Mark 13:24–37 ²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, ²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸ “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ³⁰ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³² “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵ Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— ³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

“Stay awake… lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.  And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

You have maybe seen commercials for the National Geographic show Doomsday Preppers.  Individuals across the country are stockpiling seeds, food, ammunition, and potable water; they are building shelters, learning self-defense, and preparing their bodies to face what could be the “end of the world as we know it.”

Different individuals are preparing for various contingencies: earthquake, nuclear warhead, chemical attack, asteroid, electromagnetic pulse.  The commercial for Doomsday Preppers ends with an individual asking, “Am I nuts, or are you?”

My answer to that question would be, “Yes.”

“Stay awake.”  The whole chapter of Mk. 13 is Jesus’ answer to two questions.  The first question is when will the Temple will be destroyed and the second is when will the end of the age be.  In the mind of a Jew in Jesus day, the destruction of the Temple and the end of the world were the same event.  One-thousand-nine-hundred-forty-two years later, hopefully, we know better.  Jesus did not come back, the world did not end, when the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.  The majority of Jesus’ answer in Mk. 13 deals with when the Temple was destroyed—that is how Jesus can say, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place” in v. 30.

And Jesus gives us a clue throughout Mk. 13 when He is speaking about the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. and when He is speaking about the end of the world.  It’s all about the difference between when Jesus says, “In those days,” all the way up until v. 32 when He says, “But concerning that day.”

Yes, even v. 24-27 are speaking about Jesus’ days before that “generation passed away.”

When Jesus says, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,”  He is speaking about His death.  At the hour of Jesus’ death, there was darkness covering the whole land (Mk. 15:33).  As He died, the curtain in the temple which had sun, moon, and stars upon it was torn in two; “the powers in the heavens [were] shaken.”

V. 26 ”And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory,”  is a quote from our OT text (Dan. 7:13,look at it).  You will notice that the Son of Man’s “coming” is not a descent to earth, but an ascent to the Ancient of Days.  Fits in pretty well with what Jesus said before He ascended into heaven.  Mt. 28:18–20 ”All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Since then, Jesus has sent (“apostled”) His angels—lit.  His ‘messengers’—to all the corners of the earth to proclaim the Gospel and to gather His elect.  On the day of Pentecost, there were “men from every nation under heaven” (Act. 2:5), and the message continues to go out today.

Until about 150 years ago, this is how the Church interpreted this passage.  Today, there are so many people trying to pin the tail on the antichrist and predict the precise date when Christ will return that they’ve completely forgotten what Jesus said about His return in v. 32, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

“Stay awake.”  I don’t think Jesus will be very pleased with the Harold Camping’s (the May 21^st/October 21^st guy) of this world when He returns and finds them trying to figure out the precise day when He will return.  I don’t think they will be too impressed either when Jesus foils their life’s work.

Jesus does speak about the End of the Age; He speaks about His return.  Jesus speaks about judgment and doom.

The End of the World, Judgment Day, is coming, and in a very real sense, it has already come. Jn. 12:31–32 ³¹ “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”

This world has been judged and condemned; it is just waiting its sentencing.

The cross stands through all of history as the time and place where the world was judged.  As Christians, we look at the cross and see deliverance; we see hope; we see where Christ forgave our sins.  But the cross is a place of judgment and execution.  The cross is an instrument of doom.  Had Jesus come in our time, we would probably be wearing necklaces with an electric chair hanging from them instead of a cross.

For the life of a believer, Judgment Day is every day.  You experienced it once in your baptism when Christ condemned, killed, and buried your sinful nature in His tomb (Ro. 6).  In that same baptism, you were also connected with Christ’s resurrection.  Your life, believer, is a life of daily judgment—drowning to death and sin, but rising to life in the new creation.  Daily you are moved from conviction of sin to faith, from condemnation to forgiveness, from death to life.

For the believer, every day is Judgment Day until that final day, when Christ returns and will be revealed.  Then the party begins. “Stay awake.”

Yes, the party begins when Christ returns.  Too often, Christians, we look at the Return of Christ as Doomsday.  But, when Christ returns, the party begins, and you don’t want to miss it.  “Stay awake.”

Christ isn’t coming like your Great Aunt Maggie who is going to make sure you are wearing the itchy wool sweater she made you and is two sizes too small.

Christ is coming like your favorite Uncle Chuck.  The Uncle Who is going to take you outside to play football, or go sledding or fishing.  He is going to play cards with you, make you the best hot ham and cheese, and tell you stories that make you laugh so hard your guts hurt.

“Stay awake.”  The party is coming, and you don’t want to miss it.  Neither do your friends and family, so tell them about Christ your favorite crazy Uncle Who is so fun they won’t believe it until they meet Him.

“Stay awake.”  Believer wait with patience.  Wait with hope.  Wait with faith.  Amen.

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until that Great, Awesome Day.  Amen.

Mark 12:38–44 ³⁸ And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, ⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. ⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. ⁴⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Nobody wants to lose.  Nobody enters a competition planning on losing.  Maybe, you recognize your opponent is faster, smarter, more skilled, and better equipped.  Maybe you recognize that your opponent will probably win, but you always compete with the hope to overcome and be victorious.

We like the movies that portray the underdog, the down-and-outers, coming back against all odds and winning the State Championship or getting the girl/guy or landing the ultimate job.  We cheer for the Titans, we hope for Cinderella, and we are a just a little bit jealous of Forest Gump.

In our Gospel text today, Jesus contrasts winning and losing.  And everything leading up to our text certainly makes it look like Jesus is winning.

Jesus is in Jerusalem awaiting His death.  Huge crowds welcomed Him waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna.”  He is challenging the authorities with His every word and action.  He clears the money-changers out of the temple.  He has made the scribes and Pharisees look foolish by asking them if John the Baptizer was from heaven or from man (Mk. 11:30); a question they do not answer.  He speaks in a parable which shows that the religious leaders have rejected the God of their fathers (Mk. 12:1-11).

Finally, we are told that the scribes and Pharisees want to arrest Jesus, but they are afraid of the people (Mk. 12:12).  Jesus appears to be winning and the scribes and Pharisees appear to be losing.

So the scribes and Pharisees start asking Jesus questions that appear to have no safe answer.  They try to make Jesus walk a tightrope without a balancing pole.  They ask questions designed to get Him in trouble either with the religious leaders or with the Roman government.  They ask questions about paying taxes (12:13-17), about the resurrection (12:18-27), and about which is the greatest commandment (12:28-34).  But Jesus skillfully gives them nothing to bring against Him.  After these encounters, no one even dared to ask Him any more questions (Mk. 12:34).

But Jesus isn’t done; He goes on the offensive and asks the scribes and Pharisees a difficult question, “Whose son is the Christ?  How can the Messiah be David’s son and David’s Lord?”  The scribes and Pharisees answer not one word.  But we are told, “a great throng heard Him gladly” (Mk. 12:37).

Jesus certainly appears to be winning and the scribes and Pharisees appear to be losing.  And Jesus even keeps hitting them while they were down.

But Jesus’ words in the beginning of our text (Mk. 12:38-40) speak against winning.

