Listen here.

Matthew 25:1-13— ¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In all the weddings I’ve been involved with as a pastor, I’ve never had to deal with a “Bridezilla” – the bride who is more concerned about the wedding than the marriage. When I see commercials for the reality show “Bridezillas,” it looks like a preview for an episode of Jerry Springer. Brides yelling and crying and moaning and complaining at friends and family. Let this serve as a warning: If you act that like that on your wedding day and I’m doing the ceremony, I’m walking out.

Only once have I had a bride be very specific about anything. The couple was getting married under the bell tower at Concordia College in Moorhead. It was a nice setting. Anyway, the bride wanted to be walking down the aisle as the bell tower struck 3:00 PM. I figured that wouldn’t be a problem. The bride was so insistent on that the bells announce her arrival that I figured she’d makes sure it happened. During rehearsal, the wedding coordinators helped me plan out where the wedding party needed to be and when so the bride’s entrance would be perfect.

The afternoon of the wedding came.  Bride, groom, and wedding party were all dressed. Pictures were finished. We had everyone in the appointed place at 2:30 PM. The groomsmen and I went to our designated place, and I assumed the bride and bridesmaids were going to their appointed place. But about ten minutes before we were supposed to start, one of the wedding coordinators came and asked me where the bride and bridesmaids were. I had no idea. Like a game of hide and seek, both wedding coordinators were frantically searching to find the bride and her bridesmaids. I’m sure the groom had thoughts of being left at the altar. I was wondering if the wedding was going to happen, if all my time and preparation would have been for nothing, and if I would still get reimbursed for driving down to Moorhead.

Anyway, three o’clock came, the bell tower chimed clear and bright, and still no bride. Finally at 3:07 PM, the tardy bride magically appeared with her bridesmaids. She asked, “Can we still get everyone down the aisle so I can come down while the bells are chiming?” I thought, “Are you kidding me?” As calmly as I could, I said, “No, the bell rang several minutes ago. You missed it.” I didn’t say it to be mean. It was just the truth. The rest of the ceremony went fine. The couple still got married,  but the bride’s picture of a “perfect” entrance was gone.

The Groom in this parable isn’t as forgiving. Now, this parable can be difficult if you get lost in all the details. But we don’t need to worry about the details. The main idea is clear: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Believer, be ready for the return of Christ, your Groom.

Imagine these ten giggly girls excitedly waiting at the groom’s house imagining all the fun and excitement of the party. They have all been invited, and none of them have imagined the possibility of being left out because they are already “in.” But five were foolish – the Greek word is μωρός, where we get our word moron. And five were wise.

Even though they have been invited to a daytime wedding, the five morons take their lamps. They don’t want to have to carry around a bunch of extra stuff to carry around. But the five wise girls burden themselves with the extra weight and bother of a flask of oil.

The afternoon passes, evening has come to a close, and a wedding reception turns into a slumber party. All ten became drowsy. All ten of them finally nod off and succumb to sleep.

“But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’” The girls trim their lamps, but the morons realize to their horror they don’t’ have enough oil. The morons beg and plead with the wise girls whose silly, unnecessary act of bringing an extra flask of oil doesn’t seem so silly anymore. “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise girls say, “No way. There isn’t enough for us and for you. Go buy your own oil.” Hardly an act of Christian charity.

The oil dealers have all closed up shop by now, but the morons wouldn’t have a problem finding oil. Everyone knows everyone in these villages, and someone will give the oil. Their problem is time has already run out. As they were off trying to get their oil, the bridegroom comes, the party starts, and the door is shut.

The morons get themselves back to the house and are outside frantically knocking. “Lord, lord, open to us.” But the dreadful answer comes faintly but clearly through the closed door. “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Notice he does not say, “I never called you.” He does not say, “I never invited you.” He does not say, “I never loved you.” He simply states honestly, “I never knew you because you never bothered to know Me.”

Again, we could get all bogged down in the details of the parable. But in the end what does it mean to be ready? What gets you into the party, and what keeps you outside?

Faith. Faith in Jesus crucified and risen for the forgiveness of your sins is all you need to make you acceptable to God. Faith is God’s gift, and God gives the gift of faith in specific ways. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Ro. 10:17). God speaks His Word to you in the Scriptures, as you read them and hear, mark, and learn them. God gives faith in His Word connected to His Sacraments. In Baptism, God puts His faith-giving words directly on you in water. In Communion, God puts His faith sustaining words directly in you in bread and wine. Through His Word, Jesus always fills up your lamps and gives you enough oil of faith to fill up all the flasks you can find.

The only way you run out of the oil of faith is when you cut yourself off from it. By not filling up with the Word of God, you will run out.

Now is the time to fill your flasks! You do not know how much oil you will need. Why, why would you ever think you have enough? Why would you become complacent and think you don’t need more of God’s Word? Why would you stop coming to the merchant to get more oil? The oil isn’t expensive – in fact it’s on sale for free! But that sale isn’t eternal – there is a deadline, and you do not know when that deadline will come. There is no time to procrastinate. Come and receive the gift of faith. You do not know when it might be that you are not so freely able to read and study the Word of God. Hoard it.

Jesus is coming. The Bridegroom said He would return to take you to where He is. But you do not know when. It has been two thousand years of anticipation waiting for the Groom to return. It is easy to fall asleep. It is easy to get distracted with many other things and think the time to get oil will last forever. But it won’t.

Today feels like a lot like yesterday, and yesterday felt like the day before. Because Jesus didn’t come yesterday or the day before, you feel like Christ is not coming today (Wolfmueller). You fools, repent!

If you aren’t ready for Christ’s return, it will be as if you are being chased by a lion only to meet a bear. Then you run into your house to get safe from the bear and lean against a wall to be bitten by a snake. There is no escape, no safety. Christ is coming and you need to be ready. If you aren’t you will be eternally outside in the outer, eternal darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Outside is horrible and horrifying darkness. Come into the light!

