The Cure – Sermon on Jeremiah 8:4-12 for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Jeremiah 8:4-12

4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
When men fall, do they not rise again? 
If one turns away, does he not return? 
5 Why then has this people turned away 
in perpetual backsliding? 
They hold fast to deceit; 
they refuse to return. 
6 I have paid attention and listened, 
but they have not spoken rightly; 
no man relents of his evil, 
saying, ‘What have I done?’ 
Everyone turns to his own course, 
like a horse plunging headlong into battle. 
7 Even the stork in the heavens 
knows her times, 
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane 
keep the time of their coming, 
but my people know not 
the rules of the Lord. 

8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, 
and the law of the Lord is with us’? 
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes 
has made it into a lie. 
9 The wise men shall be put to shame; 
they shall be dismayed and taken; 
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, 
so what wisdom is in them? 
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others 
and their fields to conquerors, 
because from the least to the greatest 
everyone is greedy for unjust gain; 
from prophet to priest, 
everyone deals falsely. 
11 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, 
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 
12 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? 
No, they were not at all ashamed; 
they did not know how to blush. 
Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; 
when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, 
                                    says the Lord.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Imagine that you have been in severe pain for two months, so you finally go to the doctor. The doctor asks some questions, examines you, runs some tests, and orders some imaging. After all that, the doctor comes back and says that your blood tests and x-rays show that you have a bacteria that is slowly eating your bones, and if your condition is left untreated it will liquify every bone in your body within six months. We’ll call this infection I completely made up ‘osteoliquiditis.’

You reply to the doctor, “Osteoliquiditis? That sounds completely made up.” But the doctor shows you all sorts of medical journals and studies, and you learn that osteoliquiditis is, in fact, a well-researched, well-studied condition. Your doctor tells you that you can be treated, but the medication will have the side effect of lowering the levels of dopamine in your body reducing your experience of pleasure. You don’t like the sound of that, so you decide to get a second opinion. The second doctor looks over your chart and says, “Yes, this is a classic case of osteoliquiditis. But don’t listen to your first doctor. That medication should never have been approved. Yes, it kills the bacteria that causes osteoliquiditis, but do you really want to have less pleasure in your life? I don’t recommend any of my osteoliquiditis patients take that medication.” You ask, “Then, how should I treat this?” as you hope and pray this second doctor knows of a treatment that kills the bacteria with little to no side effects.

The doctor hands you a Band-Aid, and says, “Here. Put this on, it’ll help you feel better.” You can’t believe your ears and reply, “A Band-Aid for a bone-liquifying bacterial infection? Is this some magical Band-Aid?” The doctor says, “No, it’s just a regular Band-Aid. It won’t do anything to stop or slow the bacteria. But do you remember how, when you were little, your mom would put a Band-Aid on your shin after you bruised it? That Band-Aid did nothing to heal your shin, but it made you feel better because you knew someone cared. This is the same thing.” And the doctor walks out of the room. 

Now, you are left with a decision. You can go back to your first doctor and get a prescription for the pleasure-reducing medicine, or you can slap that Band-Aid on hoping for the placebo as you live out your last six months while the bacteria slowly liquifies every bone your body. So, what do you do? You open the Band-Aid, slap it on, and go about your life. Thus endeth the analogy.

This text from Jeremiah before us today is utterly depressing and almost exasperating. God Himself is mourning the unrepentance of His people. They keep falling headlong into sin and don’t get back up. They turn away, but never return. God isn’t frustrated because His people take one step forward and two steps back. No, instead, they are perpetually backsliding. They abandoned truth and desperately clung to the lies and deceit that their sin isn’t so bad and their pain and suffering wasn’t being caused by their iniquities. They went after their sins with the speed, strength, and determination of a warhorse. But you can hear God’s frustration when He says that the birds know when to migrate. They don’t need to be told to fly south before winter; they just do. Yet God’s people didn’t know the way home. The animals obey God better than the people God created to rule over nature.

What happened? How did things get so bad that God would be so despondent? Why did God’s people take the Band-Aid instead of running back to God for the treatment? Well, the text tells us exactly why. God’s people did not know the rules (lit. the ‘just decrees’) of the Lord. They claimed to be wise thinking they still had God’s Word, but the religious leaders had twisted the Scriptures into a lie. Because God’s people had rejected God’s Word, there was not even the possibility of them having wisdom. Instead of calling God’s people to turn from their sin, the leaders put a Band-Aid on a terminal disease saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace. As a result, God’s people were not ashamed of their sin and did not even know how to blush.

Dear saints, we are no better. The same sins and abandoning of God’s Word in Jeremiah’s day are rampant today, and we don’t have to go outside these walls to find those sins. If we are honest, if we examine ourselves and our actions, thoughts, words, and deeds, we will find the same. Instead of being convicted of our sins, we justify our actions. Instead of turning from sin, we dive headfirst into more transgression. Instead of blushing, we thrive on the dopamine of our pet iniquities and crave after more. Repent.

Dear saints, there is only one cure for our sin and that is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. By His blood shed for you, you are cured of your transgressions. Your iniquity is taken away and your sin is atoned for (Is. 6:7). And by His grace, the false pleasures of sin are shown for what they really are. Your lust, greed, and pride are shown to be empty and shallow compared to the freedom that comes from God’s grace. Your idolatry, adultery, gossip, lies, and covetousness are revealed as the stinking piles of dung that they are.

So, come back. Come back to Jesus, your Great Physician, and get the medicine of immortality. Just as Christ wept over Jerusalem in our Gospel lesson (Lk. 19:41-48), Jesus weeps for your repentance that everything He has done for you would be applied to you. Christ comes and clears out the sinful cravings in your life and turns your body into a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). To you who did not pursue righteousness, God has freely given you the righteousness that comes only by faith (Ro. 9:30) bringing you the eternal cure for all your sin.

Dear Branch, that brings me to you. Branch, today you are Baptized. Today, Jesus has joined you to Himself by placing His name upon you (Mt. 28:19) and clothed you with Himself (Gal. 3:27). Branch, in your Baptism, Jesus joined you to His death so that you have a Jesus-kind of death – in other words, a death that doesn’t last long and ends in resurrection (Ro. 6:3-11). Even though you did not seek the cure for your sin, Jesus has freely gifted all of this to you. As those waters ran down your head God healed, restored, and saved you.

So, Branch, and all of you dear saints, do not think that you can find another righteousness. There is no other cure. When you sin, and sin you will, repent and return. Learn and know and grow in God’s Word. When God’s Word tells you that you have slid back into your old ways of sin and pain, come back to Jesus for the cure. When the Scriptures reveal the evil you have in your heart, ask, “What have I done?” and flee to Christ. When there is pain and chaos all around you because of this fallen and broken world, don’t listen to the voices that say, “Peace, peace,” because Jesus is the only true peace. When you recognize the pain and evil of the abominations of sin surrounding you and within you, blush. But don’t stop there. Return to the Savior whose blood gives you the cure for all the evil, pain, and suffering in this world.

Come back to the brightness and glory of Christ’s eternal medicine and grace. Come now to God’s table of love and mercy where He gives you the cure of His Body and Blood given and shed for the forgiveness of all your sin. Amen.

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

As You Believe, So It Is – Sermon on 2 Samuel 22:26-34 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

2 Samuel 22:26-34

26 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; 
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; 

27 with the purified you deal purely, 
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. 

28 You save a humble people, 
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. 

29 For you are my lamp, O Lord, 
and my God lightens my darkness. 

30 For by you I can run against a troop, 
and by my God I can leap over a wall. 

31 This God—his way is perfect; 
the word of the Lord proves true; 
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. 

32 “For who is God, but the Lord? 
And who is a rock, except our God? 

33 This God is my strong refuge 
and has made my way blameless. 

34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer 
and set me secure on the heights.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If this text feels like a Psalm, you are a good student of Scripture. 2 Samuel 22 is actually the same as Psalm 18. David wrote at least 74 of the 150 Psalms, and it’s interesting (at least, I think it’s interesting) that this is the only place in the story of David’s life where a Psalm recorded. We don’t know exactly when the Psalm was written. But this is placed here in 2 Samuel 22 at the end of David’s life, and v. 1 tells us that this was David’s song, “when the Lord delivered [David] from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.” And the contents of the Psalm are a very fitting way to wrap up David’s story.

David had fought his last war. He had faced the lions and bears as a shepherd. He had killed the giant, Goliath. He was rescued from the spears of King Saul. David had been saved from the Philistines. David was reestablished as king even after his own son, Absalom, had dethroned and hunted him. And, maybe, most importantly, God had rescued David from himself. God forgave David for his adultery with Bathsheba. God absolved David from the sin of murdering Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. Through it all, God was faithful to David in the face of David’s enemies of the devil, the world, and David’s own sinful flesh. From a humble shepherd who was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse to the conquering King of Israel, David’s life is a rags to riches story. But morally, David started out better than he ended. The tail end of David’s life was disappointing to say the least, but that is what makes this passage so interesting.

