Romans 6.19-23 + Mark 8.1-9
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Does it ever seem that the unbelieving have it better than Christians in this life? Does the thought ever cross your mind that the those who go along with the ways of the world—whether they claim to be Christian or not—are more prosperous than those who make hearing God’s holy word and living holy lives according to it a priority? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s a common theme throughout scripture that begins in days prior to the flood when the descendants of Cain prosper to the point of luring most of the descendants of Seth away from the true church. Jeremiah asks the Lord point blank, “Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?” (Jer 12:1). Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, admits to the Lord, “I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked;” they “are always at ease; They increase in riches” (73:3, 12). Asaph even wonders, if just for a moment, if he had cleansed his heart in vain. This is a constant theme in Scripture because it is a continual theme in our sinful world. We see it in our day. Unbelievers prosper. Hypocritical Christians thrive in this life, giving lip service to God while their hearts and deeds are fixed on their prosperity, obtaining and enjoying it. At times this may tempt us to doubt whether God is really in control of human events. At other times it may tempt us to think that continuing with Him—prioritizing hearing His holy word and confessing Christ—is really worth it.
The Lord answers these temptations throughout Scripture, and today’s gospel and epistles lessons answer these doubts as well. In the gospel lesson, St. Mark tells us, “the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.’” Here is a large crowd of people who have continued with Jesus for three days. They came to Jesus in the wilderness to hear His word and to bring to Him the mute and the maimed, the blind and the lame so that He might heal them. The great multitude didn’t come to Jesus, get their loved ones healed, listen to a sermon, and immediately head back home. They remained with Jesus. They continued with Him so that they could listen to His teaching about the kingdom of God, the forgiveness of sins, the living of new lives, and the promise of eternal life. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness, they are filled by the gospel and have every spiritual blessing in Christ. But because they continued with Him, they had nothing to eat. Not only are they emptyhanded and hungry, but if Jesus sends them away hungry, “they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.” Here we have a group of people—a large group of people—who have continued with Jesus and prioritized His word, hearing it, learning it, and applying it to themselves, and they have nothing with which to feed themselves.
Jesus has compassion on those who continue with Him like this, though. He does not leave them hanging. He doesn’t leave them to their own devices. He provides for them. He commands the multitude of four thousand to sit on the ground. He takes seven loaves of bread and the few small fish the disciples have. He gives thanks to God the Father, breaks the bread so that His disciples can distribute it to the four thousand. He does the same with the fish. He will not let this faithful crowd go hungry. In fact, they ate and were filled, and to show just how abundantly He provides for those who continue with Him, his disciples pick up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Christ has plenty to give, more than we even need! He shows us that though we may not prosper like the wicked and unbelieving, He gives us what we need when we need it, just as the psalmist says in Psalm 145[:15-16], “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.” This is a great and precious promise. Our Lord has compassion on those who continue with Him, hearing His word, learning it, and applying it to themselves. He has compassion on those who seek the forgiveness of their sins, the Holy Spirit to live a new life, and everlasting life.
Which brings us to today’s epistle. Paul’s talk about slavery to sin and slavery to righteousness is just another way of speaking about continuing with Christ. The slave of sin is the unbeliever, the hypocrite, the child of this world. Because they seek the good things of this life as their highest good, they present their members of instruments of uncleanness and lawlessness, meaning they offer their bodies, their thoughts, their words, and their deeds up to sin, which only leads to more sin, and as such, they live under God’s wrath. The slave of sin earns the wages of sin, which is death, spiritual death now and the eternal death of everlasting punishment and separation from God. This is what Asaph came to understand in the seventy-third psalm. When he went into God’s sanctuary, he understood the end of the wicked. Though they prosper in this life, God will cast them down to destruction and bring them to desolation. This is the wages of sin: spiritual death that lasts into eternity. Though the wicked and unbelieving prosper for a time, they will be punished eternally.
Slaves of righteousness, though, the one who continues with Christ, presents their members—their bodies, their thoughts, their words, and their deeds—for holiness. Continuing with Christ is to hear His Word and then to do His Word; to be counted righteous by faith in Christ and then to grow in righteousness by the power of the Holy Spirit. This continuing with Christ leads to eternal life. Even this is the gift of God, not a wage earned or merited. Our service to God in holiness of living and of love towards our neighbor doesn’t earn eternal life. It is all gift. This is what Asaph came to see in Psalm 73. He confessed his foolishness for thinking the wicked prospered, and said, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.” (Psalm 73:23-28). Asaph recalled the blessings of the Lord in this life, and that God was His chief desire. He also recalled the end of the unbelieving—the wages of sin—and the end of the godly—eternal life. Only in drawing near to God was he reminded of the great blessings God gives those who continue with Him, culminating in eternal blessedness.
So, we see how Christ graciously provides all things for those who continue with Him. He gives them daily bread to support this body and life, and as slaves of righteousness we are content with what He gives. As the apostle writes, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim 6:6-8). When we see the unbelieving or hypocritical Christian living their best life in this world while they care not for God and His Word, we do not fret. We fight the feeling that wants to grouse about how the wicked prosper and the godly languish in this life because we know the end. The end of the slave of sin is eternal death, and this moves us to compassion for them. The end for the slave of righteousness—the one who continues with Christ, hears His holy word and lives a holy life according to it, regardless of the cost—is the gift of eternal life. This thought even brings the prosperity of the wicked into the service of God’s saints. It reminds us that this life is not the end. Every injustice we see, every wickedness that prevails, and every time it seems that evil wins reminds us that our hope is not for a better future in this world, but in the gift of God, which is the blessedness of eternal life. Christ cares for those who continue with Him with what they need in this life so that He might bring them into the life of the world come. With that in mind, we say with Asaph, “Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