But once you are scared silly about being left outside, remember what you are waiting for. You are waiting for a party. You are waiting for a time of unimaginable celebration and unspeakable joy. Absolutely, you need to be ready, but only because it would be a travesty to miss all the fun. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 5:1-12

¹ Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³   “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴   “Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

⁵   “Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶   “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

⁷   “Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.

⁸   “Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.

⁹   “Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I’m tired. Despite the extra hour of sleep last night, I’m tired. I’m tired of all the wars and fighting that go on in this world. I’m tired of the persecution that Muslim terrorists are inflicting on our brothers and sisters in Christ. I’m tired of seeing how people dismember and slaughter their children and call it ‘choice.’ I’m tired of worrying about Ebola. I’m tired of all the campaign ads and lofty promises of politicians who won’t deliver what they promise. I’m tired.

I’m tired, and I would venture to guess that you are tired too. And maybe you could add to this list. Maybe you’re tired of struggling to make ends meet. Maybe you are tired of your hard work going unrecognized by your family or your boss. Maybe you are tired of trying to hold your marriage together. Maybe you are tired of watching a friend or family member who is destroying his or her life with drugs or alcohol. Maybe you are tired of caring for a family member who is sick or dying.

We are all tired. We are tired of the tribulation that is life in this world of sin. Our sin has brought about the great tribulation. We are tired because we are cursed. Cursed by our own thoughts, cursed by our own words, and cursed by our own deeds.

Then this text comes along, and Jesus says, over and over, “Blessed. Blessed. Blessed” Nine times in this text, Jesus announces present blessing upon you, believer – not just some future blessing that you get someday after next Tuesday. “You are blessed now.”

Yesterday, November 1^st, is the day the Church celebrated All Saints’ Day. It is a day to remember the believers who have died and are now with their God and Savior. But it is also a day to remember that you too, believer, are a saint. You are one who has been made holy by Christ. In baptism, you have washed your robe white in the blood of the Lamb. You are even now part of that multitude before the throne of God. Each Sunday we gather together as believers to receive God’s blessings. Therefore, each Sunday becomes a foretaste of what is ours when Christ returns and raises us to eternal life.

We’re not going to go through all the Beatitudes today because that would take too long. But consider, please, the first two:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the reign of heaven.”

The poor in spirit are those who wait on God. The poor in spirit are sinners who have nothing to give, nothing to offer God. The poor in spirit are you who are tired and lost in sin, you who are cursed by sin. Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor in spirit.” Why are you blessed? Because you have nothing to offer. You have nothing in your hands. There is nothing you have to barter and trade with to get something out of God. He simply wants to give to you. He gives you forgiveness, life, and salvation. He gives you Jesus – crucified and risen. He gives you the reign of heaven. “Blessed now are the poor in spirit, for there is, now, the reign of heaven.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

When we think of mourning, we think of death. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. But! But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:56-57). Your Lord, your Savior gives you the victory now. Jesus is the Lamb who was slain. Jesus walked through death and came out even more glorious than He was before He went to death. Jesus’ resurrection means that the resurrection of the dead has already begun. So, when your loved ones die, mourn – be sad. As James 4:9 says, be wretched and mourn and weep. But even in mourning, you are blessed. You are blessed because you know that death, as final as it is, is not the final fact. “Blessed now are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is – not will someday be – your reward is now great in heaven.”

Beloved and blessed saints, though you are tired of living under the curse of sin, your Savior calls you blessed. Look around at what you have. See what Christ has given you. You have the presence of God in your midst. He is here to shelter you with His presence. Your hungering and thirsting is gone because Jesus gives you His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins.

1 John 3:2-3 ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 22:15-22— ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. ¹⁶ And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹ They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Do you find your actions result in unintended consequences?

In 1912, we learned a lesson from the sinking of the Titanic – you need to have enough lifeboats for everyone on the ship. When the “unsinkable” Titanic launched on its maiden voyage there were 2,223 people on board, but the ship had enough lifeboats for just under 1,200 people. Because of this in 1915, the federal “Seamen’s Act” was passed in the United States which required all ships to have enough lifeboats for all its passengers.

Well, there was a boat in Chicago called the Eastland. When it was built, the Eastland had a design flaw – it was top-heavy, its center of gravity was way too high causing the boat to list. When the “Seamen’s Act” passed, the Eastland had to add more heavy lifeboats to accommodate the number of passengers. But this, of course, made the ship even more top-heavy. Anyway, on July 24, 1915, the Eastland was chartered by a company to take its workers on their annual picnic. As the passengers boarded, they stood on the deck to take in the morning air. But suddenly the boat tipped over on its side, and 848 people died because the boat had been made “safer,” but that safety resulted in unintended consequences.

Good intentions do not always equal good results. Sometimes unintended consequences cause more mayhem like in the case of the Eastland. But sometimes unintended consequences produce unexpected benefits. Something like that happens in our text today.

In this Gospel text, the Pharisees are out for blood. Jesus is a threat to their authority, so they want Jesus dead. The Pharisees are looking for a way to trap Jesus in His words. They wanted to set a trap for Him so they could accuse Him of a capital crime. So the Pharisees worked together with the Herodians to lay out their trap. This would be similar to the farthest left liberal and the farthest right conservative joining forces to achieve something together. It’s almost unbelievable that something like this would happen.

The Herodians represented the Roman occupation of Israel. Herod’s dynasty had come to power only because Rome had given it to them. The Pharisees and the people living in Israel hated the fact that they were under the Herod’s and Roman rule, but they couldn’t really do anything about it. Both the Herodians and the Pharisees viewed Jesus as a threat to their way of life, and as the saying goes, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

They lay a snare for Jesus. They are going to ask Jesus a question that will catch Him in His words. But first they try to disguise their trap. They lather their trap in honeyed words. “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone’s opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances.” Thinking they have Jesus fooled and off His guard, they set the trap. ”Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Now, if Jesus says, “No,” the Herodians, the representatives of Rome, will think He is stirring up a rebellion. About 25 years before this, in 6 AD, a man named Simon the Galilean lead a revolt because of this very same tax resulting in a civil war. The Herodians would kill to stop another rebellion like this. But if Jesus says, “Yes,” the crowds who are following Him will be disgusted with Him seeing Him as a traitor to God the Jewish state.