The verses you just heard are the middle of the Psalm where David is reflecting on all of God’s gracious acts throughout his life. David addresses God, “With the merciful You show Yourself merciful; with the blameless man You show Yourself blameless; with the purified You deal purely.” God does show us all these things about Himself, but it sounds as though David is bragging that he was those things – merciful, blameless, and pure. How could such a great sinner like David say something like that?

Well, look again at v. 33. “God is my strong refuge and [He] has made my way blameless.” It was God who made David all those things. By God’s declaration, by God’s mercy, and by God’s absolution, David was merciful, blameless, and pure.

Now, whenever we hear passages like this, we need to recognize God’s actions come first and then God’s attributes shine through God’s children. The text does not say that God is merciful to the merciful, blameless to those who are blameless, and pure to those who are pure. If that were the case, God’s mercy, blamelessness, and purity would never be revealed because we are all sinners. Instead, we need to recognize that God is the one who makes us blameless, makes us merciful, and makes us pure, and all of that shines through us. We are not the light of the world. Jesus is, and His light shines through us for all the world to see. God is merciful, blameless, and pure according to His nature, and God works on us and in us to make us like He is. Colossians 3:10 says that we are being renewed after the image of God, and Romans 8:29 says we are being conformed to the image of Christ. As Christians, God is renewing us in His image.

So, again, with the merciful God shows Himself merciful; with the blameless God shows Himself blameless; with the purified God deals purely. But then notice how v. 27 changes gears, “with the crooked You make Yourself seem tortuous.” Big change there. Just quickly, the translation there is tortuous not torturous. Torturous is related to torture and causing extreme pain and suffering. That’s not the translation here. Instead it is tortuous (remove the second ‘r’) which means full of twists and turns or shifty. It isn’t as though God is shifty toward crooked, bent sinners. Notice very carefully, shifty and complex is simply how God seems to the crooked.

Dear saints, we don’t and can’t change the nature or character of God, but what you believe about God does shape how God will appear to you. In short, as you believe, so it is (Mt. 8:13, 9:29). If you believe God is merciful, and He is, you have no trouble seeing God’s mercy. If you believe God is blameless, and He is, His blamelessness is apparent. If you believe God is pure, and He is, you will see and receive His purity. But if you wrongly believe that God isn’t those things, if you believe God is a as crooked as you are, it will seem and appear as though God is twisted, convoluted, and out to get you even though God by His nature and character is direct and straight; He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6) toward you.

We can see this in how Jesus deals with the scribes and Pharisees. They were always out to get Jesus and trap Him in His teaching, and Jesus will respond in a similar way. Remember when they were trying to trap Jesus by asking Him a question about divorce (Mt. 19:1-9), and Jesus responds to this Law question in a similar fashion by asking them what the Law says. The Pharisees wanted to live by the Law, which isn’t possible, so Jesus lovingly points them back to the Law in an effort to mercifully show them that life does not come through the Law (Ro. 7:5-12). But rather than fleeing to Jesus to receive God’s mercy, the Pharisees stubbornly reject Jesus and are left under the torture of needing to keep the Law perfectly. Because of this, God seems tortuous.

Dear saints, the way you view God will affect the way you interpret all reality. Lord, have mercy on us, and deliver us from believing wrongly about You.

When life gets tough and bad things happen, when we feel the weight of the burdens and crosses we bear, one of the first things we sinners do is blame God. We ask questions like, “What have I done to deserve this?” “How could You do this to me, God?” Or, even, “What kind of God would allow this evil?” In those moments of grief, sorrow, and despair, God does seem absent, uncaring, and tortuous, but remember that your feelings do not dictate reality.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Your feelings are a good and important gift from God. But your feelings are also fallen and infected with sin and don’t always match up with reality. So, when God seems to be absent, when God seems to be uncaring, when God seems tortuous, that is not the time to reject or abandon God. That is the time to run to Him.

God loves you with the purest love. He has demonstrated His love for you in that while you were a sinner and enemy of God, rebelling against Him, God gave Jesus, His Son, to die for you and restore you (Ro. 5:8). So, when you feel forsaken, abandoned, and even cheated by God, ask yourself, “Did God send Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world to die for my sins?” The answer to that question is always, “Yes.” Then, be honest with God about your feelings. Cling to His promises that He gives you in His Word. Run back to Him in prayer, and ask Him to be true to those promises. That is what faith does.

Dear saints, God has given you His mercy by sending His blameless Son to redeem you and make you pure. That is how He is toward you now and for all eternity. Believe that, and watch how God’s mercy, blamelessness, and purity flow freely to you. Believe that and God will always be your rock, your strong refuge, and your shield as you take refuge in Him. Amen.

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

If you have a heart that can expect of Him nothing but what is good—especially in need and distress—and a heart that also renounces and forsakes everything that is not God, then you have the only true God. If, on the contrary, your heart clings to anything else from which it expects more good and help than from God, and if your heart does not take refuge in Him but flees from Him when in trouble, then you have an idol, another god.[1]

[1] LC. 1st Commandment, par. 28.

The Worst Economy – Sermon on Romans 6:19-23 for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Romans 6:19-23

19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Romans 6:23 might be the most familiar verse in the whole book of Romans. Almost every evangelism class and tract you come across probably has this verse or, at least, a portion of it. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It’s a good verse to point to, but the danger of that verse being so familiar is that, when it is taken out of its context, it becomes little more than a slogan. It has a lot more force when we see it in its context.

When we understand this verse apart from its context – especially the phrase, “the wages of sin is death” – we most often take it to mean that when we do sinful work, the check we cash or the payment we get is death. In other words, we do sinful works and get paid with death. Now, I want to be clear. That interpretation is true, but it can lead to some serious and dangerous drawbacks. It can feed the false notion that some sins aren’t as bad as others. “Well, I only did this little sin, so I won’t get paid as much death as that other guy who did that big sin.”

The idea that sin is the work we do and the payment we get is death doesn’t actually fit the context. Consider your job. You have a boss. You have work and tasks. And a couple times each month your boss pays you for doing the work. When we think that sin is the work we do and death is the payment we get, we lose sight of who our boss is. 

What Paul is doing here puts the focus back on the boss. Sin is not just the works we do; instead, sin is the master, the employer, the boss we serve. And your boss pays with the currency of death. Talk about a bad economy. All humanity, all of us sinners, live in the worst economy where the employer is sin, and sin pays with the currency of death.

Sin is our master until Christ redeems us, buys us, and becomes our new master. Verse 22 of this text makes this clear. “Now… you,” you, Christian, “you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God.” That means that sin used to own you, and when sin owned you, the wages Master Sin paid were death. But now Jesus is your master.

Now, we might wonder, why would anyone work under such a master as sin? Why not unionize and chose a better master with better benefits? Well, it is because Master Sin is so deceptive, sneaky, and insidious. Master Sin seems harmless, but he is entirely treacherous. Master Sin makes demand after demand after demand, but all of these demands seem so pleasant. Master Sin makes working for him appear to be so appealing and satisfying, but it is all a façade.

When we are working for Master Sin, we feel free. It seems nice and natural. It doesn’t feel like work. Nobody sins out of duty. You don’t sin because you feel like you have to. Serving Master Sin means you just do what comes naturally. You gladly work for Master Sin because it feels good and seems to make life easier. For those outside of Christ, serving Master Sin feels like freedom. And it doesn’t seem like the wages we will be paid matter all that much. We might wrongly think we can simply make a quick change in our lives before payday rolls around and everything will be fine. Beware. That is not the picture that Scripture gives here. Sin is not simply the type of work you do. Sin is your employer, your boss, your master, your owner.

Every moment, Master Sin is sucking the life from you, but while he does that, Master Sin likes to inject good feelings and energy into you every time he takes more blood. Master Sin is sucking your life away while you are enjoying it. But eventually, Master Sin will leave you dead at his feet, sucked completely dry and eternally lifeless and condemned. Repent.

Christian, you ought to hate Master Sin and his slave wages. But remember, as you heard in our Epistle lesson last week, you have been Baptized. You don’t belong to Master Sin anymore. You are no longer his slave. “You must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Ro. 6: 11).

Christian, know Master Sin for who he is and hate him. You have been bought and freed by the death and resurrection of Christ. So now, every time Master Sin calls to you from across the plantation lines, you ought to loathe him, his wages, his chains, and his whip more and more. Plug your ears to him, and run back to your new Master, your true Master, Christ Jesus, your Savior.

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God. Yes, the slave wages of Master Sin is death, but the free gift, the free gift, of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ro. 6:22-23). Consider Jesus, your new Master, and how He is toward you. What does He pay? He doesn’t. He doesn’t pay anything.

God doesn’t pay you. Only those who need you and your work pay you, and God doesn’t need anything you could ever give Him. God Himself says, “Who has first given to Me, that I should repay him?” (Job 41:11). God can’t pay you wages, but He can and does give you gifts. And the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus your Lord. With Christ as your master, you leave the worst economy and enter a radically new economy. Ephesians 2:6-7 says, “[God] raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” You think you like God’s grace now? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. None of us have. 

