Tag Archives: Prophet

At the Gate – Sermon on Luke 7:11-17 for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

Luke 7:11-17

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

One of the great mysteries of Scripture is that Jesus is fully God and fully Man. Saying that isn’t hard; you’ve probably grown up saying it. But believing that Jesus is both 100% God and Man is hard to believe – especially when it comes to Jesus’ life here on earth. As the Son of God, Jesus is eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing, but as a Man, Jesus didn’t always fully use His divine rights and attributes. As God, Jesus all-powerful, but as a man, He still had to eat (Lk. 4:2), His body got tired and needed sit after a long walk (Jn. 4:6), and He had to sleep (Lk. 8:23). Because Jesus is God, He is all-knowing. He had known from all eternity that He would meet this funeral procession at the gate of Nain. But as a man, it wasn’t as though Jesus woke up that morning thinking, “Oh, today’s the day I’ll raise that boy in Nain.”

The way Luke records this event, he makes it clear that Jesus didn’t intentionally go to Nain for the purpose of raising this boy from the dead. Instead, Luke gives us the impression that Christ just happened to be going by the city at the precise moment this boy, widow, and funeral procession was exiting the city gate. This resurrection is very different from what we see in John 11, when Jesus raises Lazarus.

In John 11, Christ does use His divine omniscience. Jesus is a long way from where Lazarus lived when He gets a message that Lazarus is sick, but He doesn’t move an inch. He stays put. He says that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death and that it was for the glory of God (Jn. 11:4). Then, Jesus waits two more days before He finally decides to go to Lazarus’ house because He knows that Lazarus has died, but our Lord says that He is going to wake Lazarus from the sleep of death (Jn. 11:14, 11). By those statements before Lazarus’ resurrection, we know that Jesus did plan on going to Lazarus’ grave for the purpose of raising him even though no one told Jesus that Lazarus had died.

But this resurrection miracle is different. No one had summoned Jesus to come and help like they would for some of the other miracles (Lk. 7:1-10; 8:40-56). His presence wasn’t requested at the gate of Nain. He just happens to be at the gate at that very moment. But even though Jesus intended to pass by the city, His compassion for the mother means that He has to stop and raise her son.

Dear saints, your Savior is no priest or Levite who passes by and leaves someone for dead in the ditch (Lk. 10:30-32). No. Your Savior is the Good Samaritan. He sees the widow and her dead son coming out of the gate, and He has compassion. He interrupts that march toward the grave. He pours on the medicine of His Word by telling that mother to stop weeping, and He raises her son. In that moment, the gate of Nain was more than just a way to enter or exit the city. It was much more significant than that. The gate was the threshold between life and death, and it was the place where the citizens of Nain encountered and recognized the God who had come in the flesh to visit His people (Lk. 7:16).

Throughout the Bible, gates were always incredibly important places. Generally, when we think about a gate, we only think about its purpose. A gate exists to be either a barrier to block entrance or a doorway to grant it. Gates separate insiders from outsiders, allies from enemies, friend and family from foe. That’s probably all we imagine when we think about gates. But in the ancient world, gates were much more significant than that. In the Bible, gates were important places for commerce, politics, and justice.

The city gate was where citizens would typically meet (Pr. 1:21). The gate is where business deals and transactions were made (Ru. 4:11). Leaders would have people assemble at the gate so they could make important announcements (2 Ch. 32:6; Neh. 8:1, 3), which is why prophets and priests would proclaim God’s Word at the gates (Is. 29:21; Am. 5:10; Jer. 17:19-20). Instead of courthouses like we have today, trials took place at the city gate (2 Sam. 15:2). The gate was where you would learn about everything that was going on in the city (Gen. 19:1; Ps. 69:12; Est. 2:21).

So, in this reading, it’s likely that almost the entire town of Nain was there, at the gate. The gate would have already been busy and crowded just because of the normal, day-to-day things that took place at the gate. And it would have been even busier than normal because this boy’s funeral. The mother and the mourners were carrying her son through the gate to lay him to rest outside of the city, away from the living. So, again, that gate was the threshold between life and death. But there, at the gate stood the Author of Life (Act. 3:15), and Jesus does not let death cast this boy outside.

