Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Kerrville Texas

Luke 17:20-36
Lord’s Prayer: 2nd & 3rd Petition

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

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” It appears that everyone, even the Pharisees, thought the kingdom of God would be the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. They looked for a kingdom that was of this world, a patch of land with a government, laws, and a king. Jesus teaches them otherwise. The kingdom of God isn’t a kingdom that comes with observation—meaning it isn’t something seen with the eyes. It is a spiritual kingdom, “For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you,” says Christ. God will not reign over a patch of land with a government, laws, and a king. God reigns in men’s hearts, and men’s hearts can never be ruled by an external government, laws, and a king. A worldly kingdom can only rule over men’s bodies and property. The kingdom of God is within you. God reigns in the heart.

How does God’s kingdom come in our hearts? Luther says, “When the heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word, and lead godly lives, here in time and there in eternity.” God rules in our hearts by His Holy Spirit, who comes us through the external word—the word that is preached to us, the word that we read from the page of Scripture, the visible words of Baptism and the Sacrament—so that He might give us new hearts. The heart in which God reigns repents of its sins each day. The heart in which God reigns believes the gospel and receives the forgiveness of sins. The heart in which God reigns wants to live a godly life according to God’s word—in thankfulness to God, but also because it sees that live lived according to God’s word is the best life. The godly life isn’t one of outward fasting and outward disciplines—although those are good exercises—but as Paul says in Romans 14:17, “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Righteousness, because we are justified by faith, righteous in God’s sight, without spot and blemish before our God. Peace, because where sins are forgiven there is no wrath of God to fear. Joy, because where sins are forgiven and no longer remembered, the heart is lightened and rejoices in God’s graciousness. External works follow, to be sure. But they are the result of the fact that Gods kingdom is within us, that He rules over our heart, mind, and conscience, with the gospel.

We call this God’s Kingdom of Grace. Christ goes on to tell us how He will come again in glory. “For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.” When Christ returns, all who have belonged to His Kingdom of Grace will be brought into His Kingdom of Glory. This is Christ’s reign over all things visibly, not a millennial reign upon the earth, but His eternal reign over all things in which we will experienced eternal righteousness, joy, and peace. When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we are praying that God would give us His Holy Spirit now—here, in time, through His means of grace—and that we persevere in God’s kingdom until the end—our death or Christ’s return in glory, whichever comes first. This is God’s will for us, and, having our wills sanctified by the Holy Spirit, our will, too.

But there are forces that do not want you, or any Chrisitan, to persevere in faith until the end. There are wills other than God’s at work in this world. The devil, the world in which we live, and even our own sinful flesh wants to keep us from hallowing God’s name. God’s name is hallowed when His word is taught purely and correctly, and when we, as children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. So, the will of the devil, the world, and the very flesh in which we live, is that God’s word is distorted, and we live distorted lives according to His distorted word. Nor does the devil, the world, and our own flesh want God’s kingdom to come among us. They don’t want God to reign in our hearts. They want to reign in our hearts as an unholy trinity, so that we live the kind of lives they want us to live.

In 2 Timothy 3, St. Paul describes how the evil triumvirate of the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh desire men to live. They want men to be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Tim 3:2-5). The devil would tempt us to all these sins, and more, in the course of our lives. The world is no help to us. Its influence is pervasive. It glorifies everything the devil desires us to be. Our own flesh, created good but corrupted by the sin we inherit from our first parents, is eager to follow the devi’s promptings and the world’s prodding. An honest appraisal of our flesh will sound like St. Paul’s appraisal of his flesh in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.”

This is why Christ then teaches us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And just as God’s name is holy in itself; just as God’s kingdom comes even without our prayer, so God’s will is done even without prayers. We pray this so that God’s will may done among us also. How is God’s will done? Luther teaches us what God’s good and gracious will is and how it is done among us. “When God breaks and hinders every evil plan and will — like the will of the devil, the world and our flesh —that would keep us from hallowing God’s name and prevent His kingdom from coming; and when He strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and faith until the end. This is His good and gracious will.” Too many Christians in our world think God’s will is a hidden plan God has for their lives, so that they have to constantly decipher God’s will based on signs and hunches. This is no better than ancient superstition which sought to divine the will of their gods by signs in creation. We certainly pray that God’s will would be done in our daily decisions and we ask for His guidance, but we make our decisions based on God’s word, and if it is about something neither commanded nor forbidden, we use our sanctified common sense and do what we think it best for ourselves, our closest neighbors, and God’s glory. When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy will be done,” He is teaching us to pray about God’s will that we hallow His name and that His kingdom comes among us, so that He reigns in our hearts by faith, and that we remain in this until the end.

“Until the end” is a dire phrase, but a necessary one, when we consider the power and guile our enemies possess. It is also a necessary phrase when we consider that we do not know when our end will be, whether the end of our life or Christ’s return. He will return to bring us into His kingdom of glory—everlasting blessedness—at a time when no one expects. He tells us simply that the days of the Son of Man will be like the days before the flood destroyed the world, or fire and brimstone destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It will be days of eating and drinking, men marrying wives and women being given in marriage, buying, selling, planting, and building. It will be days in which there is little concern for God’s kingdom—His reign in men’s hearts—and concern only for the things of this life. In other words, it will be a time in which the devil, the world, and the sinful flesh lead many astray so that they follow their own will rather than God’s. Since our Lord Jesus could return any day, we pray each day that His will be done: That He would break and hinder those wills opposed to His—even within ourselves—and strengthen and keep us steadfast in His Word and faith until the end, whenever that may be.

And we pray this with confidence because, as Luther teaches us, “This is His good and gracious will.” The apostle John tells us, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8), those that He works directly and those He works through the world and our flesh. Do not doubt that God wants to break and hinder the devil’s will for you, the world’s will for you, and your own sinful flesh’s will for you. Do not doubt that He wants to strengthen you by giving you His Holy Spirit, so that you believe His holy Word, and lead godly lives, here in time and there in eternity. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Lk 11:13). Don’t doubt that He wants to keep you steadfast in His word and faith until the end. This is His good and gracious will. Amen.

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

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1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 & Matthew 15:21-28

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

Jesus travels outside the boarders of ancient Israel to the region of Tyre and Sidon. This is Canaanite country. While Tyre was an ally of king David and Solomon, the most infamous Sidonian in the Old Testament is the woman is Jezebel, daughter of the Sidonian king, wife of king Ahab, and the one who brought Baal worship into Israel. Recently in our study of Ezekiel we’ve hear how Tyre would be giddy with glee in Jerusalem’s fall and say, “Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste” (Ezek 26:2). Tyre and Sidon were types of the wicked world in the prophets on more than one occasion, whom the Lord would destroy on account of their pride. The region of Tyre and Sidon was definitely not the house of Israel.

Yet, Jesus’ fame had spread to that region. In Mark 3, “a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea  and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him” (3:7-8). In Mark’s account of today’s gospel, he tells us that when Jesus came to the region, “He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden” (7:24). When a certain who’s daughter is demon possessed hears that Jesus is in the area, she won’t miss her opportunity. She cries out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” Here in the region of Tyre and Sidon, Canaanite country, a woman believes in Jesus. She’s heard the report about Jesus, how He can cast demons out of people. She’s heard the report about Jesus, that He is merciful to those who come to Him in humble faith. But she’s heard and believes a bit more. She’s heard—and she believes—that Jesus is the Son of David, the long-promised Messiah. Even though she’s of Canaanite descent, not part of the house of Israel to whom the Messiah was promised, she believes Jesus to be the Messiah and comes to Him in her hour of utmost need.