Throughout all eternity, God will show you the immeasurable riches of His grace in Christ Jesus. And these riches are incalculable. In this life, riches are always measurable. Even if you owned the whole world, your account would have a certain amount in it. Your net worth would always have a limit. But God’s gifts and riches are immeasurable because they are new every morning (Lam. 3:22). That is true now, and it is true through all eternity.

Think of that! For all eternity God will never have to show you a treasure of His grace and mercy a second time. Every one of them is new and one that you haven’t seen before. It will take an eternity of eternities for God to show you the riches of His love and kindness toward you. In our current economy in this country, it is easy to see the balance sinking lower and lower. But in God’s economy of gifts, He can show you the treasures of His mercy for trillions of trillions of years and all eternity is still before you, and nothing is diminished. There is just as much left as when you started. That is your life now in Christ Jesus, and that is your future.

So, when Master Sin comes knocking on your door whispering to you about his slave wages, send him away; tell him he can take his wages of death and shove them. And rejoice and hope in the gifts God has for you.

Your God desires to give you an infinity of riches and mercies delivered to you on account of the death and resurrection of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and all of it is His free gift for you. And Jesus, your God and Savior, wants to continue to show you the treasures of His mercies now. He invites you now to His table to receive the gifts of His holy and precious Body and Blood given to you for the forgiveness of your sins. Come and receive. Amen.[1]

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

[1] Reworked from 2020.

Standards – Sermon on Matthew 5:17-26 for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 5:17-26

17 [Jesus says,] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I don’t know how well this analogy will work, but I’m going with it. Imagine you are riding a horse up a mountain. Everyone knows the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but paths up mountains rarely go in a straight line. (I have to say that to you Red River Valley-ers because some of you might not have any idea how to get up a mountain, or even what a mountain is.) This path you are on traverses back and forth, back and forth. The incline of the path is steep, but you’re riding a horse, so that doesn’t bother you too much.

After riding for a while and navigating the switchbacks, you’ve gotten fairly high up the mountain, and you start to get a little nervous because the path is only a little wider than your horse. You took to the left, and you can see hundreds and hundreds of feet below you. If you fell off your horse to the left, you’d fall to your death. But when you look to your right, you see the mountain slope and a fall that way would result in some bumps and bruises, so you decide to lean to the right. This leaning does result in a fall now and then, but you figure the scrapes and bruises are an acceptable alternative compared to certain death. But then you come to one of the switchbacks. Now, when you look to your right, you see a deadly fall, and when you look to your left, you see the slope and a fall of only a few feet. So, you decide to lean a little bit to the left. Your leaning still means falling now and then. More bumps and more bruises. Still much preferrable to falling off a mountain. This keeps happening. Lean right. Switchback. Lean left. Switchback. Right. Left. You’re always trying to avoid the big fall, but the fall keeps changing sides. And those little falls are now leaving you bruised and bloodied.

After hours of riding, leaning, and falling, you’re nearing the top of the mountain, but you aren’t to the summit yet. You’re at the highest ridge, and there’s still a long way to the top. Now, the path is only as wide as the horse. You look to your right, and you see that a fall means death. You look to your left, same thing. Now, you have to stay directly on top of the horse. But you’ve spent hours leaning – right, left, right, left. You’ve also gotten used to falling, and you’re absolutely terrified. 

Today, Jesus is teaching us about God’s Law. (Obvious statement of the day, there.) Whenever we consider the Law of God, we Christians can quickly and easily fall into one of two errors; both are dangerous and harmful. But at times we think falling to one side is going to be less deadly than falling off the other side. But a fall is a fall. Even though those falls don’t necessarily mean death, they still harm us. And the more we fall, the more difficult it is to stay on the horse. In this text, Jesus is teaching us about the Law and our relationship to it in a way that helps us stay on the horse.

When it comes to God’s Law, staying on the horse means that you take it seriously and fear to break God’s Commandments, but it also means that you never, never ever, trust in your Commandment keeping to save you.

As you live the life of faith, there will be times when you will put more trust in your keeping of the Law. You think that by doing righteous things, God is more and more pleased with you. This was the error of the Pharisees and is called ‘legalism.’ Legalism will have varying degrees. Some legalists will figure so long as they do one more good thing than bad thing that God is obligated to save them. Other legalists think that God’s grace saves them, but once they are saved, they have to make sure they live a certain way to stay saved. Legalists take the Law seriously, and figure that not taking the Law seriously is the bigger danger. Legalists would rather fall of the horse on the side of self-justification figuring it is less dangerous. But, again, falling off the horse is always harmful.

At other times in your life of faith, you might think that because Jesus has died for and forgiven you of all your sins that the Law doesn’t apply to you anymore. And because the Law doesn’t apply anymore, you are free to do whatever you want. This error is called ‘antinomianism’ (i.e. no-law-ism). Some antinomians will go so far as to say, “You don’t know what grace is until you have done some really sinful thing and been forgiven.” They will think that the worse past you had before being saved will make you a stronger or more thankful Christian.

Sometimes, antinomians aren’t that extreme. Instead, they will hear passages of Scripture similar to the portion of this Gospel text where Jesus teaches the full meaning of, “Thou shalt not kill,” where He says that anger and name-calling is the same as murder. Antinomians will justify breaking the 5th Commandment about murder saying that their anger toward someone else is justified because, “Look what they did.” Antinomians will justify breaking the 8th Commandment about lying by pointing to the fact that the gossip they spread is true. The Small Catechism rightly teaches that to keep the 8th Commandment, we must defend our neighbor, speak well of our neighbor, and put the most charitable construction on all our neighbor does. Would you want someone sharing an embarrassing truth about you to other people? Do you like it when people assume your motives when you have done something questionable? When you gossip, you either assign false motives to someone else’s actions or you invite the person you are sharing that gossip with to assign false motives to someone else’s actions. In other words, you are being an antinomian thinking that the 8th Commandment doesn’t apply to you. And every one of us does this from time to time with all the Commandments. Repent. 

Both legalism and antinomianism are errors and false doctrine. Both are poison to the soul. It is easy to think that legalism and antinomianism are opposite errors because legalism leads to a strict keeping of the Law and antinomianism leads to ignoring or belittling the Law. But these two errors are not opposites. The two share the same basic problem. Both legalism and antinomianism lower the standard of God’s Law. Legalism lowers the standard by saying that the Law is doable, followable, attainable, and achievable. Antinomianism lowers the standard by saying that the Law doesn’t matter, that the Law doesn’t actually demand what it demands. And, again, we fall into both of these errors. Sometimes, it is in our attitude to the whole Law. Or, we might fall into legalism when it comes to certain Commandments and into antinomianism when it comes to other commandments. But every one of us, at certain times, thinks that falling into one of those errors is preferable to falling into the other error, but that is always a deception. Again, repent.

Dear saints, when it comes to the Law, God doesn’t ever lower the standard. God doesn’t smile and wink at antinomians. God’s grace and mercy does not mean that God doesn’t care about sin. Yes, Jesus welcomed sinners, but not because He overlooked their sin. He welcomed them because He forgave their sin.

And your Pharisaic, legalistic good works and piety don’t impress God. God doesn’t watch your good works and respond. “Great job. I owe you for that.” No, His standards are higher than yours. Your righteousness must, it absolutely must, exceed the best of the best, or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

So, where does this righteousness come from? It only comes through Christ. The righteous do not live by the Law; the righteous live by faith (Ro. 1:17). Romans 10:4 says, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Dear saints, stay squarely on the horse. Don’t lean either toward antinomianism or legalism. God does require you to be perfect as He is perfect (Mt. 5:48; Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:16). And Jesus freely gives you His perfect obedience to every iota and dot of the Law. Christ has filled and fulfilled the Law in your place. His death removes your sin, and His perfection is credited to you through faith. Jesus has attained the righteous, perfect obedience to the Law that God requires, and Jesus freely gives you the righteousness that guarantees your entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus has come, not to take away the requirements and demands of the Law. He has come to take away the guilt of the Law. On the one hand, don’t imagine you are performing before God to gain His applause, and on the other hand, don’t think God doesn’t care about how you regard His Commands. Instead, God desires to freely give you His gifts of mercy, pardon, grace, and forgiveness which He gives, not through the Law, but through the Gospel.

Dear saints, you are not righteous because you do much. You are righteous when you believe much in Christ. There is a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes, Pharisees, and every other moral person you can think of – that is the righteousness given to you by Christ. And, through God-given faith, that righteousness belongs to you. Amen.

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

Called – Sermon on Luke 5:1-11 for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Luke 5:1-11

1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 

4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

If I am ever asked to preach at a seminary graduation, an ordination, or installation of a pastor, this is the text I will use. This miracle is uniquely fashioned for preachers.