But Jesus sees right through them. “Hypocrites. You evil, conniving, two-faced hypocrites. I’m going to ask you a question. Show Me the coin you use to pay the tax.” Someone in the group pulls a denarius out of his pocket and shows it to Jesus. And Jesus asks, “Whose likeness and inscription is on this coin? Whose icon and writing is this?”

They answer, “Caesar’s.” Jesus says, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” In other words, Jesus tells these nefarious hypocrites, “Since that coin has Caesar’s icon and writing on it, give it back to Caesar if he asks for it. But any other ‘currency,’ any other thing, that has God’s icon and writing on it, when God asks for it, render it to Him.”

With this answer, Jesus makes those hypocrites look like Wiley Coyote trying to catch Roadrunner. They marvel and go away.

But, fast-forward a couple of days. These hypocrites will do exactly what Jesus says. They will render to God the things that are God’s. They will render to God Jesus. Desperate to get rid of Him, the hypocrites will arrest Jesus and bring Him before Pilate saying, “This Man is forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a king” (Lk. 23:2). They make sure that Jesus gets placed on the cross, and in doing so, they render to God Jesus, the Son of God.

Just as the denarius bared the icon and words of Caesar, Jesus is the icon and Word of God (Col. 1:15; Jn. 1:1-4). But these hypocrites call for Jesus’ death thinking it will benefit them and their way of living. But killing Jesus will have unintended consequences with eternal benefits. They offer to God the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world – even their own sin.

Your actions also have unintended consequences. When we complain about our political leaders, we sin – not only against them, but also against God. Those in authority over us are placed there by God. If you resist the authorities, you resist and rebel against God (Ro. 13:1-7). You and I are sinners, descendants of Adam. We bear the icon of original sin (1 Co. 15:49) from the time we are conceived. Everything we do, even our righteous deeds fall apart in our hands producing sin and death.

However, God has given you the icon of Christ (1 Cor. 15:49). When you were baptized into Christ, you put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). When you were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God put His words, His name, on you.

In allowing Himself to be offered to God, Jesus offered to God the things that are God’s. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus redeemed you and all of creation and presents it back to God. Our evil toward God has resulted in the best unintended consequence – eternal life with Him. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 22:1-14 – ¹ And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, ³ and sent his servants to call those who had been called to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴ Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been called, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and torched their city. ⁸ Then he says to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who had been called were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and call to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he says to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here even though you do not have a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

You have a God who wants to, “prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies” (Ps. 23:5). You have a God who has made for you “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full or marrow, of aged wine well refined” (Is. 25:6). But most of the time, we sinners look at God as though He is a blood-thirsty deity that we are fed to rather than a loving heavenly Father we are fed by (Capon). But a God full of wrath and anger is not the kind of God you have.

Jesus depicts God’s reign, His saving action in the world, as a king who gave a wedding feast. The king sends out invitations, and then he sends out his servants to call those who had already been called. But after these two calls, the guests still do not come. The king eagerly sends out other servants tempting the guests to come, “The feast is ready. Listen to this tasty menu; I’ve killed my best animals and barbequed them. The table is set. The wine is poured. Come to my palace. Let’s have a hand-clappin’, foot-stompin’, side-splinnin’ good ol’ time.”

The guests still make light of it all. They ignore the call and go about their regular business. One goes off to his farm, and another goes off to his business. Some of the other invitees make it clear what they think of the king and his party. They seize the king’s servants who were simply inviting them to come to a feast, treat the servants disgracefully, and kill them. This is no way to run a social life.

Pause here for a moment. Notice, the two types of people here. First, there are those who think that the king’s gracious attitude will absolve them from the bother having to sit through his feast (notice the sarcasm). These people say, “Oh, I have so much stuff to do, I can’t be interrupted to go to a boring party at the palace.” Second, there are those who think that they are too good, too fancy, too high-brow to be seen at the feast. Maybe they see the guest list and say, “Oh, I couldn’t be seen with the likes of those people. It would ruin my reputation.” But what is common to both of these groups is that they are lacking in faith that the king’s feast is the place to be. And by rejecting the king and his feast, the people are left with nothing because outside of this party, there is no life at all.

The palace is decorated, and the music has started. But the town is filled with indifference and violence towards the king and his party causing the streets flow with the blood of the king’s servants.

So before he can preside over the party, the king has to oversee a slaughter. He sends out his armies shooting up cars, throwing grenades, launching missiles, and dropping napalm on the very people the king wanted at his feast. The king wanted to give them the best food and wine. But because of their violent refusal, the king takes their lives crosses them off of his list for good.

After this “shock and awe” display of wrath, the king dusts off his hands and determines to go on with the party. He sends out his servants, “Go into the main streets of the city and invite as many as you find.” So the servants go out and gather all the people they could find – both bad [πονηρός where we get our word ‘pornography’] and good.

Pause again. The king will stop at nothing to have his party. Evil is not a problem for God. Evil has already been dealt with on the cross, in the death and resurrection of Jesus. God does not invite the good and snub the bad. He invites everyone – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the evil. The eternal Marriage Supper of the Lamb is open to all sorts of evil people – to drunkards, druggies, prostitutes, murderers – and even to you.

The only thing that can possibly hinder you from getting into the feast of God’s reign is rejection of the invitation. While you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you making you acceptable to God. Trust that provision and nothing else.

Back to the parable: The servants bring in everyone they can find, both the bad and the good. All these people are dragged off the street dressed just as they are – business casual, sweaty workout cloths, and even filthy rags – and are marched right into the palace. But before they are ushered to their chairs, the king’s servants give everyone something splendid to wear. The men get expensive Italian suits by Armani and Brioni while the women get evening gowns by Dolce & Gabbana and Prada. So, finally, the wedding hall was filled with guests.

The king comes in to have a look at the splendor. But he sees one glaring defect marring the whole scene. One character stands out like a monstrous, puss-oozing zit smack in the middle of an otherwise flawless face. There he is, a guy with no wedding cloths. The king walks right up to him and asks, “Hey buster, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And the man was speechless.

