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

Salvation through Faith

1/27/2020

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Picture
The Centurion Kneeling at the Feet of Christ, Joseph Marie Vien, 1752, Public Domain
Epiphany 3 
Matthew 8:1-13 
January 26, 2020 
 
Let’s talk about faith. It seems most people think faith is important. But what does it mean to have faith?  Faith is not some quality in your heart that makes you a better person than others. Faith is not persistent optimism that keeps you in a good mood. Faith is not your work at all. Rather, faith is a gift from God through which you receive God’s grace.  
The first thing you need in order to have faith is so obvious, it is commonly overlooked. You need a need. You need to need something and know it. Most people know that they have needs and they are pretty confident they know what those needs are. The leper needed to be cleansed of his leprosy. The centurion needed his servant to be healed. You know what you need. You can feel it in your body, perhaps you can even point to it: backpain, heart disease, cancer. And it is those needs that you pray for. “God take away my pain.” “God heal my disease.” “God make my mother get better.” “God make peace in my family.”  
But there is a need that we all must to be aware of in order to have true saving faith. That is our need to be forgiven and set free from our sin. Our sin not only hurts the people around us, but it separates us from God. If you do not think that you have this need, then you cannot have true faith, because true saving faith is the confidence that God will forgive your sins and save you for Christ’s sake. This is why people should not refuse to listen to the preaching of the Law. The Law tells you that you are a sinner. It points out what you do wrong. It does this in the Ten Commandments and other parts of Scripture that teach you how to love God and your neighbor. The Law is not hate-speech, although it can get you quite upset. Rather, the Law sheds light on your need, your greatest need, your need to be forgiven of all your sins. To have saving faith, you need to know that you are a sinner. 
This means that faith does not boast in itself. Saving faith does not lead you to be proud of yourself. In fact, people who have saving faith do not claim to be better than those without faith. Look at the men, who begged Jesus for help in our Gospel lesson. Neither of them claimed to deserve what they were asking from Jesus. They didn’t claim to be worthy. The leper fell down at Jesus’ feet. In Luke’s Gospel, the Evangelist gives an account of the centurion asking Jesus to heal his servant. Yet, in Luke’s account he points out that the elders of the Jews tell Jesus that this centurion deserved to have Jesus heal his servant, because the centurion had done such great things for the people of Israel, like building their synagogue. Yet, in both Matthew’s and Luke’s account of this story, the centurion himself says that he is not worthy to have Jesus even come under his roof.  
True saving faith does not claim worthiness to receive anything from God. Rather, true saving faith claims to be utterly unworthy of anything from God. And yet, true saving faith does not doubt that God will give us what we ask. This seems like a strange thing that Scripture teaches us. God desires two things from us with regard to our faith. First, that we be humble and not prideful. And second, that we do not doubt, but wholly trust in him, as Psalm 147 states, “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”  
Yet, how can God desire both that we claim no worthiness of our own, and yet at the same time that we do not doubt but firmly believe that we will receive what we claim to be unworthy to receive? Because true saving faith directs us away from ourselves and toward Jesus. I am unworthy to receive anything from God, but Jesus is worthy to receive all things, even eternal life. Faith does not depend on your worthiness at all, but solely on the merits of Christ Jesus. This means that however far you have fallen in your sin, no matter how grossly you have stained your conscience, saving faith gives you the same thing: Jesus, his forgiveness and righteousness.  
Just look at the interaction between Jesus and the leper. Leprosy, as you know, was a terrible disease that caused sores over the whole body. Even worse, it made you an outcast. Leprosy made you ceremonially unclean. Lepers were forced out of their villages. Not only were they not allowed to go to the temple to worship, they were not allowed to go into their own homes. They had to live in leper colonies outside of villages. And if anyone were to approach them, they had to cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” The leper was deprived of the human touch. This leper was not allowed to hold his own child or even to touch his wife’s hand. How lonely he must have felt. 
Leprosy was also commonly associated with God’s judgment. This is because on several occasions in the Old Testament, God punished people by giving them leprosy (Numbers 12:1-15; 2 Kings 5:15-27; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21). So, not only did the man feel isolated from his friends and family, but from God himself. How far from him God must have felt. The words of Psalm 38 must speak well for his heart, “Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”  
And see how Jesus treats this poor, lonely, unclean man. He stretches out his hand and touches him. That man had not been touched by another human in who knows how long. If you touch him you become unclean. But Jesus touches him. And then Jesus tells him in no uncertain terms, “I will; be clean.”  
