Category: Trinity 19

Getting to the Root of the Problem

10/9/2024

Trinity 19
Matthew 9:1-8
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 6,2024

One of the problems with much of our medicine is that it does not deal with the root problems, but simply masks the symptoms. We take pain killers to alleviate the pain of an injury for a while, but it does not actually heal the injury. The treatments for many illnesses and diseases do not work to cure a person, but simply cover up the symptoms. And what is worse, the masking of symptoms often makes the illness so much worse in the long run. Four friends went to great lengths to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, even, as St. Mark tells us, making a hole in the roof, so that they could let him down (Mark 2). And when Jesus the great physician saw their faith, He took pity on the paralyzed man, and He forgave his sins.
Yes, Jesus is the great physician, because He does not mask the symptoms or relieve your pain temporarily. Jesus gets to the root cause of your misery. The root cause of all your diseases, suffering, sorrow, pain, and especially death is sin. The wages of sin is death, which should be engraved in your memory. And all sicknesses and pains are mere minions of death. To really address your misery, you must address your sin! If you are to be free from your misery, you must be freed from your sin.
And so, by first forgiving the paralyzed man before He healed him of his paralysis, Jesus teaches us that even in our greatest suffering, we should desire nothing more than the forgiveness of sins. Not only because your sin is the root cause of all your trouble, so the forgiveness of sins is the solution to all your trouble, but also because the forgiveness of sins is the one thing you cannot give yourself! A physician may be able to grant temporary relief or even cure several illnesses. But who can take away your sins? King David laments with us in Psalm 38, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” And again, in Psalm 130, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! … If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” Before us stands God the righteous judge! St. Paul says concerning our sin, “On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:6) You may be able to hide your sins from others, so they do not judge you and put you to shame, but King David humbles himself before God when he cries to Him, “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what was evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4) We can hide our sins from the people we respect and fear. But we cannot hide our sins from God. He sees all, even in the depths of your heart. And you cannot remove your sins from yourself. You cannot make atonement for your sins or make up for your sin. Your sin is your greatest problem and the source of all your problems.
And so, this paralyzed man had comfort in his soul, even as his body languished on that bed, because Jesus, his Lord told him that his sins were forgiven. If his sins are forgiven, then also life and salvation are his. If his sins are forgiven, then he is reconciled with God. If his sins are forgiven, then there is no cross on this earth that he cannot bear with patience, because the forgiveness of sins makes every cross temporary and paradise eternal.
Yet, Jesus’ opponents grumble in their hearts, “Who is this who forgives sins? This is blasphemy!” It is not that these men did not believe that a person’s sins could be forgiven. Scripture is clear that God is quick to forgive and slow to anger. The Prophet Isaiah writes “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18), and likewise, the prophet Micah calls to God, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19) And David, who felt the joy of having the weight of his sins lifted from his conscience, declares in Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, ... He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” (vss. 3-4, 9-12)
So, the question is not whether God can forgive sins. But who is this Jesus who forgives sins? And so, Jesus, knowing their thoughts, though they kept them to themselves, asks them why they think it is impossible for Him to forgive sins. He asks, “Which is easier, to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise and walk. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Rise, take up your bed, and go home.” And the man immediately rose and went home!
Now Jesus proves that He does have authority to forgive sins, because He has authority to undo the result of sin! And Jesus proves that He has the authority to forgive your sins in the same way! Christ languished on the cross, as His enemies scorned Him, shouting, “Physician, heal yourself! You who saved others, save yourself!” They mocked Him for declaring that He was God’s Son and the Christ. And Satan too laughed with scorn saying that it was impossible for Him by His death to take away the sins of the world. But which is easier? To take away the sins of the world as John the Baptist declared of Jesus? Or after having suffered and died with the weight of the world’s sins on your shoulder, to then after three days get up and walk? And so, that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive your sins and not your sins only, but also the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), God raised Christ up from the dead on the third day, declaring Him to be the Son of God and Redeemer of the world (Romans 1:4).
The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The Son of Man is Christ. He has authority on earth to forgive sins for two reasons. 1) He is God. 2) He paid for the sins of the whole world with His holy precious blood and innocent sufferings and death. Only Christ could have paid for our sins and only Christ did. Christ is a man, who forgives sins with the authority of God. This is why Jesus says in the Great Commission, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” He had this authority from eternity according to His divine nature, but He received it as a man through His incarnation and it was declared to Him again in His resurrection.
Yet, the crowds rejoiced and declared that God had given such authority to forgive sins to men. They didn’t say, “to a man or to the Son of Man.” They said, “to men.” Did they mischaracterize what happened? Are they lumping the Son of Man with all other men? Shouldn’t they rather say that this particular man has authority to forgive sins, but no other man does?
No, they got it exactly right. Christ the Godman gave authority to forgive sins to men, that is, He gave it to His Church on earth. In John 20, after Jesus rose from the dead, He who has all authority in heaven and on earth said to His disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:23) Jesus did this so that we in the Church may regularly hear and receive the good news that our sins are forgiven. Jesus said to His disciples, “The one who hears you, hears me!” (Luke 10:16) This is true in Baptism. When the minister pours water and proclaims the words of Jesus, it is Jesus Himself declaring the baptized a child of God. This is true in the Absolution. When the minister declares the forgiveness of sins in the stead and by the command of Christ, we consider it a voice from heaven and indeed, all the angels and God Himself bear witness to its truth in heaven as on earth. The Lord’s Supper is Christ’s true body and blood, not because of some power in the pastor or in his words, but on account of the words of Christ, which declare it forever.
So, what is the result of Christ giving to men such authority to forgive sins on earth, so that it is true even in heaven? Exactly what Jesus said to the paralyzed man as he still lay on his bed, “Take heart” that is, “be of good courage, be confident, your sins are forgiven.” With that little word, Jesus was telling the paralyzed man to have confidence before God’s throne, to not be afraid, but cheerful in the presence of the great judge, because his sins are indeed forgiven.
When a person is trapped in his sin, he deceives himself that his sin is not that bad and that no one knows about it and that he really hasn’t fallen too far. Yet, when a voice confronts the sinner and exposes his sin, it brings terror of conscience and repentance, as we see when David repented with tears when Nathan confronted him with his sin with Bathsheba. Likewise, when a person is overcome by guilt and cannot console his conscience because of his sin, he believes that he cannot be forgiven and is not a child of God. Even reading Scripture often does not help him, because his eyes ignore the comforting passages and his soul does not apply them to himself. Yet, when a voice sent by God declares God’s forgiveness and mercy, then the weight of guilt is lifted and the sinner finds a good conscience before God. In other words, the person finds good courage before God, because Christ has given authority to forgive sins to men.
This is why we must never forsake the preaching of God’s Word. It is indeed a voice from heaven, when it is faithful to Scripture. Christ makes clear that He intends you to hear His voice through His ministers, so that your heart may take courage and you may have a good conscience before Him.
Yet, there remains a second result of hearing this voice of forgiveness. It strengthens you to resist sin today and to walk according to the new man created after the image of Christ. To put off the old self, you must then put on the new self. You cannot walk in newness of life if you do not hear from Jesus that He has forgiven all your sins, just as the paralyzed man could not walk until after he was forgiven. So, we do not wait until we have overcome our sin before we listen to Jesus’ voice. We need to hear His forgiveness often. And through faith in the forgiveness of sins proclaimed to us, we receive power to walk with Jesus today and into eternity. Amen.

