Isaiah 40:1-8

¹ Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
²  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
     that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
     that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

³   A voice cries:
     “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴   Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
     the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
⁵   And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
⁶   A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
     All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
⁷   The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
⁸   The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I titled this sermon “Comfort Doubled,” but it maybe should have been “Infinite Comfort” because the whole text is dripping with comfort. Dear saints, whenever God comes, He comes to comfort you. Listen to what He says in v. 1 again, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” These words are akin to what Jesus, who came not to call the righteous but sinners (Mt. 9:13), says in Mt. 11:28, “Come to Me, all who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” To any and all who are troubled, afflicted, and uncomfortable, God says, “Here is a double dose – two shots of comfort.”

Who gets this comfort? God’s people – whenever they are troubled. That means you. You are those for whom Christ was born. You are those whom God has claimed as His Own. You are the people for whom Christ has died. God says so Himself. He is the One who calls you, “My people,” and He is not ashamed to call Himself, “Your God.” If you play the first verse of this text backwards, God says to you, “I am your God. You are My people. And I give to you comfort on top of comfort.”

The context in which these verses were originally written helps us see just how comforting these words from God are. God has Isaiah tell Jerusalem that her warfare is ended, but when Isaiah writes these words Jerusalem isn’t even at war. Eventually, Babylon will come and besiege Jerusalem, and God’s people will be taken into exile. But even before any of that has happened, God comforts His people with the promise that her warfare will end.

Dear saints, God’s anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (Ps. 30:5). And before the suffering begins God preaches comfort to His people.

This is in line with God’s character, and we see this repeatedly in Scripture. Isaiah experienced this when God called Him to be a prophet. Isaiah saw God’s holiness and was terrified because he recognized his sinful lips. But God sent the seraph with a flaming coal to take away Isaiah’s guilt and atone for his sin (Is. 6:1-7).

Remember how the shepherds saw the glory of God (Is. 40:5) and were terrified? But the angel assured and calmed them saying that God’s appearance in the birth of Jesus was “good news of great joy that would be for all people” (Lk. 2:10).

And even think to our Gospel lesson. John the Baptizer was sitting in a dank, dark prison cell, likely knowing that he would soon be executed. In that dark moment, John sent some of his disciples to confirm that Jesus was indeed the coming Messiah. And Jesus sends them back to John with those beautiful words of reassurance, “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Mt. 11:4-6). All of these are fulfillments of what the coming Messiah would do (Is. 29:18; 35:5-6). John’s disciples return to John to reassure him with Jesus’ words. And after John’s disciples leave, Jesus goes on to talk to the crowd about John, and I think there is comfort for you in how Jesus speaks of John.

Think of this. After John’s disciples leave, Jesus affirms the fact that John was the prophet who was going to prepare the way of the Messiah. And Christ confirms to this large crowd that there is no one born of women who is greater than John the Baptizer. Now, here’s why you should find this comforting:

When you are in the lowest moments in life, when you have doubts and grow weak, you would be pleasantly surprised to know who was defending you even though you might not know it. While John sits alone in prison, Jesus is in front of that large crowd gushing John’s praise. Remember that. Remember that especially when you get down on yourself for your shortcomings. Know that God doesn’t think of you in low terms even though you might. You are God’s beloved child. And do not forget what Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge before My Father and before the angels” (Mt. 10:32; Lk. 12:8). Dear saints be comforted. In any and every time of suffering, God brings His comforting words to you.

Ok. Back to our text from Isaiah. That final line of v. 2 may still make you scratch your head a little bit. This talk of receiving “from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” What is that all about?

Be careful with what you do with that verse in your mind. Unfortunately, we are often tempted to add a word to that sentence. We read it and add, “she has received double punishment for her sins.”

Why do we do that? Well, we all know what Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death” (Ro. 6:23). So, it is natural to think of punishment whenever we think of receiving something for our sins. But that can’t be what God means when He says His people have received double for all her sins. You wouldn’t speak tenderly and tell someone, “Your warfare is ended. Your iniquity is pardoned. And it’s ok. I’ve punished you twice for your sins.” That doesn’t fit the context.

Again, what is God giving here? Comfort. A reminder of punishment isn’t comforting. God has given double comfort. Christ came giving double for your sins. First, He took them away which brings comfort, and second, He gave you His righteousness which brings even more comfort.

You see, God doesn’t want you to receive any of His wrath or judgment. He doesn’t want you to pay for any of your sin.

Be comforted. Christ has come. Jesus has ended your warfare and pardoned you. You receive double from God for all your sins because your sin is already punished – not on you but on Christ. And in return, you are given Jesus’ righteousness, holiness, innocence, and good works.

This is how God’s accounting works; here is how God manages the debt of your sin. Jesus doesn’t just simply get you out of debt; He gives you an increase. In other words, imagine you stole $1,000 worth of stuff from God. Instead of simply forgiving the debt and calling it even, God gives you $1,000 more (Pr. David Petersen). That is how your God is for you.

Here is your hope, Christian. You have God’s comfort in all things.

There is nothing sure or lasting or certain in this world. Not the trees, not the mountains, not the grass or the flowers. Only this: the Word of your God stands forever. You can be sure of that. And by that Word you are forgiven, you are justified, you are sanctified, you are glorified, you are comforted, all in Jesus, and all for Jesus‘ sake.

Heaven is on your side. Your warfare is ended. Your iniquity pardoned. And no one, not even God Himself, will charge you for your sins because His Word of comfort stands forever.

You heard it at the beginning of our service, but it bears repeating. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice” (Php. 4:4). Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel, God with you, shall come to 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.

The Eyes of Prayer – Sermon on Luke 18:9-14 for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

Aug23

Listen here.

Luke 18:9-14

⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Luke 18_9-14 - Pharisee and Tax Collector ¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When we pray, we are taught to fold our hands, bow our heads, and close our eyes. Even though this isn’t commanded anywhere in Scripture, it is a good idea for a few reasons. One, it helps keep you from being distracted by, looking at, or fiddling with the stuff around you. Two, it focuses your attention on what you are praying. And three, it is a unique posture to place your body in which makes it a special or holy posture. You don’t typically fold your hands unless you are either praying or getting arrested. (I like to watch clips from the show Live PD, and I find it hilarious how often police officers from all over the country will tell the criminal with bags of drugs, an illegal gun, and two felony warrants, “Place your hands behind your back and interlock your fingers like you’re praying at church.”) Anyway…

I titled this sermon “The Eyes of Prayer” not to make the point that you should close your eyes when you pray – even though, again, it is a good practice. Instead, I hope this sermon encourages you to look only two places when you pray – one is your unworthiness and the other is God’s great mercy toward you.

Just like two weeks ago with the parable of the unjust steward and the merciful master, getting some context for this parable is helpful. Luke 18 opens with the parable of the persistent widow. She keeps crying out to the unrighteous judge asking for justice. The unrighteous judge finally gives her justice but only so she won’t beat him down with her constant asking (v. 2-5). The introduction to that parable says that Jesus, “told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (v. 1). Jesus teaches what the parable means (v. 6-8) by basically saying that if an unrighteous person will grant justice when he is continually asked, how much more will God, who is just, grant justice when His elect, beloved children cry out to Him. In fact, God will answer their cries quickly.

Now, as we turn to this parable which follows that one, we see how quickly and mercifully God answers the prayers of His elect.