This is how Jesus deals with us sinners. Our sin separates us from God. It makes us unclean. God cannot dwell with unrighteousness. Yet, God becomes man in order to dwell with us sinners. Jesus joins us human beings and he takes on our sins. In this same chapter of Matthew after Jesus heals a number of people, Matthew writes, “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.’” (Matthew 8:17) Normally, if you have a contagious illness, you will still have the illness even if you pass it on to someone else. If I have the flu and I give it to my wife, I don’t suddenly feel better, because she has taken it from me. No, we would then both have the flu. Yet, with Jesus he actually takes our diseases. Jesus took the leprosy from that man. Jesus became unclean and the man became clean! 
And this is how it is with our sin. Jesus came to earth to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He bears our sin, so that we do not have to! It is as Scripture says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us— for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” (Galatians 3:13) Jesus came and took the curse from us by bearing the curse himself. He took our sin away. He took our uncleanness away. He touched us when the Law said that we were not allowed to go near God. He came to save us! And it is to this Jesus that our faith looks. Faith does not stand on our worthiness at all. Faith stands on Jesus Christ alone and his perfect work of redemption.  
The man said, “If you will, you can make me clean.” It is not that the man doubted that Jesus desired for the man to be well. We know that God wants all that is good for us. But the man did not know whether at that time and place Jesus desired the man to be well. Sometimes God permits us to bear crosses in this life. He does this to teach us; to get us to cling to him more closely; he does this for our good. We don’t know how long God will have us bear these temporary crosses; that is left up to his hidden will. This is why we pray, “Thy will be done.”  
Yet, we must not pray, “If you will, forgive me my sins.” as if we are unsure whether God wills to forgive us. We know that God desires to forgive our sins. When Jesus said, “I will; be clean.”, the man no longer doubted whether Jesus desired him to be healed then and there. And through Jesus’ word, we know that Jesus desires for us to be forgiven now, to wear his righteousness now.  
Jesus tells us, “I will” when Scripture says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15) Jesus tells us, “I will” when Scripture says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Jesus tells us, “I will” when he himself says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” We know that Jesus is able to forgive us our sins, just as the leper was certain that Jesus had the power to cleanse his leprosy. And we have heard Jesus tell us that he is willing to forgive us now. Faith clings to this promise.  
The centurion teaches us one more important lesson about saving faith. Faith trusts in Jesus’ word. The centurion said to Jesus, “But only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” The centurion was a man under authority and he had soldiers under him. When he told his subordinates to do a task, they did it in the centurion’s name. And so, it is with Christ and his word. When Jesus speaks a word, he speaks with the authority of God the Father. And when Jesus sends others to speak his word, that word is as powerful as if Jesus himself spoke it. This is how it is with God’s word. We must believe that if God were to have created a man before he created light, even a beggar, and were to say to that beggar, “Say, let there be light.” and the beggar were to say, “Let there be light,” there would be light as good as if God himself spoke it.  
This is exactly what Jesus is teaching us when he says to those whom he sent, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16) When Jesus said all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him and then commanded his disciples to make disciples by baptizing and teaching, he was saying that the words his disciples spoke had the same authority that God the Father had given to his Son Jesus Christ. This means that when a pastor, who is a mere mortal, speaks the words of Christ when he baptizes a poor sinner, God himself is washing that sinner clean of all sin and giving him the Holy Spirit.  
People doubt this, because they focus on the inadequacies of the pastor, or the weakness of the faith of the person being baptized, or the simplicity of the water. And when they doubt the power of Baptism for these reasons, they behave like the leper Naaman, who thought so little of the River Jordan. But what did Naaman’s servant say to him? “Was it not a great word the prophet said to you? Did he actually say, ‘Wash and be clean.’?” Indeed, it was a great word; a word of God. And that is what we have in Baptism: a great word of God.  
Likewise, Jesus sent his disciples saying, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” These are powerful words of Jesus, even when they are spoken by Jesus’ servants. But when Jesus says, “Do this.” It is done, whether by an angel or by a human.  
Faith clings to Jesus’ word, no matter who speaks it, because Jesus’ word has the power to forgive and save. Jesus’ word is true. And when we believe what Jesus tells us, our faith becomes powerful. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  
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The Boy Jesus Obeys the Father’s Will for Us

