The Umbrella – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday in Lent

Matthew 4:1-11

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Generally, there are two ways to approach preaching a sermon on Jesus’ temptation. The first is to point out the tactics that Jesus used to resist temptation and encourage the hearers to employ those same tactics because we are to fight and resist temptations (Jam. 1:14, 4:7). Those sermons can make you much more prepared than Eve was in our Old Testament lesson (Gen. 3:1-21) when the devil came asking, “Did God really say?” Preaching Jesus’ temptation that way is helpful, beneficial, and Scriptural, and I’ve taken that approach several times in the past.

That being said, those sermons are mostly oriented toward the Law and have the potential to be dangerous. They can leave you only hearing, “Jesus is your example. Here, use the same strategies and maneuvers that Jesus used. And if you follow this plan when you face temptation, you can resist sin like Jesus.”

But when – not ‘if’ but ‘when’ – you fail and fall into sin, it can be extremely discouraging. If you only hear sermons about how Jesus is your example, it can leave you thinking that the Bible is simply a self-help book. And when your life doesn’t get better, you can start to think that the Bible isn’t really all that helpful. The devil can take sermons like that and place all your sins and failures and in front of you to tempt you into abandoning the Word of God completely. So, I’m not taking that approach today. Maybe I will the next time, but not today.

Today, I’m taking the second common approach of preaching on Jesus’ temptation which is to see that Jesus is resisting temptation for you. He is doing for you what you cannot and could not do. As Christ resists and fights against the devil, He is trusting in God where you have not. And because Jesus has done all of this for you, God credits Jesus’ victory over sin and temptation to your account through faith.

To get a better understanding of this we need to see that these are real temptations for Jesus. Honestly, these temptations don’t sound all that difficult to us. Turning rocks into food, jumping off a building without a bungee cord or parachute, and bowing down at Satan’s feet are not the temptations you and I face. But the reason each of these temptations is difficult for Jesus is that in each of them the devil is tempting Jesus to abandon His mission to be your Savior. To get at this, we’ll need an analogy:

Imagine that the Ten Commandments are a giant umbrella, and God by creating you has put you under that umbrella of His Law. You and I and all humanity live under the Law, and we don’t have a choice of getting out from under it. That is not an option. The Law is always there directing, instructing, and accusing us because we are sinners.

Now, God isn’t under that umbrella of the Law. God is outside and above the Law. Whether you like it or not, God isn’t subject to the Commandments. He can’t be. Consider the 4^th Commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” How is God going to keep that Command? He doesn’t have a father or mother or any authorities above Him to honor. Or consider the 7^th Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” and the 9^th and 10^thCommandments about coveting. God created all things, so He already owns all things. He can’t steal or covet anything because everything is His already. So, we live under the umbrella of the Law, and God doesn’t.

But when God saw your pitiful condition under the Law and how it always accuses you, He desired to save you, the only way to do that was for Him to come next to you under the umbrella. Jesus came in the flesh to live under the Commandments next to you. This is the picture we are given in Gal. 4:4-5a, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, burn of a woman, born under the Law to redeem [you] who were under the Law.” You see this?

So, when Satan initially comes to tempt Jesus here, he doesn’t tempt our Lord the same way he tempts us. The devil tempts us to break specific commandments – to disrespect those who have authority over us and break the 4^th Commandment, to hate and harm our neighbor and break the 5^th, to lust and break the 6^th, to lie and break the 8^th, and so on. But none of the temptations that the devil throws at Jesus here would lead Jesus to break one of the Commandments. Satan is doing something different here.

In each of these temptations, the devil is tempting Jesus to come out from under the umbrella of the Law. Basically, each of these temptations is Satan, that worm, saying to Jesus, “You created the umbrella! You don’t belong under the Commandments. Leave the people under there, they deserve it. They’ve earned all the punishment they get under there.”

Now with that picture in our minds, let’s consider each of the temptations. If you had gone forty days without eating, the devil would tempt you by simply putting some food in front of you. But when the devil tempts Jesus here, he doesn’t put food in front of our Lord; instead, he points to a pile of rocks. That wouldn’t be tempting for you or me, but this temptation is uniquely tailored for Christ. Jesus has the power, ability, and authority to change those stones into bread. He is God after all, so those stones are His creation. If He wanted to turn them into bread, He had every right to do so. But Jesus doesn’t. He responds by quoting Dt. 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

What that passage means is that we humans must trust that God will provide our food at the proper time (Ps. 145:15). So, this temptation to turn rocks into bread is the devil saying to Jesus, “You don’t have to wait for God to give You bread. Only the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have to wait for God to feed them.” And the devil was right. Jesus didn’t have to wait. Because Jesus is God, if He had turned those stones into bread, God would have been providing. But because Jesus is your substitute and has willingly come next to you under the umbrella, He does wait. He waits for His heavenly Father to provide food. He chooses to be patient because you and I have to be patient and wait for food to come from our heavenly Father. So, by resisting this temptation, Jesus stays with you under the umbrella.

In the second temptation, Jesus is taken to the top of the Temple and is told to jump off. This temptation sounds really strange to us because I doubt you have ever been tempted to jump off the roof of the Alerus or the Ralph. How is this tempting? It wouldn’t be for you or me, but it is for Jesus. If Jesus had jumped off the pinnacle of the Temple, which was a very public place, people would see the angels catch Him, and they would know that He was God. Jesus could get all the glory, worship, and praise that is His due as God.

But Jesus’ glory doesn’t mainly come from doing amazing things. His main glory is staying with you under the umbrella and going to the cross to be your Savior. Just before He was arrested, Jesus began His high priestly prayer, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son” (Jn. 17:1). Again, the devil’s temptation here is to get Jesus to come out of the umbrella and get the glory that Jesus rightly deserves. But Jesus won’t do it. He remains with you under the umbrella because it is much more glorious to be the Savior of mankind than to be a miracle-worker.

Finally, in the third temptation, the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and says, “I’ll give You all this if You bow down and worship me.” Remember, Jesus had come to win all the kingdoms of the world for Himself. At the very end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Mt. 28:18). In this temptation, the devil is saying, “I can give You the kingdoms of the world right now.”

But Jesus won’t do it. Again, He stays under the umbrella. Yes, Jesus has come to reclaim the kingdoms of the world, but only after He has redeemed you by shedding His blood and dying and rising again for you.

Dear saints, Jesus has resisted temptation for you. And we know Jesus faced more temptations than these three. When Luke records Jesus’ temptation, he ends it by saying, “The devil departed from Jesus until an opportune time” (Lk. 4:13). Jesus can sympathize with your weakness because He has been tempted in every way that you are but without sin (Heb. 4:15).

One more thing about Christ’s temptation today. Notice, that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the devil (v. 1). You can take comfort in the fact that the Holy Spirit will never ever lead you into temptation because Scripture promises (Jam. 1:13). But beyond that, you can know that by facing these temptations for you, Jesus is totally and completely determined and committed to be your Savior. He did not and will not ever come out of the umbrella with you. His desire is to give you His mercy. He has brought that mercy, grace, and forgiveness to you who live under the umbrella.

So today, right now, and always You can draw near to His throne of grace with complete confidence. Because at His throne of grace you will always find His mercy and grace to help in every time of need (Heb. 4:16). Amen.

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

The Problem – Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13 for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

Nov21

Matthew 25:1-13

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The five foolish virgins had one problem. They were “morons.” That’s literally the word Jesus uses – μωρός. So that’s how I’ll refer to them; if you have a problem with me calling them morons, you can take it up with Jesus. Being morons was their only problem. The fact that they had lamps but no oil is problematic, but their problem is that they are morons. Having an oil lamp but no oil is silly. Wicks without oil can only burn for a few seconds before disappearing in a choking mess of smoke.

We might think that the wise virgins not sharing their oil with the morons is a problem. It doesn’t seem very charitable. Why don’t the wise just offer to let the morons walk in the light of their lamps? Well, we don’t know enough about the customs of Jesus’ day to know why each girl needed to have her own lamp. And who knows? Maybe that arrangement would have been acceptable. But notice what the morons did. When the call rings out, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him,” they moronically wander away from the banquet hall to try and buy some “midnight oil.” What shop would be open at that hour?

While the morons are gone on their hopeless shopping trip, the bridegroom arrives. The five wise virgins go in to the marriage feast, and the door is shut. When the five morons finally return begging to be allowed in to the feast, they are met with the horrifying reply, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

Jesus tells this parable as a warning for us to be ready for His return. The moral of the parable is, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. But Jesus didn’t tell us when He would return. So, He commands us to watch and be ready. Wake up from your sleep today. Wake up now. When the feast begins, Jesus wants you there. Have oil. Don’t be left outside.

But now, we have a problem. Jesus doesn’t tell us what the oil is. Is it the Bible, faith, grace, the Holy Spirit, or the Sacraments? Jesus doesn’t say. But the Scriptures would indicate that it can be and is all of those. I’m open to other suggestions that you might have, but my guess is that Jesus doesn’t tell us what the oil is so that we seek after all those things because each of them – Bible, faith, grace, absolution, and the Sacraments – are kingdom of heaven things. And Christ tells us to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt. 6:33).