A Pharisee and a tax collector go up to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee assumes a posture that we would recognize as prayer. He stands off by himself. He is likely looking up in thankfulness to God, but his eyes are also scanning the other worshipers in the Temple, and those eyes look down on the sinners who are there.

Now, we need to be careful about our animosity toward the Pharisee because he is simply doing what you and I do all the time. Remember, Jesus repeatedly warns against becoming like the Pharisees (Mt. 16:6-12; Mk. 8:15; Lk. 12:1), and Jesus wouldn’t give these warnings unless it is actually easy to become like them. Why is it easy? Why are we in danger of becoming like Pharisees?

When we look at the sins of our neighbor, much of what we see confirms that our good behavior is beneficial to us which too often leads us to pride. The stuff that God calls us to do in the Ten Commandments is really good stuff, and your life is much better if you live according to them. Think about it. When people commit adultery, do their lives get worse or better? Of course, they get worse. When people steal, they are more likely have their things stolen. If you deal drugs, your odds of getting shot, robbed, or thrown in prison are much higher.

The reality is that God didn’t just come up with a set of ten arbitrary rules. Instead, the Ten Commandments are written into the fabric of God’s creation. When you go against the natural laws of God and creation, it isn’t going to go well for you or for those around you.

And just a little side note here: Christians, we need to stand firm on the truths of the Commandments – especially that it is good to live in obedience to them. It is not loving to condone or promote people’s sins. When there is sin, we should speak of it as sin. We need to show how it hurts the individual committing that sin and how it harms those around the person committing that sin. But when you do that, the world is likely going to throw Jesus’ words in your face about the speck in your neighbor’s eye and log in your own eye (Mt. 7:3-5). But don’t let them take those verses out of context. Remember, Jesus wants to remove both the log in your eye and the speck in your neighbor’s eye by His mercy through the Gospel that Jesus has won through His death and resurrection. In other words, when you point out someone’s sin, always do it in a way that points them to the freedom from sin and forgiveness of sin that comes only through Jesus. Amen?

So, back to the Pharisee and his eyes of prayer. He is looking around at his life and the lives of others. The problem is that everywhere the Pharisee looks are places where he can’t find Jesus. The Pharisee won’t find Christ by looking at his good life, and he won’t find Jesus by looking at the sins of his neighbor. All he sees is his goodness which leads him to pride and going home not justified.

pharisee-tax-collector The tax collector’s eyes of prayer are much different. He doesn’t look to heaven, and he doesn’t look at the sinners around him. He stands far off from the others, likely with his face to the floor, tears flowing down his cheeks, and beating his chest. He looks two places – at himself where there is no hope and to God where the only hope lies.

The tax collector’s eyes of prayer are eyes of faith. Incredible faith! Our translation records his prayer as, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” This is weak on two points. First, it is not just ‘a sinner’; he says, ‘thesinner.’ His eyes don’t notice anyone else’s sins – only his own. Second, the translation of his prayer, ‘be merciful,’ falls short here.

Throughout the Gospels, many people call to Jesus, “Lord, have mercy,” or in Greek, “Kyrie eleison,” which is why we sing the Kyrie after the Confession of Sin. The ten lepers call out, “Kyrie eleison” (Lk. 17:13). Two blind men early in Jesus ministry and blind Bartimeaus just before Palm Sunday cry out to Jesus, “Kyrie eleison” (Mt. 9:27; Mk. 10:47). The Canaanite woman cries out to Jesus, “Kyrie eleison,” on behalf of her demon possessed daughter (Mt. 15:22). All of those are excellent prayers. They are asking Jesus to do exactly what He has come to do. But what the tax collector in this parable prays is something similar but importantly different. The tax collector prays to God (lit.), “Be propitiated to me, the sinner.”

The noun ‘propitiation’ and the verb ‘propitiate’ have never been commonly used in English, but it is an extremely important word and concept. To propitiate means to make an atoning sacrifice. And the tax collector prays that God would be made the atoning sacrifice for him. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this word was also used for the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant. The place where the high priest would sprinkle the blood on the Day of Atonement and where God promised to meet with His people (Ex. 25:22; Lev. 16) was called by the same word.

Jesus is that place where God makes the atoning sacrifice. 1 John 2:2 says, “[Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus is your Great High Priest who makes the propitiating sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 2:17 says, “[Christ] had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

When the tax collector prays, “God, be propitiated to me, the sinner,” he is praying that God would be reconciled to him by the blood of Jesus. And that is why the tax collector, who is the far greater sinner, goes home justified rather than the well-behaved Pharisee. He looks to God in faith and asks God to be exactly who God has promised to be – a merciful, forgiving God.

Hear again what we sang before the sermon:

Trinity 11 Luke 18_9-14 - Pharisee and Tax Collector When in the hour of deepest need
we know not where to look for aid;
when days and nights of anxious thought
no help or counsel yet have brought.

Then is our comfort – this alone –
that we may meet before Your throne.
To you, O faithful God, we cry
for rescue in our misery.

Dear saints, may your eyes of prayer be focused on God’s infinite mercy toward you despite your unworthiness. Know that God is always more ready to hear your prayers than you are to pray. God always gives more and better than you desire or deserve. He pours down His abundant mercy upon you. He forgives you of all the sins – every last one of those sins – that prick your conscience. He does all of this because of what Jesus has done for you. Christ has propitiated and reconciled you to God.

May our eyes of prayer be on our unworthiness and, even better, on God’s faithfulness and mercy to us because of what Christ has done. Amen.

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

The Merciful Master – Sermon on Luke 16:1-13 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Aug9

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Luke 16:1-13

¹ He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. ⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ¹¹ If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today, we are going to start with three questions to help us wrap our minds around this difficult parable: First, what is the rich master commending his manager for? Second, what is the context of the parable? And, third, where does the parable end?

First question first. What is the rich master praising the wasteful, dishonest manager for? It isn’t for his dishonesty when the manager illegally lowers the bills of the debtors. Instead, the master praises the manager’s shrewdness. And this is actually in line with God’s character.

Think back to Jacob. Jacob was certainly dishonest (in fact, ‘Jacob’ means ‘deceiver’ or ‘cheater’), but Jacob was also an extremely shrewd man who took advantage of all sorts of situations to benefit himself – which is what shrewd means. When Jacob’s exhausted brother Esau came in from the field, Jacob shrewdly took advantage of the situation by selling Esau a bit of soup at the cost of Esau’s birthright. When Jacob’s father Isaac was old and blind, Jacob shrewdly took advantage of the situation by dressing up like Esau and receiving their father’s blessing. When Jacob’s father-in-law Laban was distracted, Jacob shrewdly fled with his wives and children to move back to Canaan.

While we might think that God would want to disassociate Himself with as shrewd a man as Jacob, God doesn’t. God calls Himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. In fact, twenty-three times in Scripture God calls Himself ‘the God of Jacob.’ God isn’t ashamed to be associated with the shrewd. So, again, the rich master doesn’t praise the dishonesty of the manager; he praises his shrewdness.

To the second question: What is the context of the parable? Well the first verse gives us a little bit of the context. Jesus tells this parable to the disciples. Jesus isn’t giving this parable to the masses, but only to those who have left everything to follow Him. Unbelievers might take this parable to mean that Jesus doesn’t mind if you are a scoundrel who only does things for your own benefit. That’s not the point of the parable! This parable is told to believers so that they would shrewdly know to expect, count, and bank on God’s mercy and grace.