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The Power of Forgiveness

10/19/2023

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.Trinity 19
Mathew 9:5 and Ephesians 4:17-28
Pastor James Preus

Trinity Lutheran Church
October 15, 2023

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” asks Jesus before causing the paralyzed man to walk. But you’ll notice that Jesus never answers the question. Which is easier? Well, the point is not whether it is easier to forgive sins or easier to cause a paralyzed man to walk. The point is that He who has the power to cause a paralyzed man to walk also has the authority to forgive sins. And it is not simply that Jesus is God, therefore He has the authority both to heal and to forgive. But rather, the point is that forgiveness and healing for the body are intimately connected. This is because every physical ailment, every sickness and weakness, whether paralysis, cancer, chronic pain, what have you, are symptoms of mortality. They are symptoms of your impending death. You die, because you are a sinner. You suffer the pangs of death, because you are a sinner.
So, when you are forgiven, death is taken away. When you are forgiven, the pangs of death are taken away. When you are forgiven, the consequences of your sins are undone. When Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins, he took our illnesses and bore our diseases (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4). This is why Jesus suffered and died when He took on our sins, because that was the just punishment for our sins. And because Jesus made full atonement for our sin with his death, St. Paul declares, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.” (Romans 6:9) Death no longer has dominion over Him, because He has done away with our sins.
This means that if you are forgiven, then all your bodily ailments will pass away. No matter how weak and ill you are today, whether your legs or eyes don’t work, or your memory is failing you, if your sins are forgiven, you will run, you will see clearly, you will remember with perfect clarity. The forgiveness of sins necessitates the resurrection of the body. What Jesus did by raising the paralyzed man was foreshadow that man’s resurrection and the resurrection of every person who receives the forgiveness of sins through faith.
But does the forgiveness of sins have any effect on you today? Today, few people value the forgiveness of sins. They’d rather have the miracle worker heal paralysis and other diseases. But since the Church offers only forgiveness, people spurn it. What good is forgiveness? They don’t think of the promise of the future resurrection connected to forgiveness. Yet, within the Church we have another problem, which damages our faith and unity with Christ. People take the forgiveness of sins for granted. They appreciate being forgiven, but they don’t think it has any effect on their lives today. But does the forgiveness of sins have no effect on your life, except to remove your guilt? Does the forgiveness of sins, which will cause your body to rise to immortality really have no effect on your life today?
Jesus asks, ‘Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” You could similarly ask today, ‘Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, 'walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’?” (Ephesians 4:1-3) Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.’?” (Ephesians 4:17) Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Sometimes we get so comfortable confessing to being poor, miserable sinners, that we forget that we have been washed, sanctified, and justified by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). We forget that being baptized into Christ, we have died to sin and have risen to walk in newness of life. By the same power by which He forgave the paralytic’s sins, Jesus told the man to rise and walk. And the man walked. So, you also should believe that by the same power by which Jesus forgives your sins, He also is able to tell you to rise and walk.
The word for rise Jesus uses here is the same word used for Christ being raised from the dead. In Romans 6, St. Paul teaches us that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death, we were buried therefore with Him through Baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. The word Jesus used for walk, περιπατέω (peripateo) is the same word St. Paul uses for to walk in newness of life in Romans 6. It is the same word St. Paul uses for no longer walking as the gentiles do, but to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called (Ephesians 4:17, 1).
Yet, we think this is impossible. We think Christ can forgive our sins, but we don’t think he can give us power to set aside our old sinful self and walk in newness of life. We believe that God can tell us that our sins are forgiven, but he can’t lead us to reform our lives. But which is easier, to say, “I forgive you all your sins,” or to say, “stop misusing God’s name”? Which is easier, to say, “I forgive you all your sins,” or to say, “stop skipping church and ignoring God’s preaching”? Which is easier, to say, “I forgive you all your sins,” or to say, “be reconciled with the person you are mad at”? Which is easier, to say, “I forgive you all your sins,” or to say, “stop looking at smut on the internet and TV”? Which is easier, to say, “I forgive you all your sins,” or to say, “speak kindly to your neighbor and forgive those who sin against you”? We think the former is easy to say, but the latter is impossible. Yet, that same power, which forgives our sins, also causes our old self to die and our new self to rise and walk!
Indeed, it is true that in this life, we will always struggle with sin. Our old self will war with our new self to get us to do those things we do not want to do (Galatians 5 and Romans 7). Yet, that is not an excuse to give up and to give yourself over to the desires of the sinful flesh and to live indistinguishably from the unbelieving world! That is not the way you learned Christ! You didn’t learn Christ by misusing God’s name, avoiding the preaching of God’s word, speaking hateful and filthy words, indulging in sexual immorality, or holding grudges. Rather, you learned Christ by putting off your old self by repenting of your sins and by putting on your new self after the image of Christ, which means in humility to love God and your neighbor.
We must stop thinking that God’s word is powerful to remove the guilt of our sins, yet it remains powerless to renew our lives. We need to stop thinking that we are living as Christians, when we claim to believe in the forgiveness of sins, but then go on living in those same sins without remorse. We need to believe that the same power, which takes our sins away, also gives us the power to resist temptation, to resist the power of Satan and our sinful flesh, and to walk in the light of Christ.
St. Paul argues in Romans chapter 8, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The life St. Paul speaks of here is not the resurrection of the dead, which will happen on the Last Day, but the new life, which every Christian lives after receiving the forgiveness of sins. This new life foreshadows the resurrection of the dead. If you receive the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, then you also receive the Spirit of Christ, who renews your spirit to walk with God.
So, you must not be a defeatist. Do you believe that your sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake? Then believe that God will empower you to overcome temptation and to live according to His love, to put off the old self and to walk in newness of life.
Now, you won’t do this perfectly. In fact, many of those sins for which you have asked God for forgiveness many times will return to haunt you. And Satan will try to convince you that you cannot be renewed, that you cannot overcome sin, that you may as well continue in sin. But don’t believe Satan’s lie. Scripture states clearly that you will continue to struggle with sin, that the good you want to do is not what you will do, but the evil you do not want to do is what you will keep on doing (Romans 7:18-19), that if you deny you have sin, that the truth is not in you (1 John 1:8). That is why Christ has established for you a way to receive the forgiveness of sins throughout your life. Jesus proclaimed that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. And that authority, Christ gave to His Church on earth (Matthew 28:19), saying, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.” (John 20:22-23) Therefore, you should believe that when the pastor declares that your sins are forgiven, that they are forgiven before God in heaven! And you should also believe, that with that forgiveness comes the power to overcome sin, to walk in newness of life, to love God and your neighbor.
When your sins give you alarm, when it seems like you are not getting any better, but in fact, you’re getting worse, when you fall for the same sins over and over and over again, so that you wonder whether you are any different than an unbeliever, then go to church. Confess your sins to the pastor. And believe that the forgiveness he speaks to you is Christ’s forgiveness. And believe that your past sins do not define you, but the forgiveness Christ’s minister speaks to you defines you. Satan tells you that you are a blasphemer, a despiser of God’s word, a lecher, a gossip, a miser, and a hater. You tell Satan, “I am forgiven.” And walk in the power of that forgiveness, to the scorn of Satan and to the glory of God. Amen.

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Only God Can Forgive Sins

10/11/2021

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"The Palsied Man Let down through the Roof," James Tissot, 1886-94. Public Domain

Trinity 19
Matthew 9:1-8
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 10, 2021

“This man is blaspheming,” thought the scribes to themselves. Why do they accuse Jesus of blaspheming in their hearts? Because only God can forgive sins. Jesus has just told a paralytic that his sins are forgiven. Jesus, they thought, clearly was not God. So, this must be blasphemy.

