Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Kerrville Texas

Galatians 5.25–6.10 + Matthew 6.24–34

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

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Food and clothing are our most basic necessities. Without them, we cannot live. Nearly two thousand years after Jesus spoke these words, men and women still worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” “What shall we drink?” and What shall we wear?” We may rephrase the questions. We may think our versions of these questions are more complicated. “What shall we eat as grocery prices continue to rise?” “What shall we drink as inflation climbs?” “What shall we wear, and how shall we provide all the things we need for life?” Things may seem more complicated than they were in days of Jesus’ earthly ministry—and perhaps are—but the questions are the same. “What shall we eat?” “What shall we drink?” and What shall we wear?” By telling us not to worry about the most basic necessities of human life, He includes all other things that we need as well as those that we want.

And while it is natural to worry about the things of this life—at least natural in our fallen, sinful state—worrying about food, drink, clothing, and the things of this life is how we serve the things of this life. God commands us to labor, and He promises to give us our daily bread through our labor, but He doesn’t want us setting our hearts solely on the things we need. To set our hearts on our needs, so that getting our needs met is our top priority each day, is how we serve mammon, which is riches. By telling us not to worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear, Jesus isn’t telling us to sit around and wait for Him to provide miraculously for us. To sit around and wait for God to provide us with food, drink, and clothing apart from labor is to tempt God. What Christ warns us against is setting our hearts and souls, minds, and strength on seeking riches and the things we need. If we seek our bodily needs—and wants—as our highest good in life, we serve mammon. This is why Jesus warns us, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

To prioritize and seek after riches and the things of this life is to love mammon and hate and despise God. Anyone who calls themselves Christians, even in name only, would bristle at this. We don’t hate God. We don’t despise Him! We’re Christians, after all! But Scripture doesn’t always mean hatred in an absolute sense, as in extreme dislike, aversion, and hostility. There are times it means that, but at other times, to hate something means to esteem it less than something else. Jesus says in Luke 14:26, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” He isn’t commanding us to be hostile towards our family and renounce them. He is teaching us that we should not love them more than we love God and the truth of His word. Jesus says in John 12:25, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Christ isn’t teaching us to hold ourselves in contempt. Rather, we are not to love our lives in this sinful world more than we Him, the life He lives in us now by faith, and the life He promised to us in eternity. The same is true for mammon, riches, food, drink, clothing, and all the things we need—and want—in this life. We are not to love them so that they are our highest good. If we do so, we serve mammon, and to serve mammon is to hate and despise God, not so that we’re hostile towards Him, but so that we think too little of Him, His Word, and His will for us.

Christ does not just warn us against worry. He shows us the foolishness of it. He points us first to the birds of the air. “Look at the birds of the air,” He says, “for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Birds of the air do not sow seed. They do not reap at harvest time. They do not store food in barns for years to come. They live each day by God’s provision. God, who has given them life, gives them all they need to continue living. They do not worry about where they will find tomorrow’s feed. They know that God will provide it. If God the Father values soulless animals so that He feeds them daily, how much more will He feed you daily, whom He made in His image and likeness?

Then Jesus turns to clothing. “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” He asks. Can you, by worrying, make yourself taller? Of course not. Can you, by worrying, add a cubit to your lifespan? Not at all. God, who has given you life, will give you all you need for this body and life. “Consider the lilies of the field,” He says, “How they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” That’s an image. Imagine Solomon decked in his royal garments, a crown on his head, and the aroma of spices surrounding him. The lily of the field, the wildflower, which is here today and tomorrow is mown down, is arrayed more gloriously than Solomon. Jesus teaches us that the natural beauty that God bestows is far more glorious and radiant than any beauty man can concoct. More to the point, though, He teaches us that if God provides the wildflowers with such resplendence and radiance, how much more will He clothe us, whom He has redeemed by His blood, so that we may not be thrown into the fire on the Last Day?

So often, we are of little faith: trusting God for our eternal salvation, yet worrying, “What shall we eat?” “What shall we drink?” and What shall we wear?” Not only do the birds of the air and the lilies of the field convict us of our little faith. But Jesus does as well when He tells us the gentiles seek after all these things. Unbelievers prioritize them and set their hearts on them. And though the children of God are tempted to seek after these things as the gentiles do, the children of God are reminded, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” Your Father in heaven knows your needs. If He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, how much more will He feed and clothe you, one for whom His Son has died, one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, one whom He feeds with His word and sacrament?

The gentiles seek the things of this life. That is not to be the case for you, though. You are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. You are to prioritize His kingdom, the word God. You are to seek to live righteously—as God wills—because God counts you righteous because you believe in His Son. The kingdom and righteousness of God, those are your priorities. Those are your highest good, so that as long as you have them, you have all you need for the next life. But these are also all you need for this life. Seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness, God promises, “All these things shall be added to you.” Worrying cannot add any of the things you need. Only God can add those things, and He promises to care for those who seek first His kingdom of grace, in which there is daily forgiveness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He promises to provide for those who seek first His righteousness, so that, being righteous by faith, they do the things God considers righteous.

Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about its own things. God has given you today. And in this sinful world, and with the command to labor in our callings, the saying is true: “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” There is plenty that needs your attention today. Your work. Your family. Your neighbors. Your church. Each day gives us more than enough opportunities to serve others in love. And every day you awake in this life is another day of mercy from God in which you can do the things God has given you to do. But it is not a day to worry. There is a kingdom and righteousness to seek each day. Seeking those first, not only will all these things that you need be added to you, but you will find that you have little time to worry at all. Then, like the birds of the air, you can receive your daily bread with thanksgiving in your heart and a song on your lips. Like the lilies of the field, you will shine with the glorious garments God has given you: His kingdom and His righteousness. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Galatians 5.16–24 + Luke 17.11–19

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

In today’s epistle, St. Paul teaches us about the sinful flesh—our sinful nature, which we inherit from Adam. The flesh lusts after the things that are contrary to God’s will, coveting and desiring those things which God has forbidden. The of the flesh are evident: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. These works, and ones like them, are the works the sinful flesh wants to accomplish in our thoughts, our words, and our behaviors. The works of the flesh Paul lists that are actual deeds begin as internal impulses, and those internal emotions and thoughts he lists are evil, whether or not they lead to outward acts. Everyone born in the natural way, from the union of a man and woman, is born corrupted by sin. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). Even though people can become skilled at keeping these works internal so that no one sees them, that doesn’t mean their flesh is any better for it or that their flesh isn’t sinful and unclean. God sees the hearts and knows what it is a man. While people may deceive others, even themselves, God offers His diagnosis of the flesh in Isaiah 1:5-6, “The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores.” It sounds a lot like our flesh is leprous.

And what does Jesus do for those with leprous, sick flesh? The gospel lesson tells us. As Jesus passes through Samaria and Galilee, regions north of Judea and Jerusalem, He enters a certain village. Outside the village, so that no one would catch their disease, stood ten leprous men. They lift their voices and say to Jesus, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” They had heard the news about Jesus’ power and compassion, so they cried out for Him for mercy. Jesus sends them all the way to Jerusalem, where they can show themselves to the priests. According to the law, the Levitical priests were the ones to investigate leprosy. If a leper was cleansed, he or she had to undergo an eight-day ritual by which they were declared ceremonially cleansed as well, able to return to the house of the Lord. Since Jesus had not yet fulfilled Mosaic law, and he did not come to abolish but fulfill the law, He sent them to where the law directed them. The men trusted Jesus’ word, and so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. Jesus cleanses leprosy, and He does it with a word. 