“But He answered her not a word” Matthew writes. He flat out ignores the poor woman. The disciples come to Him and urge Him to send her away. What is interesting at this point is that Jesus does not send her away. He says—to the disicples, but within this woman’s hearing— “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This is similar to what He told the twelve when He sent them out in Matthew 10[:5-8], “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Israel had been the incubator of the Messiah for centuries. It was only right that Israel have opportunity to receive the Messiah first. Paul says in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. This isn’t racist. It’s not xenophobic. It’s the order God had prescribed. Christ comes first to Israel, then the gentiles.

The woman persists. “Lord, help me,” she says as she falls down before Him. Then He speaks more difficult words. “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” He has ignored her. He has said that He hasn’t come to help people like her. Now He calls her a dog. How many of us would have given up after being ignored? How many of us would still be there when He said, “I didn’t come for people like you?” How many of us wouldn’t have sighed in frustration and hurt, turned from Jesus, and left? Why doesn’t this woman do that? Faith. She believes the reports about Jesus, that He is merciful and compassionate, even at the moment when Christ sounds as if He were the exact opposite. She believes that He is the Son of David—the Messiah—and that He not cast out anyone who comes to Him in faith. So she says, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” She says to Jesus, “I may not be a child of Abraham, with a seat at Your table of blessings. But I’ll settle for being a dog who can snatch up the crumbs.” This woman may not be a biologically descendent of Jacob, but she’s more like Jacob than most Israelites.  so much that she grabs hold of Jesus by faith, and like Jacob wrestling with God, says, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (Gen 32:26).

Jesus had said that He was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Here in the region of Tyre and Sidon, He found one. She wasn’t a child of Israel by blood, but she was by faith. And that’s far better than being an Israelite by blood who does not have faith in Christ. Paul, who was a child of Israel by blood and faith says it this way in Romans 9[:6-8], “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’ That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” Faith in God’s promise is what makes a person a member of Israel, just as God gave that name to Jacob after a night of wrestling Him, refusing to let God go until He had been blessed. This is what Jesus sees in this Canaanite woman, and why He answers her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

God often does this very thing to those who come to Him in need. He does not often answer our prayers immediately, but is silent, answering us not a word. He does this to test our faith, that is, to exercise it and strengthen it. Remember, Jesus did not send the Canaanite woman away. He did not cast her out. He exercised her faith to show her, His disciples, and you, what faith does. Faith believes the word of Jesus, applies it to oneself, and clings to His word regardless of what it looks like externally, no matter how long it takes for Him to answer. David demonstrates this faith in Psalm 130[:5-6] when he prays, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning — Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” Luther paraphrases David’s words: “And though it tarries till the night and till the morning waken, My heart shall never doubt His might, Nor count itself forsaken. Do thus, O ye of Israel’s seed, Ye of the Spirit born indeed; Wait for your God’s appearing” (TLH 329:4). Being a member of Israel by faith, this is how we always ought to pray and not lose heart (Lk 18:1). And when the Lord answers, then we have a double blessing. We have that which we asked, as well as a faith that is stronger than it was when we first believed, so that we abound more and more as St. Paul says at the beginning of today’s epistle.

It is God’s will that we abound more and more in faith towards God—trusting His promises, clinging to His Word, submitting to Him in the midst of afflictions. This is why He exercises His saints through hardships, afflictions, and crosses. It is also includes our sanctification. He gives us His Holy Spirit so that as we use His promises more and more each day, we also abound more and more in holiness. The example Paul gives in the epistle is the holiness of body that avoids sexual immorality of every kind. Living by faith in God’s promise and desiring to walk in His will, we possess our vessels—our bodies—in holiness and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.  This is for our benefit and the benefit of our neighbor, whether that neighbor be our spouse or someone else’s. Since we are children of Israel by faith, we do not live as the gentiles, by which Paul means unbelievers. Since we are children at the table, which Christ has set with His blessings and benefits—forgiveness and salvation, peace and joy in the heart, the Holy Spirit and new life—we do not live as those outside the house live. But as obedient children we want to live as God has called us, and God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Many Christians have forgotten this, imagining that holiness is a gift only instantaneously given upon entering paradise. But not only Christ gave Himself into death the forgiveness of our sins; He gave His Holy Spirit for the abolition and purging of our sins, so that might cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Cor 7:1).

This is God’s will for us: that as His people—His Israel who trusts His promises—we abound more and more in faith and in holiness, both of which He exercises us in daily. 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.

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Matthew 15:1-20
Lord’s Prayer: Introduction & 1st Petition

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

When Jesus teaches us to pray, He first teaches us to approach God—His Father—as our father. God is our father because He has created us. Malachi asks, “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” (Mal 2:10). While in Athens, St. Paul quotes the Greek poet Aratus’ saying of God, “For we are also His offspring” (Acts 17:28). God is the father of all mankind in the sense that we are His creatures. But this isn’t what Jesus means when He teaches us to pray, “Our father, who art in heaven.” He teaches us to pray, not as creatures of the Father, but creatures whom He has adopted as sons. He adopts us through the gospel. John [1:12] says, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Peter says that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Ptr 1:3). He does this by created faith in us through the gospel and through baptism, the washing of regeneration, or rebirth (Titus 3:5). It is in this sense, as God’s adopted children, adopted for the sake of His only begotten Son, Jesus, in which our Lord teaches us to approach God as our father. This is why Luther teaches us in the catechism, “With these words, God would invite us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we should ask Him, as dear children ask their dear father.

Believing God to be our true father, we know He will give us only those things that are good for us. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7[:9-11], “What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Only a sadistic man who hates God and himself will give his child something that could harm them. Sadly, such men exist in our fallen world. Generally, however, earthly fathers want to give their children good things. If earthly fathers—who are sinful men—know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more does God the Father—who has made us accepted in His beloved Son—give us good things? Or, as Paul says in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” This is spirit in which we pray: not as creatures, but as children who are dear to God as His only begotten Son is dear to Him. With this, Jesus teaches us approach God our Father in humble confidence and heartfelt trust that He hears us and will lovingly answer our prayer.

But Jesus doesn’t leave us to own devices. He teaches us what we should pray for as well. This reminds us that prayer is something we must be taught. It doesn’t come naturally to us because of the sinful nature. Jesus teaches us to pray in the Sermon on the Mount, while in Luke’s gospel He teaches the Our Father when one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). Jesus has mercy upon His disciples—then and now—and teaches them not only how to approach God in prayer, He teaches them the things for which they ought to pray.

For what are to ask our father who art in heaven? “Hallowed be Thy name.” To hallow something is to make it holy. And Luther gets right to the heart of the matter when he says, God’s name is certainly holy in itself; but we ask in this prayer that it may be made holy among us also.” Luther echoes Leviticus 22:32, “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel.” God’s name is holy, sanctified, set apart from all other names because He is the only God. His name remains holy whether Israel hallowed it among themselves or not. So that’s what we’re asking: that we hallow God’s name, that we sanctify God’s name, that we keep His name holy among us.

And what is His name? Jehovah in the old English translations, but that’s really a mistranslation of the Hebrew Yahweh. Yahweh is the personal name that God gave to Moses. When Moses asks for God’s name, He answers, “I AM WHO I AM. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’” (Ex 3:14-15). The name He gives to Moses is Yahweh, which means “I AM” or “The One Who Is.” He also says in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the LORD, that is My name.” It was translated as Jehovah, but in modern times it is simply translated as LORD in a smaller font size. The Jews were so afraid of taking God’s name in vain that they simply stopped using it, and that began the tradition of placing Yahweh with Adoni, or LORD, when translating the Old Testament into English. And while we hallow God’s name—Yahweh, Jehovah, God, Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we ask in this petition for more than simply keeping God’s personal designation set apart and sacred so that we use it lie, curse, swear, and the like.