Most of Jesus’ miracles fall into one of two categories when it comes to the reason Jesus does the miracle. Probably, the most common reason for Jesus’ miracles is to bring relief when there is a great need – casting out a demon, calming a storm, healing the sick, feeding the crowds, and raising the dead. The other common reason behind Jesus’ miracles is to authenticate or initiate His teaching. Sometimes, Jesus would do a miracle in response to the grumbling of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt. 9:2-8), or He would agitate them by healing on the Sabbath. 

This miraculous catch of fish doesn’t really fit into either of those categories. Jesus doesn’t do this miracle to validate or initiate His teaching. Sure, the text starts by telling us that Jesus was teaching the Word of God to a crowd so large that Jesus has to preach from Peter’s boat a little off from shore. But the way Luke records this, the miracle happens well after Jesus’ sermon was finished. Jesus had finished preaching, and it would take Peter a while to row out into the deep parts of the Sea of Galilee like Jesus tells him to. The crowds wouldn’t just stand around and watch this whole thing take place. I looked at a depth chart for Gennesaret, and they probably wouldn’t have been able to see the miracle. The crowds would have gone home, so the massive catch of fish doesn’t fit this miracle into the category of meeting a need. This haul of fish isn’t Jesus’ way of feeding that congregation.

This miracle is directed at and tailor-made for Peter (and we could probably also throw in the other disciples). After this miracle, these fishermen, who were already disciples of Jesus (see Jn. 1:35-42 and Mk. 1:16-20 which both appear to be separate calls of the disciples), leave everything behind to follow Jesus and learn to become fishers of men.

That’s why this miracle fits so well for preachers. Peter was a successful fisherman, but his knowledge, wisdom, and expertise had its limits – even when it came to fishing. After wasting a whole night where he and his partners caught nothing despite using every trick they knew, Peter listens to fishing tips from this carpenter from Nazareth and has a catch of fish that was more than Peter and his partners could handle. That catch came in an unlikely place, out in the deep, and at an unlikely time, probably late afternoon or early evening when you aren’t likely to catch many fish.

All of this points to the fact that this miracle is teaching Peter that he is going to have to learn to simply trust Jesus’ word, especially when he enters the new vocation of preaching. In other words, this catch is a preview of what is going to happen when Peter preaches the Gospel, and that is exactly what we see. On Pentecost, Peter preaches a sermon that, honestly, isn’t that impressive or insightful, but God uses that sermon to bring a massive catch of souls into the Church. The Gospel net is cast at a place and time that is unlikely to have success. Peter is preaching only fifty days after these same people called for Jesus to be crucified. But the net of the Gospel brings in 3,000 souls into the boat of the holy Christian Church.

This is why this text would be so good to preach to seminarians, pastors, and preachers. In this text, Jesus is showing preachers that their success won’t be based on their rhetoric or skill or cunning or persuasiveness or methodology. The success of the Gospel comes by simply being faithful to Jesus’ Word and throwing out the nets. The Holy Spirit does the work. The only thing a pastor needs to do in order to be a faithful shepherd of God’s flock, and the only thing a congregation needs to do to be a faithful body of Christ, is to simply teach God’s Word, stand firm on what it says, and God will use that Word to do things beyond our imagination or comprehension.

But, my dear congregation, you aren’t seminarians or pastors. So, I won’t preach that sermon to you. Wink, wink. Nod, nod. I guess I need to come up with a different sermon, and this text does have something very important to teach you, but it isn’t, maybe, what you would expect.

If you look at this text in your Bible, you will probably see a heading over these verses in bold letters that says something like, “Jesus Calls the First Disciples.” Well, that heading is a bit misleading because, when we look at the other Gospels, we learn that this is the third time Jesus’ disciples follow after Him. Actually, John 1 is where we see Jesus first calling these disciples. There, Andrew, who is Peter’s brother, is a disciple of John the Baptizer. Andrew hears John call Jesus the Lamb of God. Andrew goes and finds Peter and they begin to follow Jesus and see Him do miracles (see Jn. 2 and Lk. 4) Later, Jesus sees Andrew and Peter and James and John fishing and calls them to follow Him, and they do (Mk. 1:16-20). So, by the time we get to this text in Luke 5, Peter, Andrew, James, and John are already disciples who follow Jesus. But notice, they are still providing for their families through their fishing business.

They are making sure their company will have a future by taking care of their nets. Even though those nets went empty that night, they still needed tending and cleaning to be ready for the next excursion. Tired after a completely unproductive night of fishing but still needing to finish his work, Peter would have had every excuse to ignore Jesus and let Him do His preaching thing over there on the shore for the crowds. Peter had other work to do, and it was good, God-given work to make a living and provide for His family.

But Peter also recognized that he needed to give his attention to the Word of God, which he did. Notice Peter leaves his nets twice in this passage. Yes, he leaves his net to follow after Jesus at the end of the text, but don’t miss the first time Peter leaves his net. The first time, he leaves his work of cleaning them to bring Jesus out a little way into the sea so Christ can continue preaching to both the crowds and Peter.

Peter doesn’t let his career be an idol. He recognizes his work of cleaning the nets can wait. In that moment, Peter was called to something more important than plucking seaweed out of a net. He was called to listen to Jesus’ preaching. And Peter is called by Jesus to let his boat be used for that same preaching. Peter uses the gifts God had given him serve Jesus and those crowds who also needed to hear the Word of God.

Dear saints, it is good to see your job and your paycheck the same way. God has given you work and money to provide you and those in your care with food and clothing, house and home. But God has also given you work and a paycheck so you can set aside time to find rest – not just for a weekend away from your desk, your boss, your coworkers, or your employees – but to find rest from the toil and sin of this fallen world. And God wants you to share those gifts with others so they can also hear God’s Word and find rest in His mercy and grace. Putting your tithe in the offering plate is the same as letting Jesus use your boat to preach. That is also why, even though there are many charities and organizations to give to – and you should give to them – don’t let that come at the expense of giving to the preaching of God’s Word. Your tithe to these plates comes first. Other charitable giving should come second. You need the preaching and so do your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jesus’ teaching did its work in Peter. When Jesus tells Peter to put out into the deep for a catch – which, again, is the wrong place and wrong time – Peter listened to Jesus and trusted Him, admittedly begrudgingly. Peter puts out the nets, and there are too many fish. The nets threaten to break. The boats threaten to sink. Peter sees all of this and is filled with fear. He isn’t afraid of the nets breaking or the boats sinking. Instead, the sinner is afraid of the wrath of God. Peter is afraid because he recognizes that he, a sinner, is standing in the presence of the holy, almighty God in the flesh. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 

But the nets don’t break, the boats don’t sink, and the sinner doesn’t get the wrath and punishment he deserves. “Do not be afraid;” Jesus says, “from now on you will be catching men.” Jesus’ words there are an absolution. Jesus casts Peter’s sins into the depths of the sea where the fish and boats should have ended up. But Jesus doesn’t stop with saving Peter. He has more saving to do. That’s why Peter and the apostles are given the task of preaching. Jesus desires that His work would spread to all.

A lot of sermons on this text will end by challenging you to be like Peter and leave everything to follow Jesus. Dear saints, God in His infinite wisdom hasn’t given you that calling, and that is totally fine. Maybe God will call you into the office of ministry one day. But for now, God has called you into the vocations He has put before you. Right now, you are called by God to listen to His Word being preached to you. And this week, God will put other tasks in front of you. Do them, and do them faithfully. Col. 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Your work, your calling, your vocations are never wasted, never in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Everything you have and everything you do is made sacred by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:4-5).

So, hear God’s Word. Be forgiven of all your sins. Then, go and do your work. Fulfill the callings God has given to you because your work isn’t done for your paycheck or your boss. The work and calling God gives you has goodness because God uses that work to help and serve your neighbor.

Dear saints, God needs you in the stations and vocations where He has placed you. Jesus knows how He can best use you in the kingdom of God. Jesus knew what He was doing when He placed you into your family, into this congregation, in your job, in your neighborhood. He has placed you there to be a faithful husband, wife, child, employer, worker, friend, and neighbor. You don’t need to leave that in order to serve God more faithfully. God has placed you there to serve Him by serving those neighbors He has given you. Even if you think Jesus made a mistake by putting you there, just trust that Jesus knows what He is doing and that He will use you in the way that He sees fit.

All your earthly work and calling has something of eternity in it because it is done in service to God. And God will use that work to bring about His purposes. To Him alone be the glory, now and forever. Amen.

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

Mercy, Judgment, & Logs – Sermon on Luke 6:36-42 for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Sorry for the poor audio quality this week. It is a known issue that should be resolved next week.

Luke 6:36-42

36 “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Some passages of Scripture are difficult. They are not difficult because they are unclear. Typically, they’re difficult because they are clear, but we just don’t want to hear them. We would rather that God didn’t say it. Today, we have a passage that is difficult because it has to do with us being merciful and forgiving to those who sin against us, and forgiving others can be very, very hard. But this passage is also difficult because of how it is wrongfully used and interpreted. Before us today is the most misquoted, misused, and abused verse in all of holy Scripture. Jesus says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” This is the John 3:16 of heathens. Unbelievers love these words of our Savior, but they are totally, completely wrong if they think that these words save them from having to deal with their sin.