Also, the context of this parable is all of Luke 15. In the opening of Luke 15, the Pharisees and scribes are grumbling that Jesus is receiving and eating with sinners. So, Jesus tells them the parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son. Notice, please, I said ‘the parable’ not ‘the parables.’ The three are, in my opinion, best understood as one parable and taken together as a single unit.

Also, each of them is terribly named. Instead of the name ‘the Lost Sheep,’ it should be called the ‘the Good Shepherd.’ Instead of the name ‘the Lost Coin,’ it should be called ‘the Persnickety Woman.’ Instead of the calling it ‘the Prodigal Son,’ it should be called ‘the Wasteful Father.’ The sheep, the coin, and the younger son are not the focal point of the parable, and they are damaged when we make them the center. Instead, it’s the goodness of the shepherd, the persistence of the woman, and the mercy of the father that should draw our attention. The same is true of this parable before us, the central point of the parable is not the dishonesty and shrewdness of the manager but the mercy of the master.

Think back for just a moment to the misnamed parable of the Prodigal Son: The father mercifully gives his younger son his share of the inheritance early, and that little brat wastefully squanders it (Lk. 15:13). We need to realize that inheritance included money, but it mainly included land. The merciful father had to sell off at least one-third of his land to give that little imp his inheritance. That means the kid frittered away several generations worth of blood, toil, and sweat while ruining his family’s name and reputation in the community. And when the funds run out, the little churl saunters back home to beg for a job from his father so he doesn’t have to eat pig slop. But the father won’t have it, not because he wants the kid eating swine slop, but because he wants his son back. The father mercifully runs to him, embraces him, dresses him up in the best cloths, and throws a party because he has welcomed his son back into the family.

That’s the context of this parable which is tied to that one. The mercy of the father there and the mercy of the master in this parable are meant to be seen together. In other words, with this parable Jesus is saying to the disciples, “Listen guys, God’s mercy really is something you can bank on. Check this out…”

Finally, and briefly, the third question to help us understand the parable: Where does it end? It’s probably best to see the parable ending with Jesus saying, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.” Which means that the next sentence (the second half of v. 8) is the beginning of the lesson that Jesus wants to teach us. “The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.”

So now, with all of that in mind, let’s quickly consider the parable:

The rich man finds out that his manager is wasting his possessions, so the rich man fires the manager on the spot, but throws him a bone of mercy. The rich man could have tossed his manager straight into prison. But, instead, the merciful master sends the manager back to his office to collect the books before he turns them in. The fired manager realizes he’s in a bad spot. He’s too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg. So, the manager formulates a plan. The rich man’s debtors have no idea that the manager has been canned, so he has a small window of opportunity. He calls the debtors in “one by one” (v. 5) and lowers each person’s debt. It is interesting to note that he reduces each debt an equal amount of denarii which shows how hastily his plan was formulated. The reduction of fifty measures of oil and reduction of twenty measures of wheat both equal 500 denarii (or days’ wages).

Two other things are important here. Notice, that the manager has each debtor take the pen and write with their own hand and in their own penmanship the reduced amount (more on that in a minute). The other important thing is that the debtors go along with the reduction in their bills which indicates their suspicions aren’t raised. The manager likely told them that he had convinced the master to reduce their debts. The debtors know the master, and he isn’t a hard, unforgiving man. Instead, he has a reputation of being merciful.

So, the manager arranges the books, saunters back to headquarters, and walks straight into the master’s office blowing on the wet ink of the newly reduced debts with a wry smile on his face. The master can see that the books have been changed and realizes that the debtors know about it. He hears the whole town out in the streets singing his praises for the merciful reduction of their debts.

Luke 16 1-9 - Riojas the Shrewd Manager The master had every right to reinstate the debts, but he doesn’t want his reputation of being merciful to be tainted. The master would rather eat the loss than have his mercy put into doubt. So, the merciful master praises and commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.

By cutting the large bills of the master’s debtors, the shrewd manager went ‘all in’ on the mercy of the master, and it paid off. The manager is forever associated with the master’s mercy and the debtors will always deal kindly with him so he won’t have to dig or beg.

Again, the merciful master praises the manager for his shrewdness. The manager knew which way to fall, and he fell on the mercy of the master.

Here’s the point, dear saints. You too can always fall on the mercy of your Heavenly Father, the truest Merciful Master of all. But too often we are hesitant to do so.

God repeatedly gives you opportunities to reveal His goodness and mercy to others, but you’ve blown it. God puts you in the midst of your family with parents, siblings, cousins, and in-laws who fight, hold grudges, and speak the worst about each other. God puts you there so that you can imitate Him and be merciful and forgiving like He is, but you’ve blown those opportunities.

God puts you among children and grandchildren who aren’t grateful. Instead, they are rude, selfish, and self-absorbed. God gives you all sorts of opportunities to show unconditional love while making God your Father look good. But you’ve blown it.

God places you in a workplace or classroom where you are treated unfairly, taken advantage of, bullied, and receive all sorts of nasty behavior. God wants you to act shrewdly and do what no one else would – turn the other cheek and return all that evil for kindness and love. But you’ve blown it. Dear saints, we have all failed to use what our Merciful Master has given us to serve our neighbor because we don’t trust His mercy. Repent.

Repent, but also rejoice because you have a Savior who is just like the shrewd manager (minus the dishonesty). Jesus is the supreme Shrewd Savior, the Ultimate Trickster who took advantage of every situation to save you from sin and hell.

Satan was hungry, but not for a bowl of soup. The devil wanted to swallow all of humanity in his jaws. But Jesus, the Shrewd Savior inserted Himself into those jaws with all your sin laid upon Him (Is. 53:6). When Jesus died on that cross, all of your sins died with Him. While Satan and his minions celebrated the death and burial of Christ, Jesus strolled out of the tomb on the third day bursting the jaws of death and giving you an eternal victory.

Jesus even dealt shrewdly with God and His wrath against sinners. Christ went to the cross, covering Himself with all your sins. He managed your debt not just by reducing it, He eliminated it.

Dear saints of God, your Shrewd Savior doesn’t ask you how much oil you owe, He anoints your head with the oil of His mercy (Ps. 23:5). He doesn’t check to see how much wheat you owe. Instead, He gives you Himself as the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:51).

Christ does all of this because He is your Merciful Master and Shrewd Savior. Put your trust there, in His mercy. Amen.

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

Lost & Found – Sermon on Luke 15:1-10 for the Third Sunday after Trinity

Jun28

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Luke 15:1-10

¹ Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ² And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

³ So he told them this parable: ⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ ¹⁰ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Our text shows one scene and that is Jesus sitting with the lowlifes, the riff-raff, the notorious sinners. Not only is Jesus sitting and talking with them, He is eating with them. In the Jewish mind, eating with someone was like putting a rubber stamp with big, red letters “APPROVED” upon their behavior and life. Our text reveals this one scene, but there are two very different reactions to it.

The first reaction is from the Pharisees and scribes. So just imagine the worst of the worst – the burn-outs, the promiscuous, the hoodlums, the rioters, you name it – Jesus is right in there with them. He’s not even shy about it. The scribes and Pharisees see this, and they are triggered. They grumble and murmur. That’s the first reaction.

The second reaction is not something that we see. It isn’t part of Luke’s narration which is only the first three verses. But we know this second reaction is going on because of the parables. The reaction is in heaven. The angels look down on this same scene, and they throw a party. When heaven sees Jesus receiving lost sinners, it sees God keeping His Word and promise. Heaven looks down and sees the holy, eternal, almighty Son of God in the flesh eating with the most despicable people you could imagine, and heaven rejoices.