God’s name is an extension of His person. It includes His entire reputation, characteristics, descriptions, and His teaching that He’s revealed to us in the Scriptures. God’s person, reputation, characteristics, and His teach is all holy in itself, but we ask in this prayer that it may be made holy among us also. How do we hallow God’s name? Since God’s name is His teaching, His Word, God’s name is hallowed “when God’s Word is taught purely and correctly, and when we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it.” God cannot be separated from His Word, since that is where He reveals Himself.  To keep God’s word holy is to keep His name holy. The preacher hallows God’s name by preaching God’s word purely and correctly, and by living a holy life according to God’s Word. His hearers—you—hear that word purely and correctly taught and hold it sacred by believing it and living holy lives according to it. To teach or live differently from God’s word profanes God’s name. This is why it’s so important for us to flee false doctrine and fellowship with false teachers. How can we live according to God’s word if we don’t know God’s word or have a falsified interpretation of it? This can only come by God’s grace, so Luther writes, “Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven!” And since preaching and living differently from God’s word profanes His name, we pray in this petition as well, “Guard us against this, O heavenly Father!” As His baptized children, we do not want to profane His name.

Jesus shows us this very thing in the gospel we hear read earlier. The Pharisees had profaned God’s name by teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. They weren’t teaching God’s word purely and correctly. They added their own traditions and superstitions to God’s commandments, so that neither they nor their hearers could possibly live holy lives according to God’s holy word. Rather than teaching people to honor father and mother, they taught it was holier to donate money to the temple than use it to care for their aging parents. Like the ceremonial washing of one’s hands, they cleansed the outside so that it appeared clean, holy, and just, while the inside—their hearts and minds—were defiled with sin, especially self-righteousness. They couldn’t live holy lives, nor could their hearers, because they refused to recognize their hearts at the fountainhead of sin within them. Only by recognizing the sinful root seeking forgiveness and a new heart from God could they begin to live holy lives. But the external is always easier, and it allows the Old Adam to remain in command. Jesus tells His disciples precisely what do with them: Leave them alone. God will uproot them in His time and His way. Such is the fate of those who do not hallow God’s name in their preaching and life.

But to those who want to hallow God’s name among themselves, who want God’s word taught purely and correctly, so that they can live holy lives according to it, Jesus explains the parable. He teaches His disciples what the Pharisees refuse to admit: that what comes out of a man’s mouth is what defiles him, because those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. And only God can give a new heart, and that only comes by the Holy Spirit’s working contrition, faith in the gospel. And faith in the gospel is what makes us new so that we begin to live holy lives according to God’s holy word. And that can only come when God’s word is taught correctly and purely. May God grant this to us all, as a body of believers and individually, that we hallow God’s name, so that God’s Word is taught purely and correctly, and when we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven. Amen.

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

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2 Corinthians 6.1-10 & Matthew 4.1-11

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

At His baptism Jesus is revealed as the Messiah. The heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:16-17). Having been publicly revealed to be the Messiah—the Christ—Jesus doesn’t go to Jerusalem. He doesn’t begin to teach God’s word and correct the doctrinal perversions of the scribes and Pharisees. The Holy Spirit leads Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He humbles His flesh by fasting forty days and forty nights, then He humbles Himself by allowing Himself to be tempted by the devil.

Why did eternal Son of God—the Word made flesh—allow Himself to be tempted? The author of Hebrews explains in his second chapter, “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb 2:17-18). In the womb of the Virgin Mary, God the Son assumed our human flesh and was made like us in all things so that He might be our High Priest, our Mediator with God. All things includes temptation. The same author writes in chapter 4[:15-16], “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus was tempted for our comfort. He knows our temptations intimately and can sympathize with us in temptation. He was tempted for our aid, so that He might give His victory over temptation to us by faith and live His victory over temptation in us by faith. With this in mind, let’s look at the three temptations the devil attacks Christ with.

The first seems simple enough. Jesus is hungry after fasting forty days and forty nights. The tempter comes to Jesus and says, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” In this temptation we see so many of our temptations. The devil—or our own sinful flesh—points out that we’re lacking something, and then tempts us to get what we lack by our own power and devices. It’s the temptation to take daily bread into our own hands. If God hasn’t provided something for us that we want, even something we need, the devil, the world, and our flesh tell us to get it ourselves. The Spirit led Him into the wilderness where there wasn’t any food. If it were God the Father’s will that Jesus have food and drink, He wouldn’t have led Him into the wilderness or He would have miraculously provided it like He provided bread for Israel in the wilderness. The devil’s temptation is simply, “God isn’t giving you daily bread so get it yourself. Turn these stones into bread.”

And Jesus is truly tempted. It would be a play act if He weren’t. But He doesn’t give in. He fends off the devil’s temptation, not with divine might, nor with miracle, but with Scripture. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Jesus shows the devil’s suggestion for what it is: an invitation to doubt God’s care. Jesus cites part of  Deuteronomy 8:3, and if we look at rest of the verse—and the one that comes before it—we see how Jesus understands His time in the wilderness. The Lord had said: “You shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Dt 8:2-3). Jesus’ lack of bread in the wilderness is a test from His heavenly Father, an opportunity for Jesus to exercise His faith in His Father’s provision. Jesus is in effect telling Satan, “My Father will provide bread for Me when it is good for Me and for those I have come to serve.” Jesus trusted that His Father would provide for His life, because it isn’t bread alone that upholds man’s life, but God’s Word which gives life.

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” This temptation runs into a different direction. It’s as if the devil were saying, “Fine, you trust in Your heavenly Father. I get that. Prove it, or rather, make Him prove His word, after all, ‘It is written.’” This temptation, too, is a temptation to doubt the Father’s goodness and wisdom. But to do this would be to misuse God’s promise. Jesus responds, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” Jesus cites Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah.” There, Israel had demanded water and complained that God had brought them out of Egypt just to kill them with thirst. Israel demanded God fulfill His promises in their time and in their way. So, here at the pinnacle of the temple, Jesus will not tempt His Father in heaven by demanding He fulfill His word in a certain way. He will not demand his Father prove His goodness. Like the first temptation, the second is a temptation to doubt and disbelief God’s word, goodness, and wisdom. The difference is that the second temptation hides itself under a false and hypocritical use of the Word.

Finally, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” The third temptation is to forsake the ways of God for the ways of the devil. It’s idolatry, to be sure, but idolatry that would achieve glory, pomp, and power for Jesus. The devil knows God had promised the Messiah in Psalm 2:8, “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.” Once again, the devil tempts Christ to circumvent God’s Word—as well the humiliation and suffering of the cross—to rule over the nations. The devil will give Jesus the world, but Jesus must conform to the world’s ways, which are the devil’s ways. We are all to familiar with this temptation. You can get what you want if you go along with the crowd, if you compromise your beliefs, if you sell your soul to the devil. But Jesus cuts through this temptation, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Jesus will not obtain His inheritance in any other way than the way marked out for Him by the Father: humility, suffering, and cross. All three of the devil’s temptations are one and the same: forsake God word and ways and walk in my words and ways instead, and I will give you all God promises but faster, better, and without suffering.