Now, before I go on here, I need to say that this miracle is an actual, historical event that really happened. Because it happened, it reveals that Jesus is the long-promised prophet (Dt. 18:15) and that God has visited His people (Lk. 7:16). But even more than that, the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record this event for your comfort because this resurrection miracle is a glimpse into your story.

When God created all things, He gave Adam and Eve a home in the Garden of Eden. But when they chose to sin and rebel against God by eating the forbidden fruit, they were cast out of Eden. Now, Eden is never described as having a gate, but it is described as having borders made by four rivers. And when Adam and Eve are expelled from Eden, God, in His mercy, sent a cherub with a flaming sword to protect the way to the Tree of Life to prevent mankind from living forever because we would have lived forever in sin (Gen. 3:23-24). So, even though Eden is never mentioned as having a gate, the idea of a gate is certainly there. It is right to say that the cherub shut the gate to Eden and to an eternal life in sin and death.

God did not want the path to life to be forever blocked by a gate, but He had to do something before the gate could be reopened. God had to send Jesus to pay the penalty for your sin, my sin, and the sin of all mankind (1 Jn. 2:2). By Jesus’ death and resurrection, the gates to Eden, to paradise, and to eternal life free from sin are now open for you.

And even better, now that Christ is raised and ascended, He always and fully uses His divine attributes. He sees your sorrow and has compassion on you. He sees you when you are lost and outside of the gates. He runs to embrace you and bring you unto Himself as His child (Lk. 15:20-24). Christ uses all of His divine power to bring you back to Himself through the gates that He has opened for you.

One of the most beautiful scenes in all Scripture is the new heavens and earth in Rev. 21. The New Jerusalem is described as having twelve gates, three gates on each side of the city, and all twelve gates are made out of a single pearl (Rev. 21:12-13, 21). And the most wonderful thing about those gates is that they stand wide open – never to be shut (Rev. 21:25). They can remain open without any danger because when Christ returns, all your enemies are utterly defeated and cast out forever.

In that blessed, eternal city, every tear is wiped away. Mourning is turned into dancing (Ps. 30:11; Jn. 16:20). There will be no more pain because this fallen world will have passed away (Rev. 21:4). In that city, all the children of God dwell together because they are raised, never to die again (Ro. 6:7-11).

So, you who are dead in sin, know that God is able to do far, far, far more abundantly than all you ask or think (Eph. 3:20). Hear your Savior’s call. Rise from your deadness. Christ, who is the Resurrection and the Life, has given you to the rest creation to be a blessing.

Dear saints, you have been raised to new life. So, enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. To Christ Jesus be glory in the Church throughout all generations, forever and ever (Eph. 3:21). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

The Fruit & the Foundation – Sermon on Matthew 7:15-27 for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 7:15–27

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I thought about beginning this sermon by yelling, “Look out!” But I have a mic, and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s ears or cause a heart attack. Jesus’ first word in this Gospel reading really sets the tone for everything else in it. “Beware.” It’s the kind of thing you shout when someone is in imminent, immediate danger. Throughout the Gospels, the thing Jesus regularly tells Christians to beware of is false teaching. In Jesus’ opinion – which, by the way, is the only opinion that matters – the thing you need to watch out for is false teaching and incorrect doctrine taught by ravenous wolves wearing sheep’s clothing.

One of the difficulties about these false teachers is spotting and recognizing them for what they are. False teachers don’t go around wearing t-shirts or name tags that say, “False teacher.” Instead, they are cleverly camouflaged. Under their soft, wooly exterior are jaws filled with fangs that are stained with the blood of sheep. They might bleat about Jesus and call Him, “Lord, Lord.” They might strut around like sheep, casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and doing many mighty works in Jesus’ name. But, on the Last Day, Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me you workers of lawlessness.”