Now, it is easy to get mad at the scribes and Pharisees. Our tendency is to point the finger at them and say, “They shouldn’t be so hard-nosed. They think they are so good and holy and better than everyone. They should understand no one’s perfect.”

Repent. As soon as you say that, you’ve become just like them. Because when Jesus tells these parables to the scribes and Pharisees, heaven continues to rejoice because He is still doing what God always does. He is seeking after His lost sheep, and in this case the lost sheep are the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus wants to save them as well. He wants to rescue them, bind them up, bring them into the fold, and be their Shepherd. With these two parables Jesus is doing that very seeking.

Now, these parables make sense, but only to a certain point. After that, they become extremely odd. A shepherd certainly might leave 99 sheep to search for the one that is lost. The shepherd has a connection to the sheep and doesn’t want it to die. Even thinking strictly in a business sense, a 1% loss isn’t a huge deal, but it hurts. We’ve probably all looked for something longer than is reasonable. But there comes a point where you have to just cut your losses and move on. Spending all the time and effort just isn’t worth it.

Notice the language Jesus uses in the parable. The shepherd goes after the one that is lost “until he finds it.” That’s a good translation. This is an exhaustive, continual, unending search. The shepherd doesn’t go out for a while, return to make sure the other 99 are cared for, and head back out again. No. The shepherd doesn’t stop, doesn’t rest, doesn’t take a break until he finds that one lost, wandering sheep.

And when he finds the silly animal, the hard work really begins. The shepherd hefts that sheep up onto his shoulders. But he isn’t grunting and complaining, “Dumb sheep.” No! The shepherd is rejoicing while he lugs the 60-pound, wooly, hairy beast back home. Can you imagine how hot that would be around your neck? And instead of collapsing in exhaustion, putting up his feet in his recliner, and complaining to his buddies about the stupid animal, he invites the whole town over for a party that he’s going to have to do more work to prepare.

Think about that. What is it going to take to have a party? Food. What do shepherds serve for food? Sheep.

The same thing is true in the parable of the lost coin. The woman loses one coin and begins her search. To put this in perspective, imagine you had a bunch of errands to run. Your first stop is the bank to get ten $5 bills to send out in birthday cards. You head over to Target to get the cards. You make a trip the Sam’s Club, then run to Hugo’s, and finally buy stamps at the post office. When you get back home, you realize that you only have 9 $5’s. It doesn’t make any sense because you used your debit card at all the other stops. It’s not in your purse or wallet and not in your car. You must have lost that $5 somewhere in your running around. It’s frustrating, but it doesn’t make a lick of sense to drive all around town to go and find a single $5 bill. Once you’ve driven a handful of miles from your home, the IRS says that you’ve spent more in mileage than it’s worth, and someone has probably already found it and put it in their wallet. It makes a lot more sense to just get another $5 later. But not to the woman in this parable.

She lights a lamp. And, you have to understand, this is a costly endeavor. We take light for granted today. In Jesus’ day, you didn’t just light a lamp whenever the sun went down. When it gets dark, you go to bed. The phrase “burning the midnight oil” is economically costly. The olive oil used in those lamps was expensive. Every minute of light is money out the window. Why didn’t she just wait until the morning and start her search again? But she doesn’t do that. She burns that oil and sweeps the house, again, “until she finds” that one lost coin.

And, just like the shepherd, what does she do when she finds it? She throws a party. And her party, just like the shepherd’s party, is going to cost her. That party is going to cost more than the value of the coin that had been lost.

Here is the point: When God seeks after lost sinners, He is spending and sacrificing more than what the prize is worth. It cost God the Father more than you or I are worth to redeem you and me. But God spares no expense to find you lost sinners. Jesus goes to the cross and suffers in your place. He goes to death and the grave. Jesus pays the heavy price for you.

It’s easy to say, “Well, this is what God does. Should we really be surprised at this?” Yes, we should! That’s the point!

Jesus drives it home in the third parable which we didn’t read today. God goes after lost children who tell Him to drop dead, which is what the younger son basically says when he asks for his inheritance.

Today, please, please, please don’t see these parables about others. Many people online and on social media have taken the parable about the lost sheep and turned it to mean things it doesn’t mean. The parables are about you who are lost and Christ who finds you.

After both of these parables, Jesus says, “There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.” That word ‘repents’ is in a specific form. It is a present active participle, and if you aren’t a grammar nut like I, I’ll explain it. A participle sounds like a verb but doesn’t function as a verb. In English, you can put ‘ing’ after it. You could translate Jesus here as saying, “There is joy in heaven over one repenting sinner.”

The fact that this is in the present tense is important because it means that this repenting is continual. No matter how many times you wander from the 99, no matter how many times you get lost in a dusty crack in the floor, no matter how many times you say to God, “I wish you were dead,” all of heaven rejoices with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who finds you, with God who is like the persnickety woman, when your heavenly Father restores you.

With these parables, Jesus is redefining repentance. Too often, we think that repentance is the least we can do to earn God’s forgiveness. We think repentance is our trump card that we play and say to God, “Here is my repentance. You have to be good to me now because of this repentance.” That’s not how repentance works.

Instead, Jesus pictures repentance in these parables as being found. What did the sheep contribute to its being found? All it did was wander off and get lost. Same with the coin. All it did was lay in a dark crack gathering dust. But both are found and restored. And the restoration of both is cause for rejoicing.

Again, Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who is repenting than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” You know what? There aren’t ninety-nine who need no repentance. But there is One who needs no repentance.

Remember how the multitude of angels came down the night Jesus was born and rejoiced? Do you hear what Jesus is saying when He says, “There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who is repenting than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance”? Jesus is saying that heaven rejoices more over you when Jesus finds you than if ninety-nine Jesuses came who needed no repentance. Jesus finding a lost sinner causes heaven to rejoice more than it did at the birth of Jesus because you are the fruit of Jesus’ labor.

Dear sinner, there is joy in heaven over you. You lost have been found. You have been brought to repentance, back into the fold, by your Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

I Have Other Sheep – Sermon on John 10:11-16 for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

Apr26

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John 10:11-16

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Alleluia, Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Many Christians live in fear. They fear that, even though they are Christians today, they won’t ultimately make it to heaven. They have fears that somehow they are fooling themselves, that the demons will get to them, that they will fall away if persecuted, or that they’re simply going to blow it. One of the saddest things is that the source of these fears often comes from pastors, evangelists, and Christian books and radio with pious-sounding questions like, “Sure, Jesus is your Savior, but is He your Lord?” or “How is your commitment to or relationship with Jesus?” I remember several times wondering if I was really a Christian based on questions and statements like those.

I want you to notice that all those fears and doubts come when the focus is moved from Jesus to the individual. Luther once said, “When I look at myself, I don’t see how I can be saved. But when I look at Christ, I don’t see how I can be lost.”

In this Gospel text, Jesus would have us look away from ourselves and fix our eyes on Him, and in Christ we find our Good Shepherd. Listen carefully to Jesus again, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”

Did you catch it? Jesus says that He has – present tense – He has these sheep even before He brings them. Jesus has these sheep, and then He brings them. Just in case you think Jesus misspoke, simply go back a few verses to John 10:3-4 where Jesus, again talking about Himself as the Good Shepherd says, “The sheep hear [their Shepherd’s] voice and He calls them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” In other words, the sheep of the Shepherd know His voice when He calls because He is their Shepherd. They are not true sheep because they first hear His voice and then follow. Instead, they hear and follow because they are already His sheep. When Jesus calls through the voice of the Scriptures, He is calling to those who are His own. They know His voice because He already has them as His sheep.