Jesus was tempted—and victorious—for our comfort and aid when we are tempted. He was tempted in in all points as we are tempted. Jesus’ temptations are our temptations, for every temptation we face is temptation to forsake the path of faith in God’s promises and get for ourselves what God has promised to give. Since Jesus knows by experience our temptations so that we may come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:16]. He was victorious over temptation in His human flesh so that He might give His victory over temptation to us, and it is ours by faith. All who believe in Christ Jesus receive the forgiveness of their sins and Christ’s perfect righteousness in God’s sight, including His victory over the devil. He was also victorious over temptation in His human flesh so that He might live His victory over temptation in all who believe in Him. Christ promises mercy and grace, strength and fortitude in the midst of every temptation, so that we might stand against it and overcome. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us not only through the forgiveness of sins acquired by Christ, but also through the abolition, the purging, and the mortification of sins. By the Holy Spirt, we resist temptations as Christ resisted them, by relying upon the words of God, Holy Scripture, that which is written. Jesus’ victory over the devil is ours by faith. Since the Head was victorious, the body enjoys that blessing, an all who believe in Him are the body of Christ. He wants to live out that victory in us each day, so that we increase in faith which trusts God’s Words, lives according to it, and rebuffs the devil whenever and however he approaches in the same way Lord Jesus did: Confident trust in God’s Word, so that we can say, “It is written.” Amen.

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

Joel 2.12-19 & Matthew 6:16-21

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

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus’ words invite us to ask ourselves, “What is my treasure?” What do you value above all else? From what do you expect all good? Of what do you say, “If I didn’t have that, I’d have nothing left?” The answer is where your heart is. That’s your treasure. As Christians, Jesus is our priceless treasure” His Gospel, His forgiveness, His Word, His promises. We know Christ to be the most valuable thing we have in this life, so that if we were to lose Him we’d have nothing.

And while we know Jesus is our treasure, that our hearts should be continually and ever set on Him and His word, this is not always the case. If we’re honest with ourselves, we see that there are times when we work pretty hard to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth. By this I don’t mean that we work hard to save money, to have nice things to enjoy, and to share with others. It isn’t a sin to have wealth. It isn’t a sin to enjoy the blessings God gives us through our labor. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, “It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor — this is the gift of God.” What I mean is that we work hard to lay up treasures on earth so that we might set our hearts on them, trust in them, and be comforted by them, and think that if we have these things then life is good.

Wealth is the obvious thing to which so many devote their hearts. They desire to be wealthy, to have plenty—which is always more than they currently have. St. Paul tells Timothy, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:9-10). While there are many temptations which assail the one who desires riches, the chief temptation is to define oneself by one’s riches, to find one’s identity in riches, and imagine that more wealth equals more security from the changes and chances of life. Yet what happens to this earthly treasure we lay up for ourselves? Security systems may deter thieves from breaking in and stealing, but savings, investments, and retirement accounts are destroyed by the decisions of people we will never meet. Riches are truly uncertain (1 Tim 6:17).

Health is another earthly treasure to which so many devote their hearts. It’s good to be healthy. It’s good to be fit. It’s good to eat right and exercise the bodies God has given us. Yet many have the desire to use health as a means of overcoming all life’s obstacles. Many believe that if they can only attain—and maintain—a certain level of health, they can keep disease away from their doorstep and deterioration away from the their bodies and minds. Some are tempted to find their identity in their health, their weight, their active lifestyle. Others are tempted to locate their security in their bodily and mental health, so that as long as they are healthy, life is good. Yet what happens to this earthly treasure we lay up for ourselves? No one is exempt from illness. Disease afflicts seemingly at random. While we may have a bit more control over our health than we do riches, health is also uncertain.

Relationships are another thing to which many devote themselves, imagining that if they have certain relationships, they will have every good thing and have a good life. The single person may seek the treasure of a spouse, then life would be good. The married may desire someone else’s spouse as that which would make their life good. The childless may desire children as their highest good so much that they employ science to help them conceive a child at all costs, even at the expense of the embryos—living children—who will certainly die. Others seek pleasure as that which will give them a good life, so that if they only had more of whatever gives them pleasure, they’d have a good life. Show me your treasure and I’ll show you your heart, for “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

With these words Jesus invites us to ask ourselves, “What is my treasure? What do I value above all else? From what do I expect all good, so that if I have it, I have everything I need?” The thing about earthly treasures is that they are treasures. Wealth, health, marriage, children, pleasure, and all the things of this life are gifts from God. They are our daily bread. It isn’t the possession of earthly treasures that is sinful. It is laying up treasures on earth so that we might set our hearts on them and seek our identity and security in them. It is to make these things idols, into god. Luther writes in the Large Catechism:

A god means that from which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. 3 If your faith and trust be right, then is your god also true; and, on the other hand, if your trust be false and wrong, then you have not the true God; for these two belong together, faith and God. That now, I say, upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god (I:3)

When Christ invites to ask, “What is my treasure?” He teaches us the First Commandment, that we are to have no other Gods before Him, so that we fear, love, and trust in Him above all things.

As often as the Holy Ghost shows us that we are laying up treasures on earth for ourselves, to find our identity and security in them, there is only one response. Repent. “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him — A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God?” “(Joel 2:12-14). Turn back to God with all your heart. Repent of attempting to turn His good gifts into Him, of looking to created things for identity and security rather than Him.

And then rejoice, for your God is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. God our heavenly Father hears the prayers of the penitent and forgives the idolatry of our hearts for Jesus’ sake. By forgiving us for Jesus’ sake, He shows His graciousness and mercy toward us, because that by which our sins are forgiven, and we are counted righteous in His sight is the heavenly treasure: Jesus and His perfect merit and all-sufficient suffering and death for all sins on the cross. God wants us to have this treasure. He wants us to enjoy this treasure by faith. He wants us to use this treasure each day because this treasure gives those things which formerly looked for from earthly treasures. God gives us identity—we are sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. God gives us security in the midst of the changes and chances of life—If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31). In the gospel God gives us security for the life of the world to come, because by faith He has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for us (1 Ptr 1:3-4).

Jesus is our treasure: His gospel which promises forgiveness as quickly as we repent; His word which teaches us to see ourselves as He sees us and the world as He sees it; His Holy Spirit so that we begin to live a new life, simultaneously content the earthly treasures He gives as our daily bread, yet also desiring our eternal inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Christ Jesus is our most valuable treasure in this life, and setting our hearts on Him, finding our identity and security in Him, we have everything we need. Regardless of what God gives or withholds from us for our good, we say each day: “Yes, whate’er I here must bear, Thou are still my purest Pleasure, Jesus, priceless Treasure.” Amen.

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

1 Corinthians 13.1–13 & Luke 18.31–43

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

When Jesus originally called His disciples He called them with the words, “Follow Me.” It was an invitation to join His school and learn from Him the word and ways of God. The twelve disciples had been learning from Jesus for three years now when today’s gospel lesson begins. Jesus had been teaching a multitude but then pulls the twelve aside from the crowd to tell them where He will lead them next. “Behold,” He says, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” Christ has told them this before on other occasions and each time they did not understand. We hear this and think, “Of course. This is the how the story goes.”

But we know the story. The twelve were living it in real time. Even though Jesus spoke in plain words to them, not figuratively as in a parable, they understood none of these things. In fact, this saying was hidden from them. The Holy Spirit hid this saying from them so that they could not understand it. At this point sorrow would have engulfed them if they had understood it. At this stage in their understanding, they may have done everything in their power to stop their teacher and Lord from suffering and death. For now, the disciples need to know that Jesus knew all this would happen in advance. What is today hidden, will be revealed after His resurrection when He explains His suffering, death, and resurrection from the Scripture itself, so that they might go into all the world preaching the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Christ for the justification of all who believe.