All ten men were cleansed. They all received what they had asked for. But apparently nine of them only wanted physical healing. For nine of them, mercy meant only physical healing. But one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face and His feet, giving Him thanks. To this one, mercy meant more than the removal of the leprosy. For this one, mercy meant salvation. Faith led the man to call out for mercy, and his faith led him to fall down at Jesus feet and glorify God in the person of Jesus. He recognized the One who had healed His diseased flesh as God in human flesh. After commenting on the fact that the other nine, as sons of Israel, should have known better and done what this Samaritan had done, He says to the man, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has saved you.” “Your faith has made you well” is a poor translation. Luke plainly recorded that Jesus used the word “save.” For faith does not always make a person well. Faith doesn’t always mean physical healing. But faith always—and faith alone—saves, because faith receives the promises Jesus makes in the gospel, believes them, and trusts them. The formerly leprous man arises and goes his way with renewed flesh and a new spirit within him.

If that is what Jesus does for those with physical leprosy, how much more will He do that very same thing for those whose flesh is sick, corrupt, and leprous with sin? Those who call out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us,” He heals. These ten men knew they needed Jesus’ help because they saw their flesh deteriorating with their eyes and felt it in themselves. We, however, do not always see the leprosy of our sinful flesh. In fact, we can’t see it and self-diagnose it. It must be diagnosed by the Holy Spirit. He uses the law as His instrument for showing us that our sinfulness goes much deeper than our deeds. Using the law, He shows us that our thoughts and desires are sin themselves. St. Paul wrote very candidly in Romans 7:7, “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” That is precisely what our sinful flesh does. Paul writes in the epistle, “The flesh lusts against the spirit.” Coveting and lusting are the same thing. In Greek, they’re even the same word. The Holy Spirit shows us this so that we might ferventlycall us to Christ, who heals lepers.

He heals us of our leprosy by His gospel. He washes us clean in Holy Baptism, forgiving our sins, creating faith in us that saves us, and fashioning new hearts and new spirits within us. He drowns the Old Adam—our sinful nature—so that we may daily arise and live before Him in righteousness and purity. Paul writes, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” And there’s the rub. The leprosy is still there. It is forgiven so that it no longer condemns those who walk by the Spirit. But it remains throughout this life and will remain until God puts it to death the final time on the day we die. But while we remain in the flesh, God has also graciously given us His Holy Spirit. He gives us His Holy Spirit so that we don’t do the things our flesh wants to do. If we indulge our flesh’s desires, if we do not cut them off but feed them and let them reign over our hearts and minds, we grieve the Holy Spirit and cast Him out. This is why Paul reminds us that those who practice such things—those who give themselves over to the flesh’s desires and refuse to repent them and fight against them—will not inherit the kingdom of God. This is why God has given us His Holy Spirit, not only so that we enjoy the forgiveness of our sins but so that we might walk in the Spirit as the new man who belongs to Christ. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Walking in the Spirit means bearing His fruit. Since the Spirit desires against the flesh, the fruit of the Spirit are those virtues that oppose the flesh’s vices. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And because He has given us new hearts and new spirits, we cooperate with the Spirit in bearing these fruits. “The regenerate will of man is not idle, but also cooperates in all the works of the Holy Ghost which He does through us” (SD II:65). We don’t sit around and wait for the Holy Spirit to fight sin in our flesh and mystically remove every temptation. We don’t sit around waiting for Him to bear good works in us. With new hearts and wills, we fight sin in our bodies, we actively fight against every temptation using God’s word, and we take the opportunities given to do good to those who need help. And since the sinful flesh remains, these fruits are imperfect and incomplete, but God does not condemn them on account of their imperfection because they are born by the one who belongs to Christ.

This is the life to which we arise each day, and as often as we repent of our sins and call out to Christ, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” He daily heals the leprosy of our flesh by forgiving our sins, removing their guilt, and giving us new hearts and spirits, which are animated by His Holy Spirit. Like the Samaritan, we receive these blessings and return to give glory to God. For this thanksgiving—this joy in the blessings Jesus freely gives—is a fruit of the spirit of well. And as often as we repent and believe His promises, He says to us, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has saved you.” Arise, go your way,” Jesus says, “Because you have believed in Me, you have everything I have promised to give.” “Arise, go your way,” Jesus says, “because by faith You possess all things necessary for life and godliness.” “Arise, go your way, which is now the way of the Spirit, the way of the new man, the way of the one who belongs to Christ, who has crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” May God grant this to us all. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Galatians 3.15-22 + Luke 10.23-37

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

At the beginning of today’s gospel lesson, Jesus tells His disciples privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.” Adam and Eve wanted to see and hear what the disciples saw and heard. They looked for the Christ, the Seed whom God promised would crush the head of the serpent, removing sin, guilt, and death. Abraham looked forward to Christ’s day by faith, believing the promise that His Seed would inherit the earth and be a great nation. That Seed, Paul teaches us, is not Abraham’s biological descendants, the Jews. “He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.” The faithful in every generation since the fall into sin—the true Israel of God—have looked to Christ, the promised Seed, who would bring the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. The disciples are blessed because they see with their eyes what Abraham wanted to see. They hear with their ears the words Adam and Eve yearned to hear. But they are truly blessed because they see and hear in faith. Many people saw Jesus but did not believe Him to be the Son of God in human flesh. Many people heard His preaching but did not believe it. True blessedness is not merely seeing Jesus with the eye or hearing Him speak. True blessedness to see and hear like children, accepting His Word for what it is: the word of God.

Then a certain lawyer approaches Jesus. The lawyer is well-versed in the law of Moses. He should be among those who look forward to the Christ because, being something of a theologian himself, he knows the promises made to Adam and Eve, Abraham, and the patriarchs. But he has let the wisdom of the world, earthly thinking, and self-conceit distort his understanding of the law. He is proud, coming to Jesus to test Him, not to learn from Him. He asks, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He is fully sold out to the thinking of the world, thinking that the inheritance is of the law and that it must be earned. I say this is the thinking of the world because so many things are based on merit. We get paid because we did the work. We savor the satisfaction of completing the task because we completed it. God even says, “Every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor” (Eccl 3:13), and “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess 3:10). We are supposed to work and earn, labor and merit in this life. The lawyer’s problem—other than the fact that He comes to argue, not to learn from Jesus—is that he believes that the way it is “under the sun,” in this life, is how it is “above” before God. For him, eternal life must be earned from God. It must be merited. So, he needs to know precisely what he needs to do to inherit it. His question shows us how deeply he has entrenched himself in the thinking of this world. Inheritances aren’t earned. They’re promised. St. Paul puts it succinctly, “For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”

Since the lawyer has asked a question of the law, “What shall I do?” Jesus responds in kind. “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” The lawyer correctly parses the entire law down to two commandments: Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus tells him, “Do this and you will live.” “Do this and you will inherit eternal life.” It’s simple—so simple, in fact, that I have no doubt the lawyer knew the answer to his question already. His hangup comes in the application. He doesn’t touch loving God with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind. Perhaps, like most people, he assumes he loves God perfectly. Or, perhaps, he realizes just how imperfect his love for God is and doesn’t want to go “there.” The same is true for his neighbor, though. If he is supposed to love his neighbor as he loves himself, he can’t do that, either. Neighbor, after all, is a big word. His neighbor could be anybody that’s near him that needs his help, and he can’t do that all the time. And so, as a good lawyer, he seeks precision in the definition so that he may know exactly who he needs to love as he loves himself and who is exempt from being loved. He doesn’t try to narrow the playing field only because he’s a good lawyer, though. He does it because he wants to justify himself. He wants to prove—to God and himself—that He does the law and therefore inherits eternal life.