The scribes were right about one thing. Only God can forgive sins. This is why it is so ludicrous for a man to claim the authority to forgive. Imagine you are up to your eyeballs in debt, credit card, student loan, automobile loan debt, mortgage. Your friends may comfort you with kind words. Perhaps they can even share in your misery if they too are in debt. But unless they can give you the money to pay your debt so the debt-collectors stop calling and the bank doesn’t foreclose on your house, your debt will remain. Only a letter from the bank telling you your debt is paid will take away your anxiety.

But sin is not like money, where if you work hard and long enough and limit your spending, you can eventually pay off your debt. You can’t pay back your sin. Even if you were able to stop sinning today, and live the rest of your life as a perfect saint, the sin of your past would still remain. There is no amount of money you can pay, or amount of time you can work, or valuable asset you can sell that will erase your debt of sin. Only God, the final judge, who will weigh the balances on the Last Day has the authority to forgive sin.

Sin is your greatest problem. Sin is the source of all your sorrow. All sickness and pain, all conflicts and enmity, yes death and hell are the result of sin. Sin comes in two forms. First, is original sin, which is the sin that you inherited from your first father Adam. This original sin is the corruption of your human nature. It is what makes you a sinner. It is why your very heart desires to do what is wrong. The second form of sin is the actual sin you commit from day to day; when you fail to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; when you misuse his name and fail to call upon him in prayer; when you ignore his preaching and word and refuse to hear and learn it; when you fail to love your neighbor as yourself; when you hate and envy; when you lust and covet; when you speak ill against your neighbor. These sins can be committed in word and deed, but especially in the heart. And all sin, both the sins you commit, and original sin, which is the root of all sins you commit, are offenses against God. And unless God cancels the debt, you will be sentenced to hell forever.

So, it is clear that none of us has a greater problem than our sin. The things that trouble us, our sickness and pain, our broken relationships, and poverty and want: these are all just symptoms of our sinful condition. The greater issue is what we cannot see. Our debt before our Father in heaven. No mere man can forgive this debt. Only God himself.

For this reason, the forgiveness of sins is the greatest treasure you can possibly have! As sin is the source of all your sorrow and trouble, so the forgiveness of sins is the source of all joy and blessedness. The Psalmist declares, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity.” (Psalm 32) If you have forgiveness of sins, you have peace with God (Romans 5:1). More than that, if your sins are forgiven, you are God’s friend (John 15:15). The wages of sins is death, but the forgiveness of sins gives eternal life (Romans 6:23). If you have the forgiveness of sins, then you can be joyful even in sorrow. You have all that you need forever. This is why Jesus tells the young man to take heart, even as he lies in bed as a paralytic. Take heart! That is, be of good cheer! Why? Your sins are forgiven. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. Yours is friendship with God. Yours is eternal life and blessedness. What are a few more years or even decades of pain and sorrow, when you have waiting for you the bounties of the kingdom of God? Even if the man remained a paralytic the rest of his life, he still had reason to be exceedingly glad, because his sins were forgiven!

And this brings us to why the scribes were wrong. Jesus had every right to forgive this man’s sins, because Jesus is God in the flesh. It is he against whom the debt of all sin stands. He alone has the right to forgive it.

The scribes denied Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. They did not believe that he was God or that he had come from God. So, Jesus says to them, “What is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” before he commanded the man to pick up his bed and go home. When the paralyzed man became unparalyzed and walked home healthy as a horse, Jesus proved that he had the authority he claimed. God alone is the creator of all things. He created the cosmos with his word. And so, God alone can restore his broken creation with his word alone. In Jesus’ word alone is the power to forgive sins.

There is a big difference between forgiving sins and denying that sin is a sin or that sin is a big deal. Often, to avoid the uncomfortable feeling that accompanies repenting of your own wrong doing, people will try comforting themselves with sayings like, “Everyone is a sinner.”, as if being in the company of sinners is any comfort (Psalm 1). Even more brazen, people seek comfort in denying that sin is sin. It is now tabu to claim that homosexuality is a sin. But does denying what God says do any good to those plagued with the temptation of same-sex attraction? Certainly not! Likewise, it is common to deny that fornication is a sin or at least that it is a big enough deal to mention. People justify divorce, gossip, slander, coveting, hatred, gambling, skipping church, laziness, and many other sins by simply denying that they are sins or finding some explanation for why their actions are not sins. But does this do you any good? If a well-meaning friend tells you that you are not in debt, will that keep the bank from foreclosing on your house?

You know, there have been a number of people who have claimed that they did not have to pay taxes. They claimed that the federal government had no authority to tax income, saying it was unconstitutional or immoral. So, they refused to pay their income tax. And you know what, I think they were sincere! I think they actually convinced themselves of their arguments that they were not obligated to pay their taxes. But do you know what happened to them? They went to prison for not paying their taxes! Convincing someone that his sin is not actually a sin does not do him any good any more than convincing someone he doesn’t have to pay his bills does any good. Sin is what God calls sin, not what we decide is a sin or not. And unless those sins are forgiven, the debt will be required of us.