Jesus has His sheep because the Father has given them to Jesus. Listen to how Jesus prays in John 17:6, “I have manifested Your name to the people whom you gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word.”

Or listen to what Jesus says in John 6:37a, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” The Father has these sheep, gives them to Jesus, and they follow Him and keep His word. But back to our text here, Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”

Remember from last week’s sermon text after Thomas’ doubts are quieted, Jesus says, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn. 20:29)? Dear Christian, Jesus was speaking of you there. You have not seen Him, and yet through the Holy Spirit working through the Word, you have heard Jesus’ voice and have believed. Well, when Jesus speaks of bringing in other sheep here, He again is speaking of you. You – each of you, individually – were on His mind when He spoke those words nearly two-thousand years ago. Before you heard His voice and believed, He already had you as His sheep.

Before you ever committed a single sin, before you ever did a good work, before you came to church, before any of that, Jesus had you. Your sins weren’t an obstacle, and your good works weren’t the reason He chose you. He already had you as His sheep. He says – present tense – “I have other sheep.”

As God promised in our Old Testament text (Ezk. 34:11-16) which you just heard, “As a shepherd seeks out his flock … so will I seek out My sheep. I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered…. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries…. I will feed them with good pasture…. I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down…. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.”

Now, of course, it is important that we remember that we are sheep who are prone to wander. We need to know the Good Shepherd. We need to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. And we need to follow the Good Shepherd. All of those things are part of this text – they are. The sheep don’t go off and listen to the voice of the false shepherds, and they don’t follow in the footsteps of the wolves or play in their dens. They follow Jesus.

But remember what comes previous to all of those things: Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has the sheep. “I have other sheep,” says Jesus.

So, with all of that, does it sound like it is your commitment that will get you to heaven, or is it Jesus’ commitment to you? Jesus’. Who is in control; who is driving, you or Jesus? Jesus is. Who is more interested in your eternal life, you or Jesus? Jesus is. And that is good. He is the Shepherd who goes and seeks after His sheep. In fact, He is the Shepherd who lays down His life for you, His sheep. You have been redeemed and rescued from death.

The 23^rd Psalm is, of course, a very fitting text to consider in light of all this, but instead today consider for just a minute these verses Psalm 49[:14-15], “Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol,” (think of Sheol as the grave), “Like sheep they are appointed for [the grave]. Like sheep death shall be their shepherd…. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me.”

Because Jesus has you as His sheep, He came to shepherd you, to seek you out, to find you, and to bring you safely to be with Him. He knows where to find you. He knows how to comfort and quiet you. He knows how to bring you into His fold.

Jesus, your Good Shepherd, became a sheep just like you. He is the Lamb who was slain and went to the grave. But He is risen and victorious. Because He became like you, He knows how to shepherd you. He knows your fears, your struggles, your temptations, and your foes. He has defeated them all. He has gone to the cross for you and died for you. Jesus has come through death to be with you, He will always abide with you, and He will not leave you. He has you as His sheep. And He will bring you safely to your eternal glory with Him.

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.

Faithful & Just – Sermon on 1 John 1:5-10 for Ash Wednesday

Feb27

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The Scripture readings for tonight were Jonah 3:1-10; 1 John 1:5-10; and Matthew 6:16-21.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but I was definitely old enough to know better. It was a cold, wet, Spring day. A friend from church, my sister, and myself were probably driving our parents crazy, so our parents dropped us off at the Williston Recreational Center to burn off some energy. The Rec. Center had two basketball courts, a few racquetball courts, and a hockey arena that still had the boards up but no ice. When we paid the fee and signed our names in, the employee told us that the empty hockey rink was off limits to the public that particular day, so we went to the basketball courts to play horse and lightning. But it didn’t take long before we got bored and decided we needed a little more excitement. So, of course, we went to the forbidden hockey arena.

I don’t remember exactly how we got past the front desk unnoticed, but we did. And we proceeded to have a grand time playing inside the boards. But not for long. I remember seeing the employee approaching the glass windows and door that separated the hockey arena from the lobby, and he didn’t look happy. I warned my friend and sister that we had been caught and were about to get in trouble. But my sister had a plan. She insisted that if we closed our eyes, the employee couldn’t see us. She said that it worked once for her friend. Now, I’m three years older than she is, so, again, I should have known better. But I did it. I closed my eyes as tight as I could and assumed the fetal position against the boards. I can only imagine how foolish we looked to that employee. Even as he hollered at us for being in there, I didn’t open my eyes until he tapped my shoulder.

Dear people of God, “If we say we have no sin,” (Notice that this is present tense. No matter how long you’ve been a Christian, not matter how much you’ve improved, no matter how much good you do, you still have sin.) “if we say we have no sin we deceive only ourselves,” and we look like a foolish child cowering with our eyes closed. We cannot flee from or escape the watchful eye of the God who created us. He knows your actions. He knows the words that come out of your mouth. He knows the thoughts of your mind. And He knows the hypocrisy of your heart. If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us.

Repent because there is another way. Repent because that is the only way!

Scripture is clear that our God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. This is one of if not the most common descriptions of God. In fact, this is how God Himself defines who He is (Ex. 34:6). Repentance of Ninevah by John Martin c 1840 When Jonah preached to the sinners of Nineveh in our Old Testament lesson (Jon. 3:1-10), they repented from their evil, violent ways. And for them, it was as crazy an idea as closing their eyes to enable invisibility mode. The king says in his proclamation, “Who knows? God may turn aside from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” In other words, “Let’s try repenting. It might work.” Dear saints, we do not have to wonder how God will respond to humble, contrite sinners. Our Epistle Lesson (1 Jn. 1:5-10) says, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Make sure you catch all of the words there in v. 9. The text doesn’t just say “If you confess your sins, God will forgive and cleanse.” No. The text says that God is faithful and just to forgive. We would expect to hear different words there – words like merciful, gracious, kind, generous, or even lenient. But that is not what Scripture says. God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Dear saints, God’s forgiveness delivered to you is right and just. That’s saying it in a positive way. And it is true in a negative way (or the opposite way): God would be unjust to withhold forgiveness from you who confess your sins. Your sin, your shame, your unrighteousness, your guilt was all laid upon Jesus on the cross. He has taken all of it and endured the punishment that you deserve. For God to give you any of His anger or displeasure because of your sin would not be right or just. He would be removed from the bench, disbarred, and thrown into prison if He didn’t forgive you.

Dear Christian, be comforted. God faithfully and justly and willingly and delightfully forgives you all your sins because of what Jesus has done for you. Amen.

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

Holy Deliverance – Sermon on Luke 18:31-43 for Quinquagesima

Feb23

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Luke 18:31-43

³¹ And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. ³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. ³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” ³⁴ But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. ³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” ³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Christ is on His way to Jerusalem. He plainly says that He is going there to fulfill everything that was written about Him in the Scriptures. He is going there to be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, shamefully treated, spit upon, flogged, and killed. But on the third day He will rise. Jesus says this plainly and clearly. But notice how carefully Luke records the reaction of the disciples. They understood none of these things. The saying was hidden from them. And they did not grasp what was said. That’s the long, emphatic way to say, “They didn’t get it.” The text then notes that Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem takes Him through Jericho where a crowd was waiting to meet Him.