That is why you are here today. God has gathered you here around His Word and Sacrament. This is where you need to be and where you belong. In this place, you hear God’s Word, are absolved of your sins, and receive Christ’s risen Body and Blood. In this place, you are supported by your brothers and sisters in Christ, and your presence ministers to them. Here, you unite in prayer making intercessions for yourselves and others, for our nation and this world. This is how faith is given, sustained, and strengthened. The Church is the well-fortified barracks where you are fitted with the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11). And, here, you help others prepare for the battle.

But you don’t get to stay here. You will return to the battlefield of the world. It is necessary, and it is, in fact, what God has called you to do. You are called by God to go into the world and deal with lazy coworkers and incompetent supervisors and bosses. You will have to endure your children’s temper tantrums, your spouse’s failures and shortcomings, the loneliness of a widowed house, and your relatives’ problems. You will go back to school and classes with boring teachers, pointless homework, and bullies. God calls you to face all of that even while you struggle with your own sins of anger, lust, gossip, and envy.

In each of those places, each of those callings and vocations, the devil has laid all sorts of traps and snares for you; he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour you (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan attacks you in those arenas because everywhere you go, you carry God’s light to a darkened world. Christian, every relationship you have is a holy, divine calling. And because you are God’s child, everything you do has spiritual value. How you handle work, school, chores, laundry, dishes, and whatever else has both temporal and eternal consequences. That is why you come to church and get what is necessary for your salvation. But what happens here must extend to the rest of your week.

Don’t be a moron thinking that a couple hours at church each week (or two to three times each month) is enough to prepare you for what you will face out there. You need more. And parents, listen up. Your children can’t share your oil and can’t walk in the light of your lamp. Each one needs his or her own lit lamp. So, if it hasn’t been your family’s practice in the past, start today. Make the reading of Scripture, prayer, and fellowship around God’s Word together as a family your top priority each day. Fathers, God calls you to take the lead on this. Wives, if he doesn’t do it on his own, pester and nag him until he does.

Family time in the Bible doesn’t need to be complicated or fancy. Start simple. Start with the Gospel of John and read one paragraph each day. After you read, pray for your friends and family. It can be as simple as, “Bless grandma and help Phil. Amen.” Then, pray the Lord’s Prayer. That will take five minutes. You can do that. You have the time to do that. And if you don’t have enough time, rip something out of your schedule. If your job makes it impossible, quit. Find a new one – even if it means a pay cut and you have to buy a smaller, cheaper house. This is eternally serious. Your salvation and the salvation of your children depends on it. If you miss a day, don’t give up. Start again the next. Make it a habit for you and your kids to pray together on the way to school or practice or wherever. All of this will help to begin to make God’s Word part of your regular conversations as you watch and remain ready for His return.

Ok. That was the Law part of the sermon. And, I hope was a bucket of ice water to awaken you from slumber. Now, we need the Gospel. And there is one more problem to address: Now, be honest. Does this parable strike fear into you?

Honestly, if you summarize the parable, it is a story of ten silly girls who fall asleep waiting for a party. Five are able to light a lamp and get to go into the party. Five can’t, so they have to go away. And if your high school experience was like mine, if you aren’t at the party, you just end up at home sulking and feeling a bit lonely and sorry for yourself.

So, when Jesus tells us that the purpose of this parable is to get us to watch for the day of His return, why did He use this analogy of a wedding party and ten silly, sleepy girls? If being ready for His return is so important, why not tell a parable with more urgency and more horrific consequences? Why not a parable of ten fishermen – five who wear life jackets and five morons who don’t and drown when the storm comes and the boat sinks? How about ten soldiers – five who carry their sword at all times and five morons who leave their swords lying around and get slaughtered when the enemy ambushes them?

Well, that is precisely why Jesus’ parable is different. In either of the parables I just suggested, the return of Jesus is depicted as a terrible, tragic event – a storm at sea, or a sudden attack by an enemy army. But in Jesus’ parable, the thing we need to be ready for, well, it’s the greatest day ever – the day of the arrival of Jesus, the Bridegroom and Savior of all mankind. A day of feasting, joy, laughter, and blessedness for those who are ready to enter with Him. It is the very thing we are looking forward to and longing for.

Once we have worked ourselves into a tizzy about the dire urgency of Christ’s return, we need to step back, take a deep breath, and remember: Christ’s return is not something horrific that you need to be scared of. Jesus’ return means that you will be in eternal bliss, happiness, contentment, and joy. There will be no more pain, tears, or sorrow. Christ’s return is something to anticipate – more than a child anticipates the arrival of her favorite aunt and cousins. That excited expectation is what Jesus is highlighting with this parable.

Yes, this parable is a warning. Our lamps can run dry. Faith must be continually fed by God’s Word and the Sacraments. Repent. Believe. Have faith in Christ.

And yes, Jesus teaches that as the end draws near the signs of His return are alarming: wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation, earthquakes, persecution, hatred, false teaching, and love growing cold (Mt. 24:4-12). But, when you see those things, remember what that means for you. Christ says it means your redemption is drawing near (Lk. 21:28). The bridegroom is coming, and you are His bride without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Eph. 5:27).

Dear saints, this world is ending. Good riddance. You have Christ. Your redemption is secure and your eternity certain. So, look forward to that day. Stay awake. Keep eagerly anticipating and looking for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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

Fear, Love, & Trust – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Oct3

Matthew 22:34-46

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴ “The Lord said to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet’?

⁴⁵ “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Well, here they go again. Those tricksy Pharisees. Trying to catch Jesus, trying to get our Lord to say something that would get Him in trouble. Last week, it was at a banquet watching to see what Jesus would do with a sick man (Lk. 14:1-11). This week, it’s with a test question. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

To be honest, there isn’t really anything wrong with the lawyer’s question as it is. (More on that in a bit.) But the motive behind the question was sinful. The Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus pitting one part of God’s Word against another. It’s impossible to know exactly what they had planned to do with Jesus’ response. Maybe, they figured Jesus would say that the 1^st Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” was the greatest. Then, they could falsely accuse Him of teaching that profaning God’s name, dishonoring parents, murder, stealing, or lying wasn’t a big deal. Whatever their plans and thoughts were, they were trying to make Jesus look like a fool with this question about the Law.

They miscalculated. Badly.

They didn’t realize with Whom they were speaking. Jesus is the Author of the Ten Commandments. He carved them into stone tablets and declared them to Moses and all the people of Israel (Jn. 1:18). Trying to trick Jesus with a question about the Ten Commandments is like trying to trick Herman Melville with a question about Moby Dick, Mark Twain with a question about Huck Finn, C.S. Lewis with a question about Aslan, George Lucas with a question about Luke Skywalker, or Dr. Seuss with a question about the Cat in the Hat. (Hopefully, one of those combinations works for you.)

Jesus, the Author of the Law, will not let one part of His perfect will – which is expressed in the Commandments – be pitted against the rest. The Commandments are not in competition with each other. To love God with the whole heart, whole soul, and whole mind is the first and great commandment. And notice how Jesus continues. He says there is another commandment, a second commandment, that is like the first and great commandment. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Now, it is interesting in Mark’s account of this same encounter with the Pharisees Jesus says there’s no other commandment – singular – greater than these – plural (Mk. 8:31). In other words, perfect love of God and perfect love of your neighbor go together. The two are inseparably tied together and are really one commandment. On these hang all the Law and the Prophets. Love for God is demonstrated by love for the neighbor. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” In other words, when you love your neighbor, you are loving God who has commanded you to love your neighbor.

Some people today will say that since Jesus distills the Commandments down to, “Love God, and love your neighbor,” that we don’t need the Commandments or any other teaching about God’s Law. Basically, they will say, “We just have to love each other.” Be careful with that. The reality is that we need the Commandments, we need the Law, to teach us what love looks like.

If you want to love God, love your neighbor, and here is what that looks like: Loving God is obeying His command to honor your father and mother by serving, obeying, and respecting them. Loving God is obeying His command to not murder your neighbor or cause him any suffering. Loving God is obeying His command to not commit adultery – which means, husbands, live a chaste life for your wife, and wives, live a chaste life for your husband. Love is not stealing, rather helping your neighbor improve and protect his property. Love is not bearing false witness and putting the most charitable construction on all that your neighbor does.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you think what you are doing is motivated by love; if your thoughts, words, or actions fall outside of these Commands, it is not love. In fact, we could go a step farther and say that, whenever your actions fall outside of the Ten Commandments, they are selfish and sinful actions motivated by hatred toward both God and neighbor.

Dear saints, all of this is to say, we all have a lot of reasons to repent. We do not fear, love, and trust in God above all things, and we do not love our neighbor as ourselves. We let our fear of things other than God dictate how we act. We let our love of things that are not God distract us from the God who loves us. We let our trust in things other than God draw us away from God. Again, dear saints, repent. The Law always accuses us and shows how we fail in our obligation to love God and neighbor.

