See how Jesus loves you.

 

Sermon for All Saints’, November 3, 2024

To all those loved by God…called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

John 11:32-44  ³²When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.  ³⁴He asked, “Where have you laid him?”  They told him, “Lord, come and see.”  ³⁵Jesus wept.  ³⁶Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”  ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  ³⁸Jesus was deeply moved again as he came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  ³⁹“Take away the stone,” he said.  Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, because it has been four days.”  ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  ⁴¹So they took away the stone.  Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me.  ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”  ⁴³After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  ⁴⁴The man who had died came out with his feet and his hands bound with strips of linen and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus told them, “Loose him and let him go. (EHV)

See how Jesus loves you.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            It is likely that we all have been in a situation like this.  We all have had to bid farewell to a loved one far too soon.  We maybe even fell into the same state as the Jews here who complained about Jesus, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  How easy we find it to blame God when we are in the throes of sorrow for our loss.

At the same time, we can learn something from that Jewish crowd, because as Jesus shed tears when He met His friends in their grief, some of the crowd said, “See how he loved him!”  From their observation, you and I can take comfort and See how Jesus loves you.

When we read this account, it can be somewhat difficult to sort out the reactions seen.  Both Mary and Martha asked the same question, and it is a question similar to what the Jews asked, yet from a different point of view.  Each sister, upon meeting Jesus after Lazarus had been placed in the tomb lamented, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  In contrast, though, to the Jews question of why Jesus didn’t help, this is actually a question that comes from a believing heart.  Yes, it is a complaint, but both sisters trusted Jesus completely, and they were certain that Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying, which is true. 

You and I pray to the Lord with the same confidence.  That’s why we pray.  We know that Jesus can intervene and do whatever is needed.  There is nothing we might ask of Jesus that He could not do.  We believe and trust in Jesus as the Son of God who has authority over everything in creation.  To be honest, that is exactly what Jesus intended to show His friends that day.

You see, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He delayed coming to see him.  Then, when Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus had died, He even declared, “And I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:14-15)  What more did Jesus’ disciples need to believe?  Primarily, that Jesus has power over death.  They would see that here plus so much more.

When Mary and Martha led Jesus to Lazarus’ grave, we See how Jesus loves you.  The shortest passage in the Bible tells us, “Jesus wept.”  Why did Jesus cry?  Jesus didn’t weep because He was powerless.  He didn’t weep because of this loss of life.  Rather, Jesus wept out of love for sinners.  He wept because He knows how much pain the curse of sin has laid on His dearly loved friends.  Jesus wept because He made Himself one of us.  He shared in our pain.  He feels our despair.  He knows how much we hurt because of the devil’s lies and the betrayal of our own weak flesh.  At the same time, however, Jesus didn’t leave His friends in their agony.  In fact, Jesus had just taught His disciples, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Jesus was deeply moved again as he came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  “Take away the stone,” he said.  Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, because it has been four days.”  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  So they took away the stone. 

If you’ve ever gotten up close to roadkill, you know how quickly death is followed by decomposition.  Without refrigeration or at least some form of embalmment, a body begins to break down almost immediately after death.  The people of that day were just as familiar with the effects of death as we are.  That’s why bodies are buried—to hide and cover up the decomposition.  We bury the dead to hide the effects of the curse of sin. 

Martha recognized the state Lazarus would be in when they opened the tomb.  Yet, notice Jesus’ response: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  Two things this tells us.  First, those who believe will see the glory of God.  In fact, we will see and experience it forever in heaven.  After we join the ranks of saints raised to life everlasting on the last day, we will forever after experience the glory of God face to face.

But back to their present time, the glory of God is shown to them as they would see Jesus’ power over death.  From the beginning of time, God spoke, and it came to be.  The very existence of this world came through the declaration of God.  St. John later testified, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)  Thus, in this miracle, we see how Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but we also Jesus’ love for His disciples at large, and we See how Jesus loves you. 

Jesus wanted all of us to understand and believe with full confidence that He came to give us life.  He wants us to see His compassion for those who have been hurt by the curse of sin, which is all of us.  Jesus wanted us to see how easily He could conquer death and the devil on our behalf.  The disciples couldn’t yet understand what He meant when Jesus told them He would be arrested, crucified, and die but rise to life again.  They couldn’t understand how that was possible, because all they had ever seen, before Jesus, was death stealing life away.

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”  After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The man who had died came out with his feet and his hands bound with strips of linen and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus told them, “Loose him and let him go.

See how Jesus loves you.  Everything Jesus said and did that day, and really every day, was to show His love and compassion for you.  Jesus didn’t have to speak that prayer out loud.  Jesus and His Father in heaven are always in perfect communication and complete harmony in their commitment to giving you life.  Still, Jesus wants us all to know that He always does His Father’s will.  For sinners like you and me, this is life changing.  We have often been guilty of doing what we know is not God’s will.  On the other hand, Jesus perfectly obeyed every will and command of God so that we could be counted righteous by His Father in heaven.  Jesus never missed anything.  He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17)

We see Jesus’ power in the result of His command, “Lazarus, come out!”  That man who had lost his life through illness, walked out of that tomb fully restored.  The illness was gone.  There was no stench of death on him.  As soon as the grave clothes were removed, Lazarus was free to continue his life. 

Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us how long Lazarus lived after he was raised from the dead.  Anything more we could say about that would be mere speculation.  However, we do know that Lazarus lives because of his faith in Jesus, for Jesus has promised us, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. … He who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:10-11)

The second death is eternal condemnation in hell.  That is the everlasting separation from God that sin brought upon the world.  However, Jesus lived His love for us when He took that everlasting death away from those who believe in Him as He laid down His life in our place on the cross.  Jesus declared, “No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)  See how Jesus loves you as He gave His life into death to rescue you and me.  As the perfectly spotless Lamb of God, Jesus substituted His perfection for our imperfection.  He gives us His righteousness through faith in exchange for our corruption.  He gave His life to reconcile us with God so that we may have life in exchange, forever.

See how Jesus loves you.  How does Jesus love you yet today?  Today, Jesus demonstrates love through the Baptism by which His Holy Spirit brings you new life and faith in Him.  He shows His love and faithfulness by sharing His very body and blood with you in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper by which He testifies with an oath that your sins are forgiven.  Sin will no longer be held against any of His dear friends.  Jesus shows His love after your confession of sin as He declares your forgiveness through the proclamation of absolution by His called servants.  And Jesus, God’s own true Son, declares His love for you whenever that servant of the Gospel puts the blessing of God over you and your life in the words of the benediction.  You see:

The Lord told Moses to speak to Aaron and to his sons and to tell them to bless the Israelites with these words: “The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.  The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.  In this way [God said] they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27)

Today, as we remember those beloved ones, so near and dear to our hearts, who have been called away from this world to the glory of heaven, remember that God didn’t ignore or abandon them.  Instead, God called them from this veil of tears so that they may have life that never ends.  Furthermore, Jesus promises that He will return and raise all people from the grave, and those who have believed in Him will dwell forever, body and soul, in the peace, joy, glory, and life everlasting of His heavenly home.  In that promise, we again and again See how Jesus loves you.  Amen.

The Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.

Keep watch for the Gospel must be preached.

 

Sermon for Reformation, October 27, 2024

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Mark 13:5-11 ⁵Jesus began by telling them, “Be careful that no one deceives you.  ⁶Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.  ⁷“Whenever you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled.  Such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  ⁸In fact, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be earthquakes in various places.  There will be famines.  These are the beginning of birth pains.  ⁹But be on your guard!  People will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues.  You will stand in the presence of rulers and kings for my sake as a witness to them.  ¹⁰And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  ¹¹Whenever they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you should say.  Say whatever is given to you in that hour, because you will not be the ones speaking; instead it will be the Holy Spirit. (EHV)

Keep watch for the Gospel must be preached.

Dear disciples of the living Lord,

            After Jesus taught His disciples many things, and they were leaving the courtyards of the temple, those men marveled at the beauty and structure of that temple.  They were shocked when Jesus foretold its destruction along with other prophecies of the end of days.  Unsurprisingly, the disciples were curious about how all those things would take place, so in our text, Jesus is reminding them, and us, that the things of this world should not be our primary concern, because He did not come to make this world a perfect place, but that He might rescue us and many others for a perfect home in heaven.  Therefore, He commands us, Keep watch for the Gospel must be preached.

The men Jesus chose to take the Gospel out to the world would face serious opposition, great hardship, and severe persecution for telling the world what Jesus has done to rescue people from sin, death, and the devil.  The immensity of what those eyewitnesses had to endure for the sake of the Gospel is hard for us really to grasp in our relatively gentle and peaceful lives.  In our little part of the world, wars, earthquakes, harsh persecution for preaching the Good News, and even conflict among family members seems pretty far away.  But is it, really? 

Oh sure, any terrible persecution we hear about is usually in far distant lands, but if we are honest about it, we face many of the same problems, if less by degree.  Even more serious, every day brings us closer to the day Jesus will return to judge the world.  The time to bring the truth of God’s love to our friends and neighbors grows shorter day by day.  So, where does that leave us?

Jesus began by telling them, “Be careful that no one deceives you.  Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.”  Has this prophecy afflicted us yet?  Well, maybe we don’t know, personally, of anyone claiming to be Jesus, but for sure, we have heard of many who have tormented the world with their lies about being Jesus, or a new Messiah of some sort.  New religions pop up from time to time, each claiming to have a better truth than what the Scriptures speak.  Even among many churches that claim to be Christian, false doctrines have crept in, and many of our friends and neighbors have decided that God’s law should no longer be taken seriously since people have supposedly evolved into enlightened beings not needing God or His truth.

It shocks me at times how we delude ourselves into thinking that people who seem nice on the outside must surely be good on the inside.  Even more alarming, many people in this world blatantly deny the warnings God has given.  Worse yet, they even deny that Jesus ever lived, or gave up His life on their behalf, or rose from the dead as was clearly reported with unassailable testimony even to the point of defending this truth with the eyewitness’s life.  By the way, we called those eyewitnesses martyrs.  On the other hand, most of our so-called enlightened scholars, today, imagine that the Bible is nothing more than a book of myths and fairytales designed to hurt our tender feelings.