Beware.  Beware of winning.  Beware the desire to have the ‘latest and greatest’ in clothes and gadgets.  Beware of what those things do to your head.  Beware the things that make you in.  Beware the things that make you someone.

Beware of winning.  Beware the winning ways that you publish through your Christmas letters, through your conversations, and on your Facebook wall.  You are so smart and so witty.  You and your family have it all together.  You are so popular that you have dozens of friends talking about you and liking and commenting on your status.  Beware of winning popularity.

Beware of winning.  Beware of having the best places in your job (with tasks beneath you).  Beware in your circle of friends (where you keep certain people close and shun everyone else) even here at church.  Beware of the notoriety and fame that you crave so badly.

Is the cost of constantly winning worth it?  Does it bother you when someone else is winning more than you are?  Aren’t you still miserable even when you win?

Misery loves company.  One author wrote,“Misery loves company, particularly when she is herself the hostess, and can give generously of her stores to others” (John K. Bangs).

Jesus warns against your winning ways.  Jesus says, “You winners will receive the greater condemnation.”

After all of the controversy with the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus—maybe tired of arguing—sits down opposite the treasury to watch the spectacle of people putting their offerings into the boxes.  In the Temple, there were thirteen different horns which received offerings; those horns were literally shaped like trumpets.

Jesus watches people put in their large sums of money and “sound the trumpet” (Mt. 6:2) tooting their own horn.  You can almost hear the clamor of the wheel-barrow full of valuable coins clinking and clanking as they fall through the trumpet and land in the box.  You can almost hear the wonder in people’s voices and the encouragement they give to each other.  “Good job, Larry.  Boy, you sure gave a lot!”  “Wow Hank. That’ll be hard to top.”  “My goodness Phil.  You are generous.”

But there is a sight and a sound that almost goes unnoticed and would have gone unnoticed if Jesus had not been there.  A poor pauper widow accidently makes a tiny sound of two small copper coins tinkling into the box.  Together, her two coins totaled 1/64^th of a days’ wage.

Her offering was so small that it was unlawful to give a less amount.  She could not have given more and was not allowed to give less.  This offering was everything to her; she has nothing left.  And as that miniscule offering drops into the box, she loses.  The scribes have devoured another house.  They have won this match; game over.  Score: pompous scribes and Pharisees-1, penurious widow-0.

Yet, the looser widow gets singled out by Jesus.  He doesn’t publicly recognize her; it would mar the beauty of her gift.  Jesus does not encourage her; she already has God’s promised faithfulness.

The pompous scribes “devour widow’s houses.”  This penurious widow gives away not only her house but everything she had to live on.  She loses.  She loses not bitterly but of her own free will knowing God’s promise.

This impoverished widow has the world because she has nothing.  She is the last; she is made first.  She is servant of all—servant even of the greedy scribes and Pharisees; she is made the greatest.  She is a loser; God gives her the victory.

While Jesus appears to be winning in this text, He is the Ultimate Loser.  He, even though He had lived a perfect life, died an unjust death.  Jesus had the most to give and the greatest reason to “trumpet” His offering, but He laid it down.  He was oppressed and afflicted, but He didn’t open His mouth.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, but He didn’t speak a word (Is. 53:7).

In His death, Jesus didn’t notice the pious, the moral, the great, or the winners.  In His death, Jesus noticed the nobodies, the losers; He noticed you.  He noticed you who had nothing to offer, and He rejoiced in that.

Jesus saw that there was no way for you to win.  So Jesus took the loss for you.  He gave you His victory.  He gave you Himself.  Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Revelation 7:9–17 ⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.

¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Today, is All Saints Sunday.  It is a time to remember those who have gone before us in the faith.  It is a good day to remember loved ones who have been transferred out of this broken world into the presence of Christ.  It is a good time to remember the martyrs of the faith, not because they were so courageous or strong or faithful, but because of their Savior, Jesus Christ, His courage, His strength, and His faithfulness to and for them.

If we looked at all of Revelation 7, we would see two pictures of the church, both of which are comforting.

In Rev. 7:1-8 John hears about the 144,000 who are also called the “Church militant.”  Every member of the Church, every believer of all time, is called by God into His organized army of servants who live in this broken world.  Every believer of all time is sealed individually—one-by-one.  The whole group is organized for battle in the Lord’s army.

After John hears this, he turns and sees the group.  John sees the “Church militant” revealed to be the “Church triumphant” in our text.  The picture is of every believer of all time cleansed by the blood of the Lamb removed from tribulation.  People from every tribe and language, clothed in blood-washed, white robes, waving palm branches, crying out together, standing before the throne and the Lamb.  They are no longer troubled by the brokenness and tribulation of this world: no hunger, no thirst, no striking sun, no scorching heat.  They are led by springs of living water.

Every tear, even the smallest tear in this uncountable multitude, is wiped away.

At this point, we simply need to be content with the words of Scripture.  The New Heavens and the New Earth; the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; the Twelve Gates and Twelve Foundations; the Pearls, the Precious Stones, the Pure Gold like transparent glass, the River and the Tree of Life (Rev. 21:1-22:6).  All of it is utter triumph.

All of it reveals the victory of Christ—Who swallowed up of death—and gives the victory to you.

Believer, whatever you think about eternal life, make sure that you recognize that it is yours now, not just later.

Christ says (Jn. 5:24), “Whoever believes in Me has passed from death to life.”  And Eph. 2:5–6 says,⁵ even when [you] were dead in our trespasses, [God] made [you] alive together with Christ… ⁶ and raised [you] up with Him and seated [you] with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Let the comfort of that sink in.

Our text today is a picture of your friends and family who have died and are now with Christ, and it is a picture of you before Christ.  You are joined together with that uncountable multitude from every tribe and nation, even here today, as you join in the great Feast that Christ has given His Church—His Supper.

You are in the presence of God.  You join “with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven” lauding and magnifying the glorious Name of Christ.

In the Name that God placed upon you in your baptism—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are sealed, protected, forgiven.

Eternal life is yours now.  God doesn’t make you wait.  You are in Jesus Who is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:25-26).  You are connected with Christ, the One Who gives Living Water (Jn. 4:10; 7:37-38).  You are in the flock of Jesus—the Lamb Who is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11).

Unless you don’t believe what Jesus says…

These glories, these mysterious glories, are all true for you here.  They are true for you now.  They are true for you forever.  Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Mark 10:17–31 ¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Yes, this is the same text we looked at last week.  Yes, we are looking at it again.  No, it isn’t the same sermon.  Some will be review of what we covered, but, overall, today will have a different focus from last week.

Last week, we looked at this rich young man who realized that he was incomplete; he was lacking something for his salvation.  He looked to Jesus, yet he walks away from Jesus grieved with his face clouded over.  Jesus’ command, “Go and sell all that you have.  Give it to the poor.  Then come, follow Me as I go to Jerusalem where I will die on the cross,” was just too much.

Jesus had asked the rich, young ruler to do something that was more difficult than shoving a camel through the eye of a needle; Jesus’ command was something that was more difficult than impossible.