Now, I said earlier that there isn’t anything wrong with the lawyer’s question about what is the greatest Command. But that question, by itself is incomplete because the Law leaves us hanging out to dry under God’s wrath and punishment. At best, the Law can only curb and deter people from sin, but that’s as far as it can go. The Law is good because it tells us what we must do, but the Law is limited because it can only reveal what we have failed to do. The Law is never helpful in saving us unless we also know the One who hung upon the cross for all our sins of failing to love God and neighbor.

That is why Jesus asks His question about the Christ. Just like in last week’s Gospel lesson, Jesus turns the tables and asks the Pharisees a question, “The Messiah, whose son is he?” And the Pharisees were right when they answered, “David’s son.” God had promised that a son of David would sit on David’s throne forever (1 Sam. 7). But David also wrote in Psalm 110:1, which is the verse that Jesus quotes, that this Son of David is also David’s Lord. So, Jesus’ question is, “How can the Messiah, David’s son, also be David’s Lord?”because a father would never call his descendent, “Lord.”

Here, Jesus is teaching the Pharisees and you that the Messiah is both God and man. Here’s why that is so important:

Because the Messiah is God, He has kept the Law perfectly. And because He is man, that keeping of the Law is for you. Jesus perfectly loved God and your neighbor in your place. And through faith, that perfect keeping of the Law is credited to you (2 Cor. 5:21).

The easiest example of this is the 4^th Commandment. The Law says, “Honor thy father and mother. Love God by loving your parents as yourself.” And you are left saying, “God, I haven’t done that. I need Your help.” If the Jesus had not come to earth as a Man, God would have to say, “Well, I’m God. I don’t have a father or mother, so I can’t help you. You have to do that yourself.” But God did become a Man. Jesus had a mom and a dad. He did love and honor them perfectly. So, He can and does help you by reckoning His obedience and keeping the Commandment to your account. And this applies to each and every one of the Commandments.

Jesus, the eternal, righteous Son of God, became a Man, perfectly loved God and neighbor, died, and rose again. Through this, He has brought the Law to perfection. This might be too simplistic of an explanation, but it might help shape our thinking.

In His answer to the lawyer’s question, Jesus shows us that the Law has a divine aspect and a physical aspect – love God (divine) and love neighbor (physical). God be praised, that He has given you a Savior who is also divine and physical – God and Man. So, now, when you hear the Law and what it requires of you, you realize that you are lost and deserve God’s wrath and judgment in both body and soul. So, you cry out, “God I’m lost. I deserve punishment and death, could You take that punishment and die for me?” And because the Son of God has taken up your flesh, Jesus says, “Sure. I already have.”

Dear saints, Jesus has perfectly loved God and neighbor for you. All of His perfection and righteousness – His perfect fear, love, and trust in God – is given to you through faith. And to strengthen that faith, your Savior is here now to give you His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of all your sins. For that, God be praised. Amen.

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

Doxology – Sermon on Ephesians 3:13-21 for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Sep19

Ephesians 3:13-21

¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This text is a prayer that you would be strengthened, rooted, and grounded in faith so that you would know the love of Christ. Whether you know it or not, that is why you are here today. You are here so that you would know the love of Jesus. Now, beware. The prayer in this text is very humbling for us. But if you are willing to be humbled, you will receive a gift greater than you can imagine. So, let’s walk through the text.

In v. 14-15, Paul is basically getting to his knees to pray. Then, in v. 16, the prayer begins. Paul asks that God would strengthen our inner being so we would know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Now, Paul wouldn’t pray that we be strengthened if our inner being were already strong enough to hold on to and grasp Christ’s love. And we can’t make ourselves strong enough by working harder than others or being smarter than others. Of course, it’s good to be smart and work hard, but this text isn’t about that. This strength comes from outside of us.

As we come to v. 17, we need to remember that Paul is writing this text to and praying this prayer for Christians. If you go back to the opening verses of this letter, you see that Paul is writing to the saints who are faithful and have already been blessed in Christ and have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:1-3). So, it is good and right to imagine that Paul is praying this for you. But his prayer asks for something you would expect to have already happened. He prays that you, Christian, would be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit so that Christ would dwell in your hearts through faith. Isn’t that interesting? Doesn’t Christ already dwell in the hearts of Christians? Yes. And don’t you already know this? Yes!

But this prayer shows that even you, God’s people, His saints, you who are chosen by God, you need to be rooted and grounded so that you have strength to comprehend the love of Christ. Let’s consider this idea of being rooted and grounded because it helps us understand why Paul can pray that we would have something we already have and know something we already know.

A lot of our learning moves from one thing to another. In school, you are taught numbers then, when you master that, you move on to addition. When you master addition, you move to subtraction then multiplication then division, etc. Sometimes, we are tempted to think we don’t need to learn something anymore because it’s simplistic. If you showed up for calculus your senior year and the lesson was learning how to count, you’d drop the class! But the Christian life is about learning, and learning again, and again, and again the love of Jesus.

How young were you when you learned the lesson, “Jesus loves me this I know”? Isn’t that teaching for baby Christians? Yes, it is. But Christian, you don’t move beyond those lessons. The teaching of Christ’s love is as elementary as learning that 2 comes after 1, and 3 after 2. But that teaching is also more advanced than differential equations.

Christian, be humbled to learn that simple lesson again. You need to be strengthened to be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love. Rooted and grounded means that you don’t move. You don’t go anywhere. You stay put. You roots go down deeper and deeper where you already are. In other words, there are incredible things to know, but it is the same. Same soil. Same location.

Here’s where those roots dig down – look at v. 18-19. Those roots dig down into the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. You already know this love, but Paul is praying that you would know more fully the love of Christ.

Now, we know that the place we learn of Christ’s love is always through the Scriptures. But for that message to take deeper root, there needs to be some breaking up of hardened soil. In other words, for your inner being to become stronger, God will come to you through His Word to break you up a bit first. You will hear the Law and learn about your needs, your weaknesses, your limitations, and your sin. And God uses that Law to break you up and expose your failure and sin. Then, the soil is prepared for your roots to go deeper as you hear God say, “You knew before that I loved you, but you didn’t know that I would love you here and in this situation.”

Just briefly consider our Old Testament lesson (1 Kgs. 17:17-24) which is a continuation of the story from last week. The widow of Zarephath learned that God loved her and cared for her during a drought that left her with only enough flour and oil for she and her son to have one more bite before they died. But in the midst of her plight, God loved her and provided so that her little bit of ingredients wouldn’t run out. In today’s text, she learns that God still loved her even when her son died.

Remember what she said. This widow figured that her son’s death was God simply reminding her that she was a sinner (1 Kgs. 17:18). She thinks that God’s love was only enough to provide for her next meal. But God had more blessings and love to pour out on her. Her son was raised. God loved her and did far more abundantly than she could ask or think. God had more love to give that widow even in midst of the death of her son. Her son was raised, and, God be praised, her roots went deeper into the love of God.

Now, that’s her story, how she was broken, strengthened, and more deeply rooted in Christ’s love. I can’t say how this will specifically happen for you. But you will face a time of suffering or weakness. You will encounter something that simply knocks you down so all you can see and feel is how weak and powerless you are. Then, God’s love will come to you in that weakness and place of inability. That love isn’t new, but His love will come into that place, and you will know again and more fully than before the love of Jesus which you already know.

Dear Beau, that brings me to you. Beau, today you are Baptized. Today, God has made you a Christian and saved you (1 Pet. 3:21). God has made you His disciple by placing His name – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – upon you (Mt. 28:). He has claimed you as His own. God has joined you to the death and resurrection of Christ (Ro. 6:3-10). God has clothed you with Christ (Gal. 3:27). But, Beau, today is just the beginning of God’s love for you in Christ. There’s more. More gifts. More blessings. More love that God will continue to pour out on you. Beau, may God give you the strength to let your roots sink deeper and stronger in the love of Christ as you grow and mature in the faith. May each day of your life be filled with lessons of Christ’s infinite love for you.

And all you saints, may this be the same for you. May God give all of you the strength to sink your roots further and deeper into the knowledge of God’s love so you may know His love which surpasses knowledge. And may you unite your voice with the entire church in a doxology, in praise to God.

Dear saints, your God is able to do far more abundantly than all you ask or think. And His power is at work within you. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.^[1]

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

^[1] Portions of this sermon were adapted from a sermon by Rev. Dr. Jeff Gibbs on this text.

Confidence, Glory, Boldness, & Freedom – Sermon on 2 Corinthians 3:4-18 for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Aug22

2 Corinthians 3:4-18

⁴ Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷ Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? ⁹ For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. ¹⁰ Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹ For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

¹² Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, ¹³ not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴ But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This text is all about the two main doctrines (or teachings) of Scripture: the Law and the Gospel. Whenever you read the Scriptures, Law and Gospel is what you should be looking for. Put simply, the Law tells you what you must do or be judged and condemned by God. The Gospel tells you what God has done for you in Christ to forgive you for all your sins against God’s Law. Luther once put it beautifully, “The Law says, ‘Do this,’ and it is never done. [The Gospel] says, ‘Believe this,’ and everything is already done.”