1/20/2020

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Picture
Jan Steen, Child Jesus in the Temple, 1659-1660, Kunstmuseum, Basel, Public Domain
Epiphany 1 (observed) 
Luke 2:41-52 
 
We Lutherans don’t pray to saints, because the Bible teaches that there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. It is in Jesus’ name that we should ask our heavenly Father for all good things. Yet, our Lutheran Confessions do teach us that we should thank God for the saints and follow their example of faith and good works. So, it makes sense that we should thank God for the Holy Family: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus; give thanks for them, and follow their example of faith and good works.  
Joseph was a good man. He had faith. He believed the word of the Lord from the angel when he told him not to fear to take Mary as his wife and to name the baby born to her, Jesus. He was a good husband to Mary and a good adoptive father to Jesus. He brought Mary and baby Jesus out of Bethlehem to Egypt when Herod sought to kill the child. He found a safe place for his family to live in Nazareth. And he no doubt taught his family the word of God at home as Scripture instructs us, “You shall teach [these words] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)  
And the Evangelist tells us that Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem every year to observe the Passover, as the Lord directed them in his Word. They made the Commandments of the Lord their own personal habit. Joseph not only claimed to believe the Word of the Lord, he lived it. When Mary looked at her husband, she saw a man who lived as God directed him. She was confident that when she submitted to him as her husband, she was submitting to the will of the Lord.  
Mary was a good woman. She had faith in the word of the Lord, whether it was spoken to her directly from an angel, told her by her husband Joseph, or taught her from the Bible itself. She went with her husband to a foreign land, Egypt, because she trusted in him and in the Lord. Even when she did not understand God’s word, she treasured it and pondered it in her heart. She loved her son and tried to do what was best for him. Mary and Joseph are good examples to us Christians.  
Yet, Mary and Joseph were not sinless. They were sinners in need of a Savior. Joseph, to whom God gave the task to be guardian of his own Son, lost this Son placed under his care. Mary, who was favored above all women in human history to bear the Christ-child, lost him. Perhaps it was because they were so used to having such an obedient and well-behaved child that these parents grew so careless, but make no mistake about it: this scare is all their fault. It was their God-given job to keep track of the boy Jesus and take care of him. And so, Mary and Joseph are not only examples to us of good works and strong faith, but examples of God’s grace. God forgave Mary and Joseph their sins as he does ours.  
The boy Jesus is a good example of good works as well. Now parental bias might immediately place the blame on twelve-year-old Jesus for not keeping up with his parents as they journeyed home. But Jesus did not sin by staying in the temple. Rather, even as a twelve-year-old boy, Jesus teaches us God’s Word. The First Commandment comes before the Fourth Commandment. The Fourth Commandment is, “Honor your father and your mother. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.” The First Commandment is, “You shall have no other gods. What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Above all things includes parents.  
Jesus indeed honored his earthly father and mother. He recognized that his parents received their authority from God. Yet, he also realized that you must obey God rather than men. Jesus had a heavenly Father, who had work for him to do. Jesus had to be about the things of his heavenly Father. He needed to be in his word. His parents should have known that.  
This is the only story in the Bible about Jesus’ childhood apart from the stories of his infancy. It is an important story for you kids to listen to. Jesus knows exactly what it is like to be a twelve-year-old. He knows what it is like to have parents not understand him. He knows what it is like to obey his father and mother, do chores and do what they say. This means that Jesus is perfectly able to sympathize with you in everything you experience as a child.  
And Jesus was the best child. He gladly and willingly learned God’s word and worshipped his heavenly Father. There is no child in history, who loved God more perfectly. It can be difficult for youths to humble themselves before their parents, but think of this. That twelve-year-old Jesus was literally the eternal Son of God, who created the universe with his Father. He left his throne in heaven from which he ruled from long before either of his parents were born. Yet, he went home and submitted to his parents. You think it’s difficult to swallow your pride before your parents? Our God, Jesus Christ, submitted himself to his earthly parents and did it gladly.  
Yes, twelve-year-old Jesus certainly is a good example to all twelve-year-olds and children of all ages. Yet, unlike his parents, he is not a good example of a sinner. Jesus never sinned. And so, it is important for us to remember that Jesus is not simply an example for us to live by! Rather Jesus, even as a twelve-year-old boy is our Redeemer! The boy Jesus is on earth for the very purpose of saving us from our sins! 