Imagine with me, please, the life of this rich young ruler—let’s call him “Joshua.”

Joshua is born into a family with royal lineage.  His parents raise him to be a devout Jewish boy.  Joshua’s parents teach him about Yahweh Who had delivered His people in the past.  He learns about Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Elijah and all the great prophets of old.

Joshua learns the great Shema Blessing, the confession of Israel, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  Joshua’s parents diligently taught Joshua when they sat in their house, and when they walked by the way, and when they lied down, and when they rose (Dt. 6:4–7).

As Joshua grew up, not only did he became strong and tall, but also loving and wise.  People liked him, and God was obviously blessing him.

Joshua’s parents continued to teach him.  Each year they would bring him to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.  Joshua continued to hear and learn his people’s history.

Parents wanted their kids to be like Joshua, and other kids liked him too.  Even though some were jealous of how greatly he was blessed, no one had any reason to complain about Joshua being greedy or stingy because he was always generous.

Joshua never caused anyone to suffer or be in any distress; he was blameless in his words and deeds.  Joshua gave freely to anyone that had need; he helped when someone else was in trouble.  Joshua always spoke well of people—even when others were gossiping; he never complained about what others had, but was excited for them when they were blessed.  And Joshua continued to honor, serve, obey, love, and respect his parents.

But when Joshua grew up, he suddenly left.  He left his parent’s royal house with all its comforts.  He simply walked away.  People began to wonder why he left.  Some thought he was crazy and wondered if he leaving his royalty behind.

But Joshua left because something was not right.  Something was missing for eternal life.  That something kept nagging his mind, so he left.

Now imagine, please, as the rich, young ruler’s face clouds over and visible grief overtakes him, he walks away.  He turns the corner, and the disciples ask, “Who can be saved?”

And Joshua (Yeshua), Jesus the real Rich, Young Ruler—Who had perfectly obeyed the Commandments and Who had great riches and power and glory and Who gave it all up, giving everything He had to the poor.  Jesus says, “With man, entering the reign of God is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.”

You see the real Rich, Young Ruler here is Jesus.  Jesus wasn’t asking the man who ran up and knelt before Him (let’s call him Henry) to do anything Jesus hadn’t done Himself.  Jesus looked at Henry and loved him because, I think, Jesus saw something of Himself in Henry.

We tend to look at this text and see Jesus heaping the law upon poor Henry, but Jesus was tenderly calling on him to receive the Gospel.  Jesus was calling Henry to give up anything that he thought made him right with God.  Jesus was calling Henry to give up on winning and excelling and, even, living.  Henry wanted to earn an inheritance, but Christ wants to give a free gift.

Christ is waiting, just waiting, to give him this gift, but Henry walks away.

“How hard it is,” Jesus says, “for those who have stuff to enter the reign of God.”  This is not just the final nail in the coffin for those who are rich.  The word wealth in v. 23 (again from last week) simply means things, possessions, stuff—even, possibly, debt.  The words from Jesus, “How hard it is to enter the reign on God,” condemn us all.

“How hard it is, for those who have stuff to enter the reign of God.”  Or in another place (Mt. 7:13-14), “Enter by the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

But Jesus also said (Jn. 12:32), “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”  That includes Henry; that includes you.

I wonder, what if Henry had stayed?  What would happened if, after Jesus had commanded him, “Go, sell, give, follow,” Henry had simply said, “I can’t do that”?  I think Jesus would have said the same thing but in a different way.

“It is difficult to enter the reign of God.  So difficult, in fact, that with man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.  That is why, dear Henry, I am going to Jerusalem.  You see, Henry, I am going to Jerusalem to be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes to be condemned.  Yes, Henry, condemned to death.  I will be delivered over to the Gentiles who will mock Me and spit on Me and flog Me and kill Me.  Yes, it is a far cry from the royal riches that I left, but after three days I will rise.”

Salvation is impossible with man.  Salvation is impossible for you, but God specializes in the impossible.

Then Peter speaks up, but let’s not be too hard on Peter here—Jesus isn’t.  Peter rightly recognizes that he and the disciples have left things behind and are following Jesus.  And Jesus’ response isn’t harsh.  He doesn’t rebuke Peter.  He says, “Amen (Truly), I say to you there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands.”

Look around at your family here and imagine the family—the houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands—that you have inherited because you too are a part of the body of Christ.  Imagine the believers of all of history, they are your family, even now they are your family.  Imagine, Who your Father is—the Creator of the universe.  Imagine the age to come—eternal life with that family and Father.

Sounds good right?  Hold on, “with persecutions,” Jesus adds.  Jesus doesn’t save you out of all your problems.  He doesn’t remove you from this broken world.  He does save and pulls you safely through it.

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

That’s how Jesus works.

Jesus isn’t interested in your piety or honesty or good works at all.  Jesus doesn’t save you strutting around, dressed up in your Sunday best.  “The first will be last.”

Jesus saves you stumbling around naked and un-showered.  He saves you sweaty and smelly and dead and rotting.  “The last will be first.”

Jesus saves you the last, the least, the lost, the little, and the dead.  Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Mark 10:17–31 ¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

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

Jesus is on a mission.  He is setting out on a journey to Jerusalem where He, by His Own Words, will be betrayed and delivered into the hands of ruthless, evil men and killed.  Now, as He sets out on this journey, a rich, young ruler runs up to Him with an urgent question.

The rich, young ruler kneels before Jesus and asks a question that has been nagging him: “Good teacher, what must I do?  What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  The successful ruler is setting out on a journey too, and he wants to be prepared.  He reverently asks Jesus a sincere question.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Any rabbi, any teacher, could have answered this question.  And like any other rabbi would have, Jesus points this man to the Commandments—specifically, to the second table of the Law dealing with love towards your neighbor.  Interestingly, Jesus gives them out of order.  Jesus starts with the fifth through the tenth, “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud,” (9^th & 10^th commandments combined).  Then, Jesus goes back to the fourth commandment, “Honor your father and mother.”

Jesus doesn’t give the man anything new.  Jesus points the man to Moses, to the Commandments.  These Commandments had been around for 1500 years, and Jesus places them before the man once again.  But the question continues to burn in the man’s mind.  Something is still missing, “Jesus I’ve taken care of all of that stuff.  I have followed those commandments.  I have not killed or committed adultery or stolen or lied or coveted.  I have loved and honored my parents.  My integrity is intact, but something must still be missing.”

Notice v. 21, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him”.

Jesus sees a rich young man who has a clean conscience—there is nothing in his life for which he needs to repent.   Jesus sees this young man who has his whole life together and still seeks out Jesus to ask this important question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus, looking at him, loved him.

Jesus loves this rich and powerful young man who has clean conscience but still lacks the peace of God which surpasses all understanding.  Something is missing; he knows something is missing, but what is it?  The ruler is even seeking for the answer in the right place; he is asking Jesus.

“You still lack one thing.”  Jesus commands, “Go, sell, give, and follow.”