“And who is my neighbor?” The parable is the answer. A man falls among thieves. They strip him of his clothing. They wound him. Then they leave him half dead. A priest comes that way but passes by on the other side. He willfully ignores the naked, destitute, half-dead man lying on the side of the road. A Levite does the same. A Samaritan comes that way, and although “Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (Jn 4:9), this Samaritan has compassion on the naked, destitute, half-dead man lying on the side of the road. He bandages the man’s wounds, pouring on wine to disinfect and oil to protect them. He puts the man on his own animal and walks him to the nearest inn. He gets a room and takes care of the man. The next day when he leaves, he gives the innkeeper two days’ wages and tells him, “Take care of him; whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.” Then Jesus invites the lawyer to condemn himself and cast off worldly wisdom, human assumptions, and pride. He asks, “So which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” The lawyer has to answer, “He who showed mercy on him,” to which Jesus tells him, “Go and do likewise.” The expert in the law missed the entire point of the law. He was so focused on the identity of his neighbor that he missed the point of the law: Be a neighbor. Love others as you love yourself. And who should you be a neighbor to? Whoever God puts in your path.

The parable teaches the lawyer about the nature of the law. Love God above all things at all times with all you’ve got and all you are. Love your neighbor—be a neighbor—to everyone God puts in your path. That still won’t earn you eternal life, though. You can’t get there from the law, because the law, as Paul says, “was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made.” The law shows us just how far short we fall of eternal life. We don’t love God with our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind at all times. We certainly don’t love our neighbors as we love ourselves. More often than not, we try to justify ourselves like the lawyer, trying to move the law’s goalposts so that we can think we’re doing good and inheriting eternal life. But to use the law to justify ourselves is to misuse it.“ But the Scripture,” the law, “has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” The parable teaches us how to love our neighbor, but first it teaches us that we need a neighbor. The parable shows us that we are the man who fell among thieves. The devil attacked our first parents, stripped them of the righteousness and true knowledge of God which God gave them, and this is true for all their descendants. The law, like its representatives in the parable, the priest and the Levite, can only pass by on the other side of the road. The law offers no help to sinners because sinners do not and cannot fulfill the law.

But the parable not only teaches us the nature of the law. It answers the question, “And who is my neighbor?” The lawyer’s neighbor—our neighbor—the one who has compassion on those whom the devil, sin, and the law have left for the dead is Jesus. He comes down from heaven and takes on flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary so that He might have compassion on us. He bandages the wounds of sin. He pours the stinging wine of contrition on wounds. He applies the oil of gladness—the gospel—on them so that they might be healed. He forgives not only the wounds that we receive from Adam and Eve; He even bandages the wounds that we so often inflict upon ourselves. He puts on His animal and takes us to the nearest inn, which is the Church. In the church, He cares for us Himself and nurses us to spiritual health Himself. And although He ascended into heaven, He provides for our ongoing forgiveness and strengthens us in the new life by setting innkeepers over us to take care of our souls with Christ’s word and sacraments. Those who faithfully care for Christ’s neighbors, He will repay when He returns in glory. We inherit eternal life because we are under the care of the Good Samaritan. We inherit eternal life because, by baptism and faith in the Promised Seed, we become children of God and heirs of an everlasting inheritance with the saints in light. We inherit eternal life because our neighbor, Jesus Christ, loved us as He loved Himself and, in love, sacrificed Himself for our sins to richly and daily forgive our sins, apply the salve of His gospel to us, and strengthen us to walk each day in the newness of life.

Forgiven, healed, and clothed by Christ, we then begin to do the law, which says, Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. We begin to do the law, not to inherit eternal life, but because God has promised to give us eternal life already. We begin to do the law, not to justify ourselves but because we are justified by faith in Christ. We begin to love God, and our love for Him grows as we contemplate the great compassion of the one who is neighbor to the one who fell among the thieves, the One who is neighbor to sinners. We begin to love our neighbor as ourselves, as well, not asking who our neighbor is, but to whom can we be a neighbor? Who has God placed in our path to have compassion on, to help, to bind up, and to care for? This, too, is not to inherit eternal life, but because our Neighbor has come to our need, bandages our wounds, cares for us daily in His holy Church, and makes us heirs of eternal life. And blessed are you, for many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.” They looked forward to Christ in faith, but you have seen and heard Him plainly in the gospel, and you experience His compassion and know Him as your neighbor and Good Samaritan each day as He bandages your wounds, cares for you in His church, and strengthens you to walk again in the newness of life. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

2 Corinthians 3.4–11 + Mark 7.31–37

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

A deaf man who has trouble speaking is brought to Jesus. He takes the man aside and signs to Him what He is going to do for him. He put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. By putting His fingers in the man’s ears, Jesus signifies that He is going to unstop them so that he can hear. By spitting into His hand, then touching the man’s tongue, Jesus shows the man that He is going to loosen his tongue so that He can speak correctly. Then He looks up to heaven, sighs, and says to the man, “Ephphatha,” which is Aramaic for “Be opened.” Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. He opens the man’s ears so that he can hear the gospel. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” St. Paul says (Rom 10:17). He opens the man’s mouth and loosens his tongue so that he might confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus and offer Him the sacrifice of praise. Jesus commands everyone who witnessed the miracle to tell no one. But the crowd disobeys the divine command and broadcasts it throughout the land. Astonished at Jesus’ deed, they say, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

“He has done all things well.” All His miracles show us the kind of ministry Jesus exercises, and it’s far more than a ministry of physical healing. Every work of mercy He performs, He performs so that people might hear His word, so that through the word the Holy Spirit might create faith in the hearts of those who hear. His first advent and His ministry recorded by the evangelists is a ministry of life. He says in John 12 [:46-47], “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” Christ did not come to judge the world, but to bring light and life to those who acknowledged they are in spiritual darkness and death. He did not come to condemn the world but bear the world’s condemnation upon the cross so that all who believe in Him—repenting of their sins and trusting His sacrifice to pay for their sins—might be justified in God’s sight. He said of His ministry, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). On the Last Day, when He returns in glory, He will come in judgment, but during His earthly ministry, He comes in mercy to bring people to life through faith.

And although he ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He “fills all in all” (Eph 1:23), His ministry continues through the ministers of the New Covenant. St. Paul says that the ministry is not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The letter that kills isn’t the written word of Scripture. The letter that kills is the law, God’s commandments, for that is what was written and engraved on stones. The law condemns and threatens sinners with punishment in this life, but especially in the life of the world to come. The letter—the law—says, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them” (Gal 3:10). The law condemns us all because no one does all that is written in the law. The Jews could not do all that God prescribed in Moses. You and I cannot do all that God has written in our hearts at creation and explained in His word. We cannot fear, love, and trust in God above all things at all times. We cannot perfectly love our neighbor. This is why Paul calls the law “the ministry of condemnation.” Because the law is God’s eternal will for man, it is glorious, even while condemning all mankind and putting us all to death.

But this is not the ministry of Jesus. It is not the ministry of the New Testament. The ministry of the New Testament is the ministry of the Spirit. Again, not Spirit opposed to written word, so any ocean of emotion or quiver in our liver means the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. No, the ministry of the Spirit is the ministry of the gospel. Paul calls it the ministry of righteousness because it brings us Christ’s perfect righteousness. It brings the forgiveness of sins which Christ earned at the cross; it brings Christ’s perfect righteousness to those who believe, and it silences the ministry of condemnation.