Now, this text doesn’t specifically call these two doctrines ‘Law’ and ‘Gospel.’ No, this text is a lot more colorful using other terms for Law and Gospel to describe what they do and are. So, look through the verses quickly again. In v. 6, Paul calls the Law ‘the letter’ that ‘kills.’ In v. 7, Paul calls the Law ‘the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone.’ In v. 8, the Law is called ‘the ministry of condemnation.’ In v. 14, the Law is called ‘the old covenant.’ All of these terms for the Law give us a picture and understanding of what the Law does to us. In short, the Law is exposes that we are sinners who deserve nothing but death, judgment, and condemnation from God who is our holy and just Creator.

But now, listen to the terms Paul uses to for the Gospel. In v. 6, Paul calls the Gospel ‘the new covenant… of the Spirit who gives life.’ In v. 8, it is called the ‘ministry of the [Holy] Spirit.’ In v. 9, Paul says that the Gospel is ‘the ministry of righteousness.’ So, if you want life, righteousness, and freedom from sin, you don’t look to the Law. You look only to the Gospel.

But the main thing this text is showing us is just how glorious the Gospel is by comparing the glory of the Law with the glory of the Gospel.

With that in mind, let’s consider what happened when God gave the Law on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 20). Back in Exodus 19, we hear how God instructed His people to prepare themselves for the giving of the Ten Commandments. Around three months after the people had left Egypt (v. 1), God had the people consecrate themselves for three days (v. 11). God instructed the people to set up a fence around Mt. Sinai so that no one – neither man nor beast – could touch the mountain (v. 12). The third day came with glory. There was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud descended on Mt. Sinai. There was a loud trumpet blast that caused all the Israelites to tremble (v. 16). God descended on the mountain in fire, and smoke went up like a kiln. The ground was trembling, and the sound of the trumpet kept getting louder and louder (v. 19). Moses went to the top of the mountain, and God spoke all these words:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me….

“Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy….

“Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

“Thou shalt not kill.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.

“Thou shalt not steal.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (Ex. 20:2-17).

In this way, God spoke His perfect will for His people, and the people responded to that glory with fear and terror. They asked that Moses would speak with them instead of God (Ex. 20:18-20; Dt. 5:22-33; and 18:15-22). When God gave the Law, His people, who were sinners, were terrified in their conscience. They were confronted with the sins they had committed. And they understood that they were under the curse of death.

When Moses came down with the Ten Commandments written by God’s finger on stone tablets, the people saw that Moses’ face was shining. Exodus 34:29-35 tells us that his face was shining was because he had been talking with God. Whenever Moses would speak with God, he would remove the veil, and after Moses told the people what God had spoken, he would put the veil back over his face again.

So, the Law came with a glory and that glory continued to radiate from Moses’ face, but that Law brought fear and terror. It brought knowledge of God’s wrath. The Law commands and forbids, terrifies and threatens, curses and condemns.

Now, you have called me here, and God has sent me, to be your pastor. Part of that calling is for me to proclaim the Law to you. That means I have to tell you, people whom I love, things that you probably don’t want to hear. I’ve been called here to tell you that the way you handled yourself in that argument with your spouse was wrong. That you are making mistakes raising your children. That skipping church for your kid’s tournament is making an idol out of your kid and making that sport an idol for your kid. God has sent me here to tell you that you are sinfully disrespectful and rude toward your parents. That even though other people laugh, your jokes are inappropriate. That the way you talk about others when they aren’t around is sinful. That you drank too much. That you should have looked away from that show, that movie, that image. That your desires are wrong. And all these sins bring nothing but misery, destruction, and God’s wrath and judgment (Ro. 3:10-18). And I need to hear that as much as you do.

Now, we need to be absolutely clear here. The Law doesn’t condemn and judge us because the Law is bad. No. The Law is good. The Law is the perfect expression of God’s holy will for your life and for my life. The reason the Law brings condemnation and death is your sinful nature – yours and mine. The Law doesn’t causeyour condemnation; instead, it simply reveals it. Yes, the Law came with glory, but it is a glory that consumes and undoes us, like it did to the prophet Isaiah (Is. 6:5).

But there is hope for us sinners because there is something more glorious than the Law. Peter, James, and John saw the glory of the Gospel as it was manifested on the mountain of transfiguration. As those three heard Jesus talk with Moses and Elijah about His exodus the disciples were afraid, but Peter understood and confessed, “Lord, it is good to be here” (Lk. 9:30-33). The Gospel came with glory as Jesus was enthroned upon the cross. The earth trembled as Christ breathed His last and gave up His spirit. The tombs were opened and the dead were restored to life (Mt. 27:50-52). The Gospel came with glory when Christ rose from the grave as the angels proclaimed His victory over death and hell (Mt. 28:1-6). The Gospel came with glory when it spread to all nations on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was given, and people saw tongues of fire on the disciples and heard the mighty, glorious acts of God – the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name, salvation, and eternal life (Act. 2).

Again, the Law tells you exactly what you must do to have eternal life (Mt. 10:17-19; 19:16-19), but the Law doesn’t lift a finger to help you do it. That is why, as your pastor, I am here to proclaim the Law and the Gospel. Because while the Law only condemns and accuses, the Gospel runs to you with rescue and help from heaven. The Law leaves you sinking in your sins, but the Gospel takes hold of you and lifts you to firm, solid ground. The Law leaves you naked and cold, but the Gospel clothes you with the glorious robes of Christ.

The Gospel is higher and more glorious than the Law. The Gospel declares that Jesus has finished His work to save you, and His work can’t be undone. He has taken upon Himself all the burden, all the punishment, all the wrath of God that your sins deserve. Yes, you still feel the burden of your sin, but your sin doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to Christ. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29) – that includes your sin as well. Now, you belong to Jesus. You are safe in Christ, and you are sufficient as you stand before God. You are not in yourself but in the sufficiency that Christ has won for you. Yes, the Gospel is higher and more glorious than the Law, and we can see that in how each was given.

But what might be the greatest and most glorious distinction between the Law and the Gospel is what Paul says in v. 11 – that the Law passes away while the Gospel remains forever. “For if what was being brought to an end came with glory,” and I can’t for the life of me figure out why our text uses the word ‘was’ there. It is in the present tense. And let me paraphrase v. 11 to make it absolutely clear, “For if [the Law, which] is being brought to an end came with glory, much more will [the Gospel which] is permanent have glory.”

Dear saints, once the Law has done its work to show you what you deserve from God, you can flee from the Law to the light of Jesus who gives you what you do not deserve – mercy, forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life. God gave the Law to chase you to Jesus, who is your refuge and strength. And safe in Christ, the Law cannot touch you. You are free, totally and absolutely free, from the Law’s judgment and condemnation.

Dear saints, because of the Gospel, you are in Christ. You now behold your Savior in His glory with unveiled face. You stand in awe of your God (Is. 29:23). You have freedom. You are being transformed into the image of Christ. Because of Jesus, and Him alone, you can be confident. You share the glory of Christ. Live boldly because of what He has done for you. Live in the freedom you have as a child of God. Amen.

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

Know-It-All Jesus – Sermon on Luke 5:1-11 for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Jul4

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.” ¹¹ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

How many miracles do you see in this text? Obviously, the huge catch of fish is one. Peter, James, and John leaving everything to follow Jesus is probably a second. But some of you might see a third miracle. How often does a man get told to go fishing and doesn’t jump at the opportunity? It’s a miracle!

One thing we need to understand when considering this text is that this is not Jesus and Peter’s first encounter – not even close. Somehow, we have gotten a view of the disciples that they just jump right on the Jesus bandwagon and follow Him wherever He goes from the start. But actually, this is the third time Jesus calls Peter to follow Him. We have to consider the other Gospels to realize this. Back in John 1, John the Baptizer sees Jesus and proclaims Him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). Peter’s brother, Andrew, had been one of John’s disciples, but after John says this Andrew starts following Jesus. Andrew went and found Peter and said, “We have found the Messiah” (Jn. 1:41), so Peter also started following Jesus. The second call comes at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel where Jesus is walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and says to Andrew and Peter, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk. 1:17).

Now, when we come to this text, we see another different scene. Crowds are pressing in on Jesus to hear Him preach. Jesus asks Peter to help Him get a little space for preaching. (Maybe, this is the precedence for Lutherans sitting in the back rows. Give the preacher enough room to preach!) Peter stops cleaning his nets and puts the boat out a little from the land so Jesus can preach while sitting on the boat and not get trampled by the crowds.