Imagine this from the disciples’ perspective because this would be threatening to them.  For several chapters now, the disciples have repeatedly misunderstood Jesus.  They have argued about who is the greatest (Mk. 9:34).  They have hindered a man who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name (Mk. 38).  They rebuked children from coming to Jesus (Mk. 10:13).  Now, this rich, powerful man kneels before Jesus.  He could be the model disciple.  He is not asking Jesus any dumb questions.  He is young.  He is rich—God must be pleased with him.  He is good looking (it is hard to be young and rich without being good looking).  He is morally upright.  In the disciples’ minds, if he joins their group, he will obviously be the greatest among them.

But at Jesus’ words, “You still lack one thing.  Go, sell, give, follow,” the man is ‘disheartened’ (lit. clouded over) by the saying.  He walks away sorrowful, grieved.  Just as Jesus was grieved in His spirit “even to death” (Mt. 26:38) in the Garden of Gethsemane.  This ruler’s face clouded over and his heart was grieved, because he had many possessions.

Jesus watches the man leave.  “How difficult,” He says, “How difficult it will be for those who have stuff to enter the reign of God!”  The word translated ‘wealth’ here just means “things, stuff, possessions,” the word can even refer to debt.

Jesus had looked at this young man with love, and now Jesus watches the clouded over, grieved man leave.  You can see Jesus kicking at the ground saying this solemnly, and the disciples are amazed and speechless.  Jesus broadens His statement, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the reign of God!”

Now, many different explanations have been offered with this whole camel-eye-of-a-needle parable that Jesus gives.  Some people have tried to say that Mark wrote this wrong, there is a word that is just one vowel different that refers to rope.  So Jesus really said, “It is easier for a rope to go through the eye of a needle.”  Nope.

Others have said that the “eye of a needle” refers to a gate that was small, so you had to completely unload your camel of everything to get it to fit.  Nope.

Neither of those explanations really work.  What Jesus is saying here is literally impossible.  A camel will not fit through the eye of a needle.  And that is easier than to enter the reign of God.  The impossible is easier than entering the reign of God

Even though the disciples have not been understanding Jesus from the middle of Mk. 9 all the way into Mk. 10, they finally start to get it now.  They come to the right conclusion with this eye of a needle stuff.  “Who can be saved?”

In the eyes of a 1^st century Jew, this rich young ruler had everything going for him.  In that culture, his wealth proved that God was pleased with him.  He was respectful.  He lived a virtuous, moral life.  He was striving to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbor as himself.  Nothing more could be done.  “Who can be saved?”

So why did Jesus point this young man to works of the law?  Jesus did not ask other followers to sell all their possessions. Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy; he had a brand new tomb (Jn. 19:38), 1%er.  Nicodemus provided enough spices for a royal burial (Jn. 19:39) 1%er.  Plenty of rich people had faith in Jesus, but Jesus didn’t make them sell everything.  Why make an additional requirement for this man?  Why add an additional hurdle for him?  Why would Jesus require something extra for eternal life, especially something He knew this man wouldn’t do?  “Who can be saved?”

It is not what you do or do not do that allows you to inherit the reign of God.  And it isn’t what you have that keeps you from inheriting the reign of God; it is who or what you have as your ruler.

You see this rich, young ruler was ruled by the things he had—power, wealth, stuff.  He prefers hold on to his things for another 30, 40, 50 years.  But not matter what, this rich, young ruler will give up everything he has.  Eventually, he will die and leave everything behind.

And Jesus had been hinting at this all along.  Jesus gave a hint when He responded to the ruler’s address to Him as “Good Teacher.”  Jesus responded, “No one is good except God alone.”

The young man wanted to earn a status of being good, but “No one is good except God alone.”  This rich young ruler wanted to know, “What must I do?” and he wouldn’t accept help.  He wanted a checklist—not charity.  He wanted his own merits—not mercy.  He wanted a guide—not grace.  He wanted law—not love.

And he left.  He left, and Jesus didn’t stop him.

Jesus did what would most help this man—Jesus continued and set out on His journey.  I’m sure He thought about the rich young ruler as He journeyed to Jerusalem.  He was delivered into the hands of evil men; He was killed.  Jesus, the Good Teacher, shoved a camel through the eye of the needle.  He did something even more difficult.  Jesus shoved the whole world, and you, through the holes in His hands and feet.  He made the impossible possible.

Jesus brought God’s reign.  You are not limited to what you can do.  Jesus reigns now and forever, and He wants to give you His inheritance.  Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Mark 10:2–16 ² And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” ⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, ¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³ And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

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

Some things just never change.  When people look at the state of marriages in our society, many will wring their hands and say, “This is terrible.  If only we could go back 20, 40, 80, or 100 years to when marriage was honored.”  You know what?—it wouldn’t help.  Sorry, folks, despising marriage is nothing new.

Marriage was in just as bad a position in Jesus’ day as it is in our day.  The Pharisees ask, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”   Is it lawful?  Even the question shows a mindset, a desire, to meet the minimum requirements.  Is it lawful?  When that is your view of things, even the bare minimum is done grudgingly.  Is it lawful?  They might as well have asked, “How much can we get away with?”

The Pharisees had two schools of thought on divorce.  On the one hand you had Pharisees (Shammai) who taught that adultery was the only legitimate cause for divorce.  The far more popular view among the Pharisees (Hillel) was divorce for many reasons—a spoiled meal or, simply, if the husband found another woman fairer than his wife.  One Jewish historian wrote in his autobiography, “I divorced my wife, not liking her behavior” (Josephus Life 426).

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  Ins’t it interesting that even the Pharisees, with all their rules and additions to God’s law, even they wanted to get away with doing the bare minimum.  More laws and rules do not make you more pious and righteous.

Jesus asks, “What did Moses teach about divorce?”

Now, Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  You need to understand what where the Pharisees go to answer Jesus’ question—they go to Dt. 24:1-4.  The passage does talk about writing a certificate of divorce, but the focus of the passage deals with remarrying your first husband if you get a divorce from a second husband—it is an abomination before Yahweh.  The Pharisees, these experts in Scripture, twist a passage to fit what they want.  People still do that today.

The Pharisees use Dt. 24 to answer Jesus’ question; now, see where Jesus goes to talk about marriage.  Jesus gets away from the, Is it lawful? away from the, What is the minimum required?  These questions reveal a hardness of heart—a cardio-sclerosis—which desires to dumb down the holiness of God to something attainable.  As though reluctantly sloughing off and doing just enough to get by will make a marriage work.  Cardio-sclerosis indeed.

Jesus goes to the beginning, to the Divine intention for marriage.  Marriage is rooted in creation, rooted in the beginning of life.

From the beginning of creation, Jesus says God had an intention for man and woman.  God created the universe to house life; He created the plants and animals to sustain life; He created man and woman and marriage to propagate life.

God defines marriage.  No ballot initiative has the authority to define (or ‘redefine’ marriage); it cannot be done.  No human institution has that authority.  Marriage is defined by God, “God made them male and female.”

As He created, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a suitable helper for him” (Gen. 2:18).  God put Adam into a deep sleep then took out one of his ribs.  From that rib, God formed and crafted Eve.

