, from the lowest place, Jesus is raised up. At His name, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. All of this has been done for you so that you can be honored by Jesus’ humility.

Dear sinners, we have fallen into the well of our sin, so Christ has come down into the well of sin for us. He dies in the lowest place of that well. And He invites you to step on His back, so you can get out and move to a seat of honor at His table. 

Remember how each of the first six days of creation in Genesis end by saying, “There was evening and morning”? The seventh day, the Sabbath, the day of rest doesn’t mention that. The picture is of an eternal rest with God that doesn’t end. Well, today is our Sabbath, our day of rest. God now invites you to His feast, and there is a place of honor for you here at His Table. Leave your work, your striving, your pride, and your sin. Come, there is a seat for you here at God’s table. Come and receive what you have not earned or deserved. Your God has good things for you here. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.