When Jesus’ sermon is over, He tells Peter to grab his freshly cleaned nets, put the boat out into the deep waters, and have a catch. But Peter isn’t too keen on the idea. That previous night of fishing had been frustrating. All his work had led to zero fish, and now this Son of a carpenter is telling him to go out in the middle of the day and have a catch. No! Peter knows fishing. He thinks Jesus should stick to making tables and chairs and preaching. Daytime is not the time to fish, and the deep waters aren’t where you find fish. But Peter relents; he does as Jesus says almost like he is humoring this know-it-all Jesus.

Peter and Andrew row out into the deep, drop the nets, and enclose such a large number of fish that the nets begin to break. Even though this text is just twelve verses, we have to understand that it would have taken a long time of tugging and pulling and grunting to load up their boat with all these fish, and there still isn’t enough room. So, Peter and Andrew signal to their partners, James and John, to bring their boat out into the deep water and fill that second boat up until both boats begin to sink because there are so many fish.

Again, this is clearly a miracle which, you would think, would excite Peter and have him try to sign Jesus to a contract as a full partner in his fishing business. But that isn’t Peter’s reaction. He says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Now, Peter had seen Jesus do miracles before this. We know that Peter had been at the wedding in Cana when Jesus turned water into wine in Jn. 2:1-11. That text tells us that when Peter and the other disciples saw the miracle they believed in Jesus. And, if you look back to Luke 4, you see that Jesus had done several other miracles. It is very possible that Peter was in the synagogue when Jesus cast out a demon (Lk. 4:31-37). After that, Jesus goes to Peter’s house and healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (Lk. 4:38-39). Peter would have been there for that miracle. It’s likely that Peter was with Jesus later that same evening while Jesus healed all sorts of people who were sick (Lk. 4:40-41). Never after any of those miracles does Peter ask Jesus to leave. So, why does Peter ask Jesus to go away after this catch of fish?

Probably, it is because this miracle is taylor-made to teach Peter that he doesn’t know it all. Sure, Peter is a successful fisherman, but his knowledge and wisdom and expertise has its limits. And Peter is going to have to learn to simply trust Jesus’ word, especially when Peter enters the new vocation that Jesus is about to call him to.

With this miracle, Jesus is teaching Peter something very important about preaching. You might be wondering, “What does a massive catch of fish that nearly sinks two boats have to do with preaching?” Well, you notice at the end of this text Jesus says to Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” In other words, this catch of fish is a set up. It is a preview of what is going to happen when Peter begins his new calling and vocation of preaching the Gospel. From this point forward, Peter is going to learn from Jesus how to be a minister of the Word.

We heard in our Epistle lesson (1 Cor. 1:18-25) that the message that Jesus is going to have Peter preach is called “the word of the cross” and is folly to those who are perishing. That Epistle text goes on to say, “Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” In other words, this new vocation that Jesus is calling Peter into – catching men with the preaching of the Gospel – it isn’t going to be flashy and impressive. It isn’t going to sound wise and knowledgeable. Instead, it’s going to sound as silly as trying to catch fish at the wrong time of day in the wrong spot when everything you would expect to work will fail. But the results, the results will be unimaginable.

And that’s what we see at Peter’s first opportunity to proclaim the Gospel after Jesus’ resurrection. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preaches a sermon that isn’t overly profound or insightful or persuasive. He simply preaches Christ crucified and risen, and 3,000 souls are saved (Act. 2:14-41). God worked through His Word on that day of Pentecost to bring in a large catch of men through the net of the Gospel, just as Jesus worked through His Word to Peter here with the catch of fish.

Dear saints, God will continue to work through that the proclamation of that Word. He has promised! While we see our country slide into greater and greater sin and unbelief, we don’t need to start figuring out how to make the Gospel more appealing to people. Again, the message of the Gospel is folly to those who are perishing. The Gospel we preach and believe is that sin separates you from God and is damnable. But God Himself has taken the punishment you deserve, and you get off scot free. And if we try to repackage the Gospel so that it doesn’t sound so foolish, it will cease being the Gospel. As a congregation, we need to do nothing more than to be faithful in proclaiming Christ crucified for sinners, and God will use that net of the Gospel (Mt. 13:47-50) to do His work.

Dear saints, you aren’t called to be like Peter in this text. I know there are a lot of sermons on this account that conclude with a challenge to leave everything behind and follow Christ. And because Peter is a towering figure in the Christian church, a lot of people have the idea that they should do as Peter does here. But honestly, the only thing Peter does in this text that all Christians should emulate is listen to Jesus – even when Jesus seems to be a know-it-all and calls you to do something that seems as ridiculous as fishing at the wrong time in the wrong place. Otherwise, there’s nothing that Peter does in this text for you to mimic.

Honestly, Peter is kind of a mess in this text. Even when he confesses his sin, he is only half right. He recognizes his sinfulness which is good, but then he asks Jesus to depart which is silly. Dear saints, when you recognize your sin, that is when you ask Jesus to come and wash away your sin.

And, no. You aren’t called to be like Peter and leave everything to follow Jesus. It is an amazing thing that Peter does this, but Jesus hasn’t called you to do that. God has put you into particular relationships where He uses you as His hands and feet to minister to the needs of your neighbor. Don’t leave those vocations and relationships. Instead, serve Jesus where you are.

Scripture is clear on this. 1 Corinthians 7:20-24 says, “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)… So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.”

Dear saints, God needs you in the stations and vocations where He has placed you. Jesus knows how He can use you best 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, 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 has made a mistake by putting you there, just trust that Jesus actually does know it all. And He will use you in the way that He sees fit.

Finally, if you want to see yourself in this text, you are the fish caught up in the net of the Gospel. You have been brought safely into the boat of the holy Christian Church by Jesus who went to the cross and shed His blood so you could be forgiven and saved. And Jesus Your Savior now calls and invites you to come to this altar and receive His Body and Blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.

So, come. Receive. The holy Son of God does know it all, and He is here for you now and forever. Amen.

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

The Mirror – Sermon on James 1:22-27 for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

May9

Listen here.

James 1:22–27

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today, we’re going to start by going back to the basics. On Wednesday, our confirmation students had their last lesson for the year which was a review of the two main teachings of the Bible – Law and Gospel. As your pastor, Law and Gospel is what you have called me to do. I’m constantly evaluating if a passage is teaching Law, Gospel, or both. In my conversations with you, I try to determine where and when to apply Law or Gospel. While I’m writing sermons, I try to find the right balance of Law and Gospel. But it’s been a while since we’ve gone back and specifically defined what Law and Gospel are. So, it’s time to do it again, and I apologize if this seems elementary to you.

Basically, the Law is what God requires of you. The Law tells you that if you do not do what it demands or if you do what it forbids, you deserve nothing but God’s wrath and punishment. The Gospel, on the other hand, tells you what God has done for you. Specifically, the Gospel tells you that God has removed His anger, wrath, and punishment from you because of what Christ has done by His death and resurrection. Properly distinguishing Law and Gospel is what makes a theologian, and as a Christian there is enough for you to consider there for your entire life.

But let’s go a little further. The first Lutherans give a nice summary about how the Law actually has three “uses.” In other words, the Law is a tool that does three things. These “uses” are pictured 1) as a curb, 2) as a mirror, and 3) as a guide.

The Law is used as a curb to keep both Christians and non-Christians from committing sin. Think of when you are driving and take a corner too sharply. Your tire hits the curb which bounces you back onto the road. It’s good that the curb does that, but you don’t want to hit the curb too often because it’s bad for your tires. The Law is like that too. When you do wrong and get punished, it hurts and isn’t pleasant, but it gets you back on the path. This is why Christians support appropriate punishment when laws are broken. A thief can repent of his sins and be forgiven before God, but that doesn’t mean he should escape jail time or not have to restore what has been stolen. Those punishments help preserve order in society. So, that’s the first use of the Law – a curb. And it’s important to remember that this first use of the Law is for both believers and unbelievers.

I’m going to wait for a moment on the second “use” of the Law and skip to the third “use” of the Law is as a guide. This “use” of the Law is only for Christians. Christians are fully forgiven for the sake of Christ. We are free from the accusations of the Law (Ro. 3:19, 6:14). But that doesn’t mean that we throw out the Law. No, Christians still need the Law to guide us as to how we live in love toward God and our neighbor. The Law guides us in our love and shows us how to love.

So, back to the second “use” of the Law. The second “use” of the Law is as a crystal-clear mirror which exposes our sin and drives us to Jesus who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). The Law is used as a mirror for sinners which means that it is for both Christians and non-Christians. Those who are not Christians need to have their sin exposed by the perfect reflection of the Law so that they repent and believe in Christ. And Christians need this too. As long as we live in this fallen, broken world, Christians will still be sinners. We are forgiven and righteous before God, but our old, sinful nature still clings to us. So, we need the mirror of the Law to expose that sin and run back to Christ. And the end of Romans 7[:14-25] makes that very clear.