But again, where does that leave us?  The answer lies in this truth, the sinner will always reject the Christ.  St. Paul wrote,

Indeed, since the world through its wisdom did not know God, God in his wisdom decided to save those who believe, through the foolishness of the preached message.  Yes, Jews ask for signs, Greeks desire wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified—which is offensive to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:21-24)

In reality, we face the same trials that the apostles had to face.  We go out to the world with the message of God’s grace, proclaiming it to people who don’t want to hear it.  We go out among people who would just as soon see people like us dead.  Even more extreme, we face a world led by demonic powers that will do everything they can to oppose our witness.  The world in its deluded foolishness wants to defend killing babies.  The evil within all people seeks to elevate our own kind above others who differ from us only in the color of skin, economic background, or genetic heritage.  The evil influencing so much of our modern world, media, and public discourse seeks to promote war, murder, hatred, selfishness, greed, and division between neighbors.  Rulers are derided as evil—even those who seek to serve faithfully.

Now, in our little insulated lives out here on the prairie, all of this might seem pretty distant, but it influences us here as well.  How often do we find ourselves questioning the future, as if our Lord is not truly in control?  How quickly do we latch on to the ideas of the doom and gloomers who are so sure that this world will be destroyed by one political candidate or another?  Even though we know that this world will pass away in the end.  How often do we buy into the imaginings of the cultists who tell you that we must do things their way, and their way alone, if we want to save this world, or ourselves?  How often do we find ourselves despising our neighbor, or at least not be willing to discuss together with them peacefully our differing opinions, or maybe, how often do we stay away from this one place where true peace is found because we don’t want to see, or interact with those who disagree with us?

As we look at the middle of this text, we can certainly recognize that we live in times when “you hear of wars and rumors of wars,” where there are multitude reports of earthquakes, famines, deadly storms, murderous rampages, and any number of other terrible problems.  St, Paul could very well be describing our time in the world when he wrote:

In the last days there will be terrible times.  For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemous, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, not able to reconcile with others, slanderous, without self-control, savage, haters of what is good, treacherous, reckless, puffed up with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to an outward form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

To all of this, Jesus declared, Keep watch for the Gospel must be preached.  You and I have certainly been guilty of our own sins and selfishness.  Yet, because God is merciful, He has brought us to believe in Jesus as our Savior, and therefore, our sins are wiped away forever.  God has then given us the privilege or reaching out to friend and foe alike with the Good News of Jesus’ perfect righteousness lived for you and me and all people.  He has granted us the good fortune to believe that Jesus died for our sins paying the full eternal price so that we may live with God forever.  The Holy Spirit has blessed us with the Word of God in its fullness and purity so that we can be fully confident that Jesus rose from the dead that first Easter morning, confirmed by eyewitnesses, so that no reasonable person can deny what God has done for all of us.

Jesus told those twelve men, “But be on your guard!  People will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues.  You will stand in the presence of rulers and kings for my sake as a witness to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.”  The truth is, Jesus’ words were perfectly prophetic.  The apostles were treated exactly as Jesus foretold.  His witnesses were put on trial, beaten and abused for denying the false religions of the day, whipped and stoned and crucified for telling people about the peace with God that is theirs because Jesus lived, died, and rose again to restore peace between God and mankind.

So, what happened when those things came to be?  One might expect that the story of Christ would have died out within weeks, months, or at most, a few years after Jesus was crucified.  Yet, that isn’t what happened.  The Word spread, and as people marveled at the martyrdom the apostles were willing to endure in order to tell about Jesus, they began to ask honest questions about what made these men tick.  What made them be willing to give up their lives to testify about Jesus?

The answer, of course, is the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit moved those men to believe and speak.  The Spirit moved those who wrote down the words of Scripture, and it is the Spirit of God who has kept that powerful Word down through the ages so that you and I can read, hear, learn, and believe it.

Dear friends, that Holy Spirit restored life to you when you were washed in the waters of Baptism.  He continues to build and strengthen that faith throughout your life through hearing the Gospel and after confirmation feeding you with the body and blood of Christ Jesus in, with, and under the bread and wine of His Holy Supper.  That same Spirit lives in us and among us still today, granting us eternal life in connection with Jesus, and giving us the strength to share God’s love with our neighbors, even when they reject or persecute us.  He gives us the encouragement and will to bring our offerings together so that many more people will hear the Gospel and by the power of the Spirit believe it.

It is the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that allows, even moves us to forgive those who hurt or offend us, because we know that we once also needed forgiveness and healing from God.  If you are like me at all, you know you still need God’s forgiveness every day, for like Martin Luther wrote, I daily sin much.  To which the Holy Spirit replies through St. Paul, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Jesus told His disciples, “Whenever they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you should say.  Say whatever is given to you in that hour, because you will not be the ones speaking; instead it will be the Holy Spirit.”  Thank God Jesus’ words are true.  We have the Gospel because Jesus never let us down and because His Holy Spirit continues His work still today. 