These days, you might find yourself in a conversation about any one of the flagrant sins in our culture. If you simply state that the Bible calls that sin a sin, you’re likely to have, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” thrown in your face. People will say this and expect you to stop talking. When Jesus says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged,” does He mean that we are to never speak about what is right and wrong? Should we never mention that there is truth and error, good and bad because doing that is making a judgment? Is that what Jesus means? The answer is simply – no. If Jesus were condemning all judging here, He would be contradicting Himself and loads of other Scripture passages.

For a minute here, imagine a world where judgment is never passed. You teachers, imagine if a student completely bombed a test and scored a 30%. If that student came up to you and said, “Jesus says, ‘Judge not,’” are you obligated to give them a perfect score, or maybe should you give them a 0%? Those of you who own businesses, if an employee never came in to work or always did crummy work and messed up everything he touched, do you have to keep him on staff as an employee and pay him because Jesus says, “Judge not”? If you get pulled over for going 100 mph on a residential street, should you just tell the officer, “Judge not,” and then drive away scot free? Is that what we should take Jesus to mean here?

Absolutely, positively not. If people in positions of authority always extended pure mercy and never judged, the world would fall apart in a few days, and no one would be safe. God in His mercy has given everyone different callings and vocations where they should and must make judgments. Just a few examples:

When it comes to doctrine, everyone is to make judgments. In Matthew 7 (which is parallel to this text), Jesus warns us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits” (Mt. 7:15-16). You can’t beware of false prophets without judging their fruit – in other words, what they teach. Romans 16:17 says, “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have been taught, avoid them” (see also 1 Tim. 6:3-5 and 2 Jn. 10). Jesus wants all people to be judges and make judgments when it comes to doctrine. So, dear saints, know what is and what isn’t sound doctrine.

Scripture teaches that parents have the right and duty to judge, punish, correct, and praise their child’s behavior (Eph. 6:4). On a larger scale, God has given us the gift of government and civil authorities. You can think of government officials as the parents of cities, states, and countries who are put there by God to make laws and judge and punish those who break the laws (Ro. 13:1-6).

When civil rulers punish lawbreakers, they are acting as God’s servants (Ro. 13:4). Imagine if mass-murderers were freed from punishment simply because they quoted Jesus’ words, “Judge not,” when they were in the courtroom. Laws, rules, and punishments exist in societies and countries to protect the weak. Now, in our country, God has given us the gift of being able to have a voice in who those authorities are through our ability to vote. So, Christian, you can and should judge and evaluate candidates for office before you vote for them. If a candidate’s views are inconsistent with what Scripture says is right and wrong, you should not vote for that person. But once a person is elected, they are the authority God has placed over you. And because God has placed them in authority over you, you must honor, serve, obey, love, and respect them because of their office – even if they are godless scoundrels.

I know there are a whole lot of ‘what if’s’ that could be addressed here, but I’m not going to go into all of them. Talk to me after the service. I’ll just say this: If you have an evil, tyrannical, ungodly, unjust person in a position of authority over you, Scripture says that you owe them the respect and honor that is due to them because of their office. And at that same time, you should also speak against evil things they are doing. Then, go ahead; vote them out in the next election, but in that office, recognize them as God’s gift to you.

I know this example is upside down from an evil person in a position of authority doing evil things, but our Old Testament lesson (Gen 50:15-21) helps guide us on how to balance mercy and judgment when it comes to our leaders. Joseph’s brothers figure he’s going to get them back for all the evil things they did to him, and Joseph is in a perfect position to do so. He’s the second in command in Egypt, and Jacob, Joseph’s father, has died. In other words, Joseph has no governmental or parental authority over him who will say he needs to be kind to his brothers. Because of this, Joseph’s brothers are scared, terrified. But look at Joseph’s response to their lie about what their dad said before he died. Joseph says, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me.” Notice that Joseph doesn’t say that their plot to kill him, their throwing him in a pit, and selling him into slavery is just fine and ok. No. Joseph calls all of that what it is – evil. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Joseph is right to not mince words by saying what they did to him was good. But then Joseph recognizes and confesses that God was at work even behind their evil, sinful acts to bring about good and to save them all.

So Jesus isn’t condemning all judging here, but what is Jesus teaching us when He says, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you will not be condemned”? It all hangs and hinges on what Jesus says both before and after. “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Notice first of all that to be merciful and forgiving, there has to be a judgment – that sin is sin. But that judgment isn’t your judgment, it’s God’s judgment. You are simply confessing and saying the same thing as God says about sin. And then, Jesus calls you to extend forgiveness and mercy when it comes to that sin.

Confession consists of two parts. The first part of confessing our sins is that we bring those sins before God and say what God says about those sins: That they are sins. That they have harmed our relationship with God. That they have hurt others and ourselves. That is the first part of confession. The second part, which ends up being the most important part of confession, is that we confess that those sins are atoned for by Jesus. That Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has covered those sins, removed them from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), tread those sins under His foot, and cast those sins into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19).

Basically today, Jesus is teaching us the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:19, Mt. 22:39). Every one of us has sinned, and we desperately desire that our sin would be covered up by mercy. So, if you desire mercy from someone when you sin against them, you should also extend that same mercy to them when they sin against you.

You disciples of Jesus, you Christian, are not above your Teacher, but you are to be like your Teacher. Don’t try to remove God from His seat when it comes to judging and punishing the sin of others because God Himself didn’t stay in the seat of judgment when it came to your sin. Remember, God showed His love for you in that while you and I were still sinners, Christ came down from heaven and died for us (Ro. 5:8). And please know that God’s forgiveness of you isn’t based upon your forgiveness of others. There is forgiveness even for your sins of un-forgiveness.

So, how do we go about our lives in a world that is filled with sin – both our own sin and the sin of people who hurt us? Galatians 6:1 says, “If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him,” and you can’t restore a transgressor without calling their sin out. But please also know that verse goes on to say, “[you] should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Dear saints, remember that you have had plenty of logs in your eye. Repent. Confess your sins and receive the forgiveness and mercy of God. And as God has been merciful to you, extend that same mercy to others as well. When you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, make sure you tell them about the Savior who removed the log from your eye. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, Jesus wants eyes that are free from both logs and specks.

That is why He left His throne. To remove the log in your eye, Jesus came down to be placed on the log of the cross. And on that splintered timber, Jesus shed His holy and precious blood that covers your sin and the sin of others. Go, be merciful knowing that God’s mercy is sufficient for you. Amen.

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

Reconsidering Repentance – Sermon on Luke 15:1-32 for the Third Sunday after Trinity

Luke 15:1-32

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The night Jesus was born, shepherds were out in the field keeping watch over their flocks. A multitude of the heavenly host arrived praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” Heaven was filled with rejoicing the night of Jesus’ birth because your Savior had come to rescue you from sin, death, and the devil. Now, in this Gospel lesson, Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one winner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk. 15:7).

Well, there aren’t ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance; there has only ever been One righteous person who needed no repentance, Jesus Christ. This is probably a little ridiculous and silly, but should we imagine the joy of those angels the night of Jesus’ birth is multiplied by 99 plus a bit more when one sinner repents? Well, joy isn’t measured in units, so forget about attempting the math problem. But we can know from Jesus’ own lips that heaven rejoices more at the repentance and salvation of one sinner than it rejoiced over Christ’s birth.

Because Jesus brings the topic up in this text, the question for us today is: What is repentance? The word translated ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’ simply means “a change of mind,” but throughout the New Testament, you will find that repentance refers to a complete spiritual change. In fact, many of the times you come across the word ‘repent’ in Scripture it carries the whole idea of conversion.[1] The Bible does not teach that repentance is one step in some twelve-step salvation program. Salvation is instantaneous; just like in creation, God speaks, and it is. And salvation is always an act of God’s grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The Bible does teach that repentance is necessary for salvation, but if we see repentance as something we do, as our little contribution, then salvation is no longer a free gift. It would be dependent on you. 

So, let’s reconsider repentance, what it is and what it looks like from this parable Jesus teaches.

The Pharisees and scribes are complaining that Jesus receives sinners. Luke tells us that Jesus’ response to their grumbling is telling them “this parable” – singular. Luke could have said, “so He told them these three parables,” but he doesn’t. “This parable.” One parable. Three sections, parts, or chapters – it’s fine to think of it that way – but it’s one parable. And I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: we typically know these three sections or chapters of this one parable as the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. But it would be better if we referred to them as the seeking shepherd, the seeking woman, and the seeking father because that would help us keep the emphasis on the right syllable when it comes to seeing what Jesus teaches about repentance.