Now, Christ’s name in Greek is Ἰησοῦς and it gets brought into English as ‘Jesus.’ But if you said Jesus’ name in Hebrew it would be יְהוֹשׁוּעַ, and when that gets brought into English it is ‘Joshua.’ If I asked you what city most goes with the name Joshua, I would bet you would say Jericho. It was Joshua who “fit [sic.] the battle of Jericho.” When Joshua went to Jericho, it was to destroy and kill. Joshua and the Battle of Jericho Joshua lead God’s people marching around those thick, fortified walls for six days, and on the seventh day, the people shouted and “the walls came a-tumbilin’ down.” Afterward, they burned the fallen rubble and reduced the city to ashes.

But Joshua wasn’t done yet. He stood over the smoke and ruins of that city and pronounced a curse, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates” (Josh. 6:26). Those ruins were to be a perpetual sign of God’s displeasure with the wicked inhabitants of that city. But about 500 years later, a man named Hiel, began to rebuild Jericho. And you don’t have to guess what happened. The foundation of the city was laid, and his firstborn died. And when the gates were raised, his youngest son died (1 Kgs. 16:34). It should serve as a warning to us not to mess around with what is cursed by God.

We need to remember that, as blessed as our country is, we live in a modern-day Jericho. Most people do not believe in God. Today, sins that would have caused our parents to blush with shame are celebrated. People worship their bank accounts, their careers, and their livelihood. In our land, nearly one million babies are sacrificed in abortions every year. But, while that should cause us to weep and mourn, how many more are sacrificed spiritually?

Kids are programmed by parents to aim for success in this life by getting good grades, playing hard in sports, and finding a good job. None of those things are evil by themselves. But how often are those things promoted to the neglect of teaching those children the fear and love of God? What good is any of that if those same children end up in hell? Yes, parents, give your children those good things, but make sure are secondary to faith in Jesus, the true, merciful God. No, you may not be trying to rebuild Jericho, but too often Christian parents are raising their children on cursed foundations that are protected only by cursed gates.

Repent. Repent, and know that if you are feeling the curse of your sins that the New Joshua draws near to Jericho.

The first Joshua came to curse and destroy the sinful city of Jericho, but Jesus, the new Joshua, comes to bless. Joshua came to hurt, but Jesus comes to heal. Joshua came to march around Jericho, but Jesus came to walk straight through it. Jesus came to rescue from the ruins and curse of sin and bring His holy deliverance into His heavenly kingdom. That holy deliverance will come as His own body is wrecked and the curse of our sin is laid upon Him.

So, the Lamb of God travels through Jericho. It would make sense if Jesus went through the city quickly passing by beggars on the street. Jesus is marching to do something bigger than to simply help a miserable beggar. And that is exactly what seems to be in the minds of some who are walking with Jesus. They tell one of those beggars to sit down and leave Jesus alone. But even though His eyes focused on the cross, Jesus doesn’t pass by this blind man. Jesus stands still, and He stands still to deliver holy mercy.

It is as though Jesus can’t help Himself. He never ignores cries for mercy because He is mercy embodied. Jesus stands still and tells them to bring the blind beggar to Him. And notice how Jesus treats the blind man with dignity and respect. Jesus knows he can’t see, but He goes to the blind man’s level and gives him something for his ears. He asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man answers, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus delivers him from his blindness.

This morning, Jesus passes through your Jericho. Christ has heard your cries for mercy too. In fact, this same scene played out today just as it does every Sunday you gather here. We beggars come into the presence of Jesus, and we cry for mercy. Jesus doesn’t turn away. Instead, He hears you. He stops and stands still. You confessed your sins, you cried out for mercy, and Christ answered you by absolving you.

Notice what Jesus does not say to the blind man. Jesus does not say, “I have made you well and restored your sight.” Instead, Jesus says, “Your faith has made you well,” or better, “Your faith has (lit.) saved you.” Yes, it was Jesus who saved him, but Jesus points the man to his God-given faith.

Remember, dear saints, that your salvation was won and purchased by Jesus on the cross some two-thousand years ago, but your salvation is not distributed there. Thank the good Lord that it isn’t distributed there because you and I weren’t there. Even if we were to go to Jerusalem today, we couldn’t be at the foot of the cross because there isn’t anything there anymore. Salvation Won and Delivered On the cross, Jesus did everything for your salvation. On the cross, Jesus won the victory over sin, death, and the devil. But God delivers what Jesus did on the cross to you here and now. God delivers the mercy, grace, life, and salvation of Jesus through the preaching of His Word (Ro. 10:17), through your Baptism (Ro. 6:3-11), and through the Lord’s Supper (Lk. 22:14-20). God brings His holy deliverance to you through all those things, and as you receive those gifts of God through faith, you are saved.

Finally, notice the blind man’s response. He follows Jesus. The blind man leaves his Jericho home and follows Jesus to Jerusalem. As we begin Lent this Wednesday, let us do the same as we follow Jesus by listening to His Word. Let us abandon our cursed state and follow Jesus to Jerusalem this Lent. He leads, and we follow with grateful hearts. Let Jesus lead you to Jerusalem, to the cross, and to the empty tomb on Easter. Amen.

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

Holy Work – Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 for Septuagesima

Feb9

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Matthew 20:1-16

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

To get at the main point of this parable, I’m going to borrow an analogy. Imagine two waitresses working at a small cafe by themselves. Suddenly, a man brings in eighty of his family members to celebrate an occasion, and those two waitresses have to serve this massive, unexpected crowd. One of the waitresses works hard the whole time. She does her best to get all the drinks and orders. She puts in the effort to make sure all the plates are served to the correct spots. She attempts to keep the glasses full of refills. She promptly comes to wipe up a spill. And even though she is flustered, she does all of this with a friendly smile on her face.

The other waitress is angry about the whole ordeal. She’s mad that such a large party didn’t call ahead to let them know they were coming so the restaurant could be properly staffed. She grumbles when extra napkins are requested. She intentionally lets some of the food sit for several minutes after it was prepared so that it isn’t hot when it is delivered to the table. And she interacts with the party as little as possible and pretends not to hear certain requests. This second waitress actually made the evening more difficult for the first, so difficult, in fact, that it would have been easier for the first waitress to do the whole thing herself.

When the party is ready to leave, the man who brought everyone in walks up to both waitresses and hands each of them a handsome 30% tip. Which of the two is going to complain? Right. The first. She would have preferred for the man to give her a 15 or even 10% tip so long as the second waitress got stiffed. She would rather get less if it meant that all her effort was recognized and appreciated.

Jesus Laid in the Tomb 1 Dear saints, welcome to the kingdom of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven, you are never rewarded based on your works or efforts because, if you received what you deserved, you would be sent straight to hell. In the kingdom of heaven, there are no formulas or set, hourly wages. You are given to based solely on the merits of Christ’s work for you. He is the only one who can say that He bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat. His atonement, His mercy, His grace is what you get, nothing less. Because of God’s unmerited, unearned, undeserved, unconditional love freely given to you for the sake of Christ, you are an heir of the kingdom of heaven. God be praised!