I don’t know who among us, if any, might have to testify before the authorities about our faith, but don’t be surprised if this world continues to turn against us and even hate, persecute, or kill us.  However, our future is sure and secure.  Because Jesus rose from the dead and lives forever, we who are united with Him through faith, will certainly also enjoy eternal life with our God and Savior in His heavenly home.

Therefore, today and every day, we must keep watch.  We must beware so that we are not corrupted by the deceits and lies the devil uses to keep the people of the world under his evil influence.  We must keep watch so that we are not misled by false teachers or even friends who have gone astray.  We must watch ourselves so that we never stray even one iota from the truth of God’s holy Word, nor from its Gospel, the Good News of all our Lord has done to bring us forgiveness and everlasting life, “because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)  For all the days you live here in this troubled world, Keep watch for the Gospel must be preached.  Amen.

Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

We serve to share in the Gospel promises.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 22, October 22, 2024

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 9:7-12, 19-23  ⁷What soldier ever serves at his own expense?  Who plants a vineyard and does not eat some of its fruit?  Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink milk from the flock?  ⁸Am I saying this just from a human point of view?  Doesn’t the law also say this?  ⁹Yes, it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain.”  Is God really concerned about oxen, ¹⁰or does he say this entirely for our sake?  Yes, it was written for our sake, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher ought to thresh in hope of getting a share.  ¹¹If we sowed spiritual seed for your good, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?  ¹²If others have some right to make this claim on you, don’t we even more?  But we did not use this right.  Instead, we endure everything so as not to cause any hindrance for the gospel of Christ. … ¹⁹In fact, although I am free from all, I enslaved myself to all so that I might gain many more.  ²⁰To the Jews, I became like a Jew so that I might gain Jews.  To those who are under the law, I became like a person under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might gain those who are under the law.  ²¹To those who are without the law, I became like a person without the law (though I am not without God’s law but am within the law of Christ) so that I might gain those who are without the law.  ²²To the weak, I became weak so that I might gain the weak.  I have become all things to all people so that I may save at least some.  ²³And I do everything for the sake of the gospel so that I may share in it along with others. (EHV)

We serve to share in the Gospel promises.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            As we contemplate this chapter of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian congregation, there might be a temptation to pit ministerial workers and other members of the congregation against each other.  Paul seems to be justifying his service as worthy of compensation from the congregation.  Yet, he has refused to make use of his right to just compensation so that the spread of the Gospel is not hindered.  The temptation to fight over this comes when members imagine that Paul was showing that called workers are to sacrifice in ways that the general congregation does not.  This is not the point Paul is making, but rather, that We serve to share in the Gospel promises.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul is teaching just what Jesus taught as he sent out His disciples: “The worker is worthy of his pay.” (Luke 10:7)  Contrary to what I have heard some express, a called worker does not take a vow of poverty to serve the Lord.  Those who are served with the Gospel message owe support for the physical lives of the ones bringing the Good News.  Because we all participate together in the body of Christ, each part should work together for the eternal good of the whole.

At the same time, the Gospel worker should be content with what the Lord provides through His congregation.  Having said that, the reality of this text becomes clear for all of us.  We are not on opposite sides in proclaiming the Gospel.  That is the duty and privilege of the whole Christian Church on earth.  We work together to reap a harvest of souls for eternal salvation, not because we can save anyone, but because the Lord Jesus has paid the redemption price for all people, and those who proclaim the Gospel are the conduit through which Jesus brings salvation to more people.

Now, some may have accused Paul of preaching to enrich himself.  While that accusation is clearly false, Paul wants it to be understood that he too deserves support even though he has not demanded it from any of his audiences.  Thus, He wrote:

Yes, it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain.”  Is God really concerned about oxen, or does he say this entirely for our sake?  Yes, it was written for our sake, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher ought to thresh in hope of getting a share.  If we sowed spiritual seed for your good, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?  If others have some right to make this claim on you, don’t we even more?  But we did not use this right.

Paul made no claim on his right to physical support because he recognized that our true reward comes not on earth but in heaven.  However, just as every business, doctor, mechanic, and government official who serves us in some way expects to be paid, so too do God’s servants deserve their due compensation.  Paul didn’t demand that right because he wanted nothing to stand in the way of spreading the Gospel when it was so newly appointed in the world.

The second portion of this text could also lead to grave misinterpretation.  Paul declares, “I have become all things to all people so that I may save at least some.”  When preaching to Jews, he lived as the observant Jews had lived for centuries.  He did this not as though masquerading as a Jew, for he himself was of that heritage, and it was normal for him as well.  At the same time, when preaching to the Gentiles, Paul rightly operated in the same manner of life as they did without demanding observation of Jewish law and custom which was foreign to their way of life.