Now, in the first two sections of this parable, it’s a little hard to see where repentance comes into the stories. A sheep gets lost, the sheep gets found, and the shepherd throws a party. A coin gets lost, the coin gets found, and the woman throws a party. Just looking at the stories, we would probably conclude that Jesus isn’t teaching about repentance. He’s just talking about salvation. But Jesus concludes both of those sections by talking about heaven’s joy over repentance, so repentance has to be in there somewhere. According to those two parts of the parable, repentance is nothing more than the lost being found and restored by the owner. Then, the owner celebrates because of the joy of restoration.

Now, you might be saying, “Pastor there’s a lot more to repentance than the lost being found and restored. To repent, you have to feel bad about what you’ve done. You have to recognize the hurt and pain you have caused. You need to be scared because of the punishment that’s coming. You need to want to do better. That’s repentance.” To which I have to say, “Well, not according to this parable.” Guilt, shame, fear of punishment, and resolve to do better are all right responses when it comes to our sin, and all of those things may accompany repentance from time to time. But they aren’t necessary for repentance to be true or genuine.

A lost sheep might be scared. I don’t know enough about sheep to know if they feel remorse, but a lost sheep might wish it had never wandered away from the flock. A lost sheep might try to find its way back to the herd. But in the first section of this parable, the repentance of that sheep is somewhere in the shepherd’s finding and carrying this sheep back to the pen. In the second section of the parable, the coin doesn’t have any feelings or sorrow. A lost coin just sits in the crack gathering dust. And the repentance of that coin is nothing more than the woman picking it up and putting it back in her purse. So, these first two sections picture repentance as something God does to the lost.

Just so you know I’m not making this up: In Acts 10-11, we are told the story about how Peter went to preach at Cornelius’ house. Cornelius was a Gentile, so a lot more could be said about the whole story, but I’m going to keep it short. Peter arrives there and preaches about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Peter’s Pentecost sermon is very similar in it’s content, but unlike that Pentecost sermon, Peter doesn’t hammer everyone with heavy Law. He just says that Jesus died and rose again, and he announces that everyone who believes in Jesus receives the forgiveness of sins. The people who hear that sermon are filled with the Holy Spirit and are Baptized. All of that takes place in Acts 10. When you get into Acts 11, Peter is in Jerusalem and is being accused of hanging out with the wrong crowd (similar to Jesus here in Lk. 15). Peter simply relays the story of what happened. And the response is incredibly interesting. The Jerusalem church leaders respond, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Act. 11:18). Dear saints, repentance is a gift given by God.

Now, when we get to the third section of the parable, things are a little different. In the third chapter of the parable, it sure sounds like the younger son is repentant. But where does his repentance take place? Now, we have to set this up a little bit.

The third section of the parable has three main characters – a father and his two sons. The younger son tells his father to drop dead. That’s how you get an inheritance. Basically, the younger son tells his dad, “I want my share of your stuff, but I want it without you.” And the father gives it to him. Now, this would have meant public shame for the father because it would have involved selling off at least 1/3 of his estate to give the money to his little brat of a son. The son takes the cash and blows it all. He becomes so desperate in his effort to stay alive that he hires himself out to a pig farmer and is jealous of the slop the pigs are eating. 

Now, just a quick aside here. This also gives us a picture of what our sin does. Our sin isn’t just us getting lost. Sin is worse than a sheep aimlessly wandering away from the flock or a coin getting dropped. No, our sin makes us lower than and jealous of pigs.

Sitting there in the pigpen, the son starts crafting a speech. And that speech sounds like repentance, but it isn’t. Instead, the younger son realizes his father’s employees have plenty of food, and he’s dying of starvation. He plans to go to his father and say, and listen carefully, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” So far, completely true and right. “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” No duh. “Treat me as one of your hired servants.” Now, all of this, again, sounds like repentance. He recognizes the stupidity of his actions and the ramifications of his rebellion. But it’s that last part that shows the brat’s real intention. He wants his dad to give him a job so he can have some food. The interesting thing that I had never noticed is the wording Jesus uses in this part of the parable.

Jesus doesn’t use the normal word for a servant which is doulos. A servant, a doulos, would live on the estate of the master and would even eat meals with the master’s family. But the younger son uses a different word here, misthios. A misthios is someone who would commute to work at the estate. A misthios would have no relationship with the master except when it was time to get paid for work done. His speech just shows how lost and unrepentant he still is. He still wants the benefits his dad can offer, but he doesn’t want anything to do with his dad. In his despair, he’s basically saying, “Dad, I screwed up big time. Can you just help me to stay alive? I won’t bother you and you won’t have to bother with me.” That’s his prepared speech.

He starts his walk home. But as he rounds the corner, his father comes running to him, embraces him, and kisses him. The son begins his speech, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father, the father doesn’t care. He restores him to his rightful place as a son. “Bring the best robe and a ring and shoes; put them all on him. Kill the fattened calf and let’s throw a party. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” It is in that love and finding and restoration of the father that the son is granted repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” The son had a worldly grief that would have left him in the death of a lost relationship with his father. But the father here lets the godly grief of his lost son, that true and right realization of what he had done, produce a repentance that leads to salvation and complete restoration. The son doesn’t get to finish his speech. He doesn’t get to be misthios, a hireling. He gets to be a son again – nothing more, nothing less.

Now, I know this sermon is getting long, but I have one more thing, so please bear with me. I made a big deal about this chapter being one parable with three sections. Well, the third section has two parts. There is still the issue of the older son. The older son, who never left, was out working in the field. He comes home, hears the partying, learns what is going on, and is livid. He refuses to join the party. And even though this older son never left his father, he is just as lost as the younger son was back in the pig stye.

And here is why I bring this up. We wrongly think that God is happy when we are doing everything we are supposed to. We think God is happy with us when we are consistent, strong, and can show all the things we’ve accomplished. But that isn’t the case. Your heavenly Father is only happy when His children are forgiven and together with him at the feast. That is why the father leaves his own party and pleads with this older son to come back into the fold.

Dear saints, stop dwelling on your unfaithfulness and sin. Yes, you’ve been the rebellious younger son. But your heavenly Father has sought you out and heaven rejoices at your repentance and salvation. Stop dwelling on your obedience and work for God; don’t be the entitled older brother. Yes, go serve, love, and do your good works diligently, but don’t think that God is going to throw a party for your commandment-keeping.

Heaven rejoices with God when He brings you back into His grace and mercy where nothing is earned or deserved. Instead, it is all freely given for the sake of Jesus, your Savior. Amen.

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

[1] Clear examples would include Mt. 4:17; Lk. 5:32; 13:3; 16:30; 24:47; Act. 11:18; 2 Cor. 7:10.

Love in Deed & Truth – Sermon on 1 John 3:13-18 for Second Sunday after Trinity

1 John 3:13-18

13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This world is broken. Infected with sin and death, all creation longs to be set free from its corruption and continual decline (Ro. 8:19-22). Everyone looks for an escape from this brokenness. Ever since humanity’s Fall into sin, there has only been one solution to sin, death, and evil, and that solution is found in God’s promise of mercy which He freely gives through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only One who can set us free from the chains of sin, death, and the devil. And yet, people try to offer alternatives.

In 1969, The Beatles offered their solution to the world’s problems, “All you need is love; all you need is love; all you need is love, love; love is all you need.” If you read through the lyrics to that whole song, they really are saying human love can fix everything. Just a few years earlier, the band The Youngbloods had tried rally everyone behind the same platform. “Come on, people now; smile on your brother; everybody get together; try to love one another right now.” Both of those songs sound similar to what is being offered in this text, but they couldn’t be more different. They are different because the world is so broken, fallen, and lost that even the concept of love is twisted.

Love is not simply what makes you or someone else feel good. The world wants you to think that love can be redefined in all sorts of different ways. But the world’s attempts at love are only empty words and talk. Behind the world’s efforts at love is this creepy, demented delusion that if we simply ignore sinful things or dress them up in nicer terms, then the nastiness will go away. The world doesn’t want to hear about murdering babies in the womb, so it will call it ‘choice’ over a ‘clump of cells.’ The world doesn’t want to hear about fornication and adultery, so the world will talk about ‘alternative lifestyles,’ or ‘equality’ – sounds much nicer. The world tries to convince everyone that we can stop the pain of gender dysphoria by simply using a person’s preferred pronouns.

Now, please know that I picked each of those specifics because they have been staring us in the face all month. The same is true for any number of sins. But in each of those cases, the world’s proposed solutions might bring slight, momentary comfort, but that is all. Those petty solutions, which are only talk, always end long-term pain.

You cannot love a drug addict by feeding their addiction. It is not loving to continually give money to a druggie and never encourage them to get help for their addiction. If someone is continually hitting themself over the head with an iron skillet, you have to tell them, “Stop doing that.” And if they say, “I was born this way,” you tell them, “No, you weren’t.” And take the skillet away. Both that drug addict and person who is harming himself might see your actions and words as unloving. They might accuse you of hating them and the way they were born. But that’s complete nonsense.

