Life in the Vineyard – Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 for Septuagesima Sunday

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. ¹¹ And 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.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Bible refers to Christians as many things. Christians are God’s sons (Ro. 8:14; Gal. 3:26), daughters (2 Cor. 6:18), children (Mt. 6:9; Ro. 8:16; 1 Jn. 3:1), and heirs (Ro. 8:17; Gal. 4:7). All Christians are called the bride of Christ (Eph 5:25-27) and the body of Christ (Ro. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:27). The Bible will refer to you Christians as sheep with Jesus as your Shepherd (Jn. 10:1ff). There are all sorts of other things I could mention, but in this parable, Jesus calls you workers or laborers in God’s vineyard, and that is what we are going to focus on.

In the parable, the vineyard is the kingdom of God or the Church, the master is Jesus, and, Christian, you are in this parable as a worker who was brought into the vineyard by Jesus. Some of you were brought in early and some later, but you were all brought in by the invitation of Christ. You were brought in to the kingdom of God for a purpose.

Christ has called you into His kingdom not just to lounge around and dangle your toes in the pool while you get a tan. No, He has work for you to do. Husbands and fathers; wives and mothers; children; students; employees with a boss or business owners with staff; citizens of cities, states, and countries – all of these are tasks put in front of you as you work for God in His kingdom. There are times when the work Jesus puts in front of you is hard, difficult, and requires more strength than you can muster on your own. There are times when that work is easier. But it doesn’t matter how challenging or easy the work is, it is work in God’s kingdom.

And this parable harkens back to our origins, back to what God created us to be. Remember how it was at the beginning of creation and before the Fall? God creates everything, plants a garden, and puts Adam and Eve there so they could work it and keep it (Gen. 2:15). Those of you who have been attending our adult class Sunday mornings will, hopefully, remember this. Those two responsibilities – to work and to keep the Garden of Eden – are the same duties that God gives to the priests who served in the Tabernacle and Temple (Num. 3:7-8, 8:26, 18:5-6); the Hebrew words are the same. God didn’t just create Adam and Eve to be gardeners, they were guardians of sacred space. So, this parable refers to how God calls you to be guardians of the sacred space of His kingdom.

This vineyard, the kingdom of God, is a blessed place. Yes, there’s work to do. You have tasks and responsibilities to faithfully carry out, and at times you will struggle and even fail in those responsibilities as laborers in the vineyard. But remember, Scripture doesn’t only call you a laborer; again, you are also a child of God. As a laborer in God’s vineyard and as a child of God, you are part of the family business. Now, please know that I’m going to push past the boundaries of the parable a bit here (i.e. this goes a bit past the scope of the parable), but it is still in line with what the Scriptures teach.

In a family business, the children get all sorts of perks, freedom, and leeway that regular employees, who aren’t part of the family, don’t get. Now, I don’t know enough about vineyards to know if they regularly use tractors, but sick with me on this for a minute. Imagine a normal vineyard with a worker who crashes the tractor because he’s being careless or reckless. That guy is probably going to get fired. But if one of the vineyard owner’s own children makes the same mistake, sure he might get a lecture or not be allowed to drive the new tractor that replaces the one he broke, but he’s still going to be in the business because he’s family.

Now, what might that look like for you as a laborer in God’s vineyard? Again, as a Christian, you are working in God’s vineyard no matter what you are doing. You adults – in your job, whatever it is; in your home with your spouse and children; or in your town, state, and country – every responsibility is vineyard work that God gives you to do. You kids – at home, you empty the dishwasher, make your bed, brush your teeth; in your school, whatever subject you are studying or even being a friend to others at recess – all of that is vineyard work.

There are times you are going to mess up in that vineyard work. You’re going to burn the supper. You’re going to bomb the spelling, math, or science test. But you’re family, so there is forgiveness and mercy extended. You’re still going to be in the vineyard. Sure, you’ll have lessons to learn (and, sometimes, those lessons won’t be pleasant). You might be relegated to different tasks that better fit your abilities (see 1 Cor. 12:21-26). But you’re still in the vineyard because you’re family. Ultimately, the only failure is not learning from your mistakes and doing better the next time.

According to the parable, the thing that gets you thrown out of the vineyard is being angry with the master because of his generosity and goodness toward others (Mt. 20:13-15). But now, I have to add this just briefly: None of that is an excuse to be lazy or reckless with your labor in the vineyard. Remember, the better you work in the vineyard, the more you will benefit. So, take your work in the vineyard of God’s kingdom seriously, but also know that your place in the vineyard is safe and secure.

Ok, back inside the boundaries of the parable and to the elephant in the room – the wages.

In the parable, the only place outside of the vineyard is the marketplace. Markets are where goods and money are exchanged. This thing costs so much, and if you don’t have enough, tough cookies. The marketplace operates only in justice. Now don’t get me wrong, justice is a good thing. We need justice, but because we are sinners, justice is a terrifying thing. God be praised that we have a God who is merciful andjust (Ro. 3:26; 1 Jn. 1:9). The marketplace is where the master of the vineyard finds his laborers and calls them out of it. Notice how the master says to the eleventh-hour workers, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They don’t respond, “Well, we like it here.” No. The marketplace is a terrible place to be as it is presented in this parable. When the master says, “You go into the vineyard too,” they don’t respond, “Aw man, now we have to work.” They willingly and joyfully go into the vineyard.

Again, notice how the judgment in this parable is being tossed out of the vineyard because the grumblers didn’t like the master’s pay scale based on mercy and generosity. Dear saints, we want to remain in the vineyard where we are benefactors of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Because of what Jesus has done, we are in the vineyard where we get better than our sins deserve.

The parable is not just a description of the last day and final judgment. The parable is also about the life of faith. Some of you have said something like this to me, “Pastor, I don’t really like this parable. I’ve been a Christian my whole life and worked in God’s kingdom. And Jesus is saying that all I’ve done as a worker in His kingdom doesn’t really matter because anyone who converts on their deathbed or in a foxhole gets treated the same way I will. I know this is a wrong attitude, but I still don’t like what the parable teaches.”

I’ve done my best to address that in the past, but after studying this week, I’ve got an answer that is better than what I remember sharing in the past. If you look back to the end of Mt. 19, the context of when Jesus tells this parable is also recorded in Lk. 18:18-30. Luke doesn’t record this parable, but Jesus tells this parable in the context of Peter’s little brag and question, “Jesus, we disciples have left our homes and everything and followed you. What are we going to get?” (see Mt. 19:27 & Lk. 18:28). And in Lk. 18:29-30, Jesus promises, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Did you catch that? Jesus promises eternal blessings and rewards to you in the life to come, but you also get blessings and rewards in this life for your labor in His kingdom. That’s what Jesus says. And He wouldn’t say it if it weren’t meant to be enticing to you to do the work that He has for you in His kingdom. Plus, consider this: you know what those eleventh-hour workers, who got paid the same denarius as those who worked the whole day, you know they did the next day? They got up and worked a full day in the vineyard. They got more strength, more endurance, more experience, and did what they could for the benefit of the vineyard.