None of this means that Paul was willing to live in any form of sinful disobedience to the Ten Commandments, the moral law God has laid down for all people of all time.  This moral law is written in our hearts and makes even the most lawless feel guilty.  Paul was not misleading, misappropriating, nor in any way deceiving those to whom he preached.  Thus, like Paul, we realize that wherever we proclaim the Gospel, we do so in the midst of people who may think and act differently than what feels normal to us.  We therefore accommodate as we are able, while at the same time being faithful to the instructions of our Lord and Savior, which brings us to the main point of our text, and the motivating force in the Christian Church on earth.  Paul explained, “I do everything for the sake of the gospel so that I may share in it along with others.”

Like Paul, you and I have been granted forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  This is not something we discovered on our own.  We did not choose to walk in the holiness of our Lord.  We didn’t make the decision to believe in Him on our own.  We didn’t earn any portion of this gift.  Instead, through faith granted to us by the Holy Spirit, we each have been rescued from the condemnation our natural status deserved.  We have been redeemed by the holy blood of Christ shed for us on the cross.  We were washed clean of all guilt in Baptism.  Through the hearing of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit has given us new life in connection with Christ Jesus.

Therefore, because of all that the Triune God has done to deliver us from the forces of evil and the eternal punishment waiting for the devil and his followers, we who believe in Jesus are connected with Christ as the body is to the head, so “in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28).  Thus, because Jesus in in control of our hearts, we now welcome His call to serve in rescuing others from the devil and death.  This isn’t forced upon on us, but instead has become our way of life.

In light of this reality, everything we do here on earth is aimed at serving the Lord Jesus in His goal to harvest souls from the clutches of the old evil foe.  Jesus told His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)  Consequently, some are called as pastors, teachers, and leaders.  Others serve this harvest mission through their secular vocations, but we all serve together as the Church headed by Jesus to win souls to fill His Father’s house in heaven.

Unfortunately, as we all know, our sinful natures often lead us to forget the blessed gift we are given—not just that we are saved by faith, but even forgetting how great a blessing it is to us and to others to share the Gospel with those who still need to hear it.  There can be times when selfishness leads us to focus on what we can store up for ourselves here on earth.  Yet, everything we might store of worldly goods will pass away. 

However, what we can take along with us to heaven are the souls who are won through loving concern and sacrifice as we become the conduit through which Jesus reaches the lost with the Good News of the life He lived so that we might be credited with holiness and the death He offered to His Father in heaven as full payment for the sins and guilt of the world. 

On top of all that, the Father raised Jesus from the dead on the third day, just as promised and foretold.  He has given us certain and sure proof that our salvation is accomplished.  When Jesus declared from the cross, “It is finished!,” everything needed to bring us home to heaven was done.  All sin was paid for.  All our wicked deeds and desires were wiped away from God’s remembrance.  No longer can the devil or anyone else accuse us of sin, because Jesus redeemed us from them all.

That, dear friends, is the message of this text for us today—that We serve to share in the Gospel promises.  We are able to serve because God has rescued us from darkness and death.  We are able to serve, because Jesus took it upon Himself to come down to earth and live among us, not in judgment or divine retribution, but to dwell with us in humility and weakness and become for us the great Intercessor we need.  The One true God who knows our weaknesses and faults no longer holds them against us because He counts us righteous for the sake of His own life lived in our place.

Paul wrote, “I became weak so that I might gain the weak,” not because this was a choice he devised on his own, but because Paul, having been rescued from condemnation, was now living connected to Christ and serving Christ to share the forgiveness and salvation of the Gospel with other sinners.  This, then, has become our assignment, our joy, our way of life, and our hope.  Because we are connected by faith to Jesus who lived, died, and rose again from the dead to give us eternal life, and because “in Him we live and move and have our being,” (Acts 17:28) We serve to share in the Gospel promises.  Consequently, Jesus grants us the same promise He gave His apostles, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12)  Amen.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.  Amen.

God’s mercy is not for sale.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 21, October 13, 2024

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God His Father—to Him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

2 Kings 5:14-27  ¹⁴So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, just as the man of God had said.  Then his flesh was restored like the flesh of a small child, and he was clean.  ¹⁵Then he and his whole escort went back to the man of God.  He stood in front of Elisha and said, “To be sure, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.  Now accept a gift from your servant.”  ¹⁶But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives, in whose presence I stand, I will not take anything.”  Even though Na’aman urged him to accept something, he refused.  ¹⁷Then Na’aman said, “If you do not want anything, please give me, your servant, as much dirt as two donkeys can carry, for your servant will never again burn incense or sacrifice to other gods, but only to the Lord.  ¹⁸But may the Lord forgive your servant this one thing: When my master goes into the house of Rimmon to bow down there and he supports himself on my arm, then I too have to bow down in the house of Rimmon.  When I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant this one thing.”  ¹⁹Then Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”  When Na’aman had gone some distance from him, ²⁰Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “My master was too easy on this Aramean, Na’aman, when he did not accept anything that he brought.  As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”  ²¹So Gehazi chased after Na’aman.  When Na’aman saw him running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him.  He said, “Is everything all right?”  ²²Then Gehazi said, “Yes, everything is all right.  My master sent me to say, ‘Look, just now two young men from the hill country of Ephraim, from the sons of the prophets, have come to me.  Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.”  ²³Na’aman said, “Certainly!  Take two talents!”  He urged Gehazi and tied up the two talents of silver in two bags with the two sets of clothing.  Then Na’aman gave them to his two servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi.  ⁴When he came to the hill, he took the gifts from them.  Then he hid them in the house and sent the men back, so they left.  ²⁵Then he went in and attended his master.  Elisha said to him, “Where were you, Gehazi?”  Gehazi said, “Your servant didn’t go anywhere.”  ²⁶Then Elisha said to him, “Didn’t my heart go along when the man got down from his chariot to meet you?  Is this the time to take silver, or to accept clothes or olive groves or vineyards or sheep or cattle or male and female servants?  ²⁷Na’aman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.”  Then Gehazi went out from his presence, leprous like snow. (EHV)