I think Jesus makes the man speechless just to get to the point of the parable. Stories, even good stories, have to end sometime. Seeing the lengths to which the king goes to get anyone in his feast, I’m sure any excuse would have done. If the guy had just said, “I didn’t want to get your fancy schmancy suit dirty. And I’ve been working all day getting sweaty and dirty cleaning the manure out of my barn. And I’m still bleeding from when I tried to jump over my barbed-wire fence when I heard about your invitation.” I’m sure the king would have laughed and said, “Don’t worry about it. The cloths are just for fun. Here’s a nice $50,000 Kiton suit. The color will distract from the poo in your hair! Here’s a nice Rolex watch. It will work as a Band-Aid for your cut.”

But this guy doesn’t even offer an excuse, and by doing so, he excludes himself from a relationship with the king. The king wanted a relationship with this guy and was willing to go to whatever lengths to make it happen. But by not believing and accepting the king’s provision and acceptance, this sorry dude brought judgment upon himself. “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness – where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

You see, God has prepared a table for you. He accepts you. He accepts you not because of who you are or what you have done. He accepts you because of what Jesus Christ has done. God simply wants you at His party. He has laid it all out with the best food, the most expensive china, and the finest wine. He will dress you in the righteousness of His Son.

Ephesians 2:4–7 ⁴ God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved [you], ⁵ even when [you] were dead in [your] trespasses, made [you] alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised [you] up with him and seated [you] with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward [you] in Christ Jesus.

God invites you, “I’m serious. Come. Eat, drink, and be merry. This is My feast, and I want you here.” Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 21:33-46 – ³³ “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus keeps singing Isaiah’s love song about Yahweh’s vineyard (Is. 5:1-7). God wants to supply everything necessary for a feast – a time of wining and dining. He plants a vineyard, sets a hedge around it, digs out a winepress, and builds a watchtower to protect against marauding invaders.

But then, in our eyes, God made a mistake. “He leased the vineyard out to tenants.” Think of all the trouble God could have saved if He had simply had kept the vineyard with all of its grapes and wine for Himself. But, then, God does something even more silly, “He went into another country.”

“If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself,” we say. But that is not God’s way. He doesn’t set Himself up in the watchtower and manage the vineyard Himself. He lets the tenants figure it out for themselves. When the harvest is over and the wine is made, He expects those tenants to give Him His portion so that He and His tenants can eat, drink, and be merry together.

But the tenants see the Owner as remote and distant. So when the Owner’s servants show up asking for the Owner’s portion the tenants respond, “Yeah, good luck with that.” They think that whatever they send back to the Owner will mean less for them. So they beat one of the servants, kill another, and stone another.

If you don’t think the Owner is foolish yet, look at what He does next. “He sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.”

Finally, the Owner decides to do something so foolish it’s pathetic. He sent His Son saying, “They will respect My Son.” It looks as though the vineyard Owner underestimated how evil and opportunistic His tenants were. Why, why, would the vineyard Owner be so foolish as to send His Son while His vineyard is stained with the blood of His servants? But He does, and the Son goes willingly.

The tenants see the Son coming and figure this is their chance to make it big. “Come, let us kill the Heir and we will have His inheritance. And they threw [the Son] out of the vineyard and killed Him.”

Then Jesus asks the big question, “When the Owner of the vineyard comes, what will He do to those tenants?” There is no doubt that He will clobber and destroy them. The chief priests and elders, the leaders of the Temple, said to Jesus (lit.), “He will put those wretches to a wretched death.” You would too. You certainly wouldn’t have let things get this far. You absolutely wouldn’t have sent your own child. You probably wouldn’t have sent a second delegation of servants. You likely wouldn’t have gone to a far off country. And maybe you wouldn’t have even lent your vineyard out to anyone.

By acting with evil towards the vineyard Owner, His servants, and His Son, the tenants show that they viewed the Owner as evil.

Luther famously said, “As you believe, so it is.” If you treat God as a kill-joy who deprives you of good things, then that is the God you have. If you treat God as a threat to you and your well-being, then that is the God you have. If you think God is the kind of God who demands His rights and pays back evil for evil, then that is the God you have. If you treat God as a threat and enemy, then that is the God you have.

“The evil you think of God, you will receive from Him” (Nagel). Because the tenants are wretched, they get a wretched end. “As you believe, so it is.” If you insist that God give you what you deserve, that is all you will get. If you treat God as a threat and enemy, then that is what He will be (Nagel). But that is not what God wants.

God wants a vineyard, grapes, wine, and the joy that comes from it all (Ps. 104:14-15). God wants what is His to flow from Himself to you and to Himself again – back and forth, back and forth. That is God’s love for you.

God has set us as His tenants in His vineyard, but we have returned His kindness with sin and murder. It was at your hands and my hands that Jesus was thrown out of the vineyard to suffer, bleed, and die. The Father sent Jesus knowing we would treat Him with dishonor, and Jesus willingly came. He came and let His body be broken for you. He let His blood be shed for you. And He does not return your violence upon your heads. He gives and gives more.

Today, He willingly gives you His body and blood – in, with, and under the bread and the wine. He gives His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins.

You can believe God is a tyrant stealing all your hard work and all your joy from you, and He will certainly do that if that is what you believe. But He doesn’t want to. God wants the joy of the harvest. He wants us to join Him in the celebration, and He calls you to play your part in furnishing the fruit and wine for the festivity (Nagel). Amen.[1]

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

[1] I am indebted to Norman Nagel’s sermon on this text as inspiration for this sermon.

Listen here.

Matthew 21:23-32— ²³ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“What gives You the right? Where do You get Your authority?” The chief priests and elders want to know why Jesus thinks He can do all the things He has been doing.