So, how are you supposed to recognize these dangerous false prophets? Well, Jesus switches pictures and imagery. Now, it isn’t wolves and sheep; instead, it’s trees and fruit. Jesus says twice, “You will recognize [false prophets] by their fruits.” Now, we need to be clear here. Usually when the Bible uses a fruit analogy, it is talking about Christians’ service of love and good works, like the fruit of the Spirit. A false prophet, a false teacher, could very well appear to have all of those fruits. But here Jesus isn’t talking about the fruit of Christians in general; instead, He’s talking about the fruit of prophets.

So, think through this: What is the fruit of an apple tree? Apples. What is the fruit of a raspberry bush? Raspberries. You don’t go to a raspberry bush looking for apples, potatoes, or beets. Now, take that to different areas of work. What is the fruit of a baker? Bread, doughnuts, pastries, and cake. What is the fruit of an auto mechanic? A fixed car. You don’t go to a baker when you need your transmission fixed.

So, what is the fruit of a prophet? Their prophesizing, in other words, their teaching. In v. 16, when Jesus is talking about grapes and thornbushes and figs and thistles, He is saying that you must judge a prophet (which is just a teacher of God’s Word) by what he teaches. It doesn’t matter if they look good, are a nice person, or speak eloquently. What that person teaches is all that matters. A diseased apple tree is going to produce bad apples, but even if it produces nice shade, it isn’t really worth anything. When Jesus says you will know a prophet by his fruit, He means that you have to evaluate a prophet by the content of his teaching, by the doctrine. A false teacher will produce rotten, worthless, evil teaching. I know v. 18 talks about bad fruit and diseased trees, but ‘rotten, evil, and worthless’ are better translations of the words Jesus uses to describe the nature of those trees and their fruit. 

What that means, dear saints, is that you must, for the good of your soul, you must pay attention to and constantly evaluate what you are being taught. Don’t blindly trust whomever you hear on the radio, or who wrote a national best-seller, or who happens to be in your podcast playlist, or has a YouTube channel. Listen, and evaluate the fruit, evaluate the teaching – even if it’s a boring sermon or study on something you’ve heard a thousand times.

You have to do this because the most dangerous false teachers will be very subtle and deceptive. It might just be one little thing that slips in. But the more often you hear something, the more likely you are to believe it. In fact, it’s even possible that a false teaching might slip in without the person being aware of it. Some of the most important conversations I’ve had as a pastor have come about because I taught something that threw up a theological red flag. A person came to me, told me what they heard, and challenged me on it. Those conversations can give me a chance to clarify what I taught and go back to Scripture. They help me be more careful, clear, and thorough when I preach and teach.

So, this warning from Jesus about you needing to be on the lookout for false teaching definitely applies to me. It doesn’t matter how nice and good looking I am. It doesn’t matter how many sermons you’ve heard me eloquently preach. Don’t blindly trust me. You have to discern if what you are hearing from my lips lines up with the Bible; if it points you to Jesus as the incarnate, crucified, and risen Savior; if it calls you to repent of your sins; if it encourages you to believe in Christ; if it urges you toward love for God and your neighbor.

You have to beware because false teaching might make you feel good and give you the warm-fuzzies. But that doesn’t always mean that it is the teaching God wants you to hear. In our Old Testament lesson (Jer. 23:16-29), God says that the false prophets say things like, “It will be well with you,” and, “No disaster will come upon you.” Because of our sinful nature, false teaching is often right in line with what we want to hear. But you have to evaluate the fruit of every teacher and every teaching you encounter because when you stand before God on Judgment Day, you don’t get to claim ignorance and deception for following wrong theology. Eve didn’t get a pass in the Garden of Eden just because the serpent deceived her (Gen. 3:13; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14).

And, I have to briefly add this: Theology is all round you. The nightly news has a theology. Gretta Thunberg and the whole climate change crowd have a theology. The commercials you see on TV, the songs you listen to, and the videos you watch all have a theology. Here, Jesus says that you must evaluate and discern the theology even of those things. I’m not necessarily saying you have to completely eliminate your intake of those things. That might be the case. But when those inputs cause you anxiety and despair, remind yourself of the true theology that Jesus is crucified, risen, has all authority in heaven and on earth, and is with you always even to the end of the age (Mt. 28:18-20).