God’s mercy is not for sale.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            What does it cost to attend your church?  Surprisingly, that is a real question I have been asked.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though, because our experience in life teaches us that nothing is truly free.  Someone always has to pay no matter what the claim.  Freebies offered at stores are only free because the cost is buried in other goods being sold.  Government handouts always have to be paid for by other taxpayers. 

All this has convinced the natural man that he must pay even when coming to believe in God’s free grace.  Not realizing how great God’s free providence has been for us, it is assumed that we will always have to pay for anything that helps us.  Therefore, we have to learn that God’s mercy is not for sale.

Na’aman had taken a chance on a servant girl’s promise that the prophet, Elisha, would be able to heal his leprosy.  It was truly his last hope for a cure.  Yet, when Elisha told that powerful soldier to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River, the man was offended.  It seemed far too simple, too unlikely for the muddy waters of the Jordan to cure anything, but of course, the power wasn’t in the water, but in God’s promise to heal Na’aman through faith in the promise.

Na’aman almost returned to his home in a huff, uncured, but other servants intervened and convinced him to take a chance on God.  It changed Na’aman’s life in every way.  “Then his flesh was restored like the flesh of a small child, and he was clean.”  This was a hardened soldier, a man among men.  His skin had undoubtedly bore the scars of war and training, plus the leprosy had begun to eat away at the skin turning it sickly white with disease.  Yet, at the promise of God given through Elisha, he returned to Elisha with the radiant skin of youth.

More than Na’aman’s skin was healed though.  While previously, the man worshipped a multitude of gods, none on which could help him, now, Na’aman believed in the One true God, the God of Israel, Abraham, and Isaac, the God we also believe and serve.

As an experienced man of the world, Na’aman was now so grateful, that he was ready and willing to pay handsomely for his cure.  The prophet, however, understood that Na’aman, and those he would touch and teach back in his heathen country, needed to know that God’s mercy is not for sale.

At other times, Elisha had readily received gifts from fellow believers, but Elisha knew that Na’aman still needed to learn how freely God gives His mercy.  Therefore, Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives, in whose presence I stand, I will not take anything.”  Even though Na’aman urged him to accept something, he refused.  Now, you and I understand that the Church carries out its mission of bringing the Gospel to the world through the offerings made by the members of the body.  We give these offerings in grateful thanksgiving for all that God does for us. 

At the same time, we are convinced through the Word of God that nothing we do could ever pay for what Jesus has done for us.  Nothing we could ever offer would equal the value of the forgiveness and salvation won for us on the cross by the shedding of Jesus’ precious blood for the sins of the world.  St. Peter was moved by the Holy Spirit to write, “You know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, not with things that pass away, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

In other words, God’s mercy is freely given, but a price was paid, for it was purchased for us by the most expensive exchange ever made when “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)  The holy, innocent Son of God, who had no sin at all of His own, laid down His life to pay for all the sins of the world, and because of Jesus’ holy substitution, you and I and all who believe in Jesus as our Savior are counted pure and righteous in God’s eyes for Jesus’ sake.

Na’aman’s assumption was an honest mistake, and in gratitude for this miracle that saved his life and his soul, Na’aman was determined to remain a faithful follower of the One True God.  He also knew his position in life would make this a challenge.  Na’aman was his king’s right-hand man, so to speak.  He realized that to continue in that service, he would be required to enter a heathen temple, and even help his master bow down before an idol as he faithfully carried out his vocation.  Thus, he asked for forgiveness for that appearance of idol worship forced upon him.  Then Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”  This shows us that God judges what is in the heart, regardless of what appearances might be, so we can continue to serve God faithfully, even when sometimes we are forced to do things that might be problematic.  Obviously, this can only be taken so far.  We are always to serve God rather than men, but there are times, such as with Na’aman, where we will seek forgiveness for the gray areas of life.

Now, the real problem of living a faithful life soon became apparent in the servant, Gehazi.  By outward appearances, Gehazi was a faithful servant of God as he served God’s prophet, Elisha.  Yet, inwardly, we see in him a frothing cauldron of sin—greed, envy, deception, and dishonesty—all combined to bring that servant to destruction.  We might assume this foreshadows how Judas would be led into damnation through greed.