This does not mean the letter—the law—has no glory and no place among us. This does not mean that Christ Himself never preached the law. Actually, He preached a lot of law and condemnation throughout His ministry, and His ministers must do so as well. The Holy Spirit uses the law to bring us to contrition—sorrow that by our sins we have offended God and deserve His wrath. Then He uses the gospel to open our ears so that we can hear of Christ’s forgiveness and righteousness, which He earned for all mankind and freely gives to all who believe. The letter and its ministry is still active and must be. God must condemn so that He can justify. He must kill so that He can make alive. And for as glorious as the ministry of the law is—it is God’s word and will, after all—it pales in comparison to the ministry of the New Testament, the ministry of life, which is much more glorious.

This morning, we witnessed the ministry of the New Testament’s glory. John and Ami brought their daughter to Jesus just as the deaf man’s friends brought him to Jesus. It matters not that she is newly born. Jesus invited her when He said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Not only has Christ invited her, but she has need of what Jesus promises to give in baptism. She is—despite her innocent disposition and unbearable cuteness—born in the image of Adam, corrupted by sin, and under God’s wrath. This is why Jesus has invited her to come to these waters. God wanted to form His image in her. He wanted to forgive her sin and guilt inherited from Adam. He wanted to give her the Holy Spirit so that she believes in Him. He wanted to enter into a covenant of grace with her, declaring Himself her God and declaring her His child. He wanted to open her ears so that she might hear His word as she grows in faith by hearing the word. He wanted to open her mouth so that she might declare His praise as His redeemed child. All this is precisely what He did through the water combined with His Word. And since it is God who did these things through His word—which endures forever—the blessings of baptism remain forever for Hannah, so that she may use them in faith each day throughout her life.

Witnessing Hannah’s baptism should remind us of our own. It doesn’t matter if you remember it or not. Hannah won’t remember this day. Her baptism should remind you that you are baptized and that the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—forgave the sin and guilt you inherited from Adam, gave you the new birth as God’s child, and promised you eternal life. And just as Jesus signified for the deaf man what He would do for him by sticking His fingers in his ears and spitting and touching his tongue, Jesus signifies to you what He did—and still does—for you in your baptism. Baptism signifies that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man, in turn, should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever (LC V.4). This is how we use our baptism each day, how we live the fact that we are baptized. Each day we sorrow over our sins because they offend God and merit His wrath. And each day we believe the promises God made to us in our baptisms: the promise to forgive our sins as often as we repent them, the promises to raise us up to new life with the Holy Spirit, and the promise of eternal life.

This is far more glorious than the ministry of condemnation could ever be. The letter can only kill. And though many imagine that they can, by their works and their “being good people,” make themselves alive, the law can’t do that. Only the Spirit, working through the ministry of righteousness, can make us alive through baptism and through the faith that comes by hearing God’s Word. Then, and only then, as baptized children of God, can the law show us how God wants us to live holy lives outwardly and inwardly. Even then, it’s still the gospel—and only the gospel—that enables the baptized to put off the sinful nature and daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak,” but even more miraculous, He makes us poor sinners alive through baptism and faith. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

1 Corinthians 15.1–10 + Luke 18.9–14

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

Two men go to the temple to pray. One of them is a pharisee, meaning he has great zeal for the law of Moses. He strives to live according to the law. What God commands, he does. What God forbids, he avoids. In some respects, he goes above and beyond the works commanded by God. This one enters the temple and prays like this: “God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” Now before we go any further, we should point out that it is a good thing that he is not an extortioner, unjust, or an adulterer. These are sins from which everyone should flee because God condemns them and threatens to punish those who practice such things. Nor it is sinful that he fasts twice a week or tithe of all his possessions. Fasting and tithing can be good disciplines.

The second man who goes to the temple to pray is a tax collector. By virtue of his trade—collecting taxes for the Roman overlords—he was viewed as a traitor and turncoat. Tax collectors also had a reputation for being unrighteous thieves, charging more than required to enrich themselves. Whether this certain tax collector had defrauded his fellow countrymen or not is irrelevant. He chose to be a tax collector and remains a tax collector, making him automatically suspect in the eyes of the Jews. This one enters the temple to pray. He would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” He doesn’t claim to be righteous in God’s sight because he’s avoiding what God has forbidden and done all that God has commanded. He doesn’t boast about going above and beyond in his own spiritual discipline. He does the opposite of the Pharisee. Before God, he is unrighteous. Before God, he is a sinner. Standing at God’s tribunal of justice, he only pleads for mercy.

It is the tax collector, Jesus says, who went down to his house justified rather than the other. We mighty expect the Pharisee to be the one who walks home with the verdict of “righteous in God’s sight.” That’s what the word “justify” means, “to declare righteous and free from sins, and to absolve one from eternal punishment” (FC SD III.17). But it’s the tax collector who goes down to his house justified—declared righteous by God and absolved from eternal punishment. Why? Because the tax collector comes before God’s tribunal and confesses the truth—he is a sinner—and humbly asks God for mercy. He asks that God forgive all his sins, not because he deserves it—he doesn’t—but because God has promised to be merciful and forgive the sins of the humble and penitent. The tax collectors has the promise of Psalm 86:5, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” He has the promise from Psalm 130:7, “O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.” He has the promise of Isaiah 57:15, “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” He has the promise of the forgiveness of sins and he trusts that promise.

The Pharisee has the same promises the tax collector has. The difference is that he does not believe them because he doesn’t think he needs them. In his mind, he has no need to trust God to have mercy on him and declare him righteous. He trusted in himself that he was righteous. That’s why he prays the way he does and looks down on others. He doesn’t need God to justify him. He’s taken care of that himself, or so he thinks. And while—good for him—he is not an extortioner, unjust, or an adulterer, he is still a sinner. He still has sin in his flesh, what we would call original sin with its lusts and impulses. And although he has not acted upon many of those internal desires, he has allowed himself to become absorbed with self-righteousness and looking down on others, both of which are sin. Self-righteousness sins against God by denying one’s need for His mercy. Despising others sins against love by thinking of the self as better than others who are undeserving of love.

The Pharisee—for as outwardly righteous as he may be—still needs God’s mercy. In fact, external righteousness, being a good person, and living virtuously, is unrighteousness in God’s sight if that righteousness, goodness, and virtue isn’t done in faith. A person can be righteous in the world’s sight and still be unrighteous in God’s. A person can be good and upstanding in the world’s estimation while God views them as guilty, not justified, and damned because they do not trust in His promised mercy for the sake of Christ’s righteousness. Apart from faith in Christ there is no justification of the sinner. For to justify means “to declare righteous and free from sins, and to absolve one from eternal punishment for the sake of Christ’s righteousness, which is imputed by God to faith” (FC SD III.17). The Pharisee blasphemes God by imagining he is righteous by his own works. The Lutheran synods also blaspheme by teaching that God has justified the entire world apart from faith, and that that justification of the world is the gospel which we are to believe and be saved. The pharisee places his trust in his own righteousness. The synods teach men to place their trust in the fact that all men are forgiven already, they just down know it. But only the humble, penitent tax collector goes down to his house justified, sins forgiven, absolved from eternal punishment he deserved.

In this parable our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us penitent humility. As St. Paul writes, “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10). As Dr. Luther teaches in the Small Catechism, “We daily sin much and surely deserve only punishment” (SC III.V) Christ teaches us this, not so that we constantly berate ourselves over the fact, but so that we recognize our great need for His righteousness, which is perfect, whole, and complete. He teaches us to see our unrighteousness so that we believe death paid for all of our sins and He gives His righteousness to all who believe this. He teaches us to see our sin and unrighteousness so that we may remain humble and live each day by His mercy, being justified in God’s sight by faith, not our own works and righteousness. When we believe the gospel God justifies us again, putting away our sin, absolving us from eternal punishment, and clothing us with Christ and His righteousness. If living by self-righteousness leads us despise others, then living by faith in Christ’s righteousness leads us to love others in deed and truth and live righteously in all our dealings with our neighbors.