So, with all of that in mind, we can now turn our attention to our text here from James. This text, at first glance, sounds like all Law – all Law and no Gospel. We are, according to this text, to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. If we only hear the Word and do not do it, we deceive ourselves, and our religion is worthless. This should convict us because it is Law. Too often we fall into the trap of wrongly thinking that our sins don’t really matter before God, that His forgiveness means that He gives us a wink and a nod when we sin. This text should blast that idea out of your head. That is not the case. Repent. If that is your attitude toward sin, you are a hearer and not a doer. You are deceiving yourself, and your religion is worthless.

But, at the same time, this text isn’t only Law. Notice how these verses from James start. “Be doers of the Word… if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer.” Notice James’ vocabulary. It would have been one thing if James had said, “Be doers of the Law and not hearers only… if anyone is a hearer of the Law and not a doer….” If that is what the text said, we should abandon the Lutheran understanding of salvation and call Lutheran doctrine heresy. But James doesn’t say that. He doesn’t use the word ‘law’; he uses the word ‘word.’ The Holy Spirit inspired James to call us Christians to be doers of the Word which includes both Law andGospel. Notice how James continues:

“If anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his face in a mirror. He looks at himself and goes away and forgets what he was like.” Notice how James, again inspired by the Holy Spirit, now uses a synonym for the Word to conclude his analogy about the mirror. “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” There, James equates “the Word” with the “perfect law, the law of liberty.” The two are synonymous.

And, to top it off, the Greek word that gets translated as ‘perfect’ there is very important. The root is τελος which means ‘end, completion, or goal.’ The root can be used as several different parts of speech. Possibly, the most famous use of this root is just before Christ dies on the cross and cries out, “Τετέλεσται” or “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30). And just so you know: in the ESV’s translation of the New Testament, of the 34 times the word ‘perfect’ shows up, 31 of them have τελος as the root.

So, when James talks here about the perfect law, the τελος law, the law of liberty – which again is the Scriptures, the Word, both Law and Gospel – James is talking not just about the Law and what God demands of you. James is also talking about the Gospel which is what Christ has done for you.

It would be legitimate to translate the phrase there in v. 25 “the perfect law” as “the completed law.” Jesus perfectly kept the Law for you, in your place. Christ said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” in other words the Scriptures, “I have not come to abolish them but fulfill them” (Mt. 5:17). This τελος law of liberty declares that Christ’s perfect obedience is credited to your account through faith (Ro. 4:2-5). This law of liberty invites you to look into the mirror of the Scriptures and see yourself as God sees you – both as a sinner and also as righteous and blameless before Him through faith in Christ.

In other words, it isn’t just the Law that serves as a mirror exposing your sin. The Gospel is a mirror too. See in that mirror of the Gospel what Christ has made you. He says in that law of liberty that He has removed your sins from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). He has redeemed you. He has justified you. He has made you holy. You are a Christian. You are God’s perfect and blameless child. God declares that you are righteous. Don’t just hear that. Live it!

Christian, your religion, isn’t worthless. It is of infinite, eternal worth. Do the Word, the perfected, completed law of liberty, which is a mirror that reflects the fact that you are a child of God, at peace with God, and righteous before God – all for the sake of Christ. See that reflection of yourself in the mirror of God’s Word.

Today is Mothers’ Day, and we rejoice in the gift that mothers are for us. Everyone here has a mother, and it is good and right in the sight of God to honor your mother. Call her. Thank her for what she has done for you. And, if necessary, forgive her for any of her failures.

And, you Christian moms, see yourself as God sees you. You care for those that God has given to you. You feed, clothe, protect, defend, encourage, and comfort the children God has given you. And whenever you do that, you are being the very hands and feet of God on this earth. Do you always do it perfectly and with a willing and happy heart? Probably not. But you are still serving your children and home. And when you recognize how you fall short, repent, and know that because of Christ’s forgiveness you stand before God pure and undefiled. You are a forgiven, redeemed, righteous Christian woman, you are that excellent wife in Proverbs 31[:10-31] by God’s declaration (Mt. 25:34-40).

Dear saints, continue to live as doers of the Word and not hearers only. Live in repentance. Live in the faith and perfection that God has given you for the sake of Christ. Look into the perfect, completed law, and God will keep you unstained from the world.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.

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

The Canaanite School of Beggary – Sermon on Matthew 15:21-28 for the Second Sunday in Lent

Feb28

Listen here.

Matthew 15:21-28

²¹ And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

No one likes being insulted. I remember playing kickball in 7^th grade and kicking a home run. One of the 8^th grade girls on the other team complained to her teammates about not getting me out. I can still hear her saying, “Come on guys, we can’t even get string bean out!” It hurt, but, in her defense, calling me ‘string bean’ was probably accurate. I think I had just reached 6’ 2”, probably weighed all of 120 lbs. when soaking wet, and was as coordinated as a linguini noodle. And if I remember right, it wasn’t a home run because it was some high, majestic kick that cleared a fence. The ball probably made it to the outfield and they tried to throw it at me a couple times, but I was too skinny of a target. Back then, I was basically two dimensional.

Insulting words can hurt from certain people’s lips, but there are times words can feel insulting and we should not be offended because those words are simply true. A prime example of this is when God Himself doles out insults in Scripture. Jesus said that He came to call not the righteous, but sinners (Mt. 9:13). Yes, Jesus came for everyone, so Jesus is calling all of us ‘sinners.’ Jesus says that He came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10), that means you and I are the ‘lost.’ When you read Ro. 3[:10b-18] there is a whole series of insults for all people. Here’s a few for you: no one understands, no one seeks for God, together they have become worthless, no one does good, their throat is an open grave, the venom of asps is under their lips, their mouth is full of curses and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, in their paths are ruin and misery, the way of peace they have not known, there is no fear of God before their eyes.

In our text today, we have this Canaanite woman whose daughter is severely oppressed by a demon; she gets ignored, rejected, and even insulted by Jesus. But then Christ holds her up before us as an example of great faith because she continues to beg and pray to Jesus – the only One who can help her. In fact, she is only one of two people in all the Gospels whose faith is praised by Jesus. The other person whose faith is praised by Jesus is the Gentile centurion who had a sick servant (Mt. 8:5-13). Not even the disciples, who were personally called by Jesus, get praised for their faith. Because she has great faith, she has something to teach us. As Christians and disciples of Jesus, we should always learn from Christ, and here today, Jesus tells us to be learners and disciples of this Canaanite woman.

So, settle down class. Let’s all learn from our guest lecturer visiting us from the Canaanite School of Beggary.

This Canaanite woman comes to Jesus asking for mercy because, again, her daughter was severely oppressed by a demon. She is going to the right place – to Jesus – and asking Him to do exactly what He came to do. 1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” But what does Jesus do? “He did not answer her a word.”

According to this woman’s experience Jesus is completely ignoring her. But rather than letting her experience discourage her so that she goes away, she keeps crying out. She cries out so much that the disciples become embarrassed and tell Jesus to send her away. Not only is her experience with Jesus harsh, but this foreign Rabbi’s disciples are actually praying against her. And notice that still Jesus doesn’t address her. He answers the disciples. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

So now, this woman is not only fighting against her experience, she is also fighting against the disciples’ prayers and Jesus’ own words. When Jesus says that He’s only sent for Israel, it is reasonable to think that Jesus is saying that He was not sent for her. But she fights against what reason would say and stubbornly clings to her hope in Jesus. She kneels before Jesus and gives Him a command, “Lord, help me.” Finally, Jesus gives her some attention, but it’s devastating. He replies, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” And that is as insulting as it sounds.

I think it’s safe to say that if most people heard Jesus say this to them, they’d be looking for another god. But this woman knows there is no other help for her, so look what she does. She takes the insult, holds on to it for dear life and says, “Yes, Lord.” Then our translation, the ESV, does something weird here (so do all English translations); they translate the next word as ‘yet.’ Some other translations will use the word ‘but.’ (I think I understand why all the English translations use ‘yet’ or ‘but’ as their translation.) But the word there means ‘for.’ It’s one of the most common words in the New Testament, and of the 1,009 times it’s used in the New Testament this is the only place the ESV translates it as ‘yet.’ The problem with using ‘yet’ or ‘but’ is that it sounds like she is disagreeing with Jesus. She isn’t disagreeing with Jesus. Instead, she agrees with him. She confesses that she is a dog. “Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Basically, she is saying, “Ok, Jesus. You call me a dog? Then a dog is what I am. I don’t need the bread You give to Your children. You’re correct. It isn’t right to give Your children’s bread to a dog like me. Treat me like a dog and I’ll be more than content to get the crumbs that dogs get. The crumbs that the children drop without realizing it are enough for me.”

I think the first lesson we learn in the Canaanite School of Beggars is that we can be bold in our prayers.

I love what Luther says when he preached on this text. (I included this quote in your bulletin insert.) “When we feel in our conscience that God reproaches us as sinners and judges us unworthy of the kingdom of heaven, then we experience hell and think that we are eternally lost. Whoever has this woman’s ingenuity should catch God in His own judgment and say, ‘Yes. Lord, it is true. I am a sinner and unworthy of Your grace. Nevertheless, You have promised forgiveness to sinners.’”