The Holy Family came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The Passover celebrated both a past and a future event. The past event was the Exodus of the People of Israel out of Egypt. God had every household in Israel prepare a male lamb without blemish and eat it with bitter herbs and smear its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their house, so that when the angel of death passed over, he would not kill the firstborn of the people of Israel. The people of Israel continued to celebrate this feast to remember how God rescued them from the Egyptians and did not kill their firstborns along with the Egyptian’s firstborns.  
Yet, this meal also pointed to the future. The Passover lamb was a prophecy of Jesus Christ, who is the spotless Lamb of God, who has come to take away the sins of the world with his precious and innocent death on the cross. As Jesus sat among the teachers in the temple, marveling them with his understanding and answers concerning the Holy Scriptures, he certainly discussed the meaning of this Passover meal which they had just eaten, and the promise from God to send a Messiah, who would bear the iniquities of his people.  
Jesus answered his frantic mother, “Why did you search for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” The Greek literally says, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s things.” Jesus came to earth for the purpose of fulfilling his Father’s will to save us. He came to be the Passover Lamb, who would cause death to pass over us forever. For this reason, he needed to be without blemish and take our place. So Jesus grew in knowledge and understanding of God’s Words, even as he was obedient to his parents. And he did all this in obedience to his heavenly Father and to his earthly parents for us, who have been neither obedient to God nor to our parents as we should have been. This is Jesus being about his Father’s things.  
It was to Mary that the angel Gabriel said of her son Jesus before he was born, “Therefore the child to be born of you will be called holy – the Son of God.” So, Mary should have known that Jesus would have been at his heavenly Father’s house. Yet, in her frantic state, she searched for Jesus and didn’t find him until the third day. Jesus told her plainly that she should have known that he had to be about his Father’s things, that is, his Heavenly Father’s things. About twenty-one years later a couple other Marys searched for Jesus on the week of the Passover after Jesus was crucified and buried. After three days, they looked for him in his tomb, but the angel said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you...”  
The angel spoke to the Marys at Jesus’ tomb in that way for the same reason Jesus spoke to his mother the way he did at the temple. They should have known that Jesus’ tomb would be empty. Jesus told them all plainly that he would be crucified, die, and on the third day rise. Likewise, Mary should have expected to find Jesus in the temple doing the work of his Heavenly Father. The angel told her that this son born to her would be the Son of the Most High God.  
God doesn’t leave it a mystery how we are to find Jesus. Jesus made a promise to his entire Church: Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. He made this promise after commanding his disciples to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching and doing all that he commanded him. We find Jesus where his holy Word is taught. We find Jesus where the Sacraments, which he instituted are rightly administered: Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. When we search in other places for Jesus, we behave as foolishly as Mary and Joseph did when they momentarily forgot who Jesus was. Jesus is in his Father’s house. Jesus is doing his Father’s work. The work of the Father is the redeeming and saving of sinners. Sinners are redeemed and saved when their sins are forgiven. Where Jesus’ word is preached and where his Sacraments are administered, that is where Jesus is doing the Father’s work.  
We husbands and fathers learn from Joseph what sort of men we should be. We should protect our wife and children from the dangers of this world; we should teach them the Word of God faithfully at home; and we should make it our family’s habit to attend worship faithfully, so that we may grow in faith and have our sins forgiven. You wives and mothers learn from the Virgin Mary what sort of women you should be. You should trust in the Word of the Lord, treasuring and pondering it in your heart even when you do not yet understand it; you should submit to your husband in fear of the Lord and encourage him to do his God-given duty of teaching God’s word to the family and taking the family to church; and you should love and care for the children God has given you. And we learn from both of these saints that we should humble ourselves before God and receive forgiveness for all our failings as spouses and parents.  
And we all learn a lot from this boy Jesus. We learn that he has come to redeem us from our sins, to be the Passover Lamb without blemish, whose blood sets us free from sin, death, and hell. And we learn from this boy where we should be. Last week we learned how in Baptism we become children of God, being clothed in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Here we learn that children of God must be about their Father’s things, in his house. We learn from Jesus that we should continue to learn God’s holy Word and grow in faith each day. God grant this to us all until we enter our Father’s heavenly home, where we will dwell with this same Jesus forever. Amen.  
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The Baptism of Jesus: Jesus removes the burden of sin from us