Well, what has Jesus been doing? In last week’s text, Jesus was teaching in parables, but today’s text moves Jesus’ story late into the 4^th quarter. We have jumped ahead to Tuesday of Holy Week – in three days Jesus will be hanging on the cross. So what has Jesus done in the last few days that has the chief priests and elders upset? If you look at Matthew and Mark together you get a sense of the timeline. Mark (11:1-27) gives us a sense of how time has passed (Matthew, as he writes, isn’t as concerned about letting us know what happened on what day).

Jesus entered Jerusalem on Sunday riding a donkey while the crowds welcomed Him waving palm branches, laying their cloaks on the road before Him, and shouting, “Hosanna! Save us now, Lord! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

On Monday, Jesus enters the Temple again and causes quite a scene. He drives out the people who are selling and buying animals with a whip, and He overturns the tables of the money changers. You might think after causing such a scene, Jesus would want to abscond, to slip out to a quiet alley. But instead He stays in the Temple healing the blind and lame while children cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” And Jesus doesn’t tell the kids to be quiet and reverent. Instead, He accepts their praise. None of this goes over well with the leaders. They don’t like it one bit and are trying to figure out how to destroy Jesus.

Now our text picks up on Tuesday. Jesus is in the Temple again. The chief priests and elders of the people, the spiritual leaders, walk up to Jesus and ask Him, “What gives Jesus? Who do You think You are? Why are You doing all these things? This is our turf. We get to say how things are supposed to be done here. We told the money changers and sellers they could be here. Why do You think you can drive them out and change how we do things? By what authority do You do all this?”

Jesus responds, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.” Jesus asks, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?”

The answer to the leaders’ question is the answer to Jesus’ question. The source of John’s authority was the source of Jesus’ authority. If they answer Jesus’ question right, then they will have answered their own question.

But these spiritual leaders huddle up and discuss how to respond, and they realize they have a problem. If they answer, “From heaven,” Jesus will say, “If John’s message was from heaven, why didn’t you believe John? He told people to believe in Me. John himself said that I was the one mightier than he was. He said that I am the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If John came from God, why don’t you believe Me?” But these leaders also realize that if they answer, “From man,” the crowds will be upset because they believed that John was a prophet. Gobs of people from all over the country believed John’s preaching which called for repentance, and they went to him to be baptized (Mk. 1:5). If the leaders say that John’s baptism was only from man, the crowds will hate them.

So they decide to answer with a humble-sounding lie, “We don’t know.” So Jesus tells them, “Than neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

But Jesus doesn’t let them off the hook. Jesus traps the leaders with another question. But He doesn’t trap them to condemn them; instead, He traps them to bring them to repentance. Jesus asks a question with a mini-parable, “What do you think? A man had two sons. He said to them both, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The first son said, ‘I will not go,’ but later changed his mind (lit. ‘repented’) and went. The second son said, ‘I will go,’ but he did not go. Which of the two sons did the will of his father?”

The leaders know the answer – it’s elementary, it’s obvious. “The first. The one who said he would not go but then repented and went.” With this right answer, Jesus has them right where He wants them. He says, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. John came to you in the way of righteousness preaching repentance. But you did not believe him – you did not repent. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him and repented. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds (lit. ‘repent’) and believe him.”

Let’s leave Jesus and the leaders for now. What does this mean for you?

Who do the characters in the parable represent? The father is God, the two sons are believers and unbelievers. To work in the vineyard is to do the will of God. That doesn’t mean to fly straight and obey all of God’s commandments. To do the will of God is to repent of everything you do because what you do always falls short of God’s command. God sent John and Jesus preaching telling people what His will was – “Repent.” Jesus said that God’s will is that everyone look to Jesus and believe in Him for eternal life (Jn. 6:40). Without repentance and faith you will never do the will of the Father. Instead, you will watch as tax collectors and prostitutes, as all sinners, enter the reign of heaven ahead of you.

It doesn’t matter how good you are, you are still a sinner. And sinners, all sinners, the worst of the worst sinners, enter the reign of God only because of repentance and faith in Jesus. Abandoning your works and efforts is the only way into the reign of God. Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world.

Jesus has authority from God. And Christ used His authority to take your sins and make them His own (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24). He suffered, bled, and died for those sins. As far as God is concerned, you have never sinned at all because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

So, repent, believe. Enter the reign of God on the basis of Jesus’ authority to forgive you because He has forgiven you. All of you. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 20:1-16 – ¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Out of curiosity, how many of you hate this parable? Be honest.

The reason we don’t like this parable is not because it is hard to understand. We don’t like this parable precisely because we do understand it. We understand it all too well and we don’t like it.

This parable is about the reign of heaven. It is not telling you how to run a business. If you ran your business like this, you’d get sued for all you are worth. But Jesus isn’t speaking about how the economics of the world should work. In this world, a fair day’s work should be paid with a fair wage. But as Jesus speaks about the economics of heaven, He says that everyone gets the same. Everyone, even bums like you and me, everyone gets rewarded for the work of others.

Jesus depicts God as the Master (lit. ‘despot’) of a vineyard. The Despot needs workers in His vineyard, so He goes out early in the morning to the marketplace to hire laborers. Notice how He goes about hiring: The first workers agreed (lit. ‘symphonized’) with the Despot for one denarius (a denarius = 1 day’s wage; let’s call it $120). But notice, the workers hired at the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour are only given the Master’s promise, “Whatever is (lit.) just, I will give you.” They go out to work trusting the Master.

But, notice, those hired at the eleventh hour don’t even get a promise, they are just told, “You go into the vineyard too,” and they go. The workers hired at the beginning of the day know what to expect, but nobody else does. They simply go out in faith trusting the Despot because they know He is a decent fellow.

Now imagine the workers. The ones who started at the beginning of the day watch as more and more workers come later and later. You can imagine that the ones who were hired at the third hour ask their coworkers how much they are getting paid. “We agreed with the Despot for $120 for the day,” the newbies figure out the math. “Ok. That works out to $10/hr. We’ll be working for nine hours; that’s $90.” The later workers all do the same.

Imagine the surprise of all the employees when the last group of workers come. They got hired at the eleventh hour, so when they finally show up and are told what to do, they only work about fifteen minutes.