Dear saints, have the ingenuity of this woman. When God’s Law comes to you and says, “You are lost,” we take God at His Word and cry to Him. “Yes, God. I’m lost. Find me.” When God’s Law says, “You’re a sinner,” we say, “Yes, God. I’m a sinner. Save me” (Mt. 9:13). When God says, “You’re dead,” we cry to Him “Raise me.” And we can be bold when we pray these things. God has promised to do these things for the lost, the sinner, and the dead in sin. So we can take those promises, hold them in front of God’s face, and demand that He be true to His Word.

We actually had a little debate about this in our family this past week. I ran through this idea during our Bible time, and my family had a consensus that we should add a ‘please’ to these prayers. I’m glad my family has manners, but there might be times when we get frustrated with God because He appears to be continually denying our prayers for things He has promised to give us. In this text, it appears that Jesus isn’t going to answer this woman’s prayer.

Now, this whole event with might have lasted an hour or it might have been as short as fifteen minutes. But there is no denying that Jesus puts this woman through the ringer. In our lives, there may be times where it might seem that God is denying our prayers for days or weeks or years. Don’t stop praying. Grab God’s promises and hold them in front of His face like this Canaanite woman did. That’s faith, and Jesus praises that faith.

When the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, Jesus gives them the Lord’s Prayer. There isn’t one, “Please,” in that prayer. All the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer are imperatives – they’re commands. “Make Your name holy. Bring Your kingdom. Do Your will. Give us our daily bread.” Even the petition, “Forgive us our trespasses,” is a command. “Don’t lead us into temptation. Deliver us from evil.” Every last one of them is a command addressed to your Heavenly Father. Dear saints, be bold when you pray. Hold God to His promises. Like Jacob in our Old Testament lesson (Gen. 32:22-32), don’t let God go until He blesses you. According to Jesus, that is great faith.

Also, you can be consistent and constant in your prayers. After being bold in our prayers, I think that’s the other important lesson we should learn from the Canaanite School of Beggary. God wants you to annoy Him with your prayers. In fact, Jesus teaches two parables to this effect. The first one is in Luke 11[:5-8]. The parable is about a guy who knocks at his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for some bread to give to a guest who has just showed up. And because the guy keeps knocking the neighbor will get out of his bed, get dressed, and find some bread to give to him.

The other parable is Lk. 18[:1-7] where a widow keeps going to a judge to ask for justice. And the judge gets so tired of her asking, he finally gives her what she wants so she doesn’t beat him down with her continual requests.

This text is those two parables played out in real life. She keeps going to Jesus until He gives her what she needs.

Dear saints, like this Canaanite woman, you can take God’s insults because we are all beggars before God. And even when God seems indifferent, when He seems distant, and even when He insults you, you can keep asking boldly. You can do all this because God has sent His Son Jesus to die and rise again for you.

Because Jesus has done this, He has taken us beggars and made us His children. God is your Father, and He won’t let His reputation as your Father be tarnished. He will answer your prayers. It is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Lk. 12:32). He will remember His mercy and steadfast love for you. Amen.

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

Flight to Fight – Sermon on Matthew 2:13-23 for the Second Sunday of Christmas

Jan3

Listen here.

Matthew 2:13-23

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. ²³ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We don’t always understand God’s ways. That’s the understatement of the year – young though it is. God’s ways and thoughts are too high and too wonderful for us to understand (Is. 55:8-9).

For example, take the Old Testament promises of the Messiah. When the wise men first came seeking Jesus because of the star, Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Christ was to be born (Mt. 2:1-6). The scholars told Herod that the Scriptures taught that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). We also just heard that the Messiah would come out of Egypt (Hos. 11:1), and He would be called a Nazarene. Bethlehem, Egypt, Nazarene – no wonder people had a hard time recognizing that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah. You can see how it would be hard to wrap your mind around all this without the Gospel of Matthew mapping out the fulfillment point by point.

While all of that fulfillment of Scripture could be its own sermon, that isn’t what we are going to focus on today. Instead, we are going to focus on how God’s ways and actions are so different from ours – especially when it comes to how God deals with evil.

The slaughter of the boys of Bethlehem who were two years old and under is one of the most horrific events in all of Scripture. Jesus is protected while those boys are killed. Their only “crime” is that they resemble Jesus in gender and age. We hear this and our minds are often filled with questions. “Couldn’t God have intervened?” “Why didn’t God warn all the fathers of Bethlehem in dreams?” “Why does Jesus get spared while the rest of the boys aren’t?” “Why couldn’t God just kill Herod and spare the baby boys?”

Whenever we stand face to face with evil, we ask the “why” questions. Many people use the presence of evil to argue that God is weak or doesn’t even exist. They will say that if there is a God, He certainly wouldn’t let things like this happen. If God is merciful and loving, if He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere present), and omnipotent (all-powerful), why doesn’t God use all those “omnis” to do something about evil?

These questions have been something that humanity has wrestled with ever since the Fall into sin. Part of the reason we ask those questions is because we aren’t those “omnis” and could only deal with one evil at a time. And because we could only deal with one evil at a time, we would handle it only with punishment. But because God is all of those “omnis,” He can address evil with grace and forgiveness.

Also notice that those questions only focus on the evil of this world and spend no time considering if God has done something about evil – which He has. It’s like when a kid is having a rotten day and emphatically states, “Nothing good ever happens to me.” (I’ve been that kid.) You can try to point out the good things that have happened, but the kid dismisses all of those. And sure, if you don’t count anything good that happens in your life, it will be filled with badness and evil.

The whole book of Job deals the problem of evil and God’s goodness. I highly recommend you read Job, but when you do, know that Job’s three friends are all off base – they give wrong answers. And even Job can go a bit too far at times. But make sure listen to Job’s fourth friend, Elihu (Job 32-37). And especially listen to how God answers Job at the end of the book. Hopefully, this sermon will be a help to understand both the book Job and the goodness of God in the presence of evil. And to get to an answer to how there can be a good God when there is so much evil, you have to go back to the fact that God’s ways and thoughts are higher and more wonderful than ours.

First of all, when we consider evil in the light of God’s goodness, we have to remember that we cannot blame God for the evil in the world because God is not to blame. Secondly, and more importantly, God has addressed, overcome, and defeated evil, but not in the way we would expect. In fact, the infant Jesus being whisked away to Egypt was part of how God addressed the evil of this fallen world.

Jesus ran to Egypt to be God’s answer to all evil. One of the key verses to understanding all of this is Romans 12:21 which says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Hear that again, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is how the Gospel always works and how it has to work because you cannot force good into evil.

In His omnipotence, God had the power to wipe out sin right away when Adam and Eve fell. But He is not that kind of god. That kind of god would not be the God of the Bible. The God who created you is a God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ex. 34:6-7). So, to overcome the evil in this fallen, sinful world, God did something unimaginably good. And in His goodness, He came to earth to deal an eternal blow to all evil.

Jesus fled from Herod, not because He was allowing Herod to continue being an evil, bloodthirsty, power monger. Instead, Jesus came to save even wicked King Herod from his evil.

On His journey to and from Egypt, Jesus passed by Mt. Sinai where He gave the Law which condemned the sins of Herod and your sins. And Christ came to keep and fulfill that Law because you and the Herods of this world couldn’t keep it. Because of His love for you, Jesus fled from His homeland so that you and all sinners could return to yours. Jesus made Himself a sojourner and refugee so that you and all humanity could have an eternal home.

The flight to Egypt looks like weakness, but it is not. It shows Christ’s almighty power. Don’t forget that the humble, helpless Infant traveling through the wilderness is the Creator of heaven and earth. In His extreme humility, God came down to earth, to stand in your place, to fulfill the Law on your behalf, and to suffer and die with your evil and sin laid upon Himself. Without His humility, everyone would be eternally bound to our sin and evil. In other words, Jesus’ flight to Egypt is how God fights evil. He flees this evil in order to fight and defeat all evil for all time. Again, His ways are not our ways.

Whenever you see and experience evil, resist the temptation to focus and dwell on the evil. Instead, focus on Jesus. And in the context of this text, focus on that Child who is the object of God’s attention. Jesus is whisked off to Egypt to escape the sword of Herod. Christ couldn’t die by Herod’s sword; He had to die on the cross. Jesus is God’s Child, the promised Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent and deal decisively with sin, death, and evil once for all.

Saving those baby boys of Bethlehem would have spared them and their mothers’ tears, but it would not have saved them or the world from sin and damnation. If we can discern anything at all about God’s plan and agenda, it’s that He’s committed to saving the entire world – not just bits and pieces of it. God isn’t content with saving just a handful of people here and there – He’s after the world, the entire cosmos. He created everything by His Word, He intends to redeem and save all people from their sins by Jesus, the Word made flesh.

Seeing how God delivers the world from evil by overcoming it with the good of Jesus dying and rising again, that stands as a call for us to follow His example. We are so quick to want to get back at those who have wronged us, but that is precisely why we are in the mess we are in today.