1/15/2020

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Picture
The Baptism of Christ, Francesco Albani (1578–1660), Hermitage Museum, Public Domain
Matthew 3:13-17 
January 12, 2019 
 
Jesus had no need to be baptized by John. John knew this. John baptized sinners for the remission of sins. John knew that Jesus was not a sinner. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized for himself. Jesus also didn’t need to be conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, taking on human flesh. He didn’t need to be born in a stable or be circumcised on the eighth day. Jesus didn’t need to be tempted by Satan in the wilderness while foregoing food and water. He didn’t need to submit to earthly governments. He certainly didn’t need for his own sake to die a miserable death on the cross, laden with the sins of the world. None of these things did Jesus need to do for himself. He is and always has been with God and has been God from eternity. He is the eternal Son of God. He did not need to come to earth to earn his heavenly kingdom. He didn’t need to submit himself to the Law in order to be righteous. Christ Jesus already had a kingdom and has been righteous before all worlds. So, John was right, Jesus did not have any need to be baptized. But John did need to baptize Jesus for his own sake and for our sake.  
It was fitting for Jesus to be baptized so that we could be righteous. In Jesus’ baptism he joins himself to sinners and gives to them his righteousness. When Jesus was baptized, he was anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit, who descended upon him like a dove. This fulfilled what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” Jesus began his earthly ministry by being anointed by the Holy Spirit in his Baptism.  
The words Messiah and Christ are the Hebrew and Greek words for Anointed One. God promised that he would send the Messiah, anointed by the Holy Spirit himself, to save his people. Jesus is the Christ, the Lord’s anointed.  
To be anointed means to be chosen and set aside for service to God. In the Old Testament God chose the people of Israel and separated them from all other nations to be his own chosen people. He gave them the Book of the Law. God told Moses to say to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me.’ If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” (Exodus 4:23) And, this is exactly what God did. He killed all the firstborn of Egypt and he called his son out of Egypt, baptizing Israel in the waters of the Red Sea. But God’s firstborn Israel did not remain faithful. The people worshipped other gods, rebelled and complained, so that most of them died in the wilderness.  
Here at Jesus’ Baptism, God the Father calls Jesus his Son. Now, Jesus has been God’s Son from all eternity, long before his Baptism. Yet, here, The Son of God bears our human flesh and is washed in the water of our Baptism and God calls him his Son. Jesus is Israel, the Israel the people of Israel failed to be. Jesus is the true, faultless Son of God in human flesh.  
God the Father calls Jesus his beloved Son. The name David is the Hebrew word for beloved. It is well known that David was a man after God’s own heart. God chose David and had the Prophet Samuel anoint him with oil as King of Israel. And God promised David that he would raise one of his sons to sit on his throne and rule Israel forever. Frequently in Scripture God tells his people that he will rescue them for the sake of his servant David (2 Kings 20:6; Isaiah 37:35). And in Ezekiel chapter 34, God even says that he will set up his servant David to be the One Shepherd to shepherd his people Israel.  
Yet, King David, who died 400 years before Ezekiel made that prophecy will not rise to shepherd the people. And King David was not always a perfect king. Rather, he behaved selfishly. He committed adultery and murder. But David was only a type, a shadow of the true David to come, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Beloved of the Lord, the true David, who has come to shepherd his people. There is no fault in him. Not even death can stop him from being our Shepherd.  
This is what it means that Jesus is baptized with poor sinners. He is the true Christ, the true Israel, the true David, the one anointed by God to rescue us from our sins, from Satan, and from hell.  
In Baptism we have our sins washed away. Jesus had no sins to be washed. Rather, Jesus is baptized for the opposite reason. He is baptized in order to take on our sins and become the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is to fulfill the prophecy concerning him from Isaiah 53, “And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” In Jesus’ Baptism he takes on an obedience that was not required of him, but that he fulfills for us. Israel failed. King David failed. You and I have failed. We all fall short of the glory of God. No one living is righteous before God. Except for Jesus. Jesus is righteous. And he fulfills all righteousness for us, by living in our place, obeying the Law in our place, and dying in our place.  
Jesus is obedient for us, who have been disobedient. In Baptism we receive a great exchange. Our sins are put on Jesus and his obedience is given to us. This is why Jesus answers John, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Now, some pause at the word us. Does John fulfill all righteousness with Jesus? It is not by John’s work or any of our works that fulfill righteousness. Titus 3 states, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7) 