Finally, and I’ll leave you with this: Remember your Christian life is work and labor in the vineyard. Jesus doesn’t tell the parable about the owner of a factory that produces sweatpants or sneakers or frozen French fries. No. It’s about a vineyard. Vineyards exist to produce wine which God gives to make glad the heart of man (Ps. 104:15). The work you do in Christ’s kingdom brings joy, rest, and feasting to you and to those around you. May we all be diligent and faithful and joyful as we live out our faith in the life of the vineyard. Amen.

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

Love & Respect – Sermon on Ephesians 5:22-33 for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

Jan14

Ephesians 5:22–33

²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Working with Jesus – Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 for the Baptism of Our Lord

Jan7

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 Jesus. Amen.

At Christmas, we celebrate the fact that the eternal God the Son came down to us so He could bring us up to Him. God, who is spirit (Jn. 4:24), became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14). This is the wonder of wonders and deserves our eternal contemplation, thanks, and praise. That being said, God simply becoming flesh wouldn’t have done us any good unless He did more than simply have a body. God came in the flesh and used that body to be your Savior from sin, and that is what we see happening at Jesus’ Baptism.

Today, we’re mainly going to focus on how Jesus responds to John’s objection, but before we do that, we need to consider for a minute what Jesus’ Baptism accomplishes. John said the reason he was preaching and Baptizing in the wilderness is for repentance (Mt. 3:11), and Lk. 3:3 says John’s baptism was for the forgiveness of sins. But Jesus doesn’t have any sin, so He doesn’t need either repentance or forgiveness. That is why John objects and would have prevented Jesus from being Baptized (Mt. 3:14). Jesus isn’t Baptized because of His sins because, again, He didn’t have any. Instead, Jesus is Baptized to be anointed with the sin of the world. In His Baptism, Jesus steps into the office of being the Messiah or the Christ, both of those titles mean ‘the Anointed One.’

Imagine what was happening as John was Baptizing. People who recognized how they had sinned against God by idolatry, profaning God’s name, and breaking the Sabbath; people who were convicted of how rebellious they were toward their parents, murderers, adulterers, thieves, liars, and coveters; they were all coming to John repenting and to have those sins washed away in the waters of the Jordan River. So, imagine all the sins of all those sinners floating around in the water, making it filthy.

But then, Jesus steps into those repugnant waters. Since Jesus didn’t have any sin to wash away, He soaks up all those sins into Himself like a sponge leaving the waters clean again. This is why, the next time John sees Jesus, he says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). It is at His Baptism that Jesus, at least, begins to fulfill what was prophesied about Him back in Isaiah 53 – that He would be numbered with the transgressors (Is. 53:12), and that God would lay on Him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:4-6).

One of my favorite verses is 2 Cor. 5:21, which could be viewed as an interpretation of or teaching about what happens at Jesus’ Baptism, “For our sake, [God] made [Jesus], who knew no sin, to be sin.” And I’d encourage you to personalize that verse: “For my sake, God made pure, perfect, sinless Jesus to be sin. God did that for me.” And the verse doesn’t stop there. It also tells you why God did this. He did it so that in Jesus, you “might become the righteousness of God.” Because of Jesus, believer, you are pure as God is pure (1 Jn. 3:3). Because of Jesus, dear saints, you are holy as God is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). Because of Jesus, Christian, you are righteous as God is righteous (2 Cor. 5:21).

Now, that brings us back to Jesus’ response to John’s objection. John doesn’t want to Baptize Jesus because John is the sinner who needs to be Baptized and have his sins washed away by Jesus. But Jesus replies, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt. 3:15). Notice that, Jesus doesn’t tell John that He needs to be Baptized so He can fulfill all righteousness by Himself. No. He tells John that John has a role to play in fulfilling all righteousness, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

John had a role and works to do with Jesus in Christ’s work fulfilling all righteousness. John’s role was to prepare the way of the Lord (Jn. 1:23), to proclaim a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Lk. 3:3), to point people to Jesus (Jn. 1:29) and finally, to Baptize Jesus. That was God’s purpose for John. God put John into that specific office and vocation, and God did that long before John was born.

The Old Testament closes with the prophet Malachi, which was written about 430 years before Jesus was born saying that God would send Elijah before the “great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Mal. 4:5). And Jesus says that John is the fulfillment of that prophecy (Mt. 11:13-14). All four Gospels say (Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:2-3; Lk. 3:4; Jn. 1:23) that John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of what God said in Is. 40:3 about the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord, which was promised about 750 years before John was born. For at least three-quarters of a millennia, God had planned that John would work with Jesus to fulfill all righteousness. John’s identity and purpose is completely bound up to Jesus’ identity and purpose as the Savior of the world.

Dear saints, the same is true for you. Jesus has also called you to work with Him to fulfill all righteousness. Christ calls you into particular offices and vocations to work with Him in fulfilling all righteousness. Sure, you weren’t called to do the things that John the Baptizer did, but you are called to work with Jesus – even from before the foundation of the world (Mt. 25:34). You’re familiar with Eph. 2:8-9 which says, “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.” And don’t forget what the next verse (Eph. 2:10) says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God places you into different offices in which you work with Jesus to fulfill all righteousness. You kids here, from the moment you were conceived, God put you in the office of being a child so you can work with Jesus to fulfill all righteousness by honoring and obeying your parents. You who are married, at your wedding, God put you into the office of husband or wife to work with Jesus to fulfill all righteousness. As God blesses you with children, He places you into the office of parent where you fulfill all righteousness by raising your children, training them in the way they should go, and teaching them the faith. The same is true in your job, in your extended family, and with your friends. In each and every relationship you have, God is placing you into an office and giving you good works to do in order to fulfill all righteousness.

Whenever you do what God gives you to do in the different offices He places you in, you are serving God by loving your neighbor, and as you do that, you are working with Jesus to fulfill all righteousness. In every good work you do, God’s light shines through you, others see your good deeds, and they will glorify their Father in heaven (Mt. 5:16). Dear saints, you are God’s fellow workers (1 Cor. 3:9) and your deeds follow you (Rev. 14:13).

Now, to strengthen you in those tasks and to give you what you need, your heavenly Father invites you to His table where He will fill you with Jesus’ Body and Blood given and shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Through this meal, He fills you cup so it runs over with His righteousness (Ps. 23:5) and spills over to those around you. Amen.

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

Depend – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Oct8

Matthew 22:34–46

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

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

⁴⁴ “‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This Gospel reading takes place on Holy Tuesday. In other words, it is just a few days before Jesus will be crucified, and what we heard is Jesus’ last public teaching until He preaches the seven last words from the cross. The Pharisees and Sadducees are asking our Lord three questions to try to entangle Him in His words (Mt. 22:15). They want Jesus to say something they can use against Him and kill Him. The first two questions they asked were about paying taxes and the resurrection. But Jesus answers both questions so skillfully that they can’t find a way to accuse Him.

Our text begins with their third and final trick question that comes from a sleezy lawyer. “Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?” It seems as though the intent of this question is to get Jesus to put one of the Commandments above the others, and when He does that, they will say that He teaches that the other nine aren’t as important. But they end up looking like fools. It was Jesus’ finger that carved those words into the stone tablets and His voice that spoke them on Mt. Sinai. Jesus is the Author of the Commandments, and they are all important.

So, Jesus answers the question, “The great Commandment is this: love God with everything you’ve got and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “All the Commandments matter. All of them are the greatest. They all demand that you love God and love your neighbor. All the Commandments depend on these two.” Jesus is clear here, and Scripture is clear elsewhere that what the Commandments require of us is to love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law (Ro. 13:10b). In every situation, you are to love God and love your neighbor. And it is important to spend some time on this because there is a lot of unnecessary confusion about what love looks like. A pastor friend of mine (Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller) put together a list that helps to define and shape what love looks like. And this list is biblical and, I think, very helpful.

First, love is shaped by the Ten Commandments. Love does not mean that there are no other Commandments. No, the Commandments define what love is. Love depends on the Commandments. If you are fornicating and committing adultery, you cannot presume to say that it’s ok because, “We love each other.” Adultery is always unloving.

Second, love is shaped by our vocation or our station in life. Everyone has several vocations, so I’ll use myself as an example here. Some of my vocations are husband, father, pastor, a child of my parents, a friend, etc. In each of those vocations, I am called to love. But what that love looks like depends on those different vocations. For example, part of my love as a father includes providing for my family. So, I earn a living so my wife can go and buy socks for our kids. As a pastor, my love looks different. It looks like faithfully preaching and teaching God’s Word to you, the flock that God has entrusted into my care. My vocation as a pastor does not require me to buy socks for all of you. Pastors are not called to provide socks for their congregations. But that, then, leads us to the third thing that shapes our love.

Our love is also shaped by the needs of our neighbor. If one of you, who aren’t part of my family, needs socks and can’t get them for yourself, my love for you would be to give you socks. Even if the only reason I know you and your need socks is that I’m your pastor, I’m not giving you socks because I’m your pastor. I’m giving you socks because I am your brother in Christ. And if I needed socks, I would want one of you to give me socks if you have the means and resources to provide them. In that instance, I’m loving you as I would love myself. (I think this is the most I’ve ever used the word ‘socks’ in a sermon, but I’m done now.)

That leads us to the fourth thing that shapes our love which is the gifts God has given us. God gives us stuff, skills, and talents so we can use them to love and serve our neighbor. If God has made you successful and given you a lot of money, use those resources to love your neighbor. If God has given you the talent of being good at cooking, you love your neighbor by cooking. If God has given you good mind for math, you can love your neighbor as an engineer or an accountant. The beautiful thing about this one is that the gifts God gives you can help you love your neighbor across different vocations. A person who is good at math can be a good accountant. He can earn a good living and provide for his family and, at the same time, love and serve his clients who need someone to keep their books.

Just briefly here, our neighbor’s need might mean that we have to love our neighbor in a way that we aren’t gifted. Imagine a meteor hit the church during this service. We don’t have an ER doctor here, but we do have an optometrist, a medical student, nurses, and EMTs who are gifted in knowing how the body works and how to heal. They should be the ones who go to the people who are most injured and help them. And if more people are injured, those of us who aren’t gifted in that way are called to do the best we can even though that kind of love is usually reserved for doctors and nurses. Our neighbor’s need trumps how we are gifted. Especially in an emergency, we love and serve others based on their needs rather than our love depending on our gifts. And when the ambulances get here, we who don’t know as much about first aid should step aside and let the professionals use their gifts to serve the people in need.

So, the first four things that shape our love are: 1) the Ten Commandments; 2) our vocation; 3) our neighbor’s need; and 4) our gifts. All of that is fairly obvious and reasonable. But there is another thing that shapes our love, and this last one is one that our culture fights against (for several reasons). But this one is also important to consider. The fifth thing that shapes our love is our neighbor’s sin, and this is where things can get tricky and difficult. But this is also where Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments – love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself – is helpful. And God gives you wisdom to help navigate this.

Imagine you know someone who is addicted to fentanyl, your calling is still crystal clear: you are called to love that person. But now what is that love going to look like? Is it loving to just step aside and let them keep killing themselves by using that fentanyl? No, it isn’t. Their sin against themselves might even mean that you need to break one of the Commandments in order to love them. You might need to steal their fentanyl even though stealing is sin and a violation against the 7^th Commandment.

Now, please recognize that the Ten Commandments are still the primary thing that shapes and defines our love. But because of your neighbor’s sin, you break the 7^th Commandment about stealing in order for you to keep the 5^th Commandment which calls you to do your neighbor no bodily harm, but help and defend him in every need. This is why knowing the Commandments is so important. And, again, your vocation still plays into this too. You aren’t called to travel to San Francisco, Seattle, or Portland and steal fentanyl from all the addicts in those places.

Our neighbor’s sin can hinder the ways we love them. Parents, when your children are breaking the 4^thCommandment and not obeying you, your love for them looks like disciplining them; it isn’t what you want to do, but you are called to do it (Pro. 22:15; 23:13; Heb. 12:11). If you have abusive parents, you are still called to keep the 4^th Commandment and honor them, but their sin could mean you have to disobey them if they demand you do something contrary to God’s Word. If your cousin, Stacy, is getting married, your love normally looks like going to her wedding and celebrating with her. But if she is breaking the 6^th Commandment by trying to be married to another woman, your love for her means not going to the wedding because that would embolden her in her sin against the 6^th Commandment. Yes, this is hard and difficult. Yes, this is uncomfortable. Yes, it is even confusing. You are always called to love, but sin can put constraints on love.

And that brings us to the second part of our text which is the question Jesus asks the people who are trying to trip Him up. Jesus turns the discussion to the identity of the Messiah. The Savior is David’s Ancestor and also David’s Lord. The way this is possible is that Jesus is the fully Divine, eternal Son of God and fully human. Christ is God and Man.

Your Savior’s love for you was fully shaped by the Ten Commandments, which Jesus kept perfectly. His vocation was to be the Messiah and shed His blood and bear the punishment for the sins of all humanity because that was our need. He was gifted with everything necessary to be the Savior. And He navigated our sin in such a way that He perfectly loved God by loving us and bearing our sin to the cross. Now, He is risen and lives and reigns on the throne of all creation for eternity.

Your eternal life totally depends upon what Jesus, the Son of God and Son of David, has done. God be praised that He has done all things well (Mk. 7:37). Amen.

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

Charismatic Vocation – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Aug13

1 Corinthians 12:1–11

¹ Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Paul began this letter to the Christians in Corinth by saying that God had given them all knowledge, speech, and every spiritual gift they needed. Paul said that Jesus would sustain them guiltless until He returns (1 Cor. 1:4-8). With this glowing opening, you would expect the Corinthian congregation to be getting along splendidly. But you would be wrong.

There were divided groups that claimed loyalties to different former pastors causing dissension in the congregation. The members were suing each other in civil, secular courts. They were neglecting the poor. A man was having an illicit relationship with his father’s wife and bragging about it. Some members were getting drunk at Communion. On top of all that, there were even disputes about who was more holy based on the spiritual gifts they had received. So, the context of these verses is Christians fighting with each other over spiritual gifts and who was better because of them. That’s what the text is addressing. Now, I’m not preaching on this text because there is fighting here at Christ the King over who is more spiritual or less spiritual.

The reason I’m preaching on this text today is to encourage you to use the gifts the Holy Spirit gives you in your everyday lives. There is a tendency for all of us – please note that I’m including myself here – to be timid when it comes to living out our faith. I think a lot of that timidness has to do with ignorance about spiritual gifts. Paul begins by saying that he does not want us to be ‘ignorant’ about spiritual gifts. I know our translation says ‘uninformed,’ but the word there isn’t so much about a lack of information, rather it is about a lack of understanding, so ‘ignorant’ is probably better. So today, we want to grow in our understanding of spiritual gifts: what they are, how they are received, and how God uses them.

First, what are the spiritual gifts? The New Testament uses six different words or phrases to talk about spiritual gifts. I’m not going to go through all of them, but the Greek term χάρισμα is the most common and Paul uses that word twice in this text (v. 4 & 9). Yes, it is where we get our word ‘charisma.’ Χάρισμα means ‘gift of grace’ or ‘gracious gift.’

Scripture has two different lists of these gifts of grace, one is here in 1 Cor. 12:7-11, 27-30, and the other list is Ro. 12:6-8. The interesting thing is that the two lists aren’t the same. And there are many other verses throughout the New Testament that talk about other χάρισμα even though they aren’t included in a list. Many theologians suggest, and I tend to agree, that the lists are different and other χάρισμα are mentioned elsewhere because these lists aren’t intended to be comprehensive. In other words, there are more spiritual gifts than the ones listed.

There are some things that Scripture calls χάρισμα that we wouldn’t expect to be called ‘spiritual gifts.’ Here’s some of the surprises: service (διακονία where we get our word ‘deacon’); teaching; encouragement; generous giving; leadership; being merciful; a word of wisdom, guidance, or knowledge; faith (not what we would call ‘saving faith’ but an abundant trust and confidence in God’s provision); discernment of spirits; being an apostle; helpful acts; even chastity within marriage and outside of marriage – all of these are spiritual gifts, they are all χάρισμα. A lot of them aren’t so spectacular, but Scripture still calls them χάρισμα.

Second, how are the spiritual gifts received? According to our text (v. 4-7), these gifts are given through the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t ever work alone. Instead, the entire Trinity is involved. These various gifts are given by the Spirit; the varieties of places to serve are given by the same Lord (i.e. Jesus Christ, the Son). And the varieties of activities are empowered by the same God (think God the Father). We don’t determine what gift or gifts we receive, it’s up to our Triune God. And God will provide whatever gift we need to fulfill our Christian duty to our neighbor.

One of the ways we are ignorant when it comes to spiritual gifts is that we tend to confuse spiritual gifts with natural talents. I think one of the reasons we confuse the two is that there have been spiritual gift tests and inventories for decades that focus more on where we think we have talents and interests. Natural talents are certainly gifts of God, but spiritual gifts are what God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gives you as you carry out the various callings God gives you in life.

Another problem that makes us ignorant of spiritual gifts is that we confuse the order of things. We think the talents we have should determine the callings we pursue. But repeatedly in Scripture and in your own life, it ends up being the opposite. You are called to do something, and the Holy Spirit equips you with the spiritual gifts you need to do it. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called.” It’s a little trite, and that phrase can be wrongly interpreted to mean that we don’t need to train or prepare ourselves – i.e. the phrase can be used as an excuse to be lazy. But with a proper understanding, it’s not a bad saying.

You Christian parents, even if you planned on when you would begin having children, you probably quickly realized that there were a lot of things you didn’t know and skills you didn’t have to be a good parent. But the Holy Spirit has given and will give you what you need when you need it. Most often, God doesn’t equip us with gifts in advance. Instead, He gives us exactly what we need exactly when we need it to minister to others as we serve in our vocations. Wherever God calls you, He will give you whatever you need to minister to that person in that situation (Mt. 10:19-20).

Finally, how does God use the spiritual gifts He gives us? Paul will go on after our text to use the analogy of our bodies (1 Cor. 12:12-26). Your body has many different parts that all need each other. Eyes need ears and toes and noses and hearts and livers and kidneys. No part of the body can say that is doesn’t need the others. In the same way, each Christian is part of the body of Christ and is dependent upon the other members. Just as all the parts of your physical body work together to do one common thing – keep you alive – all the parts of the Body of Christ work together to do one common thing – proclaim the Gospel, the forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I know I’ve used the term ‘vocation’ quite a bit in the past, but it is good to revisit it and be clear about what a vocation is in a theological and spiritual sense. When we talk about ‘vocation’ in the Scriptural sense, it means your office or your relationship to the person or people God has placed in your life at any given moment. Every moment of every day God puts you into a relationship with another person where you have different responsibilities. Those are your vocations.

As a silly example, if you find yourself in a moving car, you have one of two possible vocations. Either your vocation is to be a driver, which means your tasks are to drive safely, follow the traffic laws, don’t cause danger to others, and get to your destination safely, or, if you aren’t the driver, your vocation is to be a passenger and your responsibilities are to not make the driver’s vocation more difficult than it needs to be.

Here is the good news, God gives you all the gifts you need to fulfill your vocation every moment of every day. So, rather than filling out inventories and reading books to try to discover your spiritual gift, or your χάρισμα, simply ask yourself, “Who is my neighbor right now, and what is my vocation to that neighbor? How does God want me to serve this person/people?” and Scripture promises that everything will fall into place.

We should expect the Holy Spirit to give us what is needed in each situation we encounter. We should expect and pray that the Holy Spirit will give us what is needed based on whom and what God presents to us. Be attentive.

If you are talking with someone who is going through a lot of problems, the Holy Spirit is calling you to the vocation of being a supportive brother or sister in Christ. Then, pray for the spiritual gifts, the χάρισμα of encouragement, wisdom, knowledge, and compassion depending on the situation. If you are struggling in your marriage, pray for the χάρισμα of chastity, faith, and service. If you are playing with your kids, pray for the χάρισμα of joy and generous giving of your time and energy. If you are at work and have a difficult task, pray for the χάρισμα of service, leadership, or helpful acts. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Constantly let your vocation shape your prayers for the spiritual gifts you need in that moment, and watch God act. God loves to hear those prayers. He has promised to answer them. And God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will gift, equip, and empower you as He freely gives you the gifts you need to love and serve your neighbor. Amen.

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

Hirelings – Sermon on John 10:11-18 for the Third Sunday of Easter

Apr23

John 10:11–18

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. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd it means more than how we use the term ‘good’ today. We often use the word ‘good’ in such a subjective or comparative way. A six-year-old might be a ‘good’ baseball player because he can field a ground ball four out of ten times, but he’s only ‘good’ when you compare him to other six-year-olds who let nine out of every ten grounders roll between their legs. That six-year-old is not ‘good’ when you compare him to some high school players, who can field +90% of the ground balls that come their way. Jesus is not the good shepherd because He is better than other shepherds.

Another misconception we have about Jesus being the Good Shepherd is that we think Jesus means He is the nice shepherd. When Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd, He doesn’t simply mean that He is the nice shepherd. Of course, Jesus is nice, and there is a sort of sentimental comfort of God being our Shepherd. A lot of the imagery of Psalm 23 as well as the parable in Luke 15:3-7 of the shepherd who seeks out his lost sheep offers that comfort. But when Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd here in John 10, He is offering another comfort, a deeper comfort.

Throughout human history, shepherds have kept sheep for their wool and their meat. The first shepherd in Scripture was Abel. At least one of the reasons Abel kept sheep was to offer them as a sacrifice to God (Gen. 4:2-5). Today, shepherds keep sheep to put food on the table and a roof over the heads of their family by sheering sheep and slaughtering them for food. So, a “good shepherd” is someone who is successful in making money off of his sheep. We can be thankful that Jesus is not a good shepherd in that way.

When Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, He defines what makes Him the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. Imagine if a cattle rancher said, “I am the good rancher, and I will die for my cows.” You would not call that rancher ‘good.’ You’d call him a lunatic and fool. In fact, that is the response of the crowd who heard Jesus call Himself the Good Shepherd. Their initial reaction, which comes just after our text ends, is that Jesus is insane and has a demon (Jn. 10:20). That’s a double whammy.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He is uniquely qualified to be the Shepherd of sinful sheep. It is perfectly legitimate to translate the word Jesus uses there as ‘good,’ but it means more than that. The word means, “right, fitting, true, beautiful, and competent.” I think one of the best ways to get the idea across is, actually, to consider the creation account in Genesis 1-2. Throughout the days of creation, God would look at what He had made and would see that it was “good.” Then, at the end of the sixth day, God looks at everything that He created and sees that it is “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

In creation, God orders everything by His Word. Days 1-3 God creates spaces by His Word, and days 4-6 God fills those spaces by His Word. You can think of it as God creating shelves on days 1-3, and God filling those shelves days 4-6. Day one, God creates light and time; then on day four, God fills it with sun, moon, and stars. Day two, God creates the atmosphere and waters; then on day five, God fills those spaces with birds and fish. Day three, God creates land and plants; then on day six, God fills the space with animals and mankind. And through all this, God creates things that are distinct from each other. God separates the seas from the land (Gen. 1:9-10). God put the sun, moon, and stars into the sky. And each of those are designed to do the same thing but for different purposes. The sun rules the day and the moon and stars rule the night (Gen. 1:16). He created the birds to fill the skies, the fish to fill the waters, and the animals to fill the land (Gen. 1:20-23). Everything had its place and purpose according to God’s Word and design.

Genesis 2:4-25 circles back to the sixth day and zooms in on the creation of Adam and the woman to give us a fuller picture. After God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and made him a living creature but before God created the woman, God says something important, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Adam was not complete without a wife. Adam could not be what God created him to be without the woman. So, God takes Adam’s side and forms the woman. This was good for Adam, for the woman, for us as their offspring, and for all creation.

After this, creation is complete, and God looks at everything He created and says it is all, “very good,” which is the same word^[1] Jesus to describe Himself as the Good Shepherd. All of this is to say that goodness, according to the Scriptures, is to be well ordered according to the Word of God.

Bring all of that to Jesus calling Himself the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He restores the order and relationship between Him and the sheep as well as the relationship His sheep have with the rest of creation. Christ, the Good Shepherd and the Word who became flesh, fixes the chaos and disorder that sin introduced into creation and brings order and peace back into creation, and He does this by His death and resurrection.

Now, all of that was to set this up: Jesus talks about the “hired hand.” Christ saw a problem with those hirelings. They were fleeing when they saw the wolf because they didn’t care for the sheep (Jn. 10:12-13). The verses before our Old Testament reading (Ezk. 34:11-16) tell us more about the environment under those hirelings and the problems they created (see Ezk. 34:1-10). There, the shepherds are the spiritual and political leaders who failed in their function because they didn’t take care of the sheep. Instead of feeding them, they were eating the sheep. They were not seeking the strayed or binding up the injured which meant that God’s sheep were scattered over the face of the earth.

Because of that, God promised that He Himself will be the Shepherd of His sheep. And that is precisely what Jesus does. He seeks out His flock, rescues them, brings them into their own land. He feeds them with good pasture, binds up the injured, and strengthens the weak. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who restores the proper order for His sheep. That is the main point of this text. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, restores the order that was broken because of sin and the hirelings who cared nothing for the sheep.

Today, though, we are going to go a step further. The hirelings Jesus talks about here aren’t bad merely for the fact that they are hirelings. No. Those hirelings were bad because they were fallen, sinful, and cared about themselves in such a way that they could not and did not care about the sheep. Those hirelings were out of step with how God had ordered creation. But Jesus has come to restore that order by making you right with Him and right with creation.

Dear saints, just as God created the woman to be a helper fit for Adam, God calls you to your proper place in His creation. Our Epistle reading (1 Pet. 2:21-25) points to this. It says that we are under the Good Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, and we are to follow His example (1 Pet. 2:21) and in His steps in the places He has set us.

We are all hirelings. As your pastor, I’m a hireling. The word “pastor” means “shepherd.” Jesus is your Good Shepherd, your Good Pastor, and Christ has called me here to be a good, faithful under-shepherd. If I fail to be that, God will remove me for your sake.

But the roles of hirelings go further than pastors and their congregations. Parents, you are hirelings too. You aren’t the Source of food and shelter for your family – God is. But you, as a hireling, are to do what God has called you to do in your work, in our society, and in your home to join with God in feeding, protecting, and providing for your family. The same is true for you kids. You are to listen to your parents. Learn from them. Obey them and make their job easier. In other words, honor your father and mother (Ex. 20:12). In every interaction and every relationship you have with others, God has called you to be His hirelings assisting Him as He shepherds His flock. You have your proper place and function within creation because you, as Jesus’ sheep, have been redeemed and restored by the Good Shepherd.

Dear saints, you are hirelings, so be good, right, fitting, competent hirelings. In a world full of evil wicked hirelings who care nothing for the sheep, faithfully do what God puts in front of you to do.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, has laid down His life and has taken it up again. He invites you to join Him in His work of shepherding those entrusted to your care. And always remember that He Himself has finished the work of redeeming you. He Himself bore your sins in His body on the cross, that you might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24), so that you would resume your proper place in creation. By Jesus’ wounds you have been healed both now and forever.

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.

^[1] When it is translated from Hebrew to Greek.

God-Shaped Love – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Sep11

Luke 10:23-37

²³ Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach the lawyer that he will never be saved by the Law and that he needs a Savior to have compassion on him and give him eternal life. The lawyer is the one who has been robbed, stripped, beaten, and left dead in the ditch. The Law, represented by the priest and Levite, passes by and can not and does not help him. With the parable Jesus is teaching that to be one who inherits eternal life, we must be rescued by an outsider whom we despised (Is. 53:3-4) and who owes us nothing. We sinners need a love and compassion that we could never repay from One who doesn’t even want to be repaid. This is the only way for this lawyer to be saved and the only way for any of us to inherit eternal life.

So, the parable of the Good Samaritan is about Jesus and what He does for sinners. Christ is the Good Samaritan who finds us dead in sin. He has compassion on us, comes to us, binds up our wounds, pours on oil and wine, lays us on His animal to bring us to the inn, and sets us up in an all-expenses paid room. That is the point of the parable. The parable is not telling sinners that they need to do good to everyone. The lawyer already knew that he needed to love everyone (Lk. 10:27). He knew the Law requires that he love God and neighbor perfectly. So, if you ever hear someone preaching or teaching that the purpose of this parable is to tell us to love everyone, know that you are hearing only a half-truth, and, often, half-truths are more dangerous than full lies.

Jesus is not calling us to be the Samaritan in order to be saved. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saves us. Then, it is true that Jesus calls us to go and do likewise (Lk. 10:37). We are to be like Jesus. Christians are to be little Christs who have compassion on their neighbor because Jesus has had mercy upon us. Because we have been rescued by Christ, we have become inheritors of eternal life and children of God. This means Jesus’ call to, “Go and do likewise,” is an invitation for us to imitate Him because children are like their father.

So now, please know, I’m not going to be preaching on the main point of the parable for a bit here, but I am going to use the parable to show how we Christians, who have been saved and rescued from the ditch, are to love God by loving our neighbor.

Dear saints, we need God to shape our love, and He shapes our love by two things: First, by the Ten Commandments, and second, by our relationship to the neighbor that God puts in our life in at any given moment. Let’s flesh this out with an example:

God has called me here to be your pastor, so I have a love for you, my neighbors and members of my flock, that is shaped by the 3^rd Commandment. I am here to faithfully preach and teach God’s Word to you, and you have a love for me, your neighbor, that is shaped by the 3^rd Commandment to faithfully hear God’s Word as it is preached and taught. As a parent, I have a different love for my children that is shaped by 4^thCommandment, so I buy them socks. Well, how it actually works in our house is I work to earn the funds so my wife can purchase our kids’ socks because she’s a lot better at finding good deals on the socks my kids like. I have no idea which socks they like. Sometimes, my 4^th Commandment shaped love is to take those socks from the clothes drier and help my kids fold and organize them in their dresser. So, I have different vocations, different callings, and different kinds of love that are shaped by the Commandments and my relationship to my neighbor. And these vocations are what any reasonable person would expect. My love as a pastor is to preach and teach the Word of God to His flock, and as a parent, I provide and care for my kids.

Now, stick with me here while I get a little absurd. It would be wrong for me, as your pastor, to come here on a Sunday morning, stand in this pulpit, and say, “No sermon today, but here are some new socks. I’ll come to your house later and help you organize your dresser.” That would be weird, right? At least, I hope you think it would be weird because it is. You still are my neighbor, and I am still commanded to love you as I love myself. But my 4^th Commandment love for you is shaped differently than my 4^th Commandment love for my own kids. My 4^th Commandment love for you is shaped by my relationship to you. So, I am to encourage you to honor, serve, love, obey, and respect your parents and the authorities that God has placed over you. Now, this doesn’t mean that will never buy socks for you. God might change your needs so it would be good and right for me to buy you socks. But, hopefully, God won’t put you in a position like that. But if He does, let me know, and I’d be happy to buy you socks.

So, God shapes your love by the Ten Commandments, and God shapes your love based on the needs of your neighbor whom He places along your path. The English word ‘neighbor’ comes from the old word ‘nigh’ or modernized, ‘near.’ And it’s the same for Greek word used here. A neighbor one who is near to you. So, when God puts someone near to you, that is your neighbor. The priest and Levite in the parable come across the guy in the ditch and they both un-neighbor him by crossing by on the other side of the road. They refuse and reject the neighbor God has put in their life and refuse to care for his needs. They probably thought, “Everybody is my neighbor, so I’m going to go serve them.” That’s sinful. Your neighbor is the person that God puts in your life – whether you like it or not.

In our text the lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” and Luke tells us that the lawyer was asking this because he desired to justify himself. So, in the context, this was a bad question with wrong motives. But that question, “Who is my neighbor?” is typically a good question for us Christians to ask. It helps us identify our neighbor and see our neighbor’s needs so our love can be shaped by the Commandments. So, think back to the parable. The Samaritan would have passed by many different people on the road that day. He probably even met the Levite and the priest at some point in his journey, but the Samaritan didn’t put them up in an all-inclusive room because their needs didn’t dictate that he needed to.

In the parable, the Samaritan had his plans for the day. He was going somewhere with some purpose, but God put this robbed, stripped, beaten, half dead dude in his path and upended whatever those plans were. And the Samaritan stepped up in compassion and mercy to meet those needs realizing, “This is the guy that God has put in my path, so I am going to help and love him.”

So, please recognize that God shapes your love and gives you callings based on nearness. This is why God calls you to have more love for your family than for friends or for strangers. The closer people are to you, the more responsibility you have to them, the more opportunity you have to do good to them, the more opportunity you have to serve them. But we often turn aside and try to find excuses to not serve the one God has put near us. Instead, we prefer to choose our neighbor. In our technological society, the devil has ample tools to keep us from showing love to the neighbor that God puts in front of us to love and serve.

Dear saints, whomever God puts near you is the one that God has put in your life for you to serve. So, serve the one God has drawn nigh to you. Let God’s Commands and God’s placing of people in your life shape your love. As a spouse, parent, child, boss, employee, teacher, student, or friend, remember that God is the one who has given you those relationships and has brought that person near you. Love that one, and let that love be shaped by the Commandments and your relationship to that neighbor.

And quickly, this is an aside, but it’s something I thought about months ago and marked this text to preach on this: Many of you have experienced the loss of spouses, siblings, parents, and friends recently. When those who are near to you have died, you still have a God-shaped love for them. Even though they have passed from this world, they are still near to you. So, when they die, your God-shaped love takes a different form or shape, and that shape is grief. Jesus Himself wept when His friend, Lazarus, died (Jn. 11:35). Grief is the shape love takes when those God has brought close to you are gone. So, grieve, but grieve as those who have hope in the resurrection (1 Th. 4:13).

Now, all of that was secondary to the parable. I want to close by returning to the main point of the parable. Again, Jesus is the Good Samaritan who proved to be a neighbor to you. And, hopefully, this idea of loving the one who is near to you gives you a deeper understanding and appreciation of Christ’s compassion for you.

Jesus is God. And because He is God, you weren’t His neighbor, but He chose to become your neighbor. The eternal, infinite Son of God took on your flesh in order to be ‘nigh’ to you. Out of pure compassion, He saw you in the ditch, dead in sin (Eph. 2:1). He chose to become your neighbor and raise you from your deadness in sin.

His love for you took the shape of Him going to the cross. He was stripped, beaten, standing under the wrath of God that you deserved because of your sin, and dead. Dead and buried in a grave. Now, He is risen. And because He has done all of that, you are His child. And He will bring you to your inheritance which is eternal life with Him. He has promised. Amen.

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

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

Jul17

Luke 5:1-11

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

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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Leftovers – Sermon on John 6:1-15 for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

Mar27

John 6:1-15

¹ After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ² And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. ³ Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. ⁴ Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

⁵ Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” ⁶ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. ⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” ⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹ “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹² And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” ¹³ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

¹⁵ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, your God isn’t stingy. He provides everything you need spiritually and physically out of the abundance of His mercy. Here in the wilderness, Jesus feeds 5,000 men plus women and children (possibly ten to twenty thousand people total) with five loaves of bread and two fish. And this text shows how Jesus is the Shepherd described in Psalm 23.

Jesus sees this massive crowd coming toward Him. The gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and Jesus restores their souls by teaching them many things (Mk. 6:34). But it looks like there is going to be a whole lotta want from this flock because Jesus’ sermon has gone long. The disciples get antsy and ask Jesus to send the crowd home because they are going to need to eat (Mk. 6:35-36).

But with Jesus as their Shepherd, so there will be no want. Jesus asks Philip, “Where are we going to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Even today, feeding a crowd this size is a monumental task. We are blessed with farmers that can produce massive amounts of food. Trucks, trains, and railroads can transport goods measured in tons. Most stores still have ample supplies of bread, meat, cheese, and all sorts of goodies, but how many stores would you have to buy out to feed this many people? Plus, the people in Jesus’ day didn’t have all these luxuries, and because this crowd is out in the wilderness, the task is even more impossible. But, again, Jesus is the Shepherd, so this flock will have no want.

A young boy is there, and gives his little snack to Jesus. Our translation records Jesus saying, “Have the people sit down,” but it’s a bit more forceful than that, and sounds more like Psalm 23. Literally, Jesus tells the disciples, “Make the people sit down.” And where do these people sit down? In the green grass. And Jesus prepares a table for His flock. Jesus takes the bread and the fish, gives thanks, and distributes the food to the people as the disciples wait on them (Mk. 6:41).

None of the Gospels say anything about what the crowd drank, but their plates certainly ran over. And everyone eats their fill. Not only that, but while everyone is unbuckling their belts, Jesus sends the disciples out again with doggie bags. They gather up the leftovers and return with twelve baskets full. There is more food in the end than there was in the beginning.

We should remember that in this feeding of the 5,000, Jesus does what He had already been doing and is always doing everywhere throughout the entire world – providing food. Every day, Jesus feeds the billions of people throughout the world and throughout history (Ps. 104:27-28). The only difference here is that Jesus does it differently than He normally does. Of course, feeding this massive crowd with five loaves and two fish is a miracle and reveals that Jesus is God in the flesh. But don’t lose sight of the fact that the food you ate yesterday was also a gracious gift of God miraculously provided for you. You have just gotten used to God feeding you through your paycheck or your parents, then through a restaurant or grocery store, your fridge, and your stove.

Now, let’s reflect on this a little bit. I am tempted (and I suspect you are tempted as well, so I’ll lump you in with myself) we are tempted to divide our life into two parts – the spiritual part and the physical part. And the temptation goes like this: Jesus takes care of the spiritual part – the forgiveness and the eternal life part. But we’re tempted to think that we have to care of the physical part – the working and earning a living part, the eating part, the caring for family and friends part. We think, “Sure, I need mercy and grace for the spiritual part, but I need works and effort for the physical part.” But the result of this makes us live like atheists who don’t believe in God. We end up living as though God isn’t involved in giving us our daily bread. We wrongly think that our food is only the result of creation – soil, seeds, sun, water, etc. But that’s not true. God provides forgiveness and eternal life, but God also provides strength, work, money, bread, and physical life. Because Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, He gives us what we need for the life to come, and He gives us what we need for this life.

It is true that the way God provides for us spiritually is different than how He provides for us physically. Salvation comes down from heaven, and bread comes up from the earth. But God is behind both. And in this Gospel text, and our Old Testament text (Ex. 16:2-21), God reminds us that He sometimes rains bread from heaven. Sometimes five loaves feed 5,000 men plus women and children.

And notice how Jesus provided what His flock needed in this life. He used the little snack that the boy gave to provide for His sheep. Jesus wouldn’t have needed this boy’s food to feed the crowd. But He did use it, and Jesus used it to do more than was expected. Again, there were leftovers. As the crowd unbuckles their belts, Jesus sends the disciples out a second time saying, “Gather up the leftover fragments.” Christ here isn’t worried about waste. If He was worried about waste, Jesus wouldn’t have even given as much as everyone wanted, let alone enough for everyone to totally stuff their bellies. Jesus could have provided only what was needed.

But Jesus says, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may perish.” Our translation says ‘lost,’ but it is the same word Jesus uses in Jn. 3:16. In God’s infinite love, He sent His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not ‘perish’ (same word) but have everlasting life. In other words, every last bit of what this boy gives and Jesus’ multiplication of it is used by Jesus. Even the leftovers are useful for further provision in Christ’s kingdom. Nothing of the boy’s gift or Jesus’ multiplication of it perishes.

Dear saints, the same is still true today. Because you belong to Jesus, because you have been redeemed by His death and resurrection, everything you do is used by Jesus to further His kingdom. We are always tempted to minimize what we do in our God-given callings and vocations as though it doesn’t matter or is insignificant. But it isn’t. Don’t minimize what you do as God’s children. Don’t ever think, “Well, I’m just changing a diaper when I could be doing something more spiritually significant,” or, “God doesn’t care how I empty the dishwasher or fold the laundry,” or, “What I put in the offering plate doesn’t help as much as what so-and-so puts in because they can put in a lot more.” That simply isn’t true!

Everything you do and everything you give is used by God. Jesus makes sure none of your works or gifts perish, Christian. God takes what you do, multiplies it, and uses it for the good of your neighbor and for His kingdom. Nothing you do, Christian, will ever perish because it is holy work rendered to your neighbor in service to God. No leftovers end up in the trash. All of it is used by Jesus. Amen.

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

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

Feb13

Matthew 20:1-16

¹ [Jesus says,] “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.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This parable is about the kingdom of heaven and not about the kingdom of this world. An economy where workers are given equal wages without considering how much they have contributed does not work a world filled with sinners. If any CEO operated a company this way, they would have a lot of employees but no workers, and that business would go under in short order because the funds would be gone in to time. Anyone who suggests that the Scriptures are in favor of a Marxist, Socialist economy has proven that he doesn’t know the Bible very well. Several places in Proverbs say that the sluggard will not eat. And just so you know that isn’t ‘just an Old Testament thing,’ Paul says in 2 Thess. 3:10–12, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”

With that in mind, we can turn to the parable.