Now apply that same logic to the various sins that are so rampant in our culture. The world’s solutions to those sins that are dressed up in a false, fallen idea of ‘love’ do nothing more than allow those who are harming themselves and others to continue doing so.  Scripture is clear, Pr. 12:10 says, “The [love] of the wicked is cruel.” (And when Scripture uses the term ‘wicked’ there don’t think of only a few, select, especially bad sinners. The ‘wicked’ are all of us apart from faith in Christ.) Pointing out the harm and pain that sin causes is loving. Dear saints, please use your God-given wisdom to say it in the most loving way possible.

Now, before you start patting yourself on the back, Christian, don’t think that you are guiltless when it comes to loving only in word and talk. How many times have you responded to someone who is hurting by saying, “You’re in my thoughts and prayers” heart emoji, heart emoji, heart emoji, and press the ‘care’ button, then go about your day? We’re all guilty when it comes to this. Repent.

It can be hard (especially on social media) to love in ways that extend beyond word and talk. The hurting person may be hundreds of miles or half a world away, so how can you love them in deed and truth? Well, one of the best lessons I learned during my pastoral internship came from an elderly German woman named Ruth. Many of you have heard me mention her before. Several times I would greet Ruth after the service, and she would tell me about her medical problems or appointments coming up. I would listen and say, “I’ll be praying for you,” and dear little five-foot Ruth would look up at me and say in her deep German accent, “Do it now,” and I would. I was too intimidated not to. It took months her regular reminders for me to go straight to prayer.

Dear saints, your prayers are not merely words and talk. They are you, as God’s beloved child, requesting your loving heavenly Father to spring into action. Remember that, especially on social media, but also in your daily conversations. Write or say a prayer then and there and continue upholding that person in prayer.

The only way we can know what love is, is to look to Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross. “By this we know love, that [Jesus] laid down His life for us” (1 Jn. 3:16). We know love only in knowing Jesus crucified for us. You can’t find this love anywhere else, and you can’t produce this love apart from fellowship with God through faith in Christ.

The Holy Spirit works faith into your heart and pours God’s love into you. By filling you with that love, the Holy Spirit also enables you to love others. Faith and love go together. The love of God that we receive through faith is the very love we show our neighbor by our deeds. Yes, sin remains in us as long as we live in this world, but God continues to pour His love into us and delivering His forgiveness. God’s love for you is so great that you cannot contain it all, so it spills out of you to your neighbor.

Yes, we fall short in our love, and when we do we repent. We repent and God springs into action. He points us to Christ who laid down His life for us. Jesus’ death conquered hate and death once and for all. Christ has laid down His life for you. He forgives you of all your sin, cleanses your guilty conscience, and delivers you from Satan’s power.

This is what His love does and will continue to do all the days of your life. And that, dear saints, is the source and strength of every act of love you and I will ever do. Amen.

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

Triune Forgiveness – Sermon on Isaiah 6:1-7 for Holy Trinity Sunday

Isaiah 6:1-7

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; 
the whole earth is full of his glory!” 

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today, I have five observations to consider from this text.

1. What Isaiah sees is remarkable but not unique. Isaiah had this vision of God when he was in the Temple. But it’s important to note that Isaiah was not the high priest, so this vision didn’t take place while Isaiah was in the Most Holy Place. Isaiah wasn’t even a priest, so this vision couldn’t have been when Isaiah was in the Holy Place either. Isaiah was a prophet called by God, but he was normal guy. In other words, Isaiah would have been in the courtyard of the Temple with all the other regular worshippers. You can basically think of this vision as what Isaiah sees when he goes to Church. He’s normal guy in a normal place at a normal time, but what he sees is extraordinary. 

Dear saints, there are things going on around us right now that we cannot see or hear. But just because our senses don’t pick them up doesn’t mean they are any less real than the things we can perceive with our senses. The Bible teaches that there are angels all around us all the time protecting us and ministering to us. Jesus Himself teaches us that He is present with us and seated on His throne with all authority in heaven and earth (Mt. 28:18, 20; 18:20). And that is always true whether you are at church or not. 

But when you are in church, the same things Isaiah saw in this vision are here and present with you. Hebrews 12:22-24 says, “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.” In other words, here in this sanctuary you are in God’s domain. The angels and archangels, the seraphim and cherubim are all here. Surrounding you are all God’s people, Christians from every time and age, present here worshipping, glorifying, and praising God with you. You can’t see them, but that doesn’t make their presence any less real.

What Isaiah sees here is always true when God’s people gather together. In other words, it isn’t as though God was normally far, far away, but then, one time, He came close enough for Isaiah to see Him. No Isaiah simply is allowed to see the reality of God’s presence which was and is normally invisible. Dear saints, when you come into this place, see with your ears. The triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – along with all the angels and all the saints of all time are present right here with us.

2. Notice this reality that Isaiah sees. Isaiah sees the Lord sitting upon a throne. And Scripture leaves us no doubt. Isaiah sees Jesus. The Gospel of John spells it out. Isaiah sees Jesus, the eternal Son of God and the second Person of the Trinity (Jn. 12:36-41). Above Jesus, Isaiah sees the seraphim. These are one of the types of angels that Scripture tells us about. Their name means ‘burning ones.’ These angels have six wings. Two of the wings are used to cover the seraph’s face; two cover the seraph’s feet; and two are used to fly. Now, the interesting thing is that these seraphim are already holy. The don’t have any sin, but even they need to cover their creatureliness before the awesome holiness of God.

That brings us to their song. The seraphs sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of armies; the whole earth is full of His glory.” Their song is repetitive, three holy’s. It is true that the Hebrew language will use repetition for emphasis. God is holy, holy, holy. But those three holies could also be translated as, “Holy One, Holy One, Holy One.” Three holy Ones – again, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The angels are praising one God, but three distinct holy Ones. Now, Isaiah can only see the Son, but he hears the praise of each Person of the Trinity. And we know that all three persons of the Trinity are there because just after our text, the triune God asks, “Whom shall I [sg.] send, and who will go for Us [pl.]?”

3. Look at Isaiah’s response. Standing in the presence of the holy Trinity, Isaiah is terrified. Isaiah says, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” We need to dissect this a little bit. Notice that Isaiah starts with a conclusion before moving to his confession. Isaiah’s conclusion is, “Woe is me! For I am lost.” That’s his understanding of the situation and what he thinks is going to happen to him. But his conclusion is wrong. It’s wrong not only because that isn’t what happens, but it’s also wrong because it is a denial of who God is.

When Isaiah says, “I am lost,” thinks he is about to be cut off and damned. He figures God has finally come to judge him and condemn him to hell. This is wrong and, frankly, disappointing. Remember Isaiah was in the Temple. The Scriptures clearly teach that the whole purpose of the Temple, the reason it was there, was so God could dwell among His people and forgive their sins (2 Chr. 6:21, 27). God had defined Himself as the God who is merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness… forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (Ex. 34:6-7).

Imagine coming to church. You hear the absolution. In the sermon, you are pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away your sin. You receive the Body and Blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Then, you have a vision like Isaiah’s and your response is, “Well, I’m going to hell.” That’s ludicrous, but that’s Isaiah’s conclusion here! Dear saints, the whole point of everything we do here at church is to remove any doubt and increase your faith that God has forgiven all of your sins – every last one of them – for the sake of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As disappointing as Isaiah’s conclusion is, we would probably do the same. Repent. God isn’t lying to you when He delivers His grace and mercy to you here in this place. You are forgiven, made holy, continually given the perfect righteousness of Christ. Amen?

Now, Isaiah’s confession and recognition is right. He is a sinner. He does have unclean lips, and the people around him have unclean lips. This means he deserves God’s wrath and judgment, but His conclusion is still false.

4. Isaiah’s guilt has a location. Sin isn’t just floating around as some nebulous, philosophical idea. No. Isaiah recognizes his sinful lips. But didn’t Isaiah have sinful feet? What about corrupt eyes? A lustful groin? An idolatrous heart? So, why does Isaiah focus on his lips?

The best guess is that the devil somehow knew God was about to call Isaiah to be a prophet. To be a prophet requires the use of your lips and mouth to speak the Word of God. So, Satan probably made extra effort that day to point Isaiah to how he sinfully used his lips to make Isaiah feel guilt and shame with the very instrument God would use Isaiah to minister.

The devil does this all the time. He will point out the sin and iniquity of the very gifts God wants us to use in fulfilling our callings and vocations in service to Him and our neighbor. This is true for all Christians, but today I want to address you fathers since I won’t be here next week.

Fathers, first of all, happy Fathers’ Day a week early. You fathers, the devil will do this to you. Satan will try to point you to your failures as a husband and father. And it will be easy for him to do this because you do fail. Sometimes, you are too harsh; other times you have been too lax in disciplining your children. You don’t show the kindness and love you should, and you have not been the father God intends you to be. But those sins do not disqualify you from being a father to your children. One of the most important things fathers can teach their children is confessing when you sin and asking for forgiveness. Again, your failures do notdisqualify you from being a father. Fathers, if you are still alive and still have children, God calls you to be a father. And God will equip and enable you to be exactly the father that your children need. Which brings us to the fifth and final observation.