But Jesus’ word is different from the empty words of those who deny the danger of sin. Jesus backs up his word with authority and action. Jesus said, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”, he said to the paralytic, “Rise, take up your bed and go home.” Well, what has Jesus done to show that he has the authority to forgive your sins? He has done much more than tell a paralyzed man to rise and take up his bed and go home. Jesus, who is God in the flesh, perfectly obeyed God’s Law so that he had no sin of his own, yet he took all your sin and the sin of the whole world upon himself and went to the cross. He suffered not only the physical pain of being scourged, beaten, nailed, and strangled on the cross. He suffered the anguish of God’s wrath against sin, which caused him to sweat blood even in the garden before a hand was laid upon him. Jesus endured the hell our sins have earned for us! And Jesus died. He was not just paralyzed. He didn’t have a spinal injury or palsy. He died. His blood coagulated in his veins. They laid him dead upon a slab of stone, and his body temperature became as cool as that stone.

Yet, to show that he had the authority on earth to forgive your sins and the sins of the whole world, Jesus rose. He was seen alive by Mary and the disciples and by over five-hundred witnesses at one time. And he went home to his Father, sitting at his right hand of power with all things under his feet. Jesus defeated death, proving that he had once and for all washed your sins away in his blood. This means that Jesus’ word of forgiveness is a word you can trust. It means he has authority over your sins, over your death, and over hell itself.

And because Jesus is God, he has the power to wash away as many sins as you have; your original sin and all the sins you have committed from the time of your youth until your old age. And he has the power to forgive your greatest sin. Scripture says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18)

And Jesus has given the authority to forgive sins to his church, so that this forgiveness may remain on earth where sinners need it. Jesus said to his disciples, “Whosever sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” This means that your pastor has the authority to forgive your sins by the power of Jesus’ word and with the guarantee of Jesus’ death and resurrection for your sins.

Forgiveness is given through God’s word. This means it can only be received through faith. Faith is the open hand that receives the gift. Faith is believing and trusting in the promise of forgiveness. Believe the word and you have the forgiveness.

Faith is an act of the heart. Jesus, who is God can see our heart. That is why Jesus knew the evil in the scribes’ hearts, even though they kept their thoughts to themselves. You cannot hide your unbelief from Christ. Yet, faith does not only reveal itself to God in the secret heart, but to everyone, as Jesus says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Jesus saw the faith in the heart of the paralytic and his friends who carried him. Yet, even the scribes saw their faith. Saints Mark and Luke tell us they made a hole in the ceiling to lower the man down to Jesus to be healed. This is what faith does. Faith causes parents to carry their babies to Jesus to be baptized and Christians to come and hear God’s word even when life is busy. Faith causes us to love our neighbor and be patient, helpful, and forgiving. We are saved through faith alone, because only faith can receive the forgiveness of sins. Yet, faith is never alone, because faith holds onto the forgiveness Christ won for you. This forgiveness not only gives you assurance of your heavenly home. This forgiveness changes you as a person here on this earth. Take heart, sons and daughters of the Lord, your sins are forgiven. May we live as forgiven children and love God and one another. Amen.

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The Divine Teaching

10/3/2021

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James Tissot, "Pharisees Question Jesus," 1886-94. No Known Copyright Restrictions.

Trinity 18
Matthew 22:34-46
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church

  The lawyer insincerely called Jesus, “teacher.” He had no intention of being taught by Jesus, but to catch him in a trap. But make no mistake about it. Jesus is a teacher. In fact, he is the Teacher everyone must be taught by. If you are to obtain eternal life, Jesus must be your teacher. Some people don’t like school. That’s fine. I have known very intelligent, hardworking, and successful people, who have not pursued advanced formal education. Students should work as hard as they can while they are in school, but it is not a sin to pursue other goals besides academic success. Yet, it is a sin to refuse to learn. That is laziness. A Christian cannot just decide that he doesn’t need to learn from Jesus, that he already knows enough. No, as long as you live, you are called to continue learning. And as long as you are a Christian, you are called to continue learning from Jesus.

While the saving Gospel can be known and believed even by a little child, that does not mean that we should be content with the ignorance of a child. If you love Jesus, you want to learn from him. And it is impossible to be done learning from Jesus. Many wise men, have spent a lifetime studying the Scriptures, and yet remained mere pupils at the feet of Jesus. Yet, that is exactly what we should desire to be: Jesus’ students, eating up every word that comes from his mouth.

It is also important for us to continue learning from Jesus, because as we grow our old sinful Adam grows stronger and more skilled, the world constantly entices and lures us away from Christ, and the devil grows bolder and more cunning. To combat our own sin and unbelief, we can do nothing else than learn from Jesus. To be a Christian means to be Jesus’ student.

And how do we learn from Jesus? All of Jesus’ teaching comes from the Bible. You’ll notice when the lawyer tests him, Jesus answers the question by quoting the Bible. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, where it says we should love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And he quotes Leviticus 19:18, which says we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Then he quotes Psalm 110, where David calls the Christ his Lord. Furthermore, Jesus says of Psalm 110 that David spoke “in the Spirit,” that is, by means of the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches us that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, meaning it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). So, if you want to learn from Jesus, you need to learn from the Bible, which is God’s Word. And your pastor needs to preach to you from the Bible and not stray from it.