Remember, false teaching is rotten, worthless, evil fruit. But it’s effects are more devastating than eating a bad orange. It is completely ruinous. False theology is like building a house with a foundation on sand. When the rains fall and the winds and the floods come, that house is going to have a catastrophic, disastrous fall.

But, God be praised, a house built on the foundation and rock of right, good, sound theology will withstand everything the devil and the world can throw at it. Dear saints, be wise. Eat the good fruit of sound theology. Build your house on the solid foundation of the rock of Christ. And you will never be moved. Amen.

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

The Council of the Lord – Sermon on Jeremiah 23:16-29 for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Listen here.

Jeremiah 23:16-29

16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

18 For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?

19 Behold, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his heart.

In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

21 “I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;

I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,

and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.

23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I was talking to a few other pastors about this text and mentioned that I was having a hard time with an introduction for my sermon. One of them suggested that I start by saying, “I had a dream from God the other night…” He was joking of course, but it provided an introduction.

In this text, we heard about a very important theme in the Scriptures, and that is the theme of the council of the Lordor sometimes called the heavenly council. And it is important to differentiate here that this is the council with a ‘c’ which means a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, and make decisions. We are not talking about counsel with an ‘s’ which is giving advice.

Through His faithful prophet Jeremiah, God is warning the people against listening to the false prophets who are not preaching faithfully. If you are following along in our chronological Bible reading plan, you started Jeremiah a few days ago and know about the evil in Jeremiah’s day. If you aren’t following that plan (or aren’t caught up), here’s a brief summary.

Jeremiah was living and preaching to God’s people just before and through the time when the kingdom of Judah fell and was taken captive into Babylon. The kings were sacrificing their sons to pagan gods and abandoning the worship of God. Even though God was sending faithful prophets like Jeremiah and others, the people would not listen. And the kings would kill the faithful prophets who were calling the people to repentance.

The false prophets would tell people who despised the word of God, “Everything will be fine,” and to sinners they would say, “Don’t worry about punishment, God doesn’t mind.” Well, God did mind, and punishment was coming. And yet those false prophets ran and spoke false messages to the people claiming that God had sent them even though they had not stood in the council of the Lord.

Picture it like this – this council of God is like a heavenly throne room or courtroom where important matters are discussed. This picture about the council of God appears all over the Bible.

The council of God began back in creation. In the very beginning, there was a conversation between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Creation of Adam.jpgOut of that conversation came creation, and most importantly, out of that conversation came the creation of humanity. We get to hear that conversation in Gen. 1:26 where the Triune God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” It was so, and it was good – very good.

After Adam and Eve were created, they become part of that heavenly conversation. God would come walking and talking with them in the cool of the day, and they would hear God’s Word and speak back to God. But there was another voice in that conversation – a voice of discord, violence, and evil. Satan, the devil, had been part of that council of God and had rebelled against the Lord. The devil comes to Adam and Eve and speaks to them about faithlessness, evil, and death. From that conversation, Adam and Eve fall.

After the Fall, the topic of discussion in the council of God changes. The council is no longer focused on the creation of mankind. But, thank God that, in His mercy, the conversation doesn’t change to destroying us. Instead, the conversation is now about the redemption and salvation of mankind. The conversation is about the death of Jesus. And Adam and Eve get to hear this when God says to the devil that the Seed of the woman would crush his head (Gen. 3:15).

Now, we can’t hear this council of God with the ears that God has given us, so God sent His faithful prophets to declare what is being discussed in the heavenly council. Amos 3:7 says, “The Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.” And from the text here before us, God says of the false prophets, “I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people, and they would have turned the from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds” (Jer. 23:21-22). This was the job of the prophets. Prophets are those who stand in God’s council and bring God’s Words to God’s people. Words of Law and words of Gospel.

When you were growing up, did you ever get sent out of the room so your parents could have a conversation? They might have done this to figure out how to punish you and your siblings for something you had done wrong. Or they might have done this to plan a vacation or get a puppy or some other good. Whatever the reason was, they were having an important conversation that would impact you. But you weren’t invited into the conversation – at least not initially.