Having predicted His passion one more time, they Jesus leads them towards Jerusalem with them following Him. As they come to the city of Jericho they come near a blind man, sitting by the road, begging. This was, after all, all he could do. He had to live day to day from the generosity of others. This blind man hears a multitude passing by but being blind, the matter is hidden from him. He asks what’s happening and is told that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. After three years of public ministry Jesus’ fame had spread through all Israel, and this blind man had obviously heard of Jesus, His miracles, and His mercy. Not only had he heard of Jesus, but he also believed in Him. That’s why he cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” What faith! Though blind, he sees what so many of his countrymen are blind to: that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah. He prays to Jesus, begging that He be merciful to him as Jesus has been merciful to so many. Those passing by tell him to be quiet. Jesus is either speaking or being spoken to and they want to hear. This blind beggar’s cries cares are only getting in the way. This just makes the blind man cry out all the more. “Son of David, have mercy on me!” He’s not going to let this one chance slip away. He doesn’t care who else hears. Nothing will prevent him from crying out to Jesus, not if all the world were to tell him to hush. His faith is resilient, untiring, and unyielding in spite of the fact that the sight of Jesus is hidden from him.

And Jesus is merciful. He hears the blind man’s prayer and has him brought to Him. Jesus asks him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” to exercise the man’s faith and teach the multitude that was with Him. The blind man was a beggar, after all, and beggars beg. Did he just want food, drink, or money? No, “Lord, that I may receive my sight,” he says. And Jesus answers His prayer. “Receive your sight,” Jesus says, “Your faith has made you well.” Literally, “Your faith has saved you,” because faith is how anyone receives the mercy Jesus promises. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. The formerly blind man had become a disciple of Jesus, following Him, learning from Him the word and ways of God. The healing of the blind man shows the disciples what He will do for them, spiritually speaking, after His resurrection. Though things were hidden from them at the moment, Christ would, at the proper time, reveal all things to them, not only for their benefit, but to for the benefit of the entire world. The formerly blind man also encourages them to follow Jesus even though they don’t see as clearly as they think they should. The point is simply follow Jesus to the cross and learn from Him why He is willing to be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked and insulted and spit upon, scourged, and killed, and rise again on the third day.

What will they learn is the reason, the why? Love. St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:2, “Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Christ went to Jerusalem, knowing full-well that He would suffer greatly at the hands of the Romans. He went to Jerusalem, knowing that He would suffer greatly in His soul because He would suffer the full wrath of God against sin as The Sinner—the substitute who would die in place of all mankind to pay for the sins of all mankind. And the only motivation to be made such a sacrifice is love, for no other motivation could animate Christ to endure such suffering willfully, knowingly, gently, and perfectly. Without love it wouldn’t have fulfilled the law. Without love as the motivation, Christ’s words would have been sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. Without love as the motivation, all Christ’s prophecy, understanding, knowledge, and faith in His heavenly Father would have been nothing. Without love for mankind—all of mankind—though He gave His body to death on the cross it would have profited us nothing, for love is the fulfillment of the law, and Christ has fulfilled the law perfectly for us, therefore Christ bore all things, suffered all things, and endured all things because He loved us.

The season of Lent begins on Wednesday, so it is only right that today Jesus tells us, “Behold! We are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.” As we follow our Lord Jesus Christ to the cross, we will see how everything He establishes and everything He endures accomplishes what the prophets wrote about the Son of Man. These things were hidden from the disciples beforehand. But they are not hidden from our eyes, that is, unless we willfully close our eyes and stop up our ears to the apostles’ witness. Not only must we see how Christ accomplished all things written about the Son of Man, we must see that all of it is done, suffered, and endured out of love for us. Only then will our faith cry out all the more, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” as the blind beggar cried out. Christ shows us His great love for us so that we believe in Him, so that we trust in Him, so that we place all our confidence in Him, regardless of what is hidden from us in this life. Christ drives His love deeper into our hearts as we hear again how He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; how He was smitten and afflicted by God; how He was wounded for our transgression and bruised for our iniquities, and how His chastisement earns our peace with God, and how His bloody stripes are our saving health.

And if we contemplate Christ’s love for us like this, so that it is driven deeper into our hearts, then we will have choice but love our neighbor for whom Christ has also died. The love Christ has shown us shows us how we are to love one another, not in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth “(1 Jn 3:18). Paul teaches us this love in the epistle. “Love suffers long—that is, it is patient—and is kind; love does not envy. Love does not parade itself—meaning, it isn’t boastful about what it does—It is not puffed up, that is, conceited. Love does not behave rudely, indecently towards others. Love does not seek it’s own, our own good, but the good of our neighbor, placing their good alongside ours, because if it isn’t good for our neighbor then it isn’t good for us, either. This is why Paul says in Philippians 2:4, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Love thinks no evil, either of others or evil things for oneself. Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. As we look at the ministry, suffering, and death of Jesus we see this perfect love for all people, including us, and turn toward our neighbors and love them this same way. This is why of faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these is love. Faith and hope are directed toward God. Love is the greatest because it is not only directed toward God, but to every neighbor, even to ourselves, for we cannot love our neighbor if we do not love ourselves as God loves us.

If we follow Jesus to the cross, learning God’s word and ways from Him, He will show us His great love for us. That love strengthens our faith in Him, so that, like the blind beggar, regardless of how much is hidden from us in this life, we confidently call out to Him in all things, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me,” knowing that He will. If He has loved us enough to suffer all things and die for us, how much more will graciously give us all things we need for this life and the next? Amen.

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

2 Corinthians 11.19–12.9 & Luke 8.4–15

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

Pay attention to how you hear. That’s the point of the parable of the sower. A sower sows seed on four types of soil. Some seed falls the wayside—a well-worn, compacted path—and that seed is trampled on people so that the birds of air devour it. Some seed falls on the rock. It springs up momentarily, but quickly withers because it couldn’t establish roots to get moisture. Other seed falls among thorns. The thorns grow up alongside the tender plant and choke it. Still other seed falls on good ground. This seed springs up, establishes roots, and grows to the point of bearing fruit, even a bountiful harvest.

The four types of soil upon the seed falls represent four types of human hearts who hear God’s Word. The first type, the wayside, is the heart that is hardened and compacted. The seed falls on this ground but bounces right off because the heart is impenetrable. These are those who hear God’s word preached and think nothing of it. The word is heard but not understood and so it can’t implant itself in the heart. It bounces off their hard, compacted heart, then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They go about their life, never again thinking of the word which they heard.

The second type of heart is represented by the rocky soil. The seed penetrates this soil for a brief time. It tries to grow, but can’t establish roots to collect moisture, so it withers and dies. Jesus explains that these receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. These are the people who hear God’s word and accept it with great gusto. They believe for a while. They rejoice in the free forgiveness of their sins for Jesus’ sake. They enjoy the peace of conscience the gospel brings. But then temptation comes. The word translated temptation can also be translated as testing. When God is the subject of the verb we translate it as “testing. James teaches us in his epistle, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone” (Ja 1:13). But when the devil is the subject of the verb, then it’s translated temptation. God tests for the strengthening of faith; the devil tempts into sin for the destruction of faith. Jesus doesn’t say from whom this time of temptation comes, but it really doesn’t matter. od allows the devil to tempt believers, just as He allowed the devil to tempt His only begotten Son, so that we might exercise our faith in the midst of temptations to sin, just as He wants to exercise our faith through trials, afflictions, and suffering. The heart represented by the rocky soil starts off strong, but when temptation and testing come and they realize that the seed of the Word isn’t given to make life easier, their faith withers away and dies.