And there are times when, living righteously towards our neighbor, they return righteousness with unrighteousness, love with hatred, and good with evil. That’s the situation in the Old Testament lesson we heard earlier. It sounds discordant to hear David say, “The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me; And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyes” (2 Sam 22:21-25). But David is not speaking of his righteousness before God. He’ speaking of his righteousness in dealing with Saul. He had treated Saul righteously, and Saul returned David’s faithfulness with evil, slandering him and trying to kill him on several occasions. David could pray to be judged according to his righteousness and integrity in that situation between him and Saul, for he had done Saul no wrong and even worked to reconcile while him, but Saul wouldn’t have it.

When our neighbors repay us evil for good, we can ask God to judge us according to our righteousness in our dealings with them, and trust that He will right the wrongs we have to endure. We can bear these—and all things—because of God’s mercy toward us in Christ Jesus, that by faith we can go down to our homes justified—forgiven of all our sins and absolved the eternal punishment we deserve, for the sake of Christ Jesus’ righteousness which we now wear. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Romans 8.12–17 + Matthew 7.15-23

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

“Beware of false prophets.” The warning comes to us each year on this Sunday because it is a fact of life in this sinful world that false prophets continue in every generation. They are wolves—ravenous wolves—who seek to devour the lambs of the Lord’s pasture with their falsehood. But they disguise themselves to look like harmless, innocent sheep. This is how they capture so many well-intentioned, trusting people. What is the sheep’s clothing they wear? The Lord says of Israel’s false prophets in Ezekiel 22:28, “Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD had not spoken.’” Throughout the Scriptures, the Lord begins many of His sayings with the opening phrase, “Thus says the Lord.” The false prophet’s disguise is the saying, “Thus says the Lord,” when in reality, the Lord has not spoken thus. It’s telling people, “God says this or that,” when God hasn’t said this or that in His Word of Holy Scripture. They may use the language of Scripture like the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witness. They may cite Scripture passages, but out of context, or contrary to the plain sense of the words, as Rome, the protestant sects, and even many who bear the name “Lutheran” do in our day. This is how their teachers deceive so many: “Thus says the Lord, when the LORD had not spoken the thing they’re saying He has.”

What are they speaking, then? The Lord tells the prophet Jeremiah, “They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD” (Jer 23:16). The sinful heart, which is the most deceptive thing on earth, is the fount and source of their teaching. God’s word says one thing plainly. But since it is offensive to unbelievers and human reason, it must be reinterpreted. The Triune God says He is the only true God and that all other gods are worthless idols. But that offends the Jews, the Muslims, the cults, along with those who subscribe to the American civil religion of a generic ‘god’ whom everybody worships. So, the false prophet says, “Since God works in hidden ways, so He may very well be working apart form the gospel in other religions, so we really shouldn’t judge individuals of other faith traditions.” This is not what God has said in Scripture, though. It is what someone has said in their heart which is antichristian, and devours the souls of those believe it.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said on the night in which He betrayed, when instituted His supper said, “’Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (1 Cor 11:24-25). Yet this is offense to human sensibilities, even of many pious and devote Christians, so the false teachers tell them the bread and wine symbolize Christ’s body and blood, or that through the earthly elements, we spiritually ascend to heaven to commune with Christ there. But the Lord has not said thus. The apostle Peter says, “Baptism doth also now save us” (1 Ptr 3:21). But this offends the human flesh’s desire to take its salvation into its own hands, so the false prophets reach into their hearts and say, “Water is not enough to save, it must be your own decision, your own work, and your baptism shows the world—and God—that you are obedient to God.” But the Lord has not said thus about baptism.

Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded His apostles to baptize all nations, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:20). Christ’s apostle, St. Paul, wrote in Romans 16:17, “Note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” Yet the idea that there cannot be union—or communion—with other Christians who teach different doctrines different from Christ and the Scripture offends the sinful flesh. The flesh wants unity around the lowest common denominator of doctrine so that the Christian Faith can consist of a multiplicity of different opinions, opinions which do not come from Scripture, but the human heart. But God has not said thus about His church and His doctrine. The only way to find true union and communion is by taking all thoughts captive to God’s Word.

While there are countless falsehoods in the world today, the apostle draws our attention to a perennial falsehood in today’s epistle lesson. He writes, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” In every age of the world, false prophets had preached that Christians are free to live according to the dictates of their own hearts. “If it feels good, do it.” “If you feel in your heart that something is right and God-pleasing, then it must be right and God-pleasing.” “You have the gospel; therefore you can live in any way, even according to the sinful flesh with its lusts and desires, and still be a Christian.” The false prophets of Jeremiah’s day did this. The Lord says in Jeremiah 23:17, ““They continually say to those who despise Me, “The LORD has said, ‘You shall have peace’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’”  This is the reason practicing homosexuals, impenitent drunkards, fornicators and adulterers, and any of the works of the flesh, can defend their behaviors while calling themselves Christians. But God has not said thus. He has said through His apostle, very simply, “If you live according to the flesh you will die,” and in Galatians 5:21, “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Those who call themselves Christians must, instead, put to death the deeds of the body by the Holy Spirit and not allow sin to reign over them.

Sadly, all these falsehoods—and more—we hear from the pulpits of clergy, whether they are called bishops, pastors, teachers, or ministers. They may be sincere, but falsehood sincerely believed and taught is still ravenous to the soul. Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Even though they had the office of the ministry, cast out demons, and did miracles, they practiced lawlessness, deceiving many, including themselves, confusing the dictates of their hearts for the truth of God’s Word. But also, beware the false prophets who aren’t in pulpits. Beware those in our world that invokes God’s name and Word, whether it be an entertainer, a politician, or a talking head on television or the internet. If they use God’s name and Word and say what God hasn’t said, or twist what He has said in Scripture, then they, too, are false prophets, ravenous wolves, who want to direct your faith away from Christ and the Scriptures, so that you trust in the imaginations of their hearts, their opinions, as God’s Word.

Why is this all so important? Because God’s Word is the word of eternal life. God’s word clearly and correctly taught is how the Holy Spirit works faith and gives life. False prophets have many ways to devour you so that you put your faith, not in the “Thus says the Lord God,” but in “Thus says my heart.” And that is their fruit. And you will know them by their fruits. Any prophet that directs you away from the plain sense of God’s Word is a false prophet, whether through the opinion of their flesh of by encouraging your own flesh’s opinions. Anyone who mistakes their sinful flesh’s will for God’s will must hear Christ’s judgment: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” This is why it is imperative to beware false prophets. To enter—and remain in God’s kingdom—we must do the will of the Father in heaven. The will of the Father is your repentance, that you humble yourself before God and confess your sins against His law. His will is that you believe the gospel and receive the forgiveness of your sins and Christ’s perfect righteousness each day. His will is that you adhere to His Word, receive His benefits through His sacraments, pray diligently, abide in God’s goodness, and faithfully use the gifts He gives you. His will is that your sanctification, that you live a holy life according to His holy word, and that this new life daily increases and grows. His will is that you suffer with Him, that [you] may also be glorified together (Rom 8:17) when He returns in glory. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Romans 6.19-23 + Mark 8.1-9

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

Does it ever seem that the unbelieving have it better than Christians in this life? Does the thought ever cross your mind that the those who go along with the ways of the world—whether they claim to be Christian or not—are more prosperous than those who make hearing God’s holy word and living holy lives according to it a priority? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s a common theme throughout scripture that begins in days prior to the flood when the descendants of Cain prosper to the point of luring most of the descendants of Seth away from the true church. Jeremiah asks the Lord point blank, “Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?” (Jer 12:1). Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, admits to the Lord, “I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked;” they “are always at ease; They increase in riches” (73:3, 12). Asaph even wonders, if just for a moment, if he had cleansed his heart in vain. This is a constant theme in Scripture because it is a continual theme in our sinful world. We see it in our day. Unbelievers prosper. Hypocritical Christians thrive in this life, giving lip service to God while their hearts and deeds are fixed on their prosperity, obtaining and enjoying it. At times this may tempt us to doubt whether God is really in control of human events. At other times it may tempt us to think that continuing with Him—prioritizing hearing His holy word and confessing Christ—is really worth it.