The sun sets, and it’s time to get paid. The Despot realizes things are looking pretty good. The vineyard is producing a bumper crop, so the Despot decides to have a little fun. He tells the foreman to divvy out the checks and pay the last first. The idle bums who were hired at the eleventh hour get a pleasant surprise – they open their envelope and find a check for $120. I’m sure they didn’t tell the Despot that he had made a mistake. They just chuckle to themselves and figure they should work for this guy again.

The way Jesus tells the parable, you can see the workers who were hired first licking their chops thinking that the Master has decided to pay $120 per hour. They start trying to do the math and figure out how much they are going to get.

But then, those who worked three hours get $120, and they are still happy as all get out, but they might be a little curious why they didn’t get a little more. Those who worked six and nine hours get their $120, and they are pleased, but probably more than a little jealous of those who came later. And when those who were hired at the beginning of the day see their $120, they choke. They are outraged. All they can think about is their hard work and how hot the day was. They march up to the Despot and give their little speech, “Hey, those punks only worked one hour while we worked all day long. How dare you make them equal to us?”

But the voice of the Despot puts them back in their place. “Liston, buddy, I’m doing you no wrong. We had an agreement, and I paid you according to our deal. If anyone is being cheated here, it’s Me. I’m the One who is overpaying for one hour of work.”

The Despot’s response should sock our prideful souls right between the eyes. He says, “Take what belongs to you and go. I chose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Do you begrudge My generosity?” Literally, He says, “Is your eye evil because I am good?”

In other words, the Despot says, “Listen, pal. If you don’t like the way I run things in My vineyard, if you don’t like that I give – not pay, but give – everybody the same, than get out of here. If you don’t like seeing Me be gracious and merciful, you’d better go and work yourself sweaty somewhere else because ‘Mercy’ is My middle name. But let me tell you something, buster, there’s no better place to be than in My vineyard. Maybe you should stick around and learn to enjoy living in My mercy.”

In the mercy-filled reign of God, it doesn’t matter if you work twelve hours or nine hours or six hours or three hours or one measly hour. In the reign of heaven what you receive is based solely on the mercy and generosity of God. In the reign of heaven, you get what you get because of the work of Another.

Jesus is using this parable to teach that the reign of heaven isn’t about rewarding the rewardable. This is good news; this is Gospel. God simply won’t pay you according to what you earn, and all you have earned is eternal death and separation from God. If you demand God give you what you earned, God will tell you, “If you don’t like My mercy, take what is yours. Take your sin and death and misery and go, get out of here.”

You see, you have already received God’s mercy. Jesus worked a full day under the heat and wrath of God’s fury over your sin. He dug in the muck and mire of sin pulling out the weeds of sickness and disease. He watered the whole field with forgiveness and life. If anyone could complain that God’s method of payment is unfair, it is Jesus. He lived the perfect life under God’s commandments, and what did He get? A beating. A whip-scarred back. A crown of thorns. Nails driven through His hands and feet. And a spear-torn gash in His side. He got a cross and a tomb.

But Jesus rose again and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father. And that, dear saint, is where you are as well. You were buried with Christ in your baptism so that you may also be raised with Him at the right hand of God (Ro. 6:4-5; Col. 2:12-13). And Jesus loves the Father’s little game of giving you everything. Jesus loves that the Father has not paid you according to your work but according to His grace. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 18:21-35 – ²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Wasn’t it necessary that you should have mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

He got waaaay more than he asked for. This was even better than the time he asked the dealer to knock a couple hundred off the sticker price of that Mercedes S-Class, and the dealer just said, “Nah. No charge. Just take it. Here’s the keys.”

The Unforgiving Servant needs a name. Let’s call him Vinnie – that’s a fitting name for such a disgusting individual.

Vinnie’s day began badly. His breakfast had been interrupted by the king’s two brutes who hauled him off to see the creditor. From the second they burst into the door, Vinnie pretty much knew what exactly was going to happen. He didn’t know the names of the two lugs, but he was sure they had come at the command of the king.

The king had lent Vinnie some money – a lot of money. Ok an exorbitant amount of money. Vinnie owed the king more than a king’s ransom. Vinnie owed the king 10,000 talents – that’s 60 million days (164,383 years) of work. To put this in perspective: If you worked every day of the year earning a measly $10.00 per hour that would translate to $4,800,000,000,000.

Obviously, Vinnie could not pay. So the king ordered Vinnie to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had. Vinnie didn’t like the sound of this. He fell on his knees and said, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.”

Yeah, right.

Notice that Vinnie is simply asking for patience and more time. But the king doesn’t give Vinnie patience or time. The king gives Vinnie more than patience or time. The king gives him mercy. Vinnie didn’t ask for the debt to be forgiven; the king simply wipes it out. A simple word from the king, and *POOF* Vinnie’s $4.8 trillion debt just gets erased – it’s gone.

Vinnie had to be feeling pretty good. What had begun as a terrible day was turning out to be an excellent day, a superb day. This was the type of day that should have been remembered by Vinnie’s children, grandchildren, and great-great-great-great grandchildren. And it would have been. But, then, Vinnie left the king’s hall.

You would think Vinnie would be so deliriously happy that he would be telling everyone about the mercy and grace of the king. Everyone had to know that Vinnie had been lent a large amount of money. Maybe they didn’t know how much, but you don’t rack up $4.8 trillion in debt without someone noticing that something’s going on. But Vinnie leaves the king’s hall and sees one of his fellow servants.

Vinnie sees Chuck (let’s call this fellow servant ‘Chuck’), and Vinnie remembers that Chuck owed him 100 denarii. One denarii is one day’s wage. Doing the same math at $10 per hour, Chuck owed Vinnie $8,000. Now, $8,000 is a significant amount, but it isn’t even chump change compared to $4.8 trillion – not by a long shot. Vinnie walks up to Chuck and without even a, “Hello,” Vinnie begins to choke Chuck saying, “Pay what you owe me.”