There are two main teachings in the Bible: The Law and the Gospel. Both the Law and the Gospel are God’s teaching, yet they have very different results. The Law is what God commands of us, summarized in the Ten Commandments. The Law tells us what is good, but it does not give us the ability to do the good. So, the result of the Law is that we are exposed as sinners. The Gospel does not command anything of us, but rather promises forgiveness and eternal life for Christ’s sake. The Gospel is received through faith alone apart from works. If the Gospel is not preached, a person cannot be saved, because saving faith comes through Jesus’ word. If the Law is not preached, the Gospel will be rejected, because the Gospel is only for sinners.

The lawyer, not interested in the Gospel, asks Jesus what is the greatest commandment in the Law. This is a trick. The Pharisees recognized 613 commandments in the Torah. And of course, for each of these commandments, there was someone who thought that it was the greatest. If Jesus chose one of these 613 commandments as the greatest, he would become embroiled in an unwinnable debate with enemies on every side. But Jesus does not fall for the trick. He uses Holy Scripture to teach the truth of God’s whole Law. All the commandments can be summed up into two: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Here Jesus teaches the heart of every commandment.

When people argue over what is the greatest commandment, they always try to argue that the commandments they break are not great, but the commandments that others break are the greatest. This is not just true of Pharisees two thousand years ago, but of Christians today. Christians who go to church every Sunday think that the Third Commandment is the greatest commandment, while the commandments they break are minor. While those who skip church freely think that despising God’s preaching and word is just a minor offense, and point out hypocrisy, gossip, envy, and judging as worse sins. The more popular a sin becomes, the less serious of a sin people find it to be. Yet, it is not up to you to choose which commandment is insignificant and which one is important. And the purpose of the Law is not for you to point out other people’s sins, but for you to become aware of your own (Romans 3:20)!

But Jesus doesn’t spare anyone in the preaching of the Law, but condemns all sin as failing to love God and the neighbor. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Why? Because you should love God with your whole heart. Out of the mouth the heart speaks. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy, meaning, do not despise preaching and his word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Why? Because you should love God with all your mind and gladly hear and learn his word. You shall not murder, because you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You shall not commit adultery, because you wouldn’t want your spouse to cheat on you. You shall not steal, because you would not want someone to take your stuff away. You shall not bear false witness, because you don’t want people slandering you. All the commandments teach you to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself. So, whichever commandment you have failed to keep, you have broken the greatest commandment in the Law.

Having silenced the Pharisees by pinning them under the Law, Jesus asks a question about the Gospel. “What do you think about the Christ?”, Jesus asks, “Whose son is he?” The Pharisees answer, David’s. Every Jew knows that the Christ is David’s son. But he isn’t just David’s son. “Why then did David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?” David said that the Lord spoke to his Lord. How can David have a lord? He is king of Israel. David is speaking of God, the Son. With these words, David teaches the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and of the divinity of Christ. There is only one God. Yet, the LORD spoke to the Lord and said, “sit at my right hand.” This shows that although there is only one God, there are multiple persons, namely, three: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This also shows that the Christ is God. The Christ, whom the Pharisees rightly say is David’s son, is also David’s Lord, David’s God. Christ Jesus is both God and man.

The Pharisees were struck dumb by this teaching of Jesus. Yet, they have not remained silent. Rabbis today have a way of explaining this away and so deny that the Christ is divine and that Jesus is the Christ. The point out that there are two words for Lord used in Psalm 110. The first is the peculiar name for God, YHWH, which emphasizes God’s eternal being. The second is the word Adonai, which means Lord and certainly can be used as a title for God, but it can also be used to address a human being, like a king or earthly master. So, the Rabbis today teach that David wrote Psalm 110, not to be read from his perspective, but to be sung by the Levites in the temple about David. So, it is simply the temple singers singing, “The LORD (YHWH) said to my lord (David), sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” So, Psalm 110 is not calling the Christ, God. Psalm 110 isn’t even talking about the Christ!

Yet, if this were true, then Psalm 110 would be a very disappointing and in fact false prophesy. Where is David now? He’s dead and has been for nearly three thousand years. Where is his kingdom? There is no kingdom of Israel, nor is there a man sitting on David’s throne in Jerusalem. And even when David died, he had to command his son Solomon to kill some of his enemies, whom he did not have the opportunity to vanquish. If Psalm 110 is only about a king of a minor middle eastern nation three thousand years ago, then it is of no value to us today at all, whether we are Jews or Gentiles.

Furthermore, to sit at God’s right hand is to sit on God’s throne, to be made equal to God, as St. Paul says, “Therefore he has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, ever knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:9-10) The LORD (YHWH) said to David’s Lord, who is the Christ, his son and his God, sit at my right hand. Jesus’ teaching remains true today, despite the grasping at straws of those who deny him.