Marriage was God’s idea—not Adam’s.  God created a woman—not a buddy or a chum or a pal.  God created a single woman to be Adam’s wife; He didn’t create not a herd of women for Adam to choose.  God created marriage to be a relationship between one man and one woman working together to subdue and dominate the world (Gen. 1:27-28).

God opened Adam’s flesh and removed part of Adam, but God’s intent was for that piece of Adam to be united with Adam once again as one flesh.  God brought Eve to Adam, and Adam responded, “This at last (how long had Adam been alive?) is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”  God created precisely what Adam needed and desired.  God brought Eve to Adam and Adam to Eve.

In marriage, God joins man and woman together.

Husbands, God brought your wife to you, and your wife is God’s gift to you.  Wives, God brought your husband to you, and your husband is God’s gift to you.  Live that way.

Jesus teaches “The two become one flesh.”  God’s intention for marriage is that one man and one woman equals one flesh.  One plus one equals one.  When you take one away from that, what are you left with?

“The two become one flesh” by way of what happens in the marriage bed (1 Cor. 6:16), and “the two become one flesh” by the natural results, the fruit, of what happens in the marriage bed—children.  Children of a husband and wife are the ‘one flesh’ fruit marriage.  You cannot separate what God has joined together.

Oneness is God’s wonderful way to build husband and wife up, but husbands and wives can also use this oneness to tear each other down.  If there ever was a legitimate reason for divorce, the Fall into sin was it.  How can you remain one with someone who is brought death to you and to creation?  Now, both Adam and Eve share the blame for the Fall.  Yet, their marriage survived.  Marriage survived the Fall.

The Pharisees want to know what is lawful.  Jesus doesn’t deal with the lawful;  Jesus doesn’t work within the set of minimum requirements.  Jesus talks about God’s intent—what God has joined together better not be separated by anyone.  God’s intent for marriage is never divorce.

Several other passages of Scripture (1 Cor. 6:12-7:40) teach that there are Biblical grounds for divorce—adultery, an unequally yoked situation where the unbeliever abandons the believer (which includes abuse).  Divorce is always caused by sin.  One spouse may be ‘innocent’ by our standards, but divorce is always caused by sin. Divorce is always a result of something that needs to be repented and confessed.

Know that God truly does forgive—even divorce—through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Those of you who look down on people who have been divorced, knock it off.  God forgives.  Even if you are guilty of adultery or were abusive, Jesus took that sin and buried it in the tomb where it remains condemned and killed forever.

And God knew what He was doing when He inspired Mark to write about Jesus receiving the children immediately after this encounter with the Pharisees with their question, Is it lawful?

The fruit of ‘one flesh’ unions—the fruit of marriage—children, the ones of whom Jesus says (Mk. 9:37), “When you receive one of these little children you receive Me and when you receive Me you receive not Me but God the Father Who sent Me.”  The disciples are hindering them.  They allow the unbelieving Pharisees to come to Jesus with their questions about what is lawful, but hinder these children who come simply to receive blessings from Jesus.

Many denominations do the same thing by denying baptism to infants.  But if you only look at others as falling short of God’s standard, you are just as concerned with the minimum requirements as the Pharisees.  The Pharisees are not alone despising marriage; the disciples are not alone when it comes to hindering children from coming to Jesus.

As your pastor who loves you, it kills me to say this, but you people, whom I love, are guilty too.  Some of you by the way you speak of your relationship reveal that you want to get by doing the minimum in your marriage.  Stop despising God’s gift to you.

Some of you hinder children and tear apart marriages by getting upset with the parents who do not “properly” control their kids here in church.  You Pharisee, you hypocrite.  There are enough ways that Satan is attacking children and marriage.

Serve those parents; help them.  Instead of complaining about the kids who run in church and scream during the service, instead of dragging your spouse down with you while they listen to you complain on the drive home, help and serve where it is needed.  Encourage parents; thank them for bringing their kids to church.  Offer to help; don’t give condescending advice.

When you hinder the children, Jesus is indignant, enraged.  He receives and blesses those who are not concerned about meeting the minimal requirements of the lawful, and He receives you.  He receives you precisely because He suffered the unlawful for you.

He has made you, the church, His bride.  He has made you one flesh as He gives you His flesh to eat, and His blood to drink.  Receive from Him, as a child from a parent, everything you need for life.  Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds and marriages and homes forever and ever in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Mark 9:38–50 ³⁸ John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For the one who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

⁴² “Whoever causes the downfall one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. ⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

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

One theologian says that preaching is, “Doing the text to the hearers.”  Who’s first?  We’ll get to the lopping, plucking, and cutting stuff, and don’t worry; I’ll keep the hatchet and hacksaw up here.

This is not an easy passage.  Jesus says several things that are hard to understand in this text—the instructions for self-mutilation are not the only difficulty.

Context, context, context.  When you get confused about a Scripture passage, remember to consider the context.  If you were simply reading the Gospel of Mark, you would certainly remember the context in which this is placed.

Today’s text picks up from last week’s where Jesus speaks to the disciples about His coming death and resurrection.  He plainly says, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.”  Then, the disciples argue about which of them is the greatest.  Jesus takes a child—the obvious least and lowest among them—and teaches the Twelve that discipleship is a life of service to the lowest of the low.  God wants you to serve Him by serving your neighbor.  Jesus says, “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him Who sent Me.”

Today’s text begins with one of the three “inner circle” disciples, John—“the disciple whom Jesus loved”—saying, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”  Isn’t that interesting?  An unidentified exorcist is doing the work of God, he is casting out demons in Jesus’ name, but he “isn’t following us disciples.”  As though the disciples are people to follow, or as though Jesus said, “Follow us, and we will make you fishers of men.”

The disciples may have stopped arguing amongst themselves who is the greatest, but they think they must at least be greater than others who are not with them.  Just after Jesus has called them to be servants to the least among them, they are thinking egotistically that they have a corner on the Jesus market.  Jesus begins teaching the disciples to get over their pride and realize that disciples of Christ Jesus are called to a life of service.  With His first swing of the axe to chop down the tree of pride Jesus says, “Do not stop him.  The one who is not against us is for us.”

You know what, my fellow Lutherans, disciples of Christ, do we not often think just as John and the disciples thought that we have a monopoly on Jesus?  Jesus would say to us today, “Do not stop the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, or Roman Catholic who does a mighty work in My name for they will not be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.”

Jesus gives a simple picture of what service looks like.  Jesus says that real service isn’t what brings the television cameras out, rather, “Whoever gives you, disciples, a cup of cold water to drink because you belong to Christ will not lose his reward.”  A cup of water is nothing.  In Jesus’ day, giving someone a cup of water is what you do to prove you are not a jerk.  But here are the Twelve demanding this unknown exorcist stop serving his neighbor.  The disciples should have offered this man their assistance—even something as small as a cup of water.

We also hold back from assisting and serving our brother and sister in Christ.  Worse than that, we hinder others’ service because of our own pride and jealousy.  We disagree with other believers (and that is ok), but they are as equally part of the Body of Christ as we are.  Jesus has called us into His Church—the Body of Christ—not into a sect.