Pause here for a minute. Think about this: Where do kings get their money? That’s right, from taxing their subjects. Vinnie just got his debt of $4.8 trillion forgiven by the king. How much of that $4.8 trillion do you suppose was Chuck’s tax money? Chew on that later today.

Anyway, Chuck pulls the same stunt that Vinnie had just pulled with the king. Chuck pleaded, “Have patience with me, Vinnie, and I will pay you,” echoing Vinnie’s words almost exactly. But Vinnie refuses to have patience. He had Chuck thrown in prison until the debt would be paid.

Naturally, this grieved the other servants that saw it, so they went and told the king. The king summoned Vinnie back into his chambers. Vinnie entered the hall and saw the brutes standing along the wall. The king starts in on Vinnie the moment he entered the room, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Wasn’t it necessary for you to have mercy on your fellow slave as I had mercy on you?”

Then the king ordered his lugs to haul Vinnie off to the torturers until he repaid everything he owed.

Jesus concludes His parable and tells us what it means. “My heavenly Father will do the same thing to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Peter thought that forgiving his brother seven times was pretty good. And Peter was right. How many people would forgive someone seven times? Probably no one. We have the saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” If someone lies to you, you might forgive them, but you make sure that you don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes again. Forgive someone seven times, and people will call you a fool. But Jesus tells Peter to forgive 70 x 7 times. Four-hundred ninety times, but Jesus doesn’t intend for you to stop at 491. Forgiveness is unlimited, and Jesus explains this with the parable.

But this parable is so extreme, so unthinkable. And yet the situation Jesus puts forward is, in a terrifying way, more real and true than we will ever understand. Every last one of you here has an unimaginable debt just like Vinnie.

Sin – all sin – is against God. Every time you break God’s law, you rack up debt with your God and King. Jesus summarizes the entire Law of God as, “Love the Lord your God with all year heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.” So when you don’t love your neighbor as yourself, you aren’t loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength because you aren’t doing what He had commanded. So, you can see how quickly your debt of sin multiplies exponentially. Every week, you rack up a debt like Vinnie’s. You constantly owe God an incalculable debt of sin. And what does He do? Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, He simply wipes it out. Because of Jesus, your debt is gone. Because of Jesus, as far as God’s concerned, your sin never existed.

So, when someone sins against you, what are you to do? The words of the king tell us, ”Isn’t it necessary that you should have mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” The answer is, “Yes. Yes of course it is necessary.”

Mercy is two things. Mercy is both not getting what you deserve and getting what you don’t deserve. Vinnie got mercy. He didn’t get the punishment that he deserved, and he got his debt forgiven which he didn’t deserve. But Vinnie showed that he refused the king’s mercy because Vinnie demanded what he deserved from Chuck. By demanding his rights from Chuck, Vinnie was refusing his undeserved gift from the king.

This parable makes it all so clear. Mercy isn’t meant to be held on to. Mercy is meant to be passed on. The mercy that flows from God to you is designed to flow to others as well. It doesn’t matter what someone else has done to you, forgive them.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you won’t feel pain. People who have sinned against you can cause you hurt and scars that may never go away. The emotional pain of sin against you may last your entire life – even when you have forgiven them.

But know this for sure: God has forgiven you in Christ. His mercies are new every morning. Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away your sin – even your sins of unforgiveness. So comfort each another with the mercy that God has given to you. Your neighbor is dependent upon it. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 18:1-20— ¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.

⁶ ”But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸ And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

¹² ”What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ ”Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The disciples ask, “Who is the greatest in the reign of heaven?” but Jesus doesn’t answer their question right away. While the disciples are curious about who is the greatest, Jesus is more interested in telling them about getting into the reign of heaven. Jesus called a child over, placed the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the reign of heaven.”

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Everything I needed to know, I learned in kindergarten.” You do learn a lot of important things in kindergarten, but you certainly didn’t learn everything you need to know. If the world were run by people who stopped learning after kindergarten (and, maybe, sometimes it appears that is the case) we would lament the day that we stopped sending people on to 1^st grade and beyond.

It is important for us to understand what Jesus is saying here because if we don’t we will misunderstand what Jesus says in the rest of ch. 18 (which we’ll continue looking at next week).

For Jesus to tell His disciples that they have to “become like children” was an absolutely radical statement in His day. In Jesus’ day, children were considered weak and inferior. In Jesus’ day, children were praised only because they had the potential to become something in the future. It’s still true in our day too. Maybe we aren’t that blunt about it. But when someone tells you that you are being childish, they aren’t giving you a compliment.

Children are weak, and children don’t plan ahead. We didn’t hire a kindergarten class to pave our parking lot and for good reason. Children don’t know how to do many tasks correctly or efficiently – they need patience as they learn how to do things. As a parent, I am grateful when my kids ask if they can help me do something, but if I decline their offer to help, it is usually because I know I can get the job done in half the time when I do it myself.

Children do have a lot of good qualities that it would be good for adults to emulate, but we don’t want a world full of children. Sometimes we think Jesus wants us to be like children because they are happy. But for every time a child is happy they are also whining, complaining twerps. We maybe think Jesus wants us to be like children because children are innocent, but we all know children aren’t innocent. Parents know that when one of their children has been hurt by one of their siblings, there is probably no innocent party. A child crying out, “She hit me,” probably means that the child who was hit did something to deserve it. We maybe think Jesus wants us to be like children because they are trusting. But children are trusting to a fault which is why they have to be taught to avoid strangers.

So what does Jesus mean when He tells the disciples they must become like children?  What quality do children have that we and the disciples need to become like them? Dependence.

When Jesus says, “You must become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. And whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” He is redefining greatness. Children, whether they recognize it or not, depend and rely upon their parents for everything. Children rely on their parents for food, shelter, clothing, education, and everything they need for life.

Children are even dependent upon their parents for their independence. In our culture, children are considered independent adults when they turn 18. But the level of independence they have rests on how well the parents have prepared them for being independent. For example, if you don’t teach your kids how to spend money wisely, they will be slaves to debt.