Thorny soil represents the third type of human heart which has the seed of God’s Word sown on it. The thorns grow up alongside the tender shoot, become intertwined with God’s planting, and choke it so that it cannot bear mature fruit. Jesus says the thorns which choke the plant of faith are cares, riches, and pleasures of life. Cares are anxieties and worries. Jesus describes these cares in Matthew 6:25 as worries about what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Anxious worrying about the stuff of this life can easily choke faith. Riches are just that, wealth beyond what we need for everyday life. Paul reminds Timothy that those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim 6:9-10). The desire for riches chokes faith so that it cannot bear fruit, but dies. Finally, the pleasures of life do the same they are prioritized over the word of God and not controlled and directed by the word of God. Cares, riches, and pleasures of life all choke faith so that it is unproductive, sickly, and moribund because they fight tenaciously for our attention, each one seeking to be the highest good in our life.

Then there’s soil number four: good ground, which Jesus calls a good and noble heart. The good and noble heart is the heart that, having heard God’s word, keeps it. How does it keep God’s word? It hears God’s word preached, it accepts the seed the word so that it becomes implanted, and then it is nurtured so that it grows. What does this look like, practically speaking? It’s the heart that hears God’s word as it is sown through preaching, seeks to understand it, and then applies it to oneself. And not just at the time of hearing. If we only apply God’s word to ourselves while we are listen to the sermon or singing in the Service, then walk through those doors and not think about it again until we come back next Sunday, then aren’t keeping it, because out there in the world, in your daily life, are temptations and trials, cares, riches, and the pleasures of life, which want to be prioritized and pursued. The seed must be received, it must become implanted, and it must be kept in mind, lived, and applied to oneself each day. This is how the heart bears fruit with patience. It takes time, moisture, nurture, weeding the soil of the heart to keep thorns at bay, for the word to bear its fruit.

What fruit does the seed of the word want to bear in us? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). And while its tempting to make this fruit an abstraction, the Holy Spirit bears this fruit in us toward real people and real situations in our real lives. If we make the fruit the Spirit wants to bear in us an abstraction, then we can say we love someone while treating them spitefully and with disdain. We can claim to want longsuffering—patience—yet demand of ourselves and others that they be where we want them to be right now. We can claim to be good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled in the abstract, while treating ourselves and others badly, unfaithfully, harshly, and let our sinful nature run our thoughts, words, and behaviors. When we see ourselves doing this then we must repent, removing the rocks and uprooting the thorns in our heart, so that God can implant the seed of His word—the gospel of forgiveness, new life, and the Holy Spirit—into our hearts once again and we can keep it, seek to understand it more deeply, and apply it to ourselves more confidently.

And lest we still want to make the fruit the Spirit bears in us through His word an abstraction, He gives us the very real example of St. Paul in today’s epistle. Look at the fruit the word bears in him. He sufferings temptation, trial, affliction, and cross. Scourged, imprisoned, beaten with rods, pelted with stones, shipwrecked three times, in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Yet he bears it all with patience. He bears every affliction and cross out of love for Christ, for the churches he has planted, for the saints whom his ministry serves. He endures all this, along with a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, and He does so in the strength that Christ provides, the strength that is perfect in human weakness and suffering, although we do not always sense it and understand it. Christ sowed the seed of the word in Paul’s heart and Paul, by the working of the Holy Spirit, kept it and bore fruit with patience, even the fruit of suffering what God sent with patience and trust. 

Pay attention to how you hear. That’s the point of the parable of the sower. Don’t think you can hear it here and leave it here until next week. The bird of prey will snatch it away. Don’t hear God’s word and imagine that it’s the path of least resistance to ease and glory, but hear it and apply it yourself so that when you are tempted, and when Christ lays the cross upon you, it encourage you and strengthen you in the midst of your weakness, for His strength is made perfect in weakness. Don’t hear God’s word and still think the cares, riches, and pleasures of life can be prioritized above God’s word, because if you do, they will become your greatest good and choke the plant of faith. No, may God instead grant our hearts to be good ground, soil receptive to His word, so that we hear it, read it, mark it, learn it, inwardly digest it, apply it to ourselves each day, and live it. May God grant that that His word—which He has implanted in us here today— bears fruit with patience, not fruit in the abstract, but real fruit towards ourselves, towards others, and towards our Lord. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Grant this, Lord, to us all. Amen.

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

1 Corinthians 9.24–10:5 & Matthew 20.1-16

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

A landowner goes to the marketplace at the beginning of the workday, 6am. He invites the men standing there to come and work in his vineyard for the day. They agree on a wage, a denarius for a day’s work, and the men go to work in the vineyard. The landowner wants more workers in his vineyard, so he goes to the marketplace again at 9am, and finds some standing idle in the marketplace. He tells them, “You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.” These men know that they don’t deserve an entire day’s wages, but they trust the landowner’s generosity. They are confident that He will give them what is right. The landowner goes out again at the sixth hour, noon, and then the ninth hour, which would be 3 o’clock in the afternoon. He calls more men to work in His vineyard. Even at the eleventh hour, 5pm, one hour until quitting time, the landowner goes into the marketplace again and calls those men to work in his vineyard. Although these men claim that no one had hired them all throughout the day, the landowner hires them with the same promise given to the workers hired at the ninth hour: “Whatever is right you will receive.” Such is the generosity of the landowner, that He calls men throughout the entire day and promises to give them what it good and right. He proves himself true to His word at the end of the day when he pays the eleventh hour workers a denarius, a full day’s wages, even though they only worked one hour. Not only did He graciously call them into His vineyard so late in the day, he rewarded them based on His generosity, not their work or merits.

The landowner’s generosity has a different effect on the men hired first. When they see the eleventh-hour workers, the one hour workers, receive what they, the 6am workers had agreed upon, they assumed that the landowner had changed the agreement and would reward them according to their works, the time of their labor, and their own merit. When they receive the denarius—which they had agreed to—they grumble against the landowner. “These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.” These men had entered the landowner’s vineyard by His grace. But they forgot that. When they saw the landowner’s generosity to others, their eyes became evil, that is, they despised the landowner’s goodness. Suddenly, their agreement wasn’t enough. They expected more because of the amount of work they had done and the length of time they had worked. But the landowner tells them, “Take what is yours and go your way. Is it not lawful for me to give to this last man the same as to you? Or is your eye evil because I am good?” He gives them the agreed upon wage and then sends them out of His vineyard. They began the day by the grace of the landowner, but by the end of the day they wanted nothing to do with His goodness.

What does this parable teach us about the kingdom of God? The kingdom of heaven is the church on earth. The landowner is Christ who graciously calls men throughout the day of human history. He calls men from all ages of the world. He also calls men many times throughout their lives, some at the beginning of their life, others in their youth, others in midlife, and others during old age. The call is always the same, “You also go work in my vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.” When Christ calls men to work in His vineyard, the church, He is not calling them to earn their salvation by their works. He graciously gives them His salvation when they enter into the vineyard. The call goes out to all men, at different times of their lives, to repent of sin and enter into a kingdom of grace in which God graciously provides you with everything you need to stand before God the Father in righteousness and purity. Everyone enters the vineyard of Christ’s church with the promise, “Whatever is right I will give you.” No one enters the vineyard because of his works and merits. Everyone is called by grace, without regard to their works or merits.

And good thing too! For the only thing that we deserve and merit is condemnation and wrath. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23). “There is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin,” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). We sang earlier in the Tract the words of Psalm 130: “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” We do not deserve anything which we have in this life, only wrath and condemnation for our sins. But the Landowner is gracious, and His graciousness abounds to sinners. This is the reason that the Son of God became Man and was named Jesus, because He came to save people from their sins. The Son of God came to earth to destroy the works of the devil, the chief of which are sin and death. He calls men, He calls you, into His vineyard not because of anything you have done, but in spite of the evil you have done and the good you have left undone. He does not mark iniquities or keep records of sins. The devil does that so he can tempt you to despair of God’s mercy, reminding you of sins long forgotten. The Lord graciously forgives your sins by applying the merits of Christ to you when you believe the gospel. The Lord graciously absolves you of all your sins in this vineyard as often as you confess them. He calls you into His vineyard to give you all the blessings Christ earned on the cross.