So, what do we do with the baby killing Herods who appear to become more and more emboldened? How do we defeat their evil designs? How do we join with God to overcome the evil of our day?

We do it with good. We love who persecute and slander us (Mt. 5:44; 1 Pet. 3:9). We love the sinners for whom Jesus died (Ro. 12:20; 1 Tim. 2:1-4). We pray for their conversion to the truth while we confess the saving truth to them. And as our Epistle text (1 Pet. 4:12-19) said when we suffer according to God’s will we entrust our souls to our faithful Creator while we do good (v. 19).

Just as the almighty God hid His power under the appearance of weakness while Jesus fled from Herod’s anger, God still today hides His almighty power under the humble forms that the Gospel takes among us. God’s Word is still powerful to save sinners and to usher them into Christ’s kingdom of grace.

And here and now, God brings the power of the Gospel to us sinners. Here, Christ feeds you with His Body and Blood to deliver to you the forgiveness He has won for you. And with this holy Sacrament, He strengthens you to go and do good to your neighbor even when it is difficult. So, come. Be fed, be forgiven, and be strengthened to overcome evil with the goodness that Christ pours into you. Amen.

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

Forgiven Forgivers – Sermon on Matthew 18:21-35

Nov8

Listen here.

Matthew 18:21-35

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

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

We need to start with some context before we dive in to what Jesus says here. Earlier in Mt. 18, Jesus makes it clear that His disciples will always struggle against sin in this life. Christ says, “If your right hand or right eye causes you to sin, cut it off and pluck it out” (Mt. 18:8-9). Then, Jesus goes on to establish a process for restoring and forgiving those who have sinned against you by talking to them privately, bringing one or two witnesses, declaring it to the church, and finally expelling them from the congregation if they still refuse to repent (Mt. 18:15-17). I would be negligent if I didn’t mention that this process is always intended to restore the sinner back into fellowship. Finally, right before this text, Jesus promises that when sins are loosed from sinners in the Church, they are loosed in heaven (Mt. 18:18).

Now, we get to Peter’s question which immediately follows all of that. “How often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter was being generous. Most rabbis in Jesus’ day had a three-strikes-and-you’re-out approach to this question, and Peter more than doubles it. The essence of Peter’s question is, “How much do I have to put up with? When do I get to quit being taken advantage of?” Peter wants practical advice from Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t give any. Instead, Jesus says that we are to forgive as often as sinners repent.

There is some debate as to whether the phrase Jesus uses here means ‘seventy-seven’ or ‘seventy times seven.’ Either way, the point Jesus is making doesn’t mean we count to seventy-seven or four-hundred-ninety, “I forgive you’s.” Jesus doesn’t want us counting the sins of our neighbor. Christ wants us to keep on forgiving even as we are forgiven. Those forgiven by God are to be forgivers. The parable Jesus tells illustrates this innumerable forgiveness.

The king in the parable wants balanced books, clean accounts. And he’s completely happy to forgive enormous debts rather than demand payment. Settled accounts is the goal, and erasing debt is the quickest way to get there. In the parable, when the king forgives this ten-thousand talent debt (equivalent to two-hundred-thousand years’ salary), Jesus shows that the kingdom of heaven is not like any earthly kingdom.

The kingdom of heaven is established and sustained only by God’s generosity and His ongoing, ridiculous, extravagant forgiveness. No one is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven without the forgiveness of Christ, the King of kings. And if you are not shaped by this forgiveness, if this forgiveness doesn’t change you and you still hold back forgiving others, you are not truly citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Instead, God will hand you over to the devil. Those forgiven by God are to be forgivers of those who have sinned against them. According to Jesus, God the Father will deliver you straight to eternal hell if you do not forgive your brother from your heart (v. 33).

This text should make us squirm, and I know that many of you don’t particularly like this parable. It causes the Law to shine clearly on our hearts so that we recognize that forgiveness doesn’t flow out of us as well as it should. We are more likely to hold a grudge, demand repayment, and want those who have sinned against us to be punished. Even though God promises, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Ro. 12:19; Dt. 32:35), we desperately want to have a part in that vengeance. We don’t want to be a doormat. We don’t want to be taken advantage of. We want justice for the sins committed against us. So, when Jesus says that God will deliver us to hell if we do not forgive others from our heart, we should be bothered, we should be agitated, and we should be afraid.

If the final verse of this text – and several other verses like it (Mt. 6:15; Mk. 11:25-26; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13; Jam. 2:13; 1 Jn. 3:10) – if this teaching doesn’t bother you, repent. It should. The only people who think that they don’t need to forgive are those who do not value or do not believe they have Christ’s forgiveness. In other words, if you refuse to forgive others, you will not be forgiven.

This teaching from Jesus is hard and bothers you. It doesn’t bother you because you think Jesus is being ridiculous. It bothers you because you actually want to forgive. You want to be like God – in a good way. You want to forgive others as He has forgiven you, but you aren’t quite there. So, you feel conflicted and convicted.

Please know that if you struggle with this, it is not a sign of doubt. It is a sign of faith. It shows that you do indeed love the forgiveness of Christ. You love His word. You want His forgiveness and you want to be defined by that forgiveness. The whole reason that you are bothered is that you recognize that you do not fully live up to Christ’s calling. The fact that you are bothered is evidence that you still need forgiveness. You areforgiven, but you are not yet without sin so you need ongoing forgiveness.

Take heart! If you recogniae this, it means that the Holy Spirit continues to work on you forgiving your sins – even your sins of unforgiveness. Live in that forgiveness and continue to strive to forgive. Try to let go. Try to stop obsessing about getting back. Quit daydreaming about vengeance. End your passive aggressive remarks. Put the sins committed against you into God’s hands because all sins are ultimately committed against Him (Gen. 39:9; Ps. 51:4).

Remember that Jesus died for the sins of the world (1 Jn. 2:2) and that God Himself wants to forgive all sinners (1 Tim. 2:4). You also want what God wants. You love what God loves. You trust what He says so you want to be reconciled to your enemies and those who hurt you. You want them to be saved, and you work at forgiving as you have been forgiven.

Of course, our old nature doesn’t want to forgive. On this side of glory, faith is always a struggle against our sinful flesh. Our good works and our forgiveness of others is always going to be imperfect, but it is still real and it is still good.

But know this: Your struggle to forgive and to live like Christ is a sign that His Word is true and that your sins are forgiven. He is the one who taught you to pray that you would forgive the trespasses of others as you have been forgiven, and Christ will answer that prayer.

All of that being said, Jesus doesn’t get into all the exact specifics of what this looks like exactly. There are nuances of forgiveness that aren’t dealt with here. Jesus isn’t saying that a person who steals your bicycle shouldn’t give it back or pay and be punished for his theft. Jesus isn’t saying that a child who hits her sibling shouldn’t have consequences when she repents.

There are consequences for sin on this side of glory. Those consequences are godly punishments, and they do not negate forgiveness but should be understood as merciful penalties and helpful tools for curbing further sins.

For example (and this is very important): When someone steals and cheats but repents and asks for your forgiveness, you forgive them and don’t hold a grudge against them. But that doesn’t mean you are required to put them in a position where they can repeat their sin. If a drunk driver crashes into you and paralyzes you, you don’t have to send them a bottle of wine when they ask for forgiveness. You forgive them, but you can still, as a Christian, have them prosecuted and even seek restitution from them. In fact, that might be the most loving thing you do for them.

Finally, as we heard in our Old Testament lesson (Mic. 6:6-8), God isn’t pleased with our offerings no matter how great and costly they are. We cannot even begin to make repayment on the debt we owe Him. Instead, God has shown what is good and what He requires: Do justice. Love mercy. And walk humbly with your God.

In the end, that humility comes when we remember the overarching principle and defining character of Christ’s Kingdom. What defines Jesus’ kingdom is the fact that He does not remember our sins and iniquities (Jer. 31:34). All our transgressions have been set down upon Jesus. He settles your account by His forgiveness. We can stand in this mercy and grace and have hope. For with Christ there is forgiveness that He may be feared (Ps. 130:4). Amen.^[1]

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

^[1] This sermon is an adaptation of a sermon by Rev. David H. Petersen of Redeemer Lutheran Church Ft. Wayne, ID.

Pastorsamwise

"Don't the great tales never end?"

Tag Archives: Gospel

The Umbrella – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday in Lent

The Problem – Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13 for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

Fear, Love, & Trust – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Doxology – Sermon on Ephesians 3:13-21 for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Confidence, Glory, Boldness, & Freedom – Sermon on 2 Corinthians 3:4-18 for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Know-It-All Jesus – Sermon on Luke 5:1-11 for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity

The Mirror – Sermon on James 1:22-27 for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

The Canaanite School of Beggary – Sermon on Matthew 15:21-28 for the Second Sunday in Lent

Flight to Fight – Sermon on Matthew 2:13-23 for the Second Sunday of Christmas

Forgiven Forgivers – Sermon on Matthew 18:21-35