So, we see from Scripture that is it Jesus alone, whose work of righteousness saves us. Yet, Jesus says to John, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,” because Jesus is going to use John as his instrument. When John baptizes Jesus, it is certainly not John’s righteousness or John’s power that does anything, but rather Jesus’ righteousness and obedience. Yet, the words and action of Baptism still work! God successfully used John to fulfill all righteousness, not by John’s merits, but through Christ Jesus alone! 
And here we must discuss the great power that Baptism has for us today. It doesn’t look very impressive. A sinful man, who is no better than anyone else, pours water on the head of another sinner and says some words. How on earth can this do anything? Well, if you consider the man who pours the water and the water alone, then you would have to conclude, not much except some wet hair. Yet, if you consider what God has done in Baptism and who has joined himself to Baptism, namely Jesus Christ, then you must see Baptism as a most marvelous treasure with tremendous power.  
Last week we celebrated Epiphany, when Jesus appeared to the Gentiles as the Wise Men gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Yet here in Jesus Baptism, we see a much more marvelous Epiphany as the Three Kings of Heaven reveal themselves to us. The Son of God himself stands in the sinner’s water; the Holy Spirit in the form of a gentle dove descends upon him to anoint him the Christ and Savior of sinners, and God the Father, whose voice once shook Mount Sinai and terrified the hearts of the people of Israel, now speaks with joyous tone, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Here in Jesus’ Baptism, we see the Holy Trinity in the clearest vision that has ever been seen, and the message our God gives us is one of salvation through this man Jesus Christ, who has come to save sinners! 
And this is why we should value our own Baptism. Jesus commanded that all nations be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Trinity who was present in Jesus’ Baptism is present in yours! St. Peter tells us that whoever is Baptized will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! The same Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus! 
Holy Scriptures tells us that in Christ Jesus we are all sons of God, through faith, for as many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:26-27). In Jesus’ Baptism, Jesus’ joined himself to us spiritually. He took on our burden under the Law and the burden of our sin. He joined himself to the waters of Baptism, so that we who are baptized might wash our sins and every burden in those waters and put on Christ’s righteousness.  
This is what Scripture means when it says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:4-6) In Baptism God makes us his children by faith. He gives us the right to call him Abba! Father! That is what our Lord Jesus calls him! Just as God the father called Jesus his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased, so God calls you who are baptized into his name his beloved children in whom he is well pleased. Your sins have been taken from you by Christ. He was obedient in your stead. He has paid for your sins by his death on the cross.  
In your Baptism, God anointed you with the Holy Spirit to be a little christ, a Christian. To be set apart from the evil world to serve him by believing his word and trusting in him and by loving your neighbor.  
Yet, there are many who doubt the power of Baptism. Some question the man who performs the Baptism. Don’t let that bother you. All Baptisms done according to God’s Word are done by God. It is his word, not the pastor, who makes it a baptism. Some doubt the power of Baptism, because it looks like plain water. Don’t doubt the water. God’s word is powerful enough to do mighty works through plain water. Rather, when we look at Baptism, we should see our Savior Jesus, who has joined himself to Baptism. When you are baptized, you are baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection. In Baptism your sins are taken away and you receive Christ’s righteousness. For this reason, every Christian should cherish his Baptism as a precious gift and pledge from God that he considers you his own dear child, that he does not look upon your sins, but that when he looks at you, he sees his own beloved Son, Jesus Christ. That is what it means to put on Christ in Baptism.  
This is also why we baptize babies. Babies are sinners. Babies die. Babies need a Savior. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and by no means hinder them, for to such belong the kingdom of God.” And Jesus also said, “Unless one enter the kingdom of heaven as a child, he will by no means enter it.” An adult is not more equipped to be baptized than a baby, because Baptism is God’s grace. It is a free gift by which sinners are forgiven of their sins and joined to Christ Jesus in faith.  
Now, it is possible to throw away your Baptism by continuing in unrepentant sin and by denying the faith. That is why we Christians return to our Baptism every day by repenting of what we have done wrong, and turning to Jesus, who died for us. Our Baptism reminds us that God has indeed washed away our sins in Jesus’ blood, that he has anointed us with his Holy Spirit, and that he has clothed us in Christ Jesus his own Son. Our Baptism tells us that we are God’s children and heirs of heaven. Amen.  
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Children of God