But the vineyard is also a place of work and labor. There is planting and cultivating, pruning and watering to be done. The call to work in the church does not mean that He calls each of us to the work of the ministry. He calls some to be pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph 4:12). But everyone Christ calls into the vineyard of His church He calls to the work and labor of living the Christian life—what St. Paul calls a race and competition in today’s epistle.  To labor in Christ’s vineyard means to break up the soil of our hearts by daily repentance, to cultivate our hearts with trust in the promise of the forgiveness of sins. To labor in Christ’s vineyard means to bear the fruit of the Spirit while pulling the weeds of sin and temptations as they arise from the soil of our hearts. To labor in the vineyard is to live a holy life in your callings as citizens and spouses, parents and grandparents, children and friends, volunteers, and members of this congregation. To labor in the vineyard of Christ is to endure suffering and hardship with patience and trust that God will deliver you in His good time in the way that is best for you. To labor in the vineyard, the church, is to discipline oneself—our bodies and minds, our desires and will—and bring ourselves into subjection to God’s will, lest sin gain mastery over us, so that we drive out the Holy Spirit and thereby become disqualified from everlasting life.

In this way Jesus’ parable is also a word of warning to us, that we do not despise His grace and favor like the workers called first. They entered the vineyard and worked diligently, but when they saw the landowner’s graciousness to others, they suddenly wanted to be in the vineyard because of their works. They entered the vineyard in grace but ended the day trusting in their own works and merits. For this they were given their denarius, which are temporal blessings, and were promptly cast out of the vineyard. They received many temporal and worldly blessings from their work in the vineyard, but they despised the Landowner’s grace and so they were driven from the vineyard. St. Paul says that if we allow sin to gain mastery over us, we will disqualify ourselves from our heavenly reward, the imperishable crown of eternal life. Jesus says something similar in this parable. Just as we are not to let sin gain mastery over us so that we willfully go along with every temptation, so we are beware lest we fall into the sin of presumption, imaging that we belong here in Christ’s church because of our good works and behavior. This, too, is His work in us, as He says in John 15:5, “For without Me you can do nothing.”

In the kingdom of heaven the only merit that matters is Christ’s merit. In Christ’s vineyard, there is no goodness in which we should glory except the goodness of the landowner who promises to reward our works in this life and in the life to come, for He says of our work in the vineyard, “Whatever is right I will give you.” But, dear saints of God, do not work as if working for the reward. Do not labor in Christ’s vineyard with your wages in mind. Work in the vineyard as one who does not deserve to be here but IS here solely because of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Labor in your callings, run the race, knowing that you labor in the grace of God. Rejoice, not in your own merits and works, but in the merits and work of Christ Jesus, in whom you have the forgiveness of all your sins, the grace of God, and the imperishable crown of everlasting life. Amen.

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

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2 Peter 1:16–21 & Matthew 17:1-9

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

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” This is the brightest and clearest epiphany yet. Jesus usually reveals His glory by way of a miracle that helps someone: water into wine, healing a leper with his touch, or calming a storm with only a word. In every miracle, Christ’s divine glory peaks out from under the weakness of His human nature. But in the transfiguration Christ’s divine glory is on full display. His face shines like the sun. His clothing became as white as the light. He no longer hides His divine glory under human weakness, but lets it glorify His true humanity.

Not only is Jesus transfigured before them, but Moses and Elijah appear in glory along with Christ, reminding Peter, James, and John that God is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him” (Lk 20:38). Moses, the lawgiver, who died and was buried by God Himself, signifies the law. Elijah, who did not die but was translated directly into heavenly glory by a whirlwind and chariots of fire, signifies the prophets. They are both called from heaven to attest to the fact that entire Scripture—the Law and the Prophets—bear witness to Christ, His work, and the benefits He earns for all mankind and gives to all who believe. Luke tells us these men talk with Jesus about this very thing, His departure, literally, His exodus (Lk 9:31), both His exodus from this world and the exodus He will lead from sin, death, and the power of the devil for all who believe in Him.

Then Peter speaks. “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Who can blame Peter for saying such a thing? Who wouldn’t want stay and bask in the divine glory of Christ at His transfiguration? Who wouldn’t want to remain with Moses, Elijah, and Christ in heavenly glory? But while He was still speaking, God the Father interrupts him. A bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” God the Father puts His seal of approval on His Son once again. He had already done this once, at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. There, the Father said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). He repeats His previous words and adds, “Hear Him.” God the Father is well-pleased with His only begotten Son and wants these three disciples—in fact, all people—to hear Jesus, listen to Jesus, and abide in the word that Jesus speaks. Why? John tells us, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (Jn 1:18).

Hearing God’s voice is too much for these men. They fell down, faces to the ground, greatly afraid, because that’s what one does when one actually hears the voice of God. When Israel heard God’s voice at Mt. Sinai as He gave the Ten Commandments, the people said, “Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die” (Deut 18:16). How much more afraid were these three disciples at hearing God’s voice from the bright cloud that overshadowed them all? Jesus comes to them, touches them, and tells them, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” This by itself is an amazing word of gospel. God the Father had just told them to hear Jesus, and what is the first thing that Jesus tells them afterwards? Do not be afraid. Why not? Because you are sons of God through faith in God’s only begotten Son, and for His sake you have gracious God. As long as you are in Christ, you have nothing to fear of God the Father. And as if to drive Father’s words further into their hearts, when they look up they saw no one but Jesus only. Hear Him and only Him.

On the way down the mountain Jesus commands the three men, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” Why would Jesus show them such a glorious sight only to tell them to keep it under wraps until after His resurrection? Because this vision—for now—is for them alone. This epiphany, like all the other revelations of His glory, is to help someone. It is to strengthen these disciples as they descend the mountain with Jesus into the valley of the shadow of death.

Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection serve as bookends to His transfiguration. Matthew begins his account of the transfiguration, “Now after six days.” Six days after what? Six days prior to this Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. Six days prior to this Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day (Mt 16:21). On that day He taught them about His suffering, death, and resurrection and theirs as well. He told them, after rebuking Peter—who was unwittingly being in league with Satan for denying that Christ would suffer and die—that they, too, must take of their cross. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Mt 16:24-25). Not only must Jesus suffer greatly at the hands of those who hate Him and be crucified, but those who follow Him must bear their cross as well. A cross is any suffering that is specifically for the sake of confessing Christ and living according to His word. This is what these men—and anyone who desires to come after Him—must bear. They must deny themselves, not only their sinful desires, but they must deny themselves any thought of having glory in this life. They must lose their life in this world.

Jesus shows them this glorious vision of Himself to strengthen their confidence in Him, so that as they see Him betrayed by one their own, accused by false witnesses, condemned by godless hypocrites, they do not lose heart. Jesus shows them that everything He endures was foretold by Moses and the Prophets, in words and figures, so that when they see gentile solders pulling out His beard, punishing His flesh with cruel implements, and lifting Him up on a cross, they might not despair and turn from Him in unbelief. As Jesus takes up His cross, they are to remember that the one suffering such agony is God the Father’s beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. And if this is how God the Father treats His only begotten Son with whom He is well pleased, then they, too, should rejoice when they suffer for Jesus’ sake, because that’s how God treats His sons. It is as Paul said in Acts 14:22, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” The same is true for you and for me. We must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him.