Jesus continues to pull the disciples and us down from our soap boxes saying.  “Whoever causes the downfall one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for him if a great millstone [the kind that took a donkey to move] were hung around his neck and have been cast into the sea.”

Jesus gives a perilous warning about destroying the faith of any brother or sister, no matter how insignificant we think they are.  It would be better to be in the state of sinking down into the sea with nothing to slow your descent.

Jesus really starts swinging in an effort to chop down the pride of the disciples and us.  Jesus speaks of self-mutilation.  This is the same Jesus Who was born in a livestock stall and laid in a feeding trough.  This is the same Jesus Who healed the sick, blind, deaf, and lame.  This is the same Jesus Who described in Scripture, “a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench” (Mt. 12:20).

Jesus’ words here are direct and plain.  But we rationalize and assume that Jesus is simply speaking metaphorically.  We use our reason and logic to get away from Jesus’ desperate call to cut off the sin in our lives.  We think, “Even if I cut off my hand and foot and pluck out my eye, I would still be sinful.  I would have to cut off all my limbs and simply be a torso holding up a head with no eyes or ears or tongue.  But even then I would still have my mind and that will still think sinful thoughts.  I would still have an evil heart.  Didn’t Jesus say, ‘Out of the heart comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.’  If I took Jesus literally, I would have to cut off my head and pluck out my heart.”

And that is precisely the point; that is the conclusion Jesus wants you to reach.

Cut it all off.  You do not have to get a second opinion.  Jesus does not allow for tolerance of sin.  You do not adjust to evil, you do not reform evil, and you do not allow evil to remain.  Evil must be cut off like a limb with gangrene.

Yet we still rationalize.  We excuse our sins and others’ sins.  Sure we aren’t perfect, but does that really justify calling for amputations and plucking?  Yes.

Maybe we fall short of God’s standard, but does that really mean that we deserve to be sent to an eternal hell “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched”?  Yes, it does; it most certainly does.

And we get a little upset with Jesus for speaking to us this way.  How dare even He speak to us this way?  Jesus can because He knows the severity of your sins because He made them His own (2 Cor. 5:21).

Thank God that the One speaking these terrible words is the very One Who was Himself mutilated, not for His sins, but for our sins.  He cut off all of your sin by mutilating His Own hands, His Own feet.  Jesus is the One who cast your sins into the depths of the sea.  He gives you not just a cup of water, but living water springing up to eternal life.

God connects you to Jesus’ mutilation and death in baptism (Ro. 6:3-7).  To us, baptism looks like a fairly mundane thing—just a little ‘cup of cold water’ in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  But in God’s opinion of things, baptism has lopped off your sinful limbs and kills your sinful mind and heart.  In God’s opinion of things, you have been drowned in the sea.

But Jesus isn’t done saying difficult things; “Everyone will be salted with fire.”  Wait, didn’t Jesus come to keep us from the fire?  What is this, “Everyone will be salted with fire,” business in v. 49?

Fire purifies.  In Jesus’ day salt had three main uses: preserving, cleansing, and flavoring. In Lev. 2:13, God had required worshippers to offer their grain sacrifices, which were burned, with salt.  What is unsettling here is that Jesus is saying worshippers are the ones who are salted and fired.  Fire purifies; salt preserves.

Yes, Jesus delivers you from the eternal, unquenchable hellfire, but He does not deliver you from all fire.  Sobering, isn’t it?  Jesus knocks the pride of His Twelve disciples and our pride down even further.

Then, in v. 50, Jesus says what might be the most mundane thing He says in this text.  Even though it is mundane, it is still difficult.  “Salt is good.”  In Mt. 5:13, Jesus calls His disciples the salt of the earth.  Salt is good.  Salt makes a bland baked potato tasty; it can make a dry roast palatable.  We put salt on corn, cucumbers, and even sometimes on watermelon.  Salt is good.

Jesus says, “If salt loses its salt-ness [not just salty taste] it is no good for anything.”  The salt used in Israel during Jesus’ day was not the pure sodium chloride we have today, so this is something that would happen often.  If salt loses its salt-ness it is no good but to be cast into the depths of the sea, lopped off, plucked out, thrown into the eternal fire with the undying worm.

Salt can be a food connoisseur’s best friend, but salt where it is unwanted is offensive.  Believer, there are times where you will offend others.  You will be salt where someone wanted sugar.  Lovingly offend; serve others with your offense.  And you might get burned in the process.  Yet, if the salt loses its salt-ness, what good is it?

God loves His world, and He has made you, disciple, the salt of the earth.  God wants this earth salted.

Receive His grace; live in His grace, but do not expect a ‘happily ever after’ in this life.  The story-book ending is yours, but you await the revelation of it.  Amen.

May the peace of God guard you mind, body, and soul until the resurrection of your body.  Amen.

Mark 9:30–37 ³⁰ They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” ³² But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

³³ And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The disciples have a problem on their hands—a real problem.

The disciples have left everything to follow Jesus, and things have been going well.  They are the Twelve followers of Jesus—a Man who can do things.  He is casting out demons right and left.  He is healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, and cleansing the lepers.  He is making the lame to leap, the deaf to hear, and the mute to speak.  He is raising the dead.  He can still the wind and waves and walk on water.  He can provide food for the multitudes.  He is challenging the religious establishment, bucking tradition, and teaching hidden truths.

Jesus is doing all of these things and gaining notoriety.  He is becoming extremely popular, and people thronged about Him.  In fact, He is so famous that He can’t keep Himself hidden—even when He tries (Mk. 6:31-34; 7:33-36).  The crowds are so impressed with this Jesus that they conclude, “He does all things well” (Mk. 7:37).

But the disciples still have a problem.  Their problem is that Jesus is saying strange, very strange things.  Well, really, it is one strange thing, but He keeps saying it.  Jesus is saying that He is going to die (Mk. 8:31; 9:31; 10:32-34).

This is a problem for the disciples because, how will they serve a dead Savior?

Plans need to be made; this great movement must continue.  If Jesus says that He is going to die, preparations need to occur to make sure there is leadership for what comes after.  Who will lead?  Who will direct the ministry once Jesus is gone?  Who is the greatest among them?

Jesus is focused on His impending martyrdom; the disciples are distracted with their rank and position.  Jesus is speaking of being killed; the disciples are jockeying to be the student who becomes the teacher.

Jesus has continually been preaching, “The reign of God is at hand” (Mk. 1:15); what the disciples are missing is that the reign of God will come through defeat.  Jesus will ascend the throne and conquer on the cross.

The disciples do not understand; they are ignorant.  And who would have understood when Jesus speaks about His death?  No one.

The problem is that the disciples hide their ignorance.  They hide it deep and are afraid even to speak about it.

Many times in the past the disciples did not understand things, but they brought their ignorance to Jesus.  The disciples didn’t understand parables, so Jesus would explain them (Mk. 4:10; 7:17).  The disciples didn’t understand about the feeding of the 5000, so Jesus feeds a multitude of 4000.

But this time the disciples keep their ignorance to themselves.  They are afraid even to ask.  As one commentator says, “They understand enough to be afraid to ask to understand more” (E. Best).  “They understand enough to be afraid to ask to understand more.”