In this whole text, Jesus is teaching that dependence equals greatness in the reign of heaven. Now, that’s backward thinking. But Jesus is so insistent on this point that He spends the rest of ch. 18 fleshing this out.

Jesus says, “Ok, disciples. You want to be great in the reign of heaven? Depend upon Me for everything. Humble yourself and know that you need to receive everything from Me and you will be great. When you receive a child like this one in My name, you receive Me. But if you cause one of these children to sin (lit. ‘be scandalized’ as in ‘fall away’), it would be better for you if you were dragged to the bottom of the sea by a huge stone.”

Jesus continues to be deadly serious about this. He says, “Woe to the world for its scandals. Because of sin scandals will come, but woe to the one by whom they come. You would be better off lopping off hands and limbs and plucking out eyes rather than causing scandals for those who are dependent upon Me.”

Jesus shows His care and concern for those who are dependent on Him in the parable about the Lost Sheep to drive this point home. “If one of my sheep is lost, they need Me. And I will leave the ninety-nine to search out the one that went astray. I don’t groan about that sheep that is lost. I weep. I will do everything to restore that one lost, dependent sheep. And I will rejoice over that one lost sheep that I restore more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.”

And Jesus wants you to have this same concern for a dependent brother or sister. Jesus says, “If someone sins against you, don’t go around telling everyone. Go to the person alone and restore them. If that doesn’t work, bring others with you to try to restore that person. But if that doesn’t work tell the church. And if they still refuse to listen, make it clear to them that they are outside the church, outside My protection. Tell them that they are outside so that they will see their danger and come back in.”

And Jesus says, “Even when only two of my people are gathered in My name, I am there among them.”

Brothers and sisters, we are in a great place because Jesus is here among us. Here we are, a small little flock of sheep gathered at our Shepherd’s feet. We have all gone astray. This past week we have all sinned and wandered from our Shepherd’s pen. And yet He has gathered us together once again. And heaven rejoices. Heaven rejoices as our Savior throws us a feast in His Supper giving us His body to eat and His blood to drink. In this meal, Jesus is present with us, forgiving our sins. Amen.

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

Listen here.

Matthew 16:21-28— ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Son of Man is coming with his kingdom.”

In the name of Jesus, the Son of the living God. Amen.

Poor old Peter. What had he done to get wiped out like that from Jesus? He had just confessed about Jesus to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” You can’t get a better confession than that. Jesus even said so, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

Peter’s confession was so solid that Jesus said He would build His church on it. I wonder how Peter was feeling as Jesus said, “On [the rock of this confession] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

But Peter went wrong – diabolically wrong, satanically wrong. Peter went wrong when he decided that he knew better than God how things should go for the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus, the Son of the living God, says the way He should go as Messiah is to Jerusalem to suffer, to be killed, and to rise again after three days. Peter didn’t like all that, not one bit. In Peter’s mind, that is not what the “living God” should do. The living God should not die. The living God should not be killed by the hands of men. No way. Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, but when Jesus says that He isn’t going to be the type of Christ Peter wants, Peter says as much. “God have mercy on You, Lord. This shall never happen to You.”

But what does Jesus say? “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus certainly doesn’t beat around the bush.

Peter wanted a Christ who doesn’t do Maundy Thursday or Good Friday or Holy Saturday – the sort of Christ who doesn’t do the Passion. And Jesus wanted nothing to do with that sort of Peter.

As Matthew records this, there were only a few minutes between Peter’s good, faithful confession and his denial, his anti-Christ. Where did it all go wrong? Jesus’ words offer us the answer. When Peter confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus says, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” But when Peter says, “God have mercy on You, Jesus. You will never suffer and die. That will never happen to You.” Jesus responds, “You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Do you see what flesh and blood does? Do you see where the things of man get you? Left to yourself, you end up in your own devilish design, your own satanic scheme. The fallen thoughts of man and flesh and blood leave you in your sin. Without a Christ who does the Passion, Peter is still lost in his sin. And so are you, so is everyone. You fallen sons of Adam and fallen daughters of Eve, “To set the mind on the flesh is death…. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Ro. 8:6-8).

We are all like Peter. We think we can tell God how things ought to go. It is called sin. We think we can do a better job of being God than God can. We place ourselves above God in all we think, say, and do. We see the most selfless act of love, the crucifixion, and say that it isn’t necessary because we can’t be all that bad. Could it really be that we are so evil that God would have to die for us to make us right? Yes! Absolutely, yes! We are that bad. We are that evil. We are that rotten. There is no limit to our wicked thoughts and actions. Because of that, we deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment.

And yet God simply does not want that to happen. God has chosen to take our sin from us. Jesus took our sin – your sin – and the punishment we deserve – that you deserve – and placed it upon His only-begotten Son, killing your sin and His Son.

You cannot doubt that Peter loved Jesus, but love can certainly get things wrong. Probably, Peter’s love for Jesus led Peter to not want Jesus to have the rough road of the crucifixion that Jesus said was before Him. And Peter let his love for Jesus get in the way of his faith in Jesus. You can confess using all the right words and have a heart full of love and still be the mouthpiece of Satan (Nagel). Your misguided love for Jesus can bring you to place where you stand with the crowds saying to Jesus, “Come down from the cross, if You are the Son of God” (Mt. 27:42). But out of His love for you, Jesus simply will not.

Jesus says that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again, there is no getting around it. And He has done all of that for you. And you, believer, follow after Him.

To follow after Jesus is to deny yourself, to turn away from your lives of trying to be your own god. When you try to save your own sinful life, you lose everything, but when you lose your life of sin, you will find a life, an eternal life, with God. Only when you lose your life do you find another. A new life of taking up your cross and following after Jesus. Following Him through suffering. Following Him to His death and to His tomb. But also following Him to the resurrection and eternal life.

The disciples did not taste death, they did not die, until they saw the Christ come in His glory. The cross, that humiliating place of pain and death, is the place of Christ’s glory. And the cross is the place of your glory. For on that cross, you were made a child of God. Amen.[1]

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

[1] I am thankful for a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Norman Nagel on this text as inspiration for this sermon.