5. The glory of the triune God is His forgiveness and mercy. Because there is one God and three Persons – because God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – God is both just and merciful, both just and loving. If God were only one, this couldn’t be the case. But because God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God the Son can satisfy God’s just demands, and He has. Jesus has done for you what you could not do for God. Jesus renders His perfect obedience to the Father, and the Holy Spirit delivers to you the peace of forgiveness in Christ as He works on you through the Scriptures. Just don’t think that the Father is the only member of the Trinity who is just, that the Son is the only member who is loving and merciful, and that the Holy Spirit is the only member who works out your salvation. That isn’t the case either.

Dear saints, what God did for Isaiah, He does for you as well. It wasn’t the coal that removed Isaiah’s sin. It was God’s promise. Yes, God attached that promise to the coal which made it the instrument that delivered that promise to Isaiah. But God’s promise is attached to more things than that one coal that burned up millennia ago. God has attached His promise of mercy and forgiveness to the water of your Baptism. When those waters touched your body, your guilt was taken away, and your sin atoned for. When you heard the absolution earlier, those words entered your ear, and your guilt was taken away, and your sin atoned for. When you eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is here today to bring you His mercy and grace freely given because of Christ. You are clean, and God sends you from here back out into the world with a free, spotless conscience (Heb. 10:19-25). Amen.

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

The Holy Spirit’s Work – Sermon on Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; and John 14:23-31 for the Day of Pentecost

Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; & John 14:23-31

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”

Before I officially begin the sermon, I’d just like to ‘let you in’ a little bit on sermon preparation. There are times when preaching is similar to athletic events. For example, in competitive diving, your final score is dependent on two factors: degree of difficulty and execution. Certain dives that score only 7’s and 8’s on execution but have a high degree of difficulty will get that competitor a higher score than another competitor who scores 9’s and 10’s on a dive with a lower degree of difficulty. What I’m attempting to do in today’s sermon is, in my estimation, a high degree of difficulty. I know my execution of today’s sermon will probably only score 7’s, but I hope and pray the payoff will be worth it. I’ll need your assistance though with an attentive ear, so help a preacher out.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

To help us get a better handle on Jesus’ remarkable teaching about the Holy Spirit in this Gospel lesson, we need to make some observations from our Old Testament (Gen. 11:1-9) and Epistle lessons (Act. 2:1-21). First, from the Old Testament lesson:

There is a theory about what the people of Babel were doing that dates back to several centuries before Jesus was born. Please know that this isn’t drawn directly from Scripture, but it does help us understand what was going on a little better. Babel wasn’t just a bunch of people who decided to live together in a big tower. Instead, the mighty man, Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-10), has gathered people and said that together they could make a name for themselves and be greater than God who had judged the world with the flood just two generations prior. In other words, they want to be their own little ‘g’ god. They figured they could build a tower so high that the true God could not drown them again. God had already promised that He would never repeat that kind of judgment, but they didn’t trust God’s promise. Instead, they are going to try and make themselves safe from God’s wrath.

Again, the Holy Spirit didn’t inspire this theory, but it is still a very good theory. First, it clearly explains what the people were trying to accomplish. They weren’t trying to build a tower to get closer to God; rather, they were trying to establish an earthly, man-made peace by shielding themselves from God and His anger over their sin. This theory also explains why God saw their plan with such hostility and put a swift end to their work. But notice how God put an end to their work. He didn’t destroy the tower with a tornado or earthquake. Instead, God came down (I love how that phrase is used twice [v. 5, 7]). God had to come down to see this great tower which was going to have its top in the heavens. And God confused their languages so that they dispersed over the face of the earth. Now, God did this as a curse, but He also did it so they wouldn’t continue to live in their sin. Even God’s punishment turns into a blessing.

Now, when we come to the day of Pentecost and giving of the Holy Spirit in the Epistle lesson, God doesn’t quite undo the curse of Babel. He doesn’t reunite all the languages of the earth and make all mankind into one nation again. Instead, God had gathered His people together to celebrate the feast of Pentecost which is also called the Feast of Weeks. God’s people had come to Jerusalem, our text says, from every nation under heaven (Act. 2:5). They would have been daily listening to God’s Word in the Temple, and the Temple had strict rules that the Bible was only read in Hebrew. It didn’t matter if some, or even, most of the people didn’t even understand Hebrew, that’s just how it was.

But then on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples. Back in Act. 1:15, we are told that the number of faithful believers was only about 120. The Holy Spirit arrived with the sound of a mighty, rushing wind, and the people from all over the world who were visiting Jerusalem for the feast were brought even closer together. They heard that sound which made them gather in one place. But the sound of the wind was not the most important thing they heard that day. The most important thing they heard is the disciples speaking the mighty works of God in their own languages (Act. 2:11).

Here’s the interesting part: for these visitors to be able to get around in Jerusalem, they would have had to be able to communicate in at least one of four languages: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or Latin. But here’s the beautiful thing, the Holy Spirit didn’t limit the number of languages that proclaimed those mighty works of God. Those 120 believers were filled by the Holy Spirit in such a way that they were able to speak in every language that existed even though it would only have been necessary for Him to have the Gospel preached in only four languages. In other words, the Holy Spirit sanctifies and makes holy every language on earth to carry the Gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection to every nation on the day of Pentecost. Now, keep all of that tucked in the back of your mind as we move to this Gospel lesson.

The night Jesus was betrayed and arrested He taught His disciples a lot of things about the Holy Spirit; chapters 14-16 of John’s Gospel is probably the fullest, clearest teaching we have about the Holy Spirit. But, basically, all of this teaching boils down to the fact that the Holy Spirit’s work is to point us sinners to Jesus (Jn. 15:26). Whenever you hear Jesus proclaimed as the Savior of sinners, you can know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit is actively working in your life.

Specifically in this text, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will teach the disciples all things and bring to their remembrance all that Jesus has said to them (Jn. 14:26). Then, notice the first word Jesus says after that is ‘peace.’ “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” And please notice that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, gives His own peace. This means your situation, Christian, is that there is nothing to disturb your relation to God. On the cross, Jesus has won and established this peace between you and God by His death and resurrection.

The only way for this peace to be undone, you would have to do two things. First, you would need to create a time machine and travel 2,000 years back in history and go to Mt. Calvary when Jesus hung on the cross. And that would be the easy part. Second, you would have to somehow pry Jesus off of the cross and undo God’s plan of salvation that He had prepared before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:19-20). So, according to Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s job is to continually proclaim to you the message of the peace that Christ has won.

Jesus goes on to say, “Not as the world gives do I give to you.” The question I have there is this: Is Jesus talking about the motivation of giving (the ‘how’ the world gives), or is He talking about the content of what He gives verses the content of what the world gives? In other words, when we sinful people give something, we always have wrong motivations. We often give and have some expectation of getting something in return. Think of the phrase, “I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine.” The false notions of karma and luck are also related to this. Deep down, that’s always the motivation behind the world’s giving.

Or is Jesus saying that the peace He gives is different than the peace the world gives. So many times, the world will offer all sorts of ideas that they think will bring peace to this fallen, broken world. Politicians, celebrities, beauty pageant contestants, musicians, etc. all do this. But none of their policies or ideas will bring peace because they are not able to bring true peace. The only thing that can bring true peace is the atoning blood of Jesus. Now, the Holy Spirit is the one who reminds and points you to Christ’s peace which surpasses all understanding (Php. 4:7).

Over the last week, we have heard a lot of talk about how to solve the evil of mass shootings in our country. I’m not going to preach on that because mass shootings are not the problem – they are only a symptom of a spiritual and moral problem. Even if you got a giant gun magnet and got rid of every gun in the world, evil people would figure out a way to kill and harm others. A lot of politicians are saying things like, “We need to come together and fix this.” The problem is that when sinners work together, it is generally in service to evil. Babel in our Old Testament lesson is just one example, but Scripture is filled with more. Any attempt to bring about a unity that isn’t centered around the forgiveness of sins in Christ is going to turn evil quickly.

The Holy Spirit brings something better. He unites people from every tribe under heaven in the faith. He brings us together to hear the Gospel, receive forgiveness for all our sins, and places us in the Church. And that same Holy Spirit leads you to this altar, to this table, to receive the true Body and Blood of your Savior Jesus Christ. Through this meal, the Holy Spirit strengthens and empowers you to be His instrument in this dark, evil world.

Again, Jesus says, “Not as the world gives do I give to you.” All the world has to offer you is trouble and tribulation. Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).

So come; receive what Christ freely gives. Let the Holy Spirit do His work in you so that He may also do His work through you as you go back out into a world full of evil. And you can do that work and navigate all that evil with confidence because the Holy Spirit will continually point you to your true peace which Christ has won for you. Amen.

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