1/6/2020

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Picture
Abraham Bloemaert, Adoration of the Magi, 1624, Public Domain
Epiphany 2020 
Matthew 2:1-12; (John 1:11-13) 
 
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of the blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13 
 
These Magi who come from the east are perfect examples of God’s children, who are born not of the blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. They are not born of the blood. They are not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. They are foreigners. They have no stake in Israel; no claim to call Abraham their father. They do not descend from God’s People Israel. Yet, as we have learned, not even those born of God’s people Israel are God’s people, unless they have faith! Neither are the offspring of Abraham, Abraham’s children, unless they have faith in the promise.  
These Wise Men did not become children of God by the will of the flesh. The sinful flesh is so corrupt that even the high priests and scribes, who are born of the seed of Abraham and have the temple and the scriptures, are not able to make themselves God’s children, but rather reject God. These Magi did not become children of God by the will of a man. Herod did not invite them, nor any other human dignitary. Rather, they were led by a star, which God himself placed in the sky. I don’t know how they knew that this star meant that a king was born in Judah; whether it was from studying the Prophet Isaiah or if God revealed it in a dream. But come they did; to find the King of the Jews and worship him.  
They came to Jerusalem, which makes a lot of sense. Jerusalem is the city of the kings of the Jews. David ruled in Jerusalem, as did Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah. Jerusalem is the city of the temple of God, where God himself dwells in the Holy of Holies receiving sacrifices and worship day after day. And Jerusalem is just a couple of miles away from Bethlehem, so if a star is in the sky near Bethlehem and Jerusalem, you’re going to choose Jerusalem to be the birthplace of a king.  
Yet, the king is not born in Jerusalem, against all human-reasoning. Yet, when the scribes read from the holy Scriptures, from the book of Micah, that the Christ will be born in the humble village of Bethlehem, the Magi don’t doubt it. They desire to go in search of this king.  
This is because the Magi are children of God born of the will of God.  You are born of God when you have faith in God’s word. Children of God trust the word of God above their own reason, because the Word of God tells you the very will of God. It was God’s will that his Son be born, not in a splendid palace in a bed of silk surrounded by gold and jewels, but rather in a stall on rough straw, where beasts but lately fed. This is nonsense. A joke! An absurdity and insult to human intelligence. Yet these Magi don’t question it. They hear the words from Scripture and accept them immediately as truth. They have been born of God. They have faith in God. They believe that his Word expresses his perfect will, and they will follow that will, even if it leads them to search for a king in a manger.  
This is an important lesson for us to learn today. Are you children of God? Are you born of God? You aren’t born of God through the blood. It doesn’t matter who your father or mother is. You can’t pass faith through the blood stream. And you cannot become a child of God through the will of the flesh. How often do we hear neglectful parents say such foolishness as, “Well, we’re going to just let our little Timmy decide for himself what he wants to believe.” Well, little Timmy is born of the flesh. That which is born of flesh is flesh. He needs to be born of the Spirit! He needs to be baptized and hear the word of God! He needs to hear the Gospel of his Savior Jesus Christ! It is only through hearing the Gospel that one can become God’s child! The flesh cannot do it!  
Neither can you become a child of God by the will of a man. It doesn’t matter if you’ve built the church building with your bare hands and have your name engraved in the Communion ware and etched into the stain glass windows. No. You can only become a child of God and remain a child of God through the will of God. And God’s will is revealed to us in his Holy Word. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. The holy Scriptures are Christ’s words. In them, we have a brighter light than even the Magi saw on that first Epiphany, as St. Peter says, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19) Here St. Peter speaks of the Scriptures, the Bible, which the Holy Spirit himself caused to be written by the hands of men.  
So, we should follow the example of our older brothers in the Lord, the Magi, the wisemen and follow the light of Scripture, even if it tells us to find our God in the unlikeliest of places. Scripture told these Magi to leave the king’s palace and search for the king in a humble village, even to go around houses into a backyard, and search for the King of Kings in a stable! Yes, and there they worshipped the eternal Son of the Father between ox and donkey.  
And so, we follow the words of Scripture and bow our knees before ordinary bread and wine, and we believe the words of our Lord, “This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We should know better, shouldn’t we? Bread isn’t a body! Wine isn’t blood! You can’t consume the body and blood of a man without killing him and tearing him asunder! Yet, God invites us to believe that here we eat the living and risen body and drink the flowing blood of Christ, which was nailed to the cross and poured from the veins of Jesus! What utter nonsense! Yet, children born of the will of God believe what God’s word says. We believe this apparent nonsense, if we are to determine that which the human mind cannot comprehend as nonsense. We believe God’s holy will.  