And what does it mean that Jesus Christ is both David’s son and David’s Lord? It means that Jesus our Redeemer is our God. This means that our salvation is sure! What did Jesus do to save you? He died on the cross. Well, how do you know that that’s enough? Because Jesus is not just David’s son, but David’s Lord. Jesus is at all times fully human and fully God. Whatever he does he does as both God and man. This means that when Jesus died on the cross for your sins, God died for you! But God cannot die! True. But Jesus, David’s son can. And Jesus is God. Therefore, St. Paul, when he took leave of the pastors of Ephesus, instructed them, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” With whose blood? With God’s own blood. That Christ is David’s son and David’s Lord means that your sins have been washed away in God’s blood. Christ has redeemed you with an insurmountable sum. Can your sins be greater than God? Is that not blasphemy to suggest? Then your sins are washed away in Jesus’ blood. Then death and Satan and hell, all David’s enemies and your enemies have been placed under Jesus’ feet, as surely as he is risen from the dead and risen to the Father’s right hand!

Jesus does not demand that we understand how this can be. He is able to do far more than we can either ask or think. Jesus demands that you believe this. Those who reject Jesus’ teaching, because they do not understand it, inevitably rob themselves of comfort. When people try to explain their own teaching of Christ instead of believing the clear words of Scripture, they are left with someone who cannot conquer their sins or give them eternal life. But with Christ, we have victory over our enemies. We trust in him who has fulfilled the greatest command of the Law for us. Jesus, David’s son, is our God and Savior. Amen.

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Our Most Pressing Need

10/18/2020

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Le paralytique descendu du toit, James Tissot, 1886-94, Brooklyn Museum, No Known Copyright Restrictions