Gehazi imagined that Na’aman should have paid a price for his cure.  That servant decided that since Elisha permitted him to leave with his wealth intact, it certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone if Gehazi helped himself to some ill-gotten profit.  Greed clouded his judgment.  The servant forgot the greater lesson that God’s mercy is not for sale.  Therefore, Gehazi ran after Na’aman, lied to deceive the man into sharing his wealth, and further continued his deceptions hoping that Elisha wouldn’t notice what he had done.  When God’s prophet called Gehazi to account for his sin, Gehazi continued in his lies and received due judgment for his wickedness.

Now, to the world, this might seem a little crazy.  Why would Elisha care whether this foreigner was deprived of some of his riches so that a poor servant could finally have some prosperity?  Isn’t that the way our world seems to be going?  We hear so many promises from politicians trying to buy votes who say that the rich must pay their fair share so that the poor can become equal.  But, the ways of the world are not the ways of our God.  While we might fanaticize about having equity in life, in reality, it never really works in a world troubled by sin.  Likewise, if we had to pay for our place in God’s kingdom, no one would ever gain entrance.  We would all be too poor, too dirty, too diseased with sin to come into His presence.  We would be forever condemned.

Thank God, God’s mercy is not for sale.  Though not one person in the history of the world deserved God’s patience and merciful kindness, God sent His Son into the world to live holiness for us, to walk in our flesh as one of us, and finally, to bear our sins as Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, was led to the slaughter on the altar of the cross at Golgotha.  There, Jesus shed His holy, precious blood so that our guilt would be washed away as perfectly as Na’aman’s leprosy was healed in the Jordan’s waters.  While the world might consider Jesus’ death a shameful thing, it is for us life and hope everlasting.

Forgiveness bringing salvation is the most expensive gift ever purchased, yet it is given to us freely without money or cost, so that we are made right with God and perfectly clean in His sight.  What do we charge to come and hear that Good New’s?  Not one penny.  Yes, God accepts our offerings and uses them to spread His Good News in our world, but He doesn’t need our gifts, nor does He accept them if we imagine that we might be paying for forgiveness. 

Instead, with loving kindness for those of us who could never purchase our freedom from the devil’s control, God grants us life and hope and peace in His kingdom of grace.  Forgiveness and salvation come to us completely free through the hearing of the Gospel, by the gift of the Holy Spirit in the gentle washing and Word of Baptism, and again in the body and blood of our Savior and Redeemer, freely given to us to eat and to drink in the bread and wine of our Lord’s holy Supper.

Rejoice, dear friends, and be glad, God’s mercy is not for sale.  Rather, His merciful kindness is now given to you for your everlasting good in the gracious gift of God’s love through faith in His Son.  Amen.

Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.

God loves His children.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 20, October 6, 2024

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Mark 10:2-16  ²Some Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”  ³He replied, “What did Moses command you?”  ⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”  ⁵But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of your hard hearts.  ⁶But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.  ⁷For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  ⁹Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  ¹⁰In the house his disciples asked him about this again.  ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  ¹²If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  ¹³Some people began bringing little children to Jesus so that he would touch them.  But the disciples rebuked them.  ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said, “Let the little children come to me!  Do not hinder them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  ¹⁵Amen I tell you: Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  ¹⁶And he took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (EHV)

God loves His children.

Dearly beloved of the Father,

            I sometimes wish that I could be as good a teacher as Jesus, but mostly, I wish I would be as good a student as Jesus would have me be.  The Pharisees came to trap Jesus with a question about divorce.  I would have been tempted to reject them with a simple no, but Jesus deftly stepped around their trap and spoke directly to the heart of their condition; they didn’t love like they should. 

It was similar with the disciples of our text.  People were bringing little children to Jesus, yet the disciples thought those children weren’t important enough to bother their Teacher, so they tried to stop those caring parents.  I would find it hard to hold my temper with such self-centered gatekeepers, but though Jesus was angered, He didn’t punish anyone.  Rather, He taught them that His love is for all people.  What you and I should learn is that no matter the age, God loves His children.

Some Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"  Because there were already several conflicting opinions among the Rabbis concerning this question, the Pharisees thought they could trap Jesus regardless of how he answered.  If He said, “Yes,” they would accuse Him of violating the Law, or if He said “No,” they could accuse Him of denying what Moses allowed.  One group held that divorce was permissible if a woman displeased her husband, perhaps with something mildly risqué such as going out in public without a veil covering her face.  Their main opposition, on the other hand, contended that a wife could be sent away for the slightest offense, or for none at all.  Both opinions were wrong.  Jesus sidestepped their trap by showing that their main problem was their failure to love. 

Jesus replied, “What did Moses command you?”  They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”  But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of your hard hearts.  But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Divorce was never part of God’s plan, but as part of the civil law of Israel, Moses had allowed divorce when one of the partners was guilty of indecency.  Moses meant infidelity.  However, this statement of the Mosaic Law had been twisted by the teachers to permit men to disown their wives, for almost any reason, without repercussion. 