As they travel with Jesus to Capernaum, they have what they think is a secret discussion.  When Jesus asks the disciples about their quiet quarrel, they keep silent like guilty schoolboys.

But Jesus knew.  He knew what they had been discussing.  Jesus knew their ignorance and fear about His death.  Jesus had said (Mk. 4:22), ²² Nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

The disciples have a problem: how do you serve a dead Savior?  Jesus sheds a little light on the subject and teaches them more about following Him.  He teaches what it is to be a disciple of Jesus, “If anyone would be first, he must be, of all, last and, of all, servant.”

Jesus speaks of descending; the disciples’ minds are fixated upon ascending.  Jesus speaks of service; the disciples argue about their own personal greatness.

How often is it that your discussions about ‘spiritual things’ become an opportunity to reveal to others how great you are?

You hear it, and you do it.  You begin to discuss the Scriptures, and you want to make sure you get your view, your opinion, in so others can know how well acquainted with the Bible you are.

You want to have a Bible study that goes deeper, a study that is more practical, because those other studies just teach about sin and grace—and you’ve heard enough about that.

You talk about church attendance and you make sure others know that you haven’t missed a service in months, and the last time you did, you listened to a preacher on the radio.

You boldly write your name on the sign-up sheet at a time when others will be sure to see that you are doing your part.

You have been such a good, faithful volunteer doing everything that is required of you.  If only others would serve, even half as much, as you have served.

If there is a way to find glory or recognition or just to have one person take a little notice what you have done by way of ‘Christian service,’ you find it.  What a great lot of glory seekers, we all are.

What does Jesus do?  He takes a child.  Why a child?  The disciples are arguing about who is the greatest, and there would be no argument that this child is definitely the least among them.

Rabbis during Jesus’ time instructed parents to treat their children like heifers, increase their burden daily until they are able to contribute.  Parents were not obligated by law to feed their children after age six (Chethub.).  Children can’t work and are just another mouth to feed.

One commentator says, “Children occupied an interesting place in the first century household. They represented the future—they would carry on the family name, provide for their aging parents, and produce the next generation. But in the present, they were a liability” (A. Allen).

Jesus takes this liability, this child, the obvious least and lowest in the group, and Jesus embraces him.  Jesus says, “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him Who sent Me.”

Jesus, in the midst of His disputing disciples welcomes and receives the least among the whole group, a liability, a child.

The disciples have a problem, how will they serve a dead Savior?  They did their best; they tried to continue the mission.  But their focus was off.  This Savior did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom (Mk. 10:45).

Jesus came to serve the lowest of the low.  He came to serve tax collectors and sinners.  He came to serve prostitutes, gluttons, drunkards, lepers, and even children.  Jesus came to serve those who were liabilities and could not do anything for themselves.  He came, even, to serve you.

Believer, disciple of Christ, you have a problem.  And your problem is similar to the disciples’ problem.  The disciples had to learn how to serve a Savior Who was literally dying to serve them.  You have to learn, how to serve a God Who insists on serving you.  What can you do when God rejects even your righteous deeds because are tainted with sin?  What service can you offer to God when He has become your Suffering Servant?

Jesus says to serve your neighbor.  Serve the least among you.  When you welcome the least, you welcome Jesus.  When you welcome the least, you welcome Jesus, and you really welcome the God the Father.

Disciple, how do you serve a God Who insists on serving you?  You serve others.  And you will botch your service.  You will brag about it and try to out-serve others.  You will compete asking, “How low can you go?”

But it is not really you doing the service.  God is working through you.  God is the One doing the ministering and, through you, providing for the least of the least—even when your motives are wrong.

You serve a Savior Who truly became last of all and servant of all.  Jesus’ glory didn’t come until His service was rendered.  Jesus’ cross came before His glory.   The same is true for you.  Jesus has given you a cross to bear, service to render.  Amen.

May the peace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit guard you—mind, body, and spirit—until eternity.  Amen.

Colossians 1:11–14 ¹¹ May you be empowered in all power, according to the strength of His glory, toward all endurance and patience with joy ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us into the rule of His beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Who are we, and why are we here?  As we sit here on our 25th anniversary, I think it’s important and even imperative for us to ask, “Who are we?  Who are we at Christ the King Free Lutheran in East Grand Forks?  Why are we here; what is our purpose?”

Many passages could do this as well, but these four verses from Colossians very succinctly and very powerfully help us understand who we are and why we are here.

Who are we?

It is very easy to define who we are not.  Little to no thought is needed to say, “No, we are not like them.  No, we disagree with those people.  We deny that doctrine.  No, no, no, we aren’t that type of ‘Lutheran.’”

It’s not as easy to define who we are.  We have solid tools (the Apostle’s, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds; Luther’s Small Catechism; and the Augsburg Confession) which identify what we believe.  And what we believe goes a long way when trying to define who we are.

What does Scripture say we are?  Starting in the middle of v. 12, Scripture says you are qualified.  Notice you are qualified not because of something you have done or some choice you have made.  You are qualified by God the Father.  How could anyone dare say that they are qualified before God unless God has done the qualifying Himself?

As we have looked back on our past, we heard of God’s powerful work in and through this congregation; we remember how God has richly provided for us.  In everything, God has caused growth and blessed us.  And, yet, it would be foolish to say that we have been a ‘model congregation.’  We would be fools to say that we are the epitome of what a congregation should look like because that just isn’t the case.

We have failed.  We are all sinful; we are all sinners.  We all fall short of the glory of God.  We hurt our neighbor, we hurt our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we hurt our witness to others.  For all of that, you and I need forgiveness.

Thank God He is in the forgiveness business.

You were by nature unqualified.  But God has qualified you; He has made you worthy.  If the God Who is holy, holy, holy has made you qualified, who is anyone to say that you are unworthy or unqualified?

God has qualified you for a share, for a portion, in the inheritance of the saints in light.  The inheritance that the saints receive, there is a share in it for you because God has qualified you.  He washed away your sins.  In baptism, God buried you with Christ and raised you up with Christ (Ro. 6:3-7).

God saved you in your baptism.  He connected you with Christ; He rescued you.  You, sinful sinner that you are, were under the authority of darkness—you were in a hostile kingdom.  But Christ came bringing the rule and reign of God with Him.  He purchased you, He redeemed you, and transferred you to His rule.  In Christ you have the forgiveness of sins.  In Christ, you are forgiven, redeemed, naturalized into Christ’s kingdom; you are rescued, sainted, and qualified.

That is who we are.

Why are we here?

Even though we are now under the rule and reign of Christ, there are more people to be qualified by God the Father.  There are more people to be rescued from the authority of darkness and transferred into the rule of the only-begotten Son of God.

Christ your King uses you to work as He grows His kingdom.  You are His tools used to qualify others.

God doesn’t need your works.  Apart from your works, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has qualified you, rescued you, transferred you, and given you redemption the forgiveness of your sins.  God gives you all these things and leaves you here to work for the benefit of others.

God doesn’t need your works, but your neighbor does.