The Lord answers these temptations throughout Scripture, and today’s gospel and epistles lessons answer these doubts as well. In the gospel lesson, St. Mark tells us, “the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.’” Here is a large crowd of people who have continued with Jesus for three days. They came to Jesus in the wilderness to hear His word and to bring to Him the mute and the maimed, the blind and the lame so that He might heal them. The great multitude didn’t come to Jesus, get their loved ones healed, listen to a sermon, and immediately head back home. They remained with Jesus. They continued with Him so that they could listen to His teaching about the kingdom of God, the forgiveness of sins, the living of new lives, and the promise of eternal life. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness, they are filled by the gospel and have every spiritual blessing in Christ. But because they continued with Him, they had nothing to eat. Not only are they emptyhanded and hungry, but if Jesus sends them away hungry, “they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” Here we have a group of people—a large group of people—who have continued with Jesus and prioritized His word, hearing it, learning it, and applying it to themselves, and they have nothing with which to feed themselves.

Jesus has compassion on those who continue with Him like this, though. He does not leave them hanging. He doesn’t leave them to their own devices. He provides for them. He commands the multitude of four thousand to sit on the ground. He takes seven loaves of bread and the few small fish the disciples have. He gives thanks to God the Father, breaks the bread so that His disciples can distribute it to the four thousand. He does the same with the fish. He will not let this faithful crowd go hungry. In fact, they ate and were filled, and to show just how abundantly He provides for those who continue with Him, his disciples pick up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Christ has plenty to give, more than we even need! He shows us that though we may not prosper like the wicked and unbelieving, He gives us what we need when we need it, just as the psalmist says in Psalm 145[:15-16], “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.” This is a great and precious promise. Our Lord has compassion on those who continue with Him, hearing His word, learning it, and applying it to themselves. He has compassion on those who seek the forgiveness of their sins, the Holy Spirit to live a new life, and everlasting life.

Which brings us to today’s epistle. Paul’s talk about slavery to sin and slavery to righteousness is just another way of speaking about continuing with Christ. The slave of sin is the unbeliever, the hypocrite, the child of this world. Because they seek the good things of this life as their highest good, they present their members of instruments of uncleanness and lawlessness, meaning they offer their bodies, their thoughts, their words, and their deeds up to sin, which only leads to more sin, and as such, they live under God’s wrath. The slave of sin earns the wages of sin, which is death, spiritual death now and the eternal death of everlasting punishment and separation from God. This is what Asaph came to understand in the seventy-third psalm. When he went into God’s sanctuary, he understood the end of the wicked. Though they prosper in this life, God will cast them down to destruction and bring them to desolation. This is the wages of sin: spiritual death that lasts into eternity. Though the wicked and unbelieving prosper for a time, they will be punished eternally.

Slaves of righteousness, though, the one who continues with Christ, presents their members—their bodies, their thoughts, their words, and their deeds—for holiness. Continuing with Christ is to hear His Word and then to do His Word; to be counted righteous by faith in Christ and then to grow in righteousness by the power of the Holy Spirit. This continuing with Christ leads to eternal life. Even this is the gift of God, not a wage earned or merited. Our service to God in holiness of living and of love towards our neighbor doesn’t earn eternal life. It is all gift. This is what Asaph came to see in Psalm 73. He confessed his foolishness for thinking the wicked prospered, and said, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.” (Psalm 73:23-28). Asaph recalled the blessings of the Lord in this life, and that God was His chief desire. He also recalled the end of the unbelieving—the wages of sin—and the end of the godly—eternal life. Only in drawing near to God was he reminded of the great blessings God gives those who continue with Him, culminating in eternal blessedness.

So, we see how Christ graciously provides all things for those who continue with Him. He gives them daily bread to support this body and life, and as slaves of righteousness we are content with what He gives. As the apostle writes, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim 6:6-8). When we see the unbelieving or hypocritical Christian living their best life in this world while they care not for God and His Word, we do not fret. We fight the feeling that wants to grouse about how the wicked prosper and the godly languish in this life because we know the end. The end of the slave of sin is eternal death, and this moves us to compassion for them. The end for the slave of righteousness—the one who continues with Christ, hears His holy word and lives a holy life according to it, regardless of the cost—is the gift of eternal life. This thought even brings the prosperity of the wicked into the service of God’s saints. It reminds us that this life is not the end. Every injustice we see, every wickedness that prevails, and every time it seems that evil wins reminds us that our hope is not for a better future in this world, but in the gift of God, which is the blessedness of eternal life. Christ cares for those who continue with Him with what they need in this life so that He might bring them into the life of the world come. With that in mind, we say with Asaph, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Romans 6.3-11 + Matthew 5.20-26

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

Jesus teaches us the true meaning of God’s law in today’s gospel lesson. The law, specifically the fifth commandment, teaches, “You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of judgment.” While the Pharisees—and the sinful flesh—is content with the idea that they should not end someone’s life, Jesus teaches that the commandment applies to the whole person, including the thoughts of one’s heart and the words of one’s mouth. “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” Anger without cause and insults make one just as liable, not only of an earthly court, but of hell itself. Murdering someone is never the first sin. Anger, resentment, and bitterness are already murder in the heart that, if left unchecked, will lead to violent language and acts. The commandment forbids not only physical murder, but the murder that so often takes place in the heart, even that anger that festers and never leads to hurting or harming our neighbor in his body.

Jesus also teaches us what the commandment requires. He says, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” The gift being offered at the altar is a sacrifice, either for sin or for thanksgiving. If the man has begun offering his gift upon the altar and the Holy Spirit brings to mind that his brother has something against him—that he has wronged his brother in some way and not been reconciled to the brother whom he has wronged—he is to leave his offering there. Why? Because God says in Hoseas 6:6, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Sacrifices were outward forms of worship which God had commanded. But the sacrifices were to reflect the inward worship of the heart. It would hypocritical for a man to offer a sacrifice—whether for sin or for thanksgiving to God—while he harbors anger toward his brother in his heart that refuses to be reconciled to him. It is far better, Jesus says, to agree with your adversary quickly, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. The commandment, “You shall not murder” touches the whole person, the heart most of all, so that we do not murder our neighbor even with our thoughts, but be merciful and loving.

So, we need new hearts. Jesus says in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.” The Lord said before and after the flood that “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen 8:21). Who we are, by nature, cannot live according to the commandment, “You shall not murder,” or any of the commandments for that matter, for each of the Ten Commandments demand the heart fear, love, and trust in God above all things at all times, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Any thought that we do these is self-deception. For the Lord reminds us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, so deceitful that it deceives even itself with the assumption of its own goodness and righteousness. This was the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. They imagined they were righteous as long as they obeyed the commandments outwardly. But self-righteousness—which is the best that man, by nature, can muster—will not get you into the kingdom of heaven, because it isn’t righteous before God at all. So, we need new hearts, and by that I mean we need to become new people entirely.