And when our faith grasps the reality of what God is saying, we see what a wonderful gift we have on this earth! I’ve mentioned that my family and I went to Washington D. C. this past summer for our vacation. Did you know that we got to take a tour of the White House? We walked through the same rooms where dozens of presidents, including the current head of state, have eaten and lounged. We walked through the very house in which our president lives! Yet, you know, President Trump didn’t come out to see us! He didn’t invite us in for dinner or even offer us a cup of coffee! We didn’t even see him. Rather, ropes kept us out of forbidden rooms.  
Yet, here in this ordinary town, in this simple building, we not only get to meet the God of heaven, we get to dine with him! We feast at his table and eat the food that angels cannot taste! To eyes born of blood, which judge things by the will of the flesh and of man, this is a very simple and plane thing. But with eyes born of God according to his will, which trust the words of God, here we recognize what we eat and drink: the very body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which gives forgiveness of sins and strengthens the faith of all who believe this.  
And here we understand a bit better what the Prophet Micah is telling us by prophesying that the king of the Jews will be born in Bethlehem instead of Jerusalem. Jesus comes not to be an earthly king. Otherwise he would be born in the finest room in the palace with marble walls, and sleep in a crib made of silk. Jesus is born in poverty to show that he come to save the poor. He doesn’t come to make you rich. He doesn’t come to make you fat or fit. He comes to save your soul from death, to make atonement for your sins, to forgive you and make you right with God. He doesn’t want you to mistake him for any other earthly prince or ruler. Don’t think he comes to start a war or negotiate with tyrants. He comes to crush the head of Satan and open the gates of heaven for you.  
Micah goes on to say that this ruler of Israel, who shall be brought forth in Bethlehem was also brought forth from of old, from ancient days. This king is brought forth twice. Once when he was born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, but even before that, before time began from ancient days. So, these Magi go to Bethlehem, not to find a king, who will give them earthly presents or promise them security as long as the king lives on this earth. No, they go to a king who has an eternal reign; who gives eternal presents; who will profit his subjects much more than any earthly ruler! 
And we worship this same king. He rules from heaven! Yet, he still bears his human form. He is our brother and king; revealed to us through the holy Scripture. The little baby, whom those Magi from the east worshipped is the same Christ, who said, “This is my body; This is my blood.” on the night when he was betrayed. He is the same Jesus who was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead. He is the same Jesus who commanded that all nations be baptized and made into his disciples; the same Jesus who reigns in heaven and promises to always be with us in his word and Sacrament.  
This Jesus is despised by those born of the flesh. His presence is denied by those of this world. But for us born of the will God, we follow the light of his Word, we find our Savior where he promises to be.  
The Magi brought gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Children of God brought earthly gifts to their heavenly king. Sure, you could say God doesn’t need our earthly gifts. He could have caused fish and birds and frogs to cough up gold coins for Joseph to pay their bills. But this is how God chose to provide for Mary and Joseph and the Christ-child and fund their flight to Egypt when Herod sought to kill baby Jesus. Children of God bring their best earthly gifts to their heavenly King. And in this way God has provided for his Church on earth throughout her mission to spread the light of the Gospel in every dark place.  
Jesus says that whoever receives the one he sends receives him and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of the least of his brethren will by no means lose his reward. So, those born of God have given their first fruits in an expression of faith in Christ. No, God in heaven doesn’t need your gold or dollars. But Mary and Joseph certainly needed some cash to travel from Bethlehem to Egypt. And congregations need to pay for heating and electric along with the salaries of their pastor, secretary, and organists. God uses us to fund missions in other lands. God uses unrighteous mammon, so valued by earthly kings and rulers, to spread his heavenly kingdom. We have the privilege to present our gifts before the King of the Jews today even as the Magi presented their gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  
We don’t know much about the wisemen, except that they weren’t Jews and that they came from a different country in the east. Yet, we do know that they were children of God born of God’s will. That means they are good examples to follow. Let us follow the wisemen and follow the star God has set before us, the holy Scripture, and worship him who was born King of the Jews, whose coming forth is from ancient days.  
Amen.  ​
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    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

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