God has set you free.  You are free, then.  You are free to forgive others because you have been forgiven.  You are free to love others because you are loved by God.  You are free to serve your neighbor because Jesus Christ has served you.  You are free to provide for your neighbor because God has provided for you a share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

God is empowering you; He is empowering you with His power to do those things.  You are here so God can provide for, serve, love, and forgive your neighbor.

You fail—yes, you fail.  We all fail to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  We fail to love our neighbor as ourselves.

But when you fail, there certainly isn’t a problem with your qualification—God qualified you.  You simply struggle with understanding the totality of God’s forgiveness.  Believer, in God’s eyes, you have never sinned—ever.  Jesus is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29).  If Jesus has taken away the sins of the world, that means Jesus has taken away your sins too.  Don’t try to steal your sins back from Jesus.

And even when you commit the same sin you were confessing just two seconds ago, receive again the fresh, infinite forgiveness of God.  His mercies never come to an end.

Who are we?  We are Christ the King Free Lutheran—sinners who have been forgiven, redeemed, rescued, transferred, and qualified.  Why are we here?  To be those who are qualified by God, to be Christ the King Free Lutheran, the body of Christ purchased and forgiven, empowered with the strength of God’s glory, enduring and patient.  Amen.

May the peace of God guard you—mind, body, and soul—unto the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.  Amen.

Mark 7:31–37 ³¹ Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³ And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

In the name of Jesus, amen.

Bill Nye the “Science Guy” might wish I didn’t start the sermon this way, but I hope you remember Gen. 1 where God creates the world.  Each day God creates something new: Day 1 – light; Day 2 – atmosphere/heavens; Day 3 – land, sea, plants; Day 4 – sun, moon, stars; Day 5 –  fish and birds; Day 6 – animals and humans.

At the end of every day whatever God created is described as being what? (Good).

Finally, when everything was finished on the sixth day, God steps back and looks at everything He created and how is it described?  (Very good).

How did God create all of those things?  (He spoke, and they came to exist).

God did not take things that already existed and shape them with His hands.  God simply spoke and things that did not exist came to be.

The second half of our Gospel text v. 31-37 is very similar.  Jesus, God in the flesh, speaks and the impossible happens, things are created.

The crowd brings a deaf, mute man to Jesus.  What does Jesus do to heal this man?  Well, a couple of things.  He puts His fingers into the deaf man’s ears.  He spits.  He uses His spit-riddled fingers to touch the mute tongue.  Only after doing all these things, does Jesus speak.  Jesus speaks to deaf ears and a tongue that is literally tied commanding them to open.  They obey.

What happens here is a fulfillment of our Old Testament text from Is 35:5–6 ⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; ⁶ then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

Jesus is restoring creation.  God created the world and it was very good, but sin caused the world to fall.  Jesus came to redeem all of creation—that includes you.  With just a Word from Jesus, parts of creation which had fallen, a man’s deaf ears and flawed tongue, are restored.

When Jesus’ ministry is summarized by Mark (1:15), you read that Jesus preaches “The reign of God is at hand.”  Jesus’ work is to bring that the rule and the reign of God as He ministers.  As Jesus makes the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap like a deer, the mute sing for joy, all of this shows that in Jesus, creation is being restored.  Jesus is re-creating.

When you confess the Apostle’s Creed, you finish with, “I believe in… the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting,” or in the Nicene Creed you finish with, “I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”  Think about Gen. 1 and how God created the heavens and the earth and each day they were described as good, good, good, good, good, and very good.

Scripture closes by teaching that God will make all things new (Rev. 21:5).  God’s work is to fully restore creation to the way that He intended it to be.  Scripture teaches that your body will be raised from the dead and you will enjoy the eternal bliss of the new creation.  You will be in the presence of God for eternity.  Won’t that be great?

The man in this text got to experience a taste of that as Jesus poked at him, put His divine spit on his tongue, and spoke to him in a region called Decapolis about 2000 years ago.

Do this for me please:  put your fingers in your ears for a couple of seconds, just so you take them out before the end of the sermon.  Stick out your tongue and touch it.  God created those ears and that tongue and all that exists, and He likes them.  And God is still interested in your ears and your tongues.  So, Jesus redeemed them.

Eph. 2:4–6, ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Notice, God made you alive together with Christ.  God raised you up with Christ.  God seated you in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  “When you were dead in your trespasses,” God made, raised, seated (all aorist tense verbs)  Don’t spiritualize it.  Don’t make it symbolic.  Listen to it again and let it sink in:

Eph. 2:4–6, ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved [you], ⁵ even when [you] were dead in [your] trespasses, made [you] alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised [you] up with Him and seated [you] with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

In this text, the crowd gets caught up in the fact that Jesus can make a deaf and mute man hear and speak.  The crowd says, “Jesus has done all things well.”  Again, this is Gen. 1 creation language.  But Jesus is doing things that are greater than the crowd realizes.  Today, that man’s ears are deaf; that man’s tongue is mute because his ears, tongue, and the rest of him is dust.

Jesus is doing more than making the deaf hear and mute speak.  Jesus is re-creating.  Jesus came to save you and all of creation.  He has washed away your sins in your baptism when He buried your sins in His death and defeated them in His resurrection.

Creation began in Gen. 1 with God creating light.  Jesus still creates light.  In Mt. 5:14-16, Jesus says you are the light of the world.  I have heard this taught as though your good works are lamps that you light and place on a stand.  That is wrong.  Jesus says that you are the light of the world.  A lamp cannot light itself; a lamp cannot get itself either under a basket or up on a lampstand.  But God can and does.

God speaks into your darkness and there is light.  God doesn’t light you to put you under a basket, but to put you on a stand.  God puts you on a stand so that people are drawn to the light that God has given you.  As the people see the light that God has given, they give glory not to you but to God.

God has created life in you and placed you in whatever vocation you are to be a witness.  “And God saw that it was good.”  As you obey your parents, teachers, bosses, and superiors, you are God’s hands and feet at work in creation.  “And God saw that it was good.”  As you do your chores, go to school and work, and interact with your family and neighbors, you are a witness to the glories of God.  “And God saw that it was good.”

A church father once wrote, “Remember that you might be the only Bible anyone reads.”  That is true.  But don’t think that you have to be a perfect person either.  You won’t be.  You fail now and you will always fail.  Don’t get overly upset with yourself.

Remember what the crowd said about Jesus, “He does all things well.”  They were right in thinking that—more right than they realized.

Jesus does all things well, and that means—you do too.

Gal. 3:27 ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

It is easy to get upset with yourself.  It is easy to see the ways where you have not been a good witness.  It is easy to see how God would be upset with you because, frankly, what you do all too often does not turn out to be very good.  Satan wants to discourage you and remind you of the ways you fail.

Remember what Ro. 8:28 says, ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  God uses even your failures.  Christ does all things well, and you are in Christ.  Christ still does all things well.

Heb. 13:21 says that the God of peace ²¹ equip[s] you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory forever and ever.

God will do the work in you that is pleasing in His sight.  Because Jesus Christ, the Word of God Who caused all things to come into being (Jn. 1:3) is in you.  Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.