Jesus gives these three disciples this vision for our benefit as well. They were only to keep it to themselves until after His resurrection. Now it is proclaimed once again to you, to strengthen you in the midst of bearing your cross for Jesus’ sake, whatever it may be. There is suffering. There is cross. There is tribulation. All of it could be avoided by denying Christ by going along with the ways of the world. But the transfiguration reminds us that even as Christ’s glory was so often hidden under human weakness before His resurrection, so is the glory that is ours by baptism and faith—the glory of the children of God—is hidden under weakness, suffering, and cross in this life before the resurrection. Peter wants to instill such fortitude in us by writing about Christ’s transfiguration in today’s epistle. Peter, an eyewitness to Christ’s majesty at the transfiguration; Peter, who heard with his ears the voice of God the Father, tells you, “We have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place.”

We do not have the vison of Christ’s glorious light at His transfiguration as Peter did. But we have the prophetic word—Moses the Prophets—confirmed by eyewitnesses, the apostles themselves. They testify to us of Christ’s glory, so that the writings of Scripture become the glorious light of Christ to us. We have the Moses and prophets, the apostles and evangelists, as a light which we heed, for the holy Scriptures are a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, showing us what we are to believe and how we are to live that faith. The Scriptures are our light in the dark place of this life because they are very words of God which show us Christ, God’s beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. We have the prophetic word confirmed so that we might hear Him, and Him only, so that as we take up our cross and follow Him, we do not lose heart and despair, but look forward to that glory to be revealed in the sons of God when Christ returns, the glory of Christ’s transfiguration, glory not worth being compared to our current sufferings. Amen.

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

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John 2:1-11

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

On this second Sunday after Epiphany Jesus once against manifested his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). He manifests His divine glory and sonship by turning water into wine. God alone can bring something into being by speaking. David says in Psalm 33[:6, 9], “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” On the third day after entering Galilee—with the five disciples He had so far called—and with a word changes one substance into another. By this Christ demonstrates His divinity, that God is His Father and He is equal with Him. But there’s more to it than that. The circumstances around the miracle reveal His divine glory and sonship as well.

What do we notice about the circumstances of changing water into wine? First, He performed this miracle, not at Passover or a religious feast, not in the Temple or synagogue, but at a wedding. He inaugurates His public ministry at a wedding to reveal Himself as true God and true man simultaneously. When a man and a woman pledge themselves to each other in marriage, they become one flesh. Our father Adam confessed this by faith when the Lord brought Eve to him. He said, “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). By assuming human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the eternal Son of God marries Himself to human flesh, so that He can say of humanity, ““This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh.” For although everyone present at the wedding sees Him as a man—which He is—but He, by His miracle, shows them that He is also true God. He also foreshadows His entire work. He comes to win a bride. The bride He comes to win is His church—the body of believers. He will give Himself for her, sacrifice Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Eph 5:26-27). By changing water into wine at a wedding, Jesus manifests His glory as the only begotten Son of God in human flesh, who will win His bride.

The second thing we notice about the circumstances of changing water into wine is Jesus’ interaction with His mother. When the wine runs out, Mary says to her son, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come.” Jesus reprimands His mother her, not in rudeness, but to remind her that while He is her Son, He is chiefly the Son of God in human flesh, and that it is His prerogative to decide when and how to act in His office as Messiah. He calls her “Woman” and not mother  because as the Messiah who has come into His office, He is not subject to her, just as He is not subject to anyone but God the heavenly Father. He impresses the point on her by asking her, “What does your concern have to do with Me?” or literally, “What do I have to do with you?” This is a Hebraism, a way of speaking among the Hebrews that we see used in the Old Testament. In 2 Samuel 16:10, Abishai the son of Zeruiah wanted to cuff of Shimei’s head for cursing David. “But the king said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?’” It’s as if David had said, “Why are involving yourself in my responsibilities, in my things?” This is even how demons responded to Jesus when He approaches them in the gospels, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Mk 5:7). By answering His mother this way, He reveals His glory as the only begotten Son of God who acts according to His own wisdom and His own time. No one, not even His mother, can direct Him. When it comes to discharging His office as Messiah, His mother is no different from any other woman. She has no special prerogative with her son. Later in His ministry Jesus will even say, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt 12:50).

This is especially important because there are many who extoll the Mother of God more highly than they ought, invoking her in prayer, asking for her aid, or asking her to join with them in their prayers. Scripture nowhere commands us to do this, nor has God promised that they even hear us. Instead, God commands us to call upon Him in the day of trouble (Ps 50:15).  And if Jesus reserves for Himself when and how to act during His earthly ministry, how much more, having been exalted to the right hand of God the Father almighty does He reserve that for Himself? Mary doesn’t err in asking Him for help. She doesn’t err by interceding for someone else. She errs in the fact that she tries to use her relation to Jesus—the fact that she is His mother—to get Him act. Mary understands, for doesn’t tell the servants that she will try again later with her son. She directs them to Christ Himself.  “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Why? Because He will act when and how it’s best for you. Thus, we should direct all our prayers to the Triune God alone, and ask those who we know can hear us to pray for us and join with us in our prayers to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost alone.

There is one more circumstance of changing water into wine that reveals Christ’s glory as the only begotten Son of God and Messiah, and that is the fact that He changes water into the good wine, the type that is usually served first. He begins fulfilling the prophets, one of who said, “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined” (Is 25:6 ESV). Not only does He act in His time and according to the manner He prescribes, but He gives us over and above what we need. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20). If wine that makes glad the heart of man as the Psalmist says (Ps 104:15), Christ making abundant and good wine from water shows us that His blessings and benefits gladden our hearts! That’s what the forgiveness of sins does to the heart. It lightens and gladdens the heart that was once burdened by its guilt. The promise that God hears our prayers and answers for Jesus’ sake rejoices the heart, because we are certain that we have a gracious God who will act when and how He knows best for our good and His glory. He gives forgiveness, righteousness, peace, joy, and all His gifts in such abundance. How can our hearts not be gladdened and rejoice whenever we consider the great blessings He earned for us by His life, suffering, and death, and gives to us freely in His Word and sacraments without any merit or worthiness on our part?

This epiphany of our Lord also teaches us about the life we live in Christ. By inaugurating His public ministry at a wedding, Jesus shows us that He approves of marriage and all that comes with it, as it is written in Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled.” If anyone would say that marriage isn’t as holy an estate as celibacy, or if anyone would probit marriage of man and woman, they have Jesus’ to deal with here, not to mention the rest of the Scriptures. The Son of God, who instituted marriage in the beginning by forming Eve and bringing her to Adam for a lifelong union of love, inaugurates His public ministry at a wedding to bless the married estate with His presence. We ought to treat marriage as such holy and divine estates, our marriages if God has given us a spouse, and the marriages of others, honoring them and defending them against all of Satan’s destructive temptations and schemes.

Christ also teaches us how we are to pray in this epiphany of His. Like Mary, we present our trouble to Christ. She simply says, “They have no wine.” Although she presumed that her relationship as Jesus’ mother would make Him act, she learned what we continually learn in our lives: God answers prayer in His time, in His wisdom, in His manner. We aren’t to presume to tell Him how and when to answer our prayers. As Paul says, we are to let our requests be made known to God (Phil 4:6) and trust His promise to answer. Christ also shows us here when the hour arrives for Him to act on our behalf, He will act in goodness and graciously toward us, answering our prayer and rejoicing our heart. Christ wants to strengthen your faith in Him by hearing about this miracle once again. That was its original purpose, after all. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. Christ wants you to believe in Him all the more confidently, so when need arises, when trouble and affliction are laid upon you, when the wine runs out, you trust Him to act in the hour He appoints, in the way He determines. For His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. They’re better. In fact, they are perfect. Amen.

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

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