And God, who is rich in mercy, has done that for you. “Do you not know,” Paul asks, “that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” We know that baptism “works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare” (SC IV.2). But it also unites us to Christ’s death. We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Far from being an empty sign as so many teach, baptism unites us with Christ’s death, so that “our old man was crucified with Him.” In baptism, your old man—the sinful heart, the whole man as he is descended from Adam—is crucified and laid in the tomb with Christ. This is why we baptize infants and the aged alike, for baptism is the way that Christ puts to death the old Adam in us and makes us into new men. The new man is the new heart, the new person, who, by the power of the Holy Spirit given in baptism, lives according to God’s will—the Ten Commandments.

The new man, risen from the death of sin, with a new heart, hears the commandment, “You shall not murder,” and does His best to live patiently with others. The new man does not repay evil when he receives evil. The new man, lives peaceably with all men, as much as depends on him. The new man does not avenge himself when wronged or allow wrath to consume him. The new says with the Psalmist, “Be angry, and do not sin” (Pss 4:4). The new man prays, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). He trusts God who says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Rom 12:19). The new man would much rather agree with his adversary quickly, rather than deliver him over to the judge. Yet, there are times when a Christian—as a citizen—must deliver his unbelieving enemy who refuses to be reconciled to the judge. The new man does so, seeking justice rather than revenge. This is how the new man, risen from the death of sin, hears all the commandments. All the commandments, not just the fifth commandment, serve as his guide so that he avoids what God forbids and pursues what God commands, and all of it from the heart, not just outwardly before men.  

The new man must also, however, contend with the body of sin. Paul says, “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” The Old Man is crucified, dead, and buried in baptism. But the body of sin remains. By “body of sin” Paul means the remaining lusts and desires of the old man. We still feel sin in our flesh. We still have its impulses within us, desiring to sin and lusting against the Spirit. These lusts and impulses are sin, but God does not impute them to believers who do away with the body of sin, that is, who resist it, and retain the upper hand against it. We walk by the Spirit, according to God’s law, so that we should no longer be slaves of sin. We walk by the Spirit, trusting that since our Old Man has already died in Holy Baptism, we are freed from sin. We look forward to the day when this body of sin dies altogether and is laid in the ground and look forward to the day of Christ’s return in glory when He raises us to new life in glorified bodies entirely free of sin’s corruption. For now, though, in this life, we live in the baptismal life, reckoning ourselves dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord, resisting the body of sin’s lusts and desires, and if we sin, relying on God’s promises made to us in Holy Baptism to forgive our sins and raise us to new life.

Jesus teaches us the true meaning of God’s law. Seeing how the law touches the entire person, we see the wickedness of the body of sin that remains in us. The law shows us the depth of our sinful depravity, so that we do not, like the scribes and Pharisees, imagine we can be righteous apart from the forgiveness of sins and Christ’s perfect righteousness that He gives us through baptism and faith. The more we see our depravity, the more we see our need for Jesus, and the more we give thanks to Him for putting our old man to death in baptism and resurrecting us with Himself to new life. By teaching us the true meaning of God’s law we also clearly see His will for how we live: that we should no longer be slaves of sin, but new men and women, baptized sons and daughters of God the Father, who live each day in the gospel, reckoning themselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. May God grant this to us all. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 3.8–15 and Luke 5.1–11

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

Jesus gets into Simon’s boat and asks him to put out a little from then land. The crowd had pressed all around Him to hear God’s word, and getting in a boat on the water would make it easier for everyone to hear Him. Once He finishes preaching to the multitude about the kingdom of God, repentance, and the forgiveness of sins, He speaks to Simon. “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Jesus wanted to adorn His teaching with a miracle to show the multitude that it was divine teaching. Typically, this is not the time of day for fishing in the deep. Not only that, but Simon had already labored all night, casting his net then drawing it up empty each time. But Simon trusts Jesus. He has good reason to. He’s been following Jesus for quite a while by the time this happened. He had seen Him perform several miracles already. If it had been anyone else telling him to cast his nets into the deep in the middle of the day after a long night of catching nothing, he probably would have balked. But he believes the preacher in his boat is the Messiah, so Simon says, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” “Since You have commanded me to do this, I’ll do it, though so far I’ve seen no results.”

Jesus rewards Peter’s trust in His word. Peter and company let down the net into the deep. “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.” They call James and John in the other boat to come help. They load so many fish on board both boats that both boats begin to sink under the weight. Jesus wanted to confirm His teaching with a miracle, so that His hearers understand that it was not the teaching of man but God. Peter understands not only this, but that the one using His boat as a pulpit is the same one who said on the fifth day of creation, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures” (Gen 1:20). The difference between the fifth day and this day is God in human flesh, by His word, brings an abundance of those living creations directly into Simon’s net. Simon, being suddenly aware of the fact that God Himself is in the boat with him, falls down at Jesus’ knees in humility. “Depart from me, for I am sinful man, O Lord.” The man who he had first called, “Master,” he now confesses as “Lord.” He also confesses that because he is a sinful man, the Lord God has no business being in his boat and blessing him with this miraculous catch of fish.

Peter acknowledges something that few are willing to acknowledge. He is a sinful man. Most are willing to admit that they have done wrong on occasion. Some may even be willing to call their wrong behavior “sin.” But Peter goes far deeper than the outward act. His confession even penetrates further than acknowledging sinful thoughts. He does not confess that He has committed sins—thought this is undoubtedly true—but that he has sin. St. Paul says it this way in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” He is a sinful man, born from sinful parents, of the line of Adam and Eve. And because he is a sinful man, with a heart turned away from God by nature, he commits actual sins in his thoughts, his words, and his deeds. With this heartfelt knowledge, Simon cannot but fall down at Jesus feet and confess his unworthiness to have God in his boat, let alone this net-breaking, boat-sinking provision of daily bread.

But Christ the Lord is gracious and merciful to sinners who acknowledge their sins as well as their sinfulness, that they are by nature sinful and unclean. Jesus does not depart from Simon. He draws Simon closer to Him. “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” He isn’t called Simon to be a Christian. Simon was already that. He isn’t calling Simon to be His disciples and learn from Him. Simon was already that, too. He calls Simon His apostle—as well as James and John—an eyewitness to His ministry who will speak on His behalf before the world. As Christ’s apostle, Peter will cast the net of the God’s Word into the deep of the world. His net is the preaching of God’s word, forgiving the sins of those who repent and retaining the sins of those who refuse to repent, and administering baptism and Christ’s Supper, for all of these are the means God gives Peter—and all the apostles—to catch men and bring them into the boat of the Holy Church, the boat in which Christ is present.

What do we learn from Christ’s call to Peter to be His apostle? We learn that as Christ provided for Simon and called him to his office, so He provides for us and calls us to our offices. He doesn’t call us to be apostles. He calls us to various stations in life in the church, the family, and the world. In the Church He calls some to be pastors and ministers and He calls others to be hearers. The pastor teaches God’s word so that the hearers may be nourished with God’s word and live Christian lives. In the family, Christ calls men to be husbands and fathers who are to honor their wives and bring up their children in the teaching and admonition of the Lord. He calls women to be wives who submit to their husbands’ love and leadership and help them in the raising of their children. To men and women whom He has not called to marriage, He calls them to care for the things of the Lord—how they may please the Lord (1 Cor 7:32). In the State, Christ calls some to be magistrates and others to be citizens, each with their duties. The magistrate is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (Rom13:4). The citizen renders to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, suchas  taxes, honor, obedience to lawful ordinances, and most of all, prayer. He calls all people to labor—not to specific jobs—but to enter a calling and diligently apply ourselves to the task. Then, finally, Christ calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. These vocations aren’t unimportant. They are how God provides for us and our neighbor.