Jesus recognized that it was their lack of love that drove divorce.  In His answer, He returned them to the very beginning of time when God instituted marriage, explaining that God intended every marriage to be between one man and one woman, bound together physically, emotionally, willingly, and faithfully until death should part them.  When a man marries a woman, God joins the two into one unit.  Therefore, no one should separate them except God alone.  However, as Jesus points out, the hardness of hearts gets in the way.  Since sin entered the world, self-centeredness so very often controls our actions.  Instead of being united for the mutual good, our corrupted nature leads us to focus primarily on ourselves.

Thus, the same marriage troubles that afflicted their world trouble us still today.  Many act as if married but refuse the commitment of marriage.  We allow “No fault” divorce as if that is even possible.  The attitude seems to be that we marry only for as long as my partner pleases me.  At the same time, those of us who have never been divorced shouldn’t feel smug either.  Many of us have had some thoughts of divorcing a spouse.  We have, perhaps, thought of what it might be like to marry someone else.  At the very least, there have been days when selfishness made loving our partner seem extremely difficult.  So, we all must confess our guilt before the Lord.

Jesus further instructed His disciples, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  This may sound harsh to our modern, permissive ears.  However, because God loves His children of every age, He wants our marriages filled with blessings, with mutual love and respect; where each person is perfectly committed to the partner in a union that is mutually beneficial and a blessing every day; where outside relationships always take second place, and divorce has no place at all.

Now, one of the main reasons God instituted marriage was to bring children into the world and give them a beneficial place to grow.  Just as He loves grownups, God loves His children.  Mark recorded this incident:

Some people began bringing little children to Jesus so that he would touch them.  But the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said, “Let the little children come to me!  Do not hinder them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Amen I tell you: Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

This is really what God’s love is all about.  In His perfect knowledge, God knew man would sin and would need a Savior.  Consequently, God intended marriage to be a picture of the relationship between the Savior and His Bride, the Church.  Jesus tells us that no one comes to the Father except through Him.  Therefore, God wants us to enjoy good, solid marriages so that they picture the great blessings that He gives us as the Bride of Christ. 

As part of that picture, in addition to wanting each of us truly to love our spouse, Jesus tells us to bring the children to Him, because that is the only way anyone is forgiven and saved from eternal punishment.  Christ’s kingdom and redemption are for all people—there is no age restriction.

The disciples were guilty of the same failings as some modern teachers in that they didn’t want Jesus bothered by these little ones.  However, no one is saved without the gift of faith that comes only by the work of God.  Our decisions don’t save us.  Intellectual learning isn’t our ticket to heaven.  Only God-given faith, which He can give at any age, brings with it the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us all on the cross.

Like the disciples that long ago day, you and I are sinners.  We all have failed to love as we should.  We have even often hindered our children, perhaps by our own frailties and neglect of God’s Word, maybe by putting too much emphasis on the things of this world, perhaps by simple neglect to teach as we rise up and when we lie down, as we sit at home and while we walk down the road—as Moses taught.  We each have been guilty of hindering the children instead of leading them daily to Jesus.

Yet, like those little ones in our text, it is given to us to know Jesus by faith.  God drew us into His loving arms as His Holy Spirit brought us to believe in Jesus.  As Jesus picked up those little children and blessed them, they met Jesus face to face, and thereafter, they knew Him as Lord and Savior.  Those infants weren’t caught up in the adult schemes that ultimately led Jesus to His cross at Golgotha.  They met Jesus as Lord, and that was enough.

That really is our story too.  When you were sprinkled with the water and Word of Baptism, Jesus was there, holding you as a dear child for whom He died, and He blessed you there with faith in Him.  As you hear God’s Word preached to you Sunday after Sunday, Jesus is here holding you in His strong arms, assuring you again and again that in your repentance you are forgiven for all your sins were nailed with Him to the cross.

For all the times you have sinned against God with your wicked thoughts of divorce, lust for another, apathy toward your spouse, or neglect of the children’s spiritual needs, Jesus continued loving you all as His one and only bride, the Church.  By bringing us to recognize our guilt and repent of our sin, He loves us with an everlasting love that doesn’t change.  Jesus lived that perfect love as our substitute while here on earth, and He loved us perfectly as He gave up His life on the cross to pay for our selfishness or lack of true love.

Dear friends, Old Testament Israel behaved many times like an adulterous wife, yet time after time in forgiveness, God took her back as His bride.  Today, He invites all people to enjoy His great love, and those who believe in Jesus are counted righteous as the Son’s dear bride.  Through the faith Christ gives in Word and Sacrament, we will be His beloved forever.

God loves His children.  He loves you so much that He wants your marriages to be a thing of blessing all the days you both shall live.  More than that, God wants to bless you with eternal face to face time with Jesus.  Because of the selfless love Jesus showed to His Church while He lived here on earth and the sacrifice He made on your behalf, He will continue to hold you in His loving arms and carry you home to His eternal heaven.  There, our neglect and self-centeredness will be put away, finally a thing of the past, and we will be loved by our Groom forever.  No more will we fail to love.  No more will anything trouble our relationships, for we all will put on immortality and peace.  In heaven, we will love as God has loved us, and we will rejoice in His saving love forevermore.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.