Trinity 19
Matthew 9:1-8
October 18, 2020

Four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus on a bed to be healed by him. To be paralyzed is one of the worst ailments you can suffer in this life. He could not move his limbs. He could not work. He depended on others to provide for his most basic needs. He couldn’t feed himself, dress himself, or use the toilet by himself. He likely developed bed soars from lying down all day. This man had great need to be healed. Yet, what does Jesus say to this poor guy in such misery? “Take heart, my son! Your sins are forgiven!” This might sound disappointing to some. “He didn’t come to have his sins forgiven. He came to be healed by the great healer!” Yet, Jesus performed the most important task first. He forgave the man’s sins. That was his greatest need.
Indeed, the forgiveness of sins is always our most pressing need, because without the forgiveness of sins we remain enemies of God, separated from Christ, doomed to death and hell. But with the forgiveness of sins, we have life and salvation, peace with God, and a certain home in heaven! And Jesus demonstrates by first forgiving the sins of this paralytic before he healed him that the forgiveness of sins is always our greatest need, no matter how great our other needs are. I’ve prayed at the bedside of many sick people, from broken bones to cancer. Some have gotten better. Some have not. But the most important need we prayed for was always answered, the prayer for forgiveness.
2020 has been a rather difficult year. The spread of the coronavirus has caused panic in governments and among civilians around the world. People fear for their loved ones and even for themselves, because of this virus. And the response to the virus has added all sorts of other difficulties to our lives. Many lost their jobs and continue to suffer from lower wages. Many still fear the loss of their income. People couldn’t see their family and friends in nursing homes and hospitals for months at a time. Many churches were closed. Besides all that, our state was hit by a freak storm, that has ruined many farms and properties over a third of our state. Rising violence, riots, looting, and arson in many of our cities have wreaked havoc and raised stress around the country. And the tense election has set many on edge as we fear for our children’s and our nation’s future. Of course, all these added difficulties have not taken away all the other sorrows that hits us in any given year. People are still getting cancer, having strokes and heart attacks, falling and breaking bones. Our loved ones continue to get sick and die. Marriages continue to struggle; children continue to stray. And throughout this tumultuous year, through the sickness and fear, the storms and fires, the violence and chaos, the loneliness and frustration, our greatest need remained the same. Forgiveness of sins. And so, our greatest need has continued to be to hear our Savior’s word and believe his promise of forgiveness and salvation.
Some of the Scribes were offended that Jesus forgave the man’s sins, because only God can forgive sins. Jesus proved his authority to forgive sins by demonstrating that he is not only a man, but also true God. He did this first, by reading the Scribe’s hearts, as the Scribes had only spoken to themselves and not out loud. As Jesus could see the faith in the paralyzed man’s heart, so he could see the hatred in the hearts of these Scribes, something only God can do. Secondly, Jesus proved himself to be God by curing the paralyzed man from his paralysis. The crowd then glorified God that he had given such authority to men.
And yes, it is a wonderful thing that God gave the authority to forgive sins to men. This is the greatest authority one can wield, the authority to raise from the dead, to rescue from hell and bring to heaven. Yet, this fact that man has the authority to forgive sins, which amazed the crowd and angered the Scribes, was the only way it could be!
God does not forgive sins according to absolute grace. That is, God does not just decide that our sins are not a big deal and that he will just forget about them. Our God is a just God. Sins must be atoned for. This is why the Prophet Isaiah prophesied that “the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all” and “by his stripes we are healed.” In order for our sins to be forgiven, our sins needed to be paid for. The only one, who could pay for our sins is God. So, God needed to become man.
Yes, it is a marvel that a man forgave sins. Yet, it was indeed the only way. Jesus prayed in the Garden to this Father, that if it were possible, to take the cup of suffering away. Yet, it was the will of the Father for Christ to bear our sins with bitter suffering and death. Not, because he is cruel. Not, because he wanted his Son to suffer. But because he desired our salvation. Our salvation could only be obtained by our sins being atoned for. Only Jesus, true God and man, could atone for our sins in our place.