That’s the main point of the parable. The sermon could end here, but it won’t. There are other points in the parable. Yes, they are minor points, but I have four that I know will be helpful and comforting to you today. So, I’d like to draw them out a little bit. And these points all come from a small phrase in the parable from v. 6that never jumped out at me before. Notice in that verse that when the master goes out at the eleventh hour, just before the sun begins to set and working day is ending, the master finds more people standing there in the marketplace waiting to be hired and asks them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” Did you catch it?

“All day.” It means the guys hired at the very end of the day had been there all along. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve studied, taught, and preached on this parable, but I kept missing that phrase. I had figured these guys were lazy. I thought maybe they slept in, maybe they were trying to avoid working during the hot part of the day. But that’s not the case! They were there early in the morning, at dawn, when the master first went out to hire workers. And they were there at the third and the sixth and the ninth hour when he came. Most people would have given up and gone home around the sixth hour (which is noon). But no. When the master asks why they have been standing there idle all day, they say, “Because no one has hired us.”

Here’s the first point we can draw from that: no one who got paid their denarius at the end of the day decided on their own to go work for the master. Every one of them was called and sent only by the initiative of the vineyard owner. No one volunteered themselves for labor when he came, and no one went to knock at his door to ask, “Would you hire me to work in your vineyard?” Nope. good-friday-jesus-comes-to-rescue Each of them was called, and each of them was called at the precise time the owner called them. He went and retrieved them.

So, if you are a worker in the Lord’s vineyard, if you have been called into the service of the kingdom of heaven, i.e. if you are a Christian, you were called by God. Period. He came. He gave you work to do. You didn’t seek to work for Him. God called you into His service when it pleased Him. Some, God brings in early and has them work the whole day, but for some reason – a reason known only to God – He brings others in a later, at the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hour. If it had pleased the master to hire all of them at dawn, he could have.

Which brings us to second point. if you think that you are one of the early hires, if you have been a Christian your whole life and faithfully carried out your vocations, if you have been tempted at times to grumble for all your hard work or tempted to pat yourself on the back for what you have accomplished, be careful. Remember that it was not you who offered up yourself to work. You were called by the grace of God. “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. You are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that you should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10).

Know this. God is pleased with your work. He designed all those works for you, and He laid them all out before you to serve those who needed God’s work offered through your hands. You will be rewarded, and you will be rewarded far better than you deserve.

The third point: Maybe you think that you are one of those who were called to work late. Maybe you are saddened by how much time you wasted pursuing a life of pleasure for yourself. If you think, “How much more good could have I done if I hadn’t been so foolish? If I had been studying Scripture earlier, I could have been of better service.” Dear saint, don’t get discouraged. easte-jesus-brings-us-out-of-death God had a reason for bringing you in when He did. Trust His timing. He brought you into His vineyard exactly when He wanted you.

The fourth point is also along those lines, and I know it will be comforting to many of you, so listen up! If you have been praying for someone who is not in God’s vineyard, or if you have been aching for someone who was once in the vineyard but left – maybe it is a friend or relative. If it seems like your prayers and efforts have been wasted, take courage. Don’t stop praying for them. Yes, God calls some early, but some aren’t called into the vineyard until later. Some are called so late that they only arrive in time to get paid which means they do no more than receive their gracious reward. Be comforted. God has His own timing. Keep praying.

One more thing. I know the most common way the different hours that the workers get hired is understood to be a time in each individual’s life. When it is interpreted this way, the workers hired first represent people who have been Christians their entire lives. They were given faith in baptism and continued in that faith until they died. Those who were hired at the third, sixth, and ninth hour are commonly viewed as those who came to faith later in life – as youth, adults, and seniors. And those hired at the eleventh hour are the deathbed converts. That seems to be a legitimate way to understand that detail of the parable, in fact, that is how this sermon has interpreted that detail up to now.

However, remember this parable is about the kingdom of heaven. 1 John 2:18, written almost two-thousand years ago, says that it is the last hour. In the book of Revelation, we get repeated pictures of the saints who have died and entered into glory, and they are still working by praying for us (Rev. 6:9-11). Also, consider Hebrews 11 that uses the faith and deeds of the Old Testament saints to encourage us. Then, Hebrews 12[:1-2] gives us a picture of the great cloud of saints surrounding us and cheering us on to keep walking in faith. And Revelation 14:13 says that those who die in Christ are blessed because they now rest from their labors, but – and this is the point – their deeds follow them.

Considering all of that, none of us can claim to be those who worked through the heat of the day. Rejoice that God is merciful and has and will continue to give to you far better than you deserve. But also, be encouraged because this means that your labor in Christ is never wasted and is valuable work that lives on after you are gone. Think of the labor done by the authors of Scripture – Moses, David, Isaiah, Matthew, John, and Paul– their labor continues to reap results for the kingdom of God today.

Great Multitude with white robes washed in the blood of the lamb And it isn’t just their work. Your work, done as a Christian, is holy work. Fathers and mothers, the work you do day in and day out will reap results in the lives in your children, grandchildren, and great-great-great-great grandchildren if Christ tarries. But it will also reap results in the lives of others whom you will never meet because you have shined the light of Christ to those you have met, and they will shine that light elsewhere. You Sunday school teachers, you who are praying for and encouraging our youth, you trustees who are caring for our facility, and everyone who is here encouraging another person is offering holy work that will be used by God until Christ returns. Everyone has a story of being impacted by someone else long after that person has entered into glory. So, take heart, and keep working. The labor that God has called you to is fruitful, holy work. It is holy work that God will multiply and expand. For that, God be praised. Amen.

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

I Need to Be Baptized by You – Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 for the Baptism of Our Lord

Jan12

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Matthew 3:13-17

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

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

John the Baptizer tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized, but it wasn’t the first time that John had the inclination to not baptize. A few verses before our text (Mt. 3:5-10), Matthew tells us that all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were being baptized by John. But, when many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to John to be baptized, John sees them and says, John the Baptizer “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” The text doesn’t explicitly say it, but it appears as though John refused to baptize at least some of the Pharisees and Sadducees. But why? Why do they get a tongue-lashing and no baptism?

To get to an answer, we need to have a little background. First of all, we have to understand a little more about what baptism is because baptism isn’t something John invented on his own. The most basic meaning of the Greek word βαπτίζω (which gets translated ‘baptize’) is to wash something either by immersing it in or sprinkling it with water.[1] In the Old Testament, God had given lots of instructions to people who had become unclean to go and ceremonially wash themselves before going to the priest to be declared clean (like when a person had contact with a corpse Lev. 11:25, had a skin disease Lev. 13:6, the person who led the scapegoat into the wilderness Lev. 16:26, etc.). After becoming unclean by contact with what was unclean, that person was to wash and be declared clean, and this is the background of the baptisms going on in John’s day. They were further washings that weren’t commanded or forbidden in Scripture. Things that are neither commanded or forbidden in Scripture can be either good or bad. Scripture doesn’t command us to celebrate Christmas, but it is good and even necessary to do so. But we can make celebrating Christmas such a big deal that it becomes the only day that people come to church, which is bad.

We don’t have a lot of information about the history, but we do know that people who wanted to become part of the Jewish people would be baptized (though, these mainly appear after Christ’s ascension into heaven). But there are records outside of Scripture where baptisms did happen and were somewhat common during the time of the Old Testament and between the Testaments. However, these baptisms were all self-washings. They were a way of physically confessing your sins, turning over a new leaf, recommitting yourself to God, and making a better life for yourself. In other words, those baptisms were something people did forGod.