But then your parents call you into the conversation. They would tell you what they were talking about and send you to announce it to your siblings. “We’re getting a puppy,” or, “We’re going to Disneyland.” And you get to be their spokesperson and proclaim it. That’s what the all the faithful prophets of Scripture did.

Sometimes, the prophets were to bring news of judgment and destruction. “There won’t be rain,” or, “The Babylonians are going to come and destroy our capitol.” Sometimes, the prophets were to proclaim news of Gospel and deliverance, “A remnant will be saved. God will send a Savior who will bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, and with His wounds we will be healed.”

Heavenly CouncilOne of the most amazing things is that God even gives His prophets a seat and a voice in this council. You remember when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham speaks up and gets God to agree to not destroy the cities if ten righteous people are found there (Gen. 18:22-33). Or, when God is going to destroy the Israelites for making the golden calf, Moses speaks up in the council and says, “God, if You go down and destroy them, the Egyptians will say that You only brought them out of slavery to destroy them.” And God relents of the disaster He had said He would bring on the people (Gen. 32:1-14).

This idea of the council of God is important for us to understand the Old Testament, but it even comes into the New Testament. Probably the most important glimpse of the council of God we get in the New Testament is in Luke’s account of the Transfiguration (Lk. 9:28-36). You remember that Peter, James, and John are there. They see Jesus’ face change and His clothes shine like the sun. Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and are talking with Him. There is the council of God on earth, and Luke says that they are talking about Jesus’ ‘departure’ (lit.His ‘exodus’) which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

In other words, they were talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection. They were talking about Jesus’ redemption of creation and mankind. When Peter later recalls being at the Transfiguration and overhearing that council of God, he concludes that having the Bible is even better, “We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed…. No prophecy of Scripture come from someone’s own interpretation or was produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:16-21).

What this means, dear saints, is that when you hear the words of Scripture, you are hearing the council of God. You are hearing God’s call to repent of your sins, and you are hearing about God delivering you from sin, death, and the devil through Jesus’ death and resurrection. This is important for us to always remember. God is constantly calling us to repentance and faith through His Word.

Over the last week, there has been a lot of chatter in our country about politics and guns and all sorts of things because of the evil and wickedness in El Paso and Dayton. Those conversations are important and necessary. But there is something you won’t hear in the media, and that is a call to repentance and faith after evil has struck those parts of our country.

In Luke 13:1-5, some people were with Jesus and asked Him what He thought about some Galileans who had been killed by Pilate. The people thought that Jesus should speak out against the leaders in government, but Jesus has a different take. He says, “Do you think that those Galileans were worse sinners because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”And Jesus mentions another event when the tower of Siloam fell and killed eighteen people. Jesus says the same thing, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Dear saints, according to Jesus and according to the council of God, when you see evil in the world – whether it is the evil acts of the wicked or the evil brokenness of creation – know that God is calling you to repent. He is calling you to repent and trust in His mercy won and given through faith in Christ Jesus.

Council of GodNow, Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father. Today, your Savior is talking with the Father, your Creator, and with the Holy Spirit, your Sanctifier. And do you know what they are talking about? They are talking about you and the cross. They are talking about how Jesus won your salvation there. How His blood shed there made a place in heaven for you forever. And the Holy Spirit is there, translating your prayers and interceding for you with groanings too deep for words (Ro. 8:26). The Holy Spirit whispers into your ear that you are an adopted child of God and heir with Christ. And you respond by crying, “Abba, Father” (Ro. 8:12-17).

And know that, whenever you hear the Scriptures, God is inviting you into that conversation, into that council where He calls you Himself through Jesus’ sacrifice. This is what the council of God is always about. This is God’s focus and intention, that you turn from your sins and that you trust in His Son, your Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we hear the Scriptures, may we heed God’s council. May we repent of our sins and believe in Christ. Amen.[1]

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

[1] I am thankful for an interview that Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller did with Pr. Warren Graff on the heavenly council for portions of this sermon. https://wolfmueller.co/table-scraps-heavenly-council-with-warren-graff/