Because of Jesus’ atonement for our sins on the cross, forgiveness is freely given. Note, forgiveness is not free! It came at the cost of Jesus’ bitter, suffering and death! Yet, Jesus freely grants us forgiveness. This is also why the authority to forgive sins is given to men. Not only to the God-man Jesus, but to men. Yes, the authority to forgive sins is given to sinful men! Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” and “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them, if you withhold forgiveness from any it is withheld.” Jesus is able to give this authority to men, 1. because he is God. If he commands people to relay a message from him, that message is as true whether it’s coming from a donkey or an angel. And 2, because Jesus has already purchased the forgiveness of our sins. When the minister forgives your sins in the stead of Christ, he is relaying the fact that Christ Jesus has purchased your release from hell and your entrance into heaven. Jesus has given his church on earth the authority to forgive all sins by the merits of his own suffering and death.
This necessarily means that forgiveness of sins is received through faith. Since it is only Christ, who paid the price for our sins. We cannot do anything to deserve forgiveness. Forgiveness is given as a gift. And those who relay this gift do so through words, words given by God himself. So, those who receive this forgiveness do so, not by their works, but by believing the words of Christ. This is why Christ, after seeing their faith, said, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Now, this man truly was paralyzed and was suffering greatly. And Jesus truly did heal the man, so that he took up his bed and walked in the sight of many witnesses. Yet, the fact that the man was paralyzed and then walked after his sins were forgiven, signifies something to us about the forgiveness of sins and faith.
The man was paralyzed. That is as close to being dead you can be while still being alive. The man could not do anything for himself! He was living almost like he was dead, waiting to die! This is how St. Paul describes our spiritual condition before faith in the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to write in Ephesians chapter 2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.”
So, you see the spiritual condition illustrated by the paralyzed man. He could not work. He could not walk. He could not follow Jesus. And so, in our sin, without faith, before we receive forgiveness, we are spiritually paralyzed. We’re dead to any good work. We cannot please God. We cannot love God. We can't believe in God. Yet, when Jesus speaks words of forgiveness to us, he makes us alive. First, he forgives our sins. Then, our arms and legs start working. Our heart loves God. We walk not in darkness, but light. We do good works, which were prepared beforehand for us to walk in them.
This also helps us understand our Epistle lesson from Ephesians 4, where St. Paul tells us to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Our old self is spiritually paralyzed, incapable of doing good or loving God and rather follows the course of sin in this world. Our new self is renewed by the forgiveness of sins and made alive by God’s grace, like that paralyzed man, who rose and walked after his sins were taken away from him.
In order to be empowered to put off the old self and put on the new self, you need to be forgiven. Satan has deceived many to believe that since the forgiveness of sins is given freely apart from our works that we can continue in sin without any consequences. Yet, as St. Paul says, “That is not the way you learned Christ!” Christ made us alive by forgiving our sins! He freed us from the bondage of sin, that left us spiritually paralyzed by taking those bonds off of us. How can we respond to such freedom by returning to sin and spiritual paralysis and then claim to be free and alive! No, if we return to sin, we return to death and slavery, we return to being a spiritual paralytic, who cannot even lift his arm to Jesus.
Therefore, we must avoid lying, which comes from the father of lies, the devil, who seeks to murder our souls. Instead, we must always confess the truth, from the truth of our own sinful condition to the truth of Christ’s forgiveness and Lordship over us. We must avoid anger and wrath, and instead have a zeal for the Lord, his truth, and love. We must not steal or cheat in any way, but rather work hard so to provide for those in need and support what is good. Yes, these are works that Christians ought to do. Yet, you do not do them in order to be forgiven, but you do them because you are forgiven. You find the power to do these good works by receiving the forgiveness of sins through faith, just as the paralytic found the strength to carry his bed and walk home by first receiving the forgiveness of sins.
Our most pressing need at all times remains the forgiveness of sins, because without the forgiveness of sins, we cannot please God. We can only continue in sin. Our most pressing need at all times is the forgiveness of sins, because we still live in sinful bodies in a sinful world where we may encounter death any day. Our most pressing need at all times is the forgiveness of sins, because only through the forgiveness of sins can we enter heaven. Our most pressing need is the forgiveness of sins, because only through the forgiveness of sins can we speak the truth in love and love our neighbor rightly. And God richly provides us with this most pressing need through his word and through the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. May God awaken in us an awareness of this most pressing need, so that we never despise it. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

Getting to the Root of the Problem

The Power of Forgiveness

Only God Can Forgive Sins

The Divine Teaching

Our Most Pressing Need

Rev. James Preus

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