Now, we can’t say for sure, because Scripture doesn’t explicitly say it, but this is possibly why some of the Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to John to be baptized by him. Their thinking possibly went like this, “It is good to commit your life to God, and maybe people who are more sinful than I am will follow my example and commit their lives to God.” But here’s the problem with this attitude of the Pharisees and Sadducees, if that is correct, they weren’t coming in repentance to receive the forgiveness of their sins. And Scripture does say that John was baptizing unto repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mk. 1:4).[2]

John was baptizing unto repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but the Pharisees in particular didn’t see themselves as having sins to confess. Remember Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee who thanked God that he was not like that rotten sinful tax collector (Lk. 18:11).

So, it is possible that these Pharisees and Sadducees who are denied baptism by John are not coming to be baptized because they have sins that need to be washed away. They are stuck in a way of thinking that they could do enough things for God that God would be pleased with how holy they were. They thought getting baptized was something more they could do to earn favor with God, so John refuses to baptize them because they aren’t repentant. The sad thing is that many Christians today have this type of view of Christian Baptism. They view Baptism as something they do for God once they have come to faith. But this is not the picture of Baptism that Jesus and the rest of the New Testament gives. Not at all!

Jesus' Baptism Now we come to our text. John is baptizing all these people. A thief comes confessing his stealing, an adulterer confesses his adultery, a liar confesses her sin, and John absolves and baptizes them. But then to the front of the line comes Jesus, and John knows Him (Lk. 1:39-45). They’re related to each other. John knows what the angel Gabriel told Mary, that this Jesus would be Son of the Most High, that He would reign over the house of God, and that His kingdom would have no end (Lk. 1:26-38). John knows the angel Gabriel told Joseph that Jesus would be the One to save His people from their sins (Mt. 1:18-25). John knows that Jesus is the sinless God in the flesh. And here He is coming to be baptized unto repentance for the forgiveness of sins? This shouldn’t be!

John recognizes that he is the sinner who needs to confess his sins and be baptized by Jesus. “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

But Jesus reassures John, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So, John consents and baptizes Jesus. The heavens are opened. The Holy Spirit descends like a dove and rests on Christ. And God the Father says from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Such a beautiful picture of each Person of the Holy Trinity there at our Lord’s Baptism.

What happens when Jesus is Baptized is both the opposite and the same thing that happens to you in your Baptism. In your Baptism, God washed away your sins (Tit. 3:5-6). But when Jesus was Baptized, the opposite happened. Picture it this way. Those sinners who had been baptized by John in the Jordan came to have their sins washed away. But when Jesus enters those sin-filled waters, He absorbs all those sins into Himself so that He can take them to the cross and die for them.

We say this because it is only after Jesus’ Baptism that John says Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John can say that because of what he saw in Jesus’ Baptism. There, Jesus had all the sins of all people of all time piled upon Him. in Isaiah 53, God says that Jesus would be numbered with the transgressors (Is. 53:12) and that God would lay on Jesus the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:4-6). That happened at Jesus’ Baptism.

You know how you feel when you are caught doing something wrong. You have a physical reaction – maybe you feel a rush of heat and guilt, and you feel the weight of it. Imagine having every sin of every person of all time piled upon you. How crushing would that be for Jesus? But having the weight and burden of the sin of the world put upon Him, Jesus hears the comforting voice of His Father, “You are My Son, with You I am well pleased. You are doing what I have sent You to do.” So, Jesus’ Baptism works the opposite direction of yours. Your Baptism washes away your sins, and Jesus’ Baptism is where Jesus is loaded up with your sins.

Matthew 3_17 - Baptism of Jesus Holy Spirit Dove But also, the same thing that happens to Jesus in his Baptism happens to you in yours. In your Baptism, you are given the gift of the Holy Spirit and are made God’s beloved child. In your Baptism, God intimately joins you to Jesus, and to His death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-6).

John’s question in our text, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” can be turned into a confession of faith. “Jesus, I need to be Baptized by You, and You have come and Baptized me.” Jesus does come to Baptize you and make you His disciple (Mt. 28:18-20). God has Baptized you through the hands of whatever pastor did the Baptism. It wasn’t the pastor doing it alone; God was Baptizing you. The pastor was simply God’s instrument to put the water upon you.

I have one final encouragement for you, and it is going to seem to come out of left field but bear with me. In Genesis 15[:1-6], God appears to old Abraham who has no children. God tells Abraham to try counting the stars and says, “So shall your offspring be.” God made a promise to Abraham and connected it to something physical that Abraham could see. And Scripture says, “Abraham believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

Now, imagine every night of Abraham’s life after this. I wonder how often he would go out at night with that promise of God echoing in his ears and start counting. Imagine him trying for a while but then having to give up counting because he’d lose track. And yet, Abraham continued to believe God’s promise.

Dear saints, God has given you something even more precious in your Baptism. God connected His promise of mercy, forgiveness, and life to something physical, to water – something that you interact with daily. Baptism 2 In your Baptism, God has given you the new birth of water and the Spirit (Jn. 3:5). In your Baptism, God has promised to wash away your sins (Act. 2:38-39), save you (1 Pet. 3:21), make you His child (Mt. 3:17), connect you to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-6), clothe you with Christ (Gal. 3:27), and fill you with the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5). So now, whenever wash your hands or take a shower, you can remember that God Himself has washed you clean and made you holy and sacred. Whenever you take a drink, you can remember that, in your Baptism, Jesus has given you to drink of the living water that wells up to eternal life (Jn. 4:10, 14).

You have need to be Baptized by God, and God has done this. Believe these promises of God. Trust them. Don’t leave them. And if you do walk away from the blessings and promises that God has given to you in your Baptism, remember that God hasn’t changed His mind. Those promises are there for you to return to because God is always faithful. He who began a good work in you in your Baptism will be faithful to bring it to completion in the day of Christ (Php. 1:6). Amen.

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

[1] In Mark 7:4, Mark mentions that the Pharisees had rituals for baptizing (most translations will simply say ‘washing’) they would baptize cups, pots, copper vessels, and dining couches. Unless you want to ruin it, you don’t immerse a dining couch. So, to say that Scriptures always mean immersing when they speaks about baptism is simply wrong.

[2] Scripture does make a distinction between John’s baptism and Jesus instituting Christian Baptism (especially in Mt. 3:11-12 and Act. 19:1-7). And we could spend a whole bunch of time considering the differences but let me just say this. According the Scripture, John’s baptism is a precursor to Christian Baptism. John would have repentant sinners come to him, confess their sins, and be baptized by him. And it was those very sins that Jesus would die for. So, God was granting forgiveness through John’s baptism.

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Tag Archives: Grace

Comfort Doubled – Sermon on Isaiah 40:1-8 for the Third Sunday of Advent

Forgiven Forgivers – Sermon on Matthew 18:21-35

The Eyes of Prayer – Sermon on Luke 18:9-14 for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity

The Merciful Master – Sermon on Luke 16:1-13 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Lost & Found – Sermon on Luke 15:1-10 for the Third Sunday after Trinity

I Have Other Sheep – Sermon on John 10:11-16 for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

Faithful & Just – Sermon on 1 John 1:5-10 for Ash Wednesday

Holy Deliverance – Sermon on Luke 18:31-43 for Quinquagesima

Holy Work – Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 for Septuagesima

I Need to Be Baptized by You – Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 for the Baptism of Our Lord