But Christ doesn’t call us to these holy orders and then just leave us to ourselves. He blesses the work we do in our callings. Do you ever feel like Peter? “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing?” Of course you have. Because of the effects of sin, we don’t always see the results we expect in our marriages, our families, our church, our country, and our jobs. But this is the great comfort that comes from knowing that it is Christ who has called us into these stations: Since He has called us to them, He will fill the net when it pleases Him. He will provide, and He will do it through our labor. Because God has established our vocations and their duties in His Word, we know that the work of our callings is God-pleasing work, regardless of how mundane it may seem at times. We’re able to say with Simon Peter, “We have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.” “Because You, O Lord, have called me to this work, I will do it with all my might, with all my heart, and wait for You to bless my toil with success.”

The other thing about these stations, our vacations, is that we can never do them perfectly. Since they are all manifestations of the commandment to love our neighbor, we always fall short. Our love is far from perfect, and at times we do our duties out of sheer obligation instead of with a wiling spirit. When we see that our love falls short, that our diligence lags, and the heart just isn’t in it, Peter’s calling teaches us to confess, “Depart from me, for I am sinful man, O Lord.” Like Peter, we in no way deserve God’s blessings, for we commit sin, and we have sin in us. But Peter’s calling also teaches us that Christ is gracious and merciful, ready to forgive us as soon as well call upon Him, and ready to give us His Holy Spirit so that whatever you do in word or deed, you may do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him as Paul writes in Colossians 3:17. As Christ did not depart from penitent Peter, He will not depart from you as you live in repentance and look to Christ, trusting His mercy. The very same Simon Peter reminds us you this in 1 Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” He has caught you in the net of His gospel and drawn you into the boat of His holy Church, so that You may be with Him and He with you, so that each day, you can get after the work of your divine callings and holy orders, knowing that your work pleases God, and that He will bless it in His time. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 5.6–11 + Luke 15.1–10

The Pharisees and scribes preach a near-perfect sermon. They see tax collectors and notorious sinners coming to Jesus to hear His preaching on the kingdom of God, and they complain, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” They’re not wrong. And if they had said this in joy and thankfulness, rather than smug self-righteousness, it would have been a perfect sermon. This man welcomes sinners. He wants them to hear Him. This man eats with them, giving them His friendship. Although the Pharisees and scribes complain about this and think it’s unbecoming of a prophet, especially one claiming to be the Son of God, their words perfectly encapsulate the gospel. “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus tells them three parables—we only hear the first two in today’s gospel—to show them that their words are correct, but the attitudes are all wrong. He says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!””  Of course any of these men would go looking for a lost sheep, just as if one of their sheep had fallen into a pit on the Sabbath, they’d most certainly lay hold of it and lift it out (Matt 12:11). They can’t deny that they would do this. Sheep, after all, are valuable. But that’s where Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes part ways. The lost sheep of the house of Israel are valuable to Christ. These tax collectors and notorious sinners had gone astray from the Lord by sinning. Tax collectors lived in greed, always looking to fleece other sheep. The notorious sinners lived in sexual immorality, envy, theft, deceit, and every other sin. Christ comes to retrieve them because they are valuable to Him. And each time He finds a lost sheep through His preaching, so that they repent of their sins and believe in His mercy, He hoists them on His shoulders and carries them along, rejoicing that He has found His sheep that was lost in sin. It isn’t just Christ who rejoices. The shepherd’s friends and neighbors join it. “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

The second parable is like the first. “What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The silver coin is a drachma, worth a denarius, a day’s wage. Again, it is something of value to anyone, especially if you only have ten coins to begin with. The coin lost, the woman lights a lamp and sweeps the entire house in search for it. Jesus’ point is the same as in the first parable. The lost coins of the house of Israel are valuable to Him. As coins bear the image of the one who minted them, so all these tax collectors and sinners bear the image of God, though darkened and corroded with sin. And as the woman rejoices when she finds that which she had lost, so Christ rejoices when even one of these sinners repents of their sins and believes in His mercy. Like the shepherd, the woman is so filled with joy that she calls her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. The friends and neighbors—the holy angels—rejoice in heaven every time a lost sheep and lost coin is found by Christ.

Christ shows us precisely what He does in both parables. As a shepherd seeks after the one lost sheep, going through thorns and thickets and fighting wolves and whatever else endangers the sheep, Christ endures all things for the sake of those whom He seeks. He bears hardship and persecution, suffering and death. As a woman lights and lamp and sweeps house in search for the lost coin, Christ lights the lamp God’s Word by His preaching. This is what drew the crowd in Luke 15 to Him. The tax collectors and notorious sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. What did they hear from Him? “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). “Repent of the sins in which you live. Your sins anger God. They bring His wrath upon you. Stop living in greed, fornication, theft, hatred, lust, and the like, and believe the good news that God promises to have mercy upon all who repent.” Jesus did not receive sinners by sitting with them in their sins. Jesus did not eat with sinners to show them that they were fine just as they were and that they could keep on sinning. He received them, He ate with them in friendship, to call them from their sins and find them by giving them repentance and faith in God’s promised mercy. Then carried them on His shoulders—nurturing them through His word and Holy Spirit— so that they might turn away from their sins and begin to live holy lives.

There is no joy, however, over the Pharisees and scribes. They are the ninety-nine who don’t think they need repentance. They aren’t tax collectors. They aren’t public sinners whose sins are known to everyone. They live righteously. They’re outwardly pious and respectable. Internally, however, they are sick with sin, especially the sin of self-righteousness. They had puffed themselves up with pride by ignoring the sin in the hearts, imagining that if they don’t act on their sinful desires and emotions, they were still righteous in God’s sight. But as it is written in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” As Jesus says, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mt 15:19). They ignored their hearts, especially their disdain for their fellow Israelites. They didn’t work to call their fellow Israelites from their sins. They left them in their sins and then, when Jesus comes, they try to separate Him from them. Even though they preach a near-perfect sermon about Christ— This Man receives sinners and eats with them—since they do not number themselves among the sinners who need repentance and forgiveness, they exclude themselves from Jesus’ forgiveness and heaven’s rejoicing. This is written for our warning, so that we do not become self-righteous and ever think we don’t need to live in repentance and daily receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit from Christ.

It is also written for our comfort because we are lambs of the Lord. We are the silver coins of the Savior. For though we may not be tax collectors or publicly known as sinners, though we try to live righteous lives by the power of the Holy Spirit and avoid sinning, we daily sin and fall short of the perfection—outwardly and internally—that God demands. We need repentance each day. And thanks be God, Christ forgives our sins as often as we repent them. Each time we repent and believe His gospel, heaven rejoices—and we should rejoice as well—that our Good Shepherd has laid His life down for the sheep, and that He has not extinguished the lamp of His Word, but keeps it burning bright, so that we might live in repentance and His mercy each day.

We also rejoice, for Christ picks us up and places us on His shoulders to carry us once again. He carries us by giving us His Holy Spirit, so that we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. The Pharisees and scribes excluded themselves from Christ’s mercy and the kingdom of God by exalting themselves. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we humble ourselves before God each day in repentance and confession, and also faith and thanksgiving. He carries us by giving us His Holy Spirit so that we cast all our care upon Him, trusting that He loves us and will work all things for the good of those who love Him. He carries us by giving us His Holy Spirit so that we live soberly and vigilantly. This means that we pay attention to the devil’s schemes so that we spot them more easily and resist him and his temptations by faith in God’s word. He carries us by giving us His Holy Spirit so that, even though we suffer a while, we know that God will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us, if not in this life, then in the next. He carries us, so that when we see our sinfulness, we might not despair, but rejoice in this fact: “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”