This parable is about the kingdom of heaven which works the opposite of the kingdoms of men. In the kingdom of heaven, you don’t earn a wage, and you don’t pay for goods or services. Instead, everything in the kingdom of heaven is given away for free because Christ has done all the work and paid for it all by His death and resurrection. God can do this because He isn’t out to make a living by running a profitable business. Instead, God is only interested in giving you His kingdom for free. That’s the main point of the parable, and Jesus stresses that point with two important details.

First, notice when the vineyard owner goes out early in the morning, he bargains with the full-day workers. They agree to work for the day, and in exchange, they will receive a denarius (which, just to be clear, was the normal wage for a day’s work). That was the settled agreement. None of the other workers got a contract like that. They only get a promise. The vineyard owner promises those who were hired at the third hour, “Whatever is right I will give you” (v. 4). And the word there that gets translated ‘right’ is the Greek word for ‘just’ and ‘justice.’

At the sixth and ninth hour, the vineyard owner said the same thing to the workers. But then, notice how the schlubs who are standing idly in the marketplace at the eleventh hour (which would be about 5:00 PM our time and one hour before payday), they don’t even get a promise. The vineyard owner simply tells them, “You go into the vineyard too.” When the wages are given out, everyone gets the same – one denarius. It didn’t matter if the workers had bargained for the denarius or if they simply trusted the promise of the vineyard owner to give what was right and just or if they just went into the vineyard because the owner told them to. Everyone gets the same – one denarius.

And it is good to recognize that the denarius was a gift no matter how long each person worked. None of the workers, not a single one, took the initiative to go and work in the vineyard. No one went knocking at the owner’s door to ask for a job, and none of them volunteered to work for him when he came into the marketplace. Each of them was called at the precise time the owner called them. He went and retrieved them to come into his vineyard.

This is God’s economy in the kingdom of heaven. And this is the way it must be if it is by grace. Nothing is earned; nothing deserved. That’s the first detail to notice. The denarius was a gift from the hand of the vineyard owner for everyone – those who worked twelve hours, who worked nine hours, or six, or three, or one.

The second detail that shows that God’s intention is to give away the kingdom for free cones at the end. Notice that those who were upset with everyone getting a denarius are sent away from the vineyard which implies that those who were grateful for what they received get to stay.

If you don’t like the fact that in the kingdom of heaven everyone gets the same, then these harsh words of judgment are for you, “Take what belongs to you and go.” In other words, you are free to leave God’s vineyard with your wages and nothing more. Just remember what your wages are. Ro. 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” If you want to, you can look at your denarius and complain to God that others, who you think haven’t worked as hard as you, have gotten the same as you. But you do so at your own peril and will be sent away from the vineyard.

The most beautiful thing in the parable is not the fact that some get overpaid, and the owner pretends like they worked the whole day and asks them to come back to the next morning. Instead, they have a new home with the gracious vineyard owner. Grace is a one-way street. Everything you have is a gift from God which has been paid for by the blood of Christ. Eternal life is given solely because of what Christ has done by dying and rising again for you. Those who don’t like it and are angry with the vineyard owner are sent away. In this way, the first become the last.

But there is one more thing about the parable that I want to highlight. It is a minor but important point. Jesus depicts the kingdom of God as working in His vineyard. Dear saints, God has kingdom work for you to do; you are a laborer in His vineyard. I know a lot of devout Christians who are constantly trying to figure out, “What is God’s will for my life?” They have a good heart and want to serve God in meaningful ways. This is a good thing, but you don’t have to agonize yourself trying to discern what God wants you to be doing in His kingdom because Jesus has already told you where He wants you working in His vineyard.

Jesus says that the second great command is, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:39). So, if you want to figure out how to serve God in any given moment, all you have to do is ask yourself, “Who is my neighbor, and what do I owe that neighbor?” If you find yourself at your job, the kingdom work that God has given you to do is to be a good employee, coworker, and provider for your household. When you are out running errands, be a good driver, help the short person reach the item on the top shelf (or, if you’re short, help me reach the stuff on the bottom shelf). Be kind and polite to the people around you. Plow your neighbor’s sidewalk or driveway. Be a good parent. Feed your kids, help them with their homework, and teach them about life. If you’re retired, spend more time praying and interceding for the needs of others. All of this is fruitful kingdom work.

Kids, do what your parents ask you to do at home. When you’re at school, be a good student and classmate and recognize that you are preparing yourself to become a productive member of society. Parents, instill that fact into your children. When they complain about their homework (the multiplication tables, the sentence diagraming, and memorizing facts about ancient Egypt or photosynthesis) when they complain that it is pointless and boring, remind them that they are doing that work not just for their teacher or for a grade, they are doing it for God. Col. 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

In all of those situations, you aren’t just serving your neighbor, you are serving God and doing kingdom work. It doesn’t matter how small or seemingly insignificant the task is, it is the vocation that God has called you to do.

Here’s the thing: God certainly doesn’t need you to work in His kingdom. He could do it all better Himself. He has the power, strength, and ability to do it all without you. But He has called you into His vineyard and join Him in all of these things.

I’d like to close with an illustration. Imagine a dad tells his young son, “Let’s go chop some wood.” The boy jumps at the invitation because he doesn’t even see it as work. He wants to be like his dad. He wants to be strong, swing that axe, and be productive. He would rather do that than anything else. So, the boy goes out and, of course, he stinks at it. The dad is doing all the real work. At some point, the boy gets tired, bored, discouraged, or distracted. But the dad calls the boy back to the task at hand, “No, we’re chopping wood here.” At the end of it all, the dad has produced a giant pile of wood, and the boy has only chopped a handful of little logs. The dad could have probably produced a way more logs by himself than the two of them did together because the dad had to teach his son how to swing the axe and keep calling his son back to work. But here’s the thing: the wood that the boy has chopped is used. It contributes to the needs of the family. And as long as that pile of wood that the dad and boy produced lasts, the dad is going to brag to his family and guests, “Isn’t that fire nice? Timmy helped me chop that wood. Thanks for all your work, Timmy.”

Dear saints, your Heavenly Father has called you to work with Him doing kingdom work. Going back to Col. 3:23-34, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” and listen carefully now, “knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

The day is coming, and it is coming soon, when Jesus will return. And on that day, He will give you faithful Christians the inheritance of the vineyard. In the meantime, God will use every last bit of what you do to expand and grow His kingdom because everything you do and say is made holy and sanctified by what Christ has done for you (Ps. 18:32). Amen.

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

Pastorsamwise

"Don't the great tales never end?"

Tag Archives: Vocation

Life in the Vineyard – Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 for Septuagesima Sunday

Love & Respect – Sermon on Ephesians 5:22-33 for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

Working with Jesus – Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 for the Baptism of Our Lord

Depend – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Charismatic Vocation – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Hirelings – Sermon on John 10:11-18 for the Third Sunday of Easter

God-Shaped Love – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

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

Leftovers – Sermon on John 6:1-15 for the Fourth Sunday in Lent

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