Sermon
for Advent 2, December 8, 2019
Grace to you and peace
from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Micah 4:1-7 In the last days, the mountain of the
House of the Lord will be established as the highest among the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and
peoples will stream to it like a river. 2 Many
nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob. He will
teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He will render judgment between many peoples. He will settle disputes between mighty
nations from far away. They will pound
their swords into plowshares and their spears into blades for trimming
vines. Nation will not raise the sword
against nation, and they will not learn how to wage war any longer. 4 Each man will sit
under his own vine and under his own fig tree.
There will be no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of
Armies has spoken. 5 For
all the other peoples walk in the names of their gods, but we will walk in the
name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
6 On that day, says the Lord, I will bring in the
lame and gather the scattered, even those I have afflicted. 7 I will establish the
lame as survivors and the scattered as a powerful nation. The Lord will rule over them on Mount Zion
from that time on and forever. (EHV)
Dear
fellow redeemed,
In the beginning, God created man and woman in
perfection, but sin ended their peace. Still,
God restored them with the promise of a Savior.
The population of the world grew rapidly as God blessed them, but the
more people filled the earth, the more wickedness and idolatry led to the LORD
repenting of having created mankind, and He determined to destroy all living
things from the face of the earth, yet God preserved a remnant so that His
promises of a Savior could be fulfilled.
Then, God promised He would never again destroy all living things as
long as the earth remained.
In time,
God chose a family through which He would bring forth His saving Son. He established worship in their midst and His
temple on Mount Zion as the home of His grace, but again wickedness and
idolatry led to the need for harsh discipline to be brought upon God’s chosen
people. The prophet, Micah, was one of
several contemporaries charged with warning God’s people about the consequences
of their sin and idolatry, but they refused to listen, so judgment was
delivered upon Israel. Yet, even as God
warned His people, He also renewed His promise of forgiveness and salvation for
all who would return to Him in repentance.
Thus, in our text, The LORD establishes His house of peace.
Many have
attempted to make this prophecy of Micah about an earthly kingdom and an
earthly peace, but those ideas are only incidental to the true fulfillment. Instead, this text points clearly to the work
of Christ in establishing peace between God and men. It further points to the home God establishes
on earth so that people from all over the world might come to Him for
instruction, forgiveness, and everlasting peace. Not to a temple made of stone, because “God’s
dwelling is with people. He will dwell
with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them, and he
will be their God.” (Revelation 21:3)
Micah
declared, “In the last days, the mountain
of the House of the Lord will be established as the highest among the
mountains. It will be raised above the
hills, and peoples will stream to it like a river.” All of history led up to the day when God
would end the separation between mankind and our Creator. Time and again the Scriptures use the phrase,
“In the last days,” to indicate the result of the coming of the
Savior. God’s own Son would come into
the world to live as a Man, to die, rise from the grave, and ascend to heaven
so that the Kingdom of God would be established forever. Thus, at the announcement of good news for
all people in Jesus’ birth, the “multitude from the heavenly army” rejoiced
singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
mankind.” (Luke 2:8)
Here, a
separation is declared between the Kingdom of Christ and all the other
religions found on earth. Though the
world pretends that any religion is good, even those conceived of human arrogance,
“the House of the Lord will be established as the highest among the
mountains.” Only Christianity brings
peace with God and the elevation of former sinners to a place around the throne
of the Almighty, just as Jesus declared, “I am the Way and the Truth and the
Life. No one comes to the Father, except
through me. If you know me, you would
also know my Father.” (John 14:6-7)
As His apostles also have said, “There is salvation in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be
saved.” (Acts 4:12) Our world is
littered with religions that pretend to offer help or instruction, but only the
kingdom headed by the risen Savior of the world gives forgiveness, peace, and
life everlasting, and it is to this marvelous kingdom that people have streamed
when they hear the Savior’s call through His representatives.
By the
power of the Holy Spirit administered through Word and Sacrament, “Many
nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob. He will
teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem.” Seven
hundred years before the birth of the Savior, God clearly foretold how the
Christian Church would grow as its teachings were carried to the far reaches of
the earth beginning from Jerusalem. This
plan is confirmed in Jesus’ statement to His disciples, “You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts
1:8) Thereafter, the preaching of
Christ’s witnesses, rightly dividing law and gospel, has brought life-giving
faith to the hearts of people everywhere, and being transformed from hopeless
sinners into living saints, Christian believers eagerly seek after the kingdom
of God.
And the
result of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the work of the House He established on
earth? In picture language, Micah tells
us of the peace with God established for us in Christ Jesus:
He will render judgment between many
peoples. He will settle disputes between
mighty nations from far away. They will
pound their swords into plowshares and their spears into blades for trimming
vines. Nation will not raise the sword
against nation, and they will not learn how to wage war any longer. Each man will sit under his own vine and
under his own fig tree. There will be no
one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Armies has spoken.
Many have
tried to stretch this metaphor into the idea that somehow perfect peace will
one day be established on earth, but that takes it too far. Martin Luther commented concerning these
verses:
“The Gospel will bring peace to all. They will all change war into peace.” But he is not speaking about physical peace
throughout the world, as some inappropriately think who say there was peace
throughout the world under Caesar Augustus.
This is not true. Indeed, the
world is always the same—it has a constant thirst for blood, after the example
of Cain, the first murderer. He is
speaking about the peace which the Word works in Christians who are ready
to…have peace with all men, who do not battle in the courtroom, who endure injustice,
etc.[1]
While we
may not always enjoy peace on earth, we do have peace with God and that,
indeed, brings us peace in everything else.
No matter what troubles this world might throw against us, we know that
our eternity is secure because of what Christ has done for us. Likewise, no matter what harm may be
inflicted upon us by friend or foe, we can forgive just as Christ has forgiven
us. It is this certainty of forgiveness and
assurance of peace with God that empowers the Christian in everything we do.
Micah
wrote, “For all the other peoples walk in the names of their gods, but we
will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.” Every person on earth has a code of ethics
that guides him, whether that be self interest or the dictates of his religion,
but all other religions or worldly influences lead only to damnation. Only Christianity gives real peace, because Christians
rely on the promises of our Savior, who gave His life on the cross so that we
might live forever. Jesus told His
people, “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples. You will also know the truth, and the truth
will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
And, He said, “I have told you these things, so that you may have
peace in me. In this world you are going
to have trouble. But be courageous! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
In Christ
Jesus, we have freedom and truth. We
have the instructions of our Creator to guide us in every good thing. Furthermore, we have forgiveness of all sins
and the certain assurance of peace with God and a home in His heaven, where we
will live and reign with Him forever in peace.
And none of this is dependent upon our achievements or decisions, for
the prophet declares, “On that day,” says the Lord, “I will bring in the
lame and gather the scattered, even those I have afflicted. I will establish the lame as survivors and
the scattered as a powerful nation. The
Lord will rule over them on Mount Zion from that time on and forever.”
When John
the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus was the Promised
Redeemer, Jesus answered them, “Go, tell John what you have seen and heard:
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf
hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the one who does not fall away on
account of me.” (Luke 7:20-22)
Dear
friends, we are blessed through the message of the Scriptures, because they are
the record of all God has done to set us free from the curse of sin and the
devil’s hold over us. Because of the
faith in Christ that was given us through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have
peace—peace with God and comfort for living here on earth. We have relief from the guilt of our sins and
the sure hope of life everlasting in the mansions of God’s eternal home. Praise be to the God Almighty that in Christ
Jesus, The LORD establishes His house of peace. Amen.
Now, may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely,
and may your whole spirit, both soul and body, be kept blameless at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who
calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
Amen.
[1]
Martin Luther, Lectures on the Minor Prophets AE, ed. Hilton C. Oswald